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document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He worked in the Navy's censor's office before managing to get a transfer to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Hector (Rip Robertson) said only one, a courier . Frank G. Wisner, an ex-OSS man, was brought in from the State Department to head it, with a cover title of his own invention. "Great," he said to Brad, "that was a good briefing." The CIA sent Wisner to the Sheppard-Pratt Institute, a psychiatric hospital near Baltimore. Wisner managed to get a copy of the speech that Nikita Khrushchev made at the 20th Party Congress in February, 1956, where Khrushchev launched an attack on the rule of Joseph Stalin. Tracy Barnes was field commander of what became known as Operation Success. Even with my curious nature, I myself was unaware, except in the vaguest terms, what political action projects were going forward and how (Frank Wisner was spending Marshall Plan counterpart funds.) Frank G. Wisner discusses his distinguished career in public service, including working as former undersecretary of defense for policy, undersecretary of state for international security affairs . These organizations were run by people with well-known right-wing views such as William Paley (CBS), Henry Luce (Time Magazine and Life Magazine), Arthur Hays Sulzberger (New York Times), Alfred Friendly (managing editor of the Washington Post), Jerry O'Leary (Washington Star), Hal Hendrix (Miami News), Barry Bingham Sr., (Louisville Courier-Journal), James Copley (Copley News Services) and Joseph Harrison (Christian Science Monitor). He is the son of CIA official Frank Wisner (1909-1965). Accepting that further resistance would only bring more deaths he announced his resignation over the radio. Thus by overthrowing him, America was in effect making a new decision in the cold war. What right do we have to help someone topple his government and throw him out of office?" Four months later he agreed to retire from the CIA. Through think-tanks to foundations, directorates to membership of gentlemen's clubs, these mandarins were interlocked by their institutional affiliations and by a shared belief in their own superiority.". However, there is evidence that he was recruited several years earlier and had been spying on the liberal organizations he had been a member of in the later 1940s. He was first stationed in Cairo where he spent an uneventful year. Brad finished and the lights went up. The POWs were returned by a U.S. Air Crew Rescue Unit via the Popeti-Leordeni Airfield. Frank Gardiner Wisner was one of the founding officers of the Central Intelligence Agency and played a major role in CIA operations throughout the 1950s. Wisner's friends believed the illness was triggered by the failure of the Hungarian Uprising. This resulted in the religious community turning against Mossadegh. Five thousand refugees volunteered to be part of a post-nuclear guerrilla force, which was just what it sounds likeFallout: New Stalingrad. Frank Gardner Wisner was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1910. [8] Twelve B-17 Flying Fortress planes flew out the prisoners in hourly shifts. Vijay Prashad: Yes, the point is a very good one, why Margaret Scobey herself was not in charge of the deliberations. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. He said that the country needed "an agrarian reform which puts an end to the latifundios and the semi-feudal practices, giving the land to thousands of peasants, raising their purchasing power and creating a great internal market favorable to the development of domestic industry.". Eisenhower shook his head, perhaps thinking of the thousands who had died in France. I myself was no great admirer of the Soviet Union, and I certainly had no expectation of harmonious relations after the war. He is the son of Frank Wisner, Sr., a man very well known at the CIA, who was the operational chief to conduct at least three coups d'tat--Arbenz in Guatemala, Mossadeq . Athan Theoharis, Richard Immerman, Loch Johnson, Kathryn Olmsted, and, Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas, guerrilla warfare in Soviet-occupied Europe, "Our History: Featured Alumni: Wisner, Frank G., 1934", Report on X-2 Activities in Bucharest, 25 April 1945, "Foreign Relations of the United States, 19451950, Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment - Office of the Historian", "National Security Council Directive on Office of Special Projects", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Wisner&oldid=1141757345, United States Navy personnel of World War II, People of the Central Intelligence Agency, People of the Office of Strategic Services, University of Virginia School of Law alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 17:05. Wisner managed to get a copy of the speech that Nikita Khrushchev made at the 20th Party Congress in February, 1956, where Khrushchev launched an attack on the rule of Joseph Stalin. Others like Stewart Alsop, Joseph Alsop and James Reston, were recruited from within the Georgetown Set. Thats why when you read about something called the Mission