General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Throwing them under the bus. The CIA really took off under Eisenhower
he coup and CIA records
The coup was carried out by the U.S. administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in a covert action advocated by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, and implemented under the supervision of his brother Allen Dulles, the Director of Central Intelligence.[74] The coup was organized by the United States' CIA and the United Kingdom's MI6, two spy agencies that aided royalists and royalist elements of the Iranian army.[75] Much of the money was channeled through the pro-Shah Ayatollah Mohammad Behbahani, who drew many religious masses to the plot. Ayatollah Kashani had completely turned on Mossadegh and supported the Shah, by this point.[7]
According to a heavily redacted CIA document[76] released to the National Security Archive in response to a Freedom