Support Activity, your eyes glaze over before you realize that youre reading about the Joint Special Operations Commands special mission unit for intelligence commandos. He had upset the US government by nationalizing Iran's oil industry. Harvey reported back in June 1951 that he was convinced that Philby was a KGB spy. Frank Justin Wisnerwas born on month day1879, at birth place. Khrushchev's de-Stalinzation policy encouraged people living in Eastern Europe to believe that he was willing to give them more independence from the Soviet Union. Hector and I smiled at each other as Brad flushed with pleasure. Another project started by Wisner was called Operation Bloodstone. Over the next few weeks riots took place in Poland and East Germany. He was impressive - not at all the disturbing man he was in the shadows. Theres a general rule in secret operations: If it has a bland name, its important. This included James Truitt, Russell Wiggins, Phil Geyelin, John Hayes and Alan Barth. Mossadegh also abolished Iran's feudal agriculture sector and replaced with a system of collective farming and government land ownership. [citation needed], Wisner married Mary Ellis 'Polly' Knowles (19122002) and they had four children: Elizabeth Wisner, Graham Wisner, Ellis Wisner, and Frank G. Wisner who entered into diplomatic service. It was later discovered that one commander accepted $60,000 to surrender his troops. Carlos Castillo and his collection of soldiers now crossed the Honduran-Guatemalan border. Castillo's new government was immediately recognised by President Dwight Eisenhower. It has been estimated that between January and June, 1954, the CIA spent about $20 million on Castillo's army. (The CIA posted guards to keep the KGB from seeing who was there.). This included former members of the Nazi Party such as Gustav Hilger and Hans von Bittenfield. Hoover, claimed that Caradja was a Soviet agent. When this failed he put pressure on Security Council members to vote against the resolution. She was born in Ashley, N.D. She grew up and attended schools in North Dakota. During his tenure in Lusaka, he played the role of point man for the Constructive Engagement policy of assistant secretary of state for African affairs Chester Crocker. It compelled a higher degree of intellectual curiosity, accomplishment, and operational savior faire than did espionage ("espionage" referring specifically to the recruitment of foreign intelligence agents). According to Alex Constantine (Mockingbird: The Subversion Of The Free Press By The CIA), in the 1950s, "some 3,000 salaried and contract CIA employees were eventually engaged in propaganda efforts". Later he became an informal adviser to the royal family. What was not said, but what was already clear after the events in East Germany the previous year, was that the exercise of American power, even clandestinely through the CIA, would not be undertaken where Soviet power was already established. Wisner began his intelligence career in the Office of Strategic Services in World War II. The CIA propaganda campaign included the distribution of 100,000 copies of a pamphlet entitled Chronology of Communism in Guatemala. He suffered a breakdown in 1958, and retired from the Agency in 1962. During World War II, Wisner and his wife Polly became close friends with Philip Graham and his wife Katharine Graham who after the war became publishers of The Washington Post. President Dwight Eisenhower was delighted with this result and asked Wisner to arrange for Kermit Roosevelt to give him a personal briefing on Operation Ajax. [10], Wisner was recruited in 1947 by Dean Acheson to join the State Department to become the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas. Edit Search New Search Jump to Filters. He was so depressed that his wife, Polly, worried that he would try to commit suicide. "What about the Russians? After Pearl Harbor, he found himself in the Office of Strategic Services, where he spied behind enemy lines, eventually becoming head of OSS operations in southeastern Europe. Graham himself recruited others who had worked for military intelligence during the war. He had been elected as President of Guatemala in March, 1951. "Incredible". Wisner added that he felt personally betrayed by this behaviour. As Evan Thomas reported in The Very Best Men, the OPCs charter gave it responsibility for propaganda, economic warfare; preventative direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and evacuation measures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance groups, and support of indigenous anti-Communist elements in threatened countries of the free world. The U.S. government would disclaim any responsibility of the OPCs missions. He condemned the Great Purge and accused Stalin of abusing his power. Let's run over your presentations." Other journalists willing to promote the views of the CIA included Ben Bradlee (Newsweek), James Reston (New York Times), Charles Douglas Jackson (Time Magazine), Walter Pincus (Washington Post), William C. Baggs (Miami News), Herb Gold (Miami News) and Charles Bartlett (Chattanooga Times). [16], On August 23, 1951, Wisner succeeded Allen W. Dulles and became the second Deputy Director of Plans, with Richard Helms as his chief of operations. Frank Wisner, the first chief of the CIA's covert-operations unit, provides a top-down view of the early Cold War, while Michael Burke, a jack-of-all-trades charmer, delivers an agent's . Frank Gardiner Wisner (June 23, 1909 - October 29, 1965) was head of Office of Strategic Services operations in southeastern Europe in 1944-1945 at the end of World War II, and served as the 2nd Deputy Director of Plans in charge of the Directorate of Plans of the Central Intelligence Agency from August 23, 1951 to January 1, 1959. Later, several of the people involved in Operation Success, including Richard Bissell and Tracy Barnes, regretted the outcome of the Guatemala Coup. He worked in the Navy's censor's office before managing to get a transfer to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). As one of the agents involved in Operation Bloodstone, Harry Rositzke, pointed out, Wisner was willing to use anyone "as long as he was anti-communist". Wisner worked closely with Kim Philby, the British agent who was also a Soviet spy. Their articles appeared in over 300 different newspapers. David Atlee Phillips was appointed to run the propaganda campaign against Arbenz's government. According to Nina Burleigh (A Very Private Woman) these journalists sometimes wrote articles that were commissioned by Frank Wisner. Khrushchev's de-Stalinzation policy encouraged people living in Eastern Europe to believe that he was willing to give them more independence from the Soviet Union. http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKwisner.htm Categories: People Articles with hCards While in Germany he served under Allen W. Dulles. [vague][15] Wisner was unsuccessful in convincing Mubarak to do so. Legal Statement. But Frank was a little excessive, even for me.". "Frank Wisner, Jr. was a big catch for Enron Corporation. On his watch, the CIA overthrew the governments of Iran and Guatemalathe only two such successes in the Agencys history. Desmond FitzGerald, a deputy director of the CIA, remembered him as a watchmaker in Detroit on whose shoulders it fell far more than any other man, to build our defenses from the ground up and with all speed., 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Under this innocuous title, the United States was now fully in the business of covert political operations. Wisner leaked details of the speech to the New York Times who published it on 2nd June, 1956. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles added that the Guatemala people were living under a "communist type of terrorism". Over the next few weeks riots took place in Poland and East Germany. They plan for apocalyptic scenarios and continuity of government. With the help of George Kennan, the Office of Special Projects was created in 1948. This machinery was in the CIA but the agency shared control of it with the State Department and the Pentagon. What was not said, but what was already clear after the events in East Germany the previous year, was that the exercise of American power, even clandestinely through the CIA, would not be undertaken where Soviet power was already established. As a result the resolution was defeated by 5 votes to 4. With so many talented officers working in covert action, and with most of the foreigners involved being friendly collaborators and not "recruited" assets, the do could scarcely base promotions on the number of recruitments a case officer made each year. The company wanted $16 million for the land. Samuel Zemurray, United Fruit Company's largest shareholder, with the help of Tommy Corcoran, organized an anti-Arbenz campaign in the American media. It said that Frank had died and gave no reason, but I knew." CIA's Voice of Liberation also put out similar radio broadcasts. He announced a change in policy and gave orders for the Soviet Union's political prisoners to be released. ", General Ridgeway answered. In the cases of Frank Wisner and Philip Graham, it played a role in their suicides. On October 28, before he drove out to his farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she called the caretaker and asked him to remove the guns from the house. By this time Operation Mockingbird had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. President Dwight Eisenhower was delighted with this result and asked Wisner to arrange for Kermit Roosevelt to give him a personal briefing on Operation Ajax. Among his overseas assignments, Wisner served as the United States Ambassador to Zambia (197982); Egypt (198691), the Philippines (199192), and India, 199497. Wisner arrived in England in September, 1959. Frank Wisner killed himself with one of his son's shotguns on 29th October, 1965. Wisner also met Arthur Schlesinger, an OSS sergeant serving in Germany. By this time Operation Mockingbird had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. Edit your search or learn more. This secret operation involved recruiting former German officers and diplomats who could be used in the covert war against the Soviet Union. He announced a change in policy and gave orders for the Soviet Union's political prisoners to be released. Phillips, along with E. Howard Hunt, was responsible for running the CIA's Voice of Liberation radio station. His work involved planning a coup in Guyana, a country that had a left-wing government. Later that year Wisner established Mockingbird, a program to influence the domestic American media. . Other journalists willing to promote the views of the CIA included Stewart Alsop (New York Herald Tribune), Ben Bradlee (Newsweek), James Reston (New York Times), Charles Douglas Jackson (Time Magazine), Walter Pincus (Washington Post), William C. Baggs (Miami News), Herb Gold (Miami News) and Charles Bartlett (Chattanooga Times). On June 18, 1948, the United States National Security Council approved NSC 10/2 which created the Office of Special Projects. The DPP now accounted for three quarters of the CIA budget and 60% of its personnel. OSS agents penetrated the Romanian Communist Party and Wisner was able to discover that the Soviets intended to take over all of Eastern Europe. You've averted a Soviet beachhead in our hemisphere." A door opened near me. However, there is evidence that he was recruited several years earlier and had been spying on the liberal organizations he had been a member of in the later 1940s. At this time Wisner began plotting the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. They were the patricians of the modern age, the paladins of democracy, and saw no contradiction in that. The President's final handshake was with Alien Dulles. Their published recommendations included: the establishment of law and order through the retraining of the Iraqi army, focusing on the distribution of humanitarian assistance and reestablishment of vital services, and the importance of avoiding the appointment of exiled Iraqi opposition leaders to dominant positions in the new government. On January 31, 2011, he was sent to Egypt by President Barack Obama to negotiate a resolution to the popular protests against the regime that had swept the country. The lighted shaft of the Washington Monument could be seen through the trees. Faked photographs were distributed that claimed to show the mutilated bodies of opponents of Arbenz. "Instead of a dirge, it was exuberant, powerful, exultant," recalled Tom Braden. Two months later he moved on to Romania where his main task was to spy on the activities of the Soviet Union. I saw Frank three days before he died and he seemed in good spirits. William (Rip) Robertson was also involved in the campaign against Arbenz. His first task was to oversee the return of some 1,350 American airmen who had been shot down in missions against Romanian oilfields. He was educated at Woodberry Forest School in Orange and the University of Virginia. Husband of Mary (Polly) Knowles a dedicated arts philanthropist and legendary Washington hostess. At this time Wisner began plotting the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. (A separate Office of Special Operations conducted secret actions aimed solely at gathering intelligence.) On Tuesday, April third at Chicago, occurred the sudden death of little Frank M. Wisner, the three and a half years old son of Mr. and Mrs. L.S. He was Richard Nixon, the Vice President. The President's final handshake was with Alien Dulles. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles added that the Guatemala people were living under a "communist type of terrorism". The agency hired Bissell to reflect the new CIA. Nixon asked a number of questions, concise and to the point, and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the Guatemalan political situation. . Wisner's other great success was the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz. Dulles decided that Richard Bissell rather than Richard Helms should become the new head of the DPP. He became Assistant Director of the Office of Policy Coordination. Franklived in month1918, at address, Illinois. In 2012 he succeeded Paul A. Volcker as chairman of the board of trustees of International House, a cultural-exchange residence and program center in New York City. It would nominally report to a senior State Department official. degree. While in Bucharest he became friendly with King Michael of Romania. In addition, regardless of the principles being professed, when direct action was taken (whether clandestine or not), the interests of American business would be a consideration: if the flag was to follow, it would quite definitely follow trade. Would the National Security Council really want to explain to the press why some official had to be bribed or some foreign election had to be subverted? It was the nearest thing to an expletive I ever heard Dulles use. With so many talented officers working in covert action, and with most of the foreigners involved being friendly collaborators and not "recruited" assets, the do could scarcely base promotions on the number of recruitments a case officer made each year. Graham himself recruited others who had worked for military intelligence during the war. Later, John Loftus, a prosecutor with the Office of Special Investigations at the U.S. Justice Department, accused Wisner of methodically recruiting Nazi war criminals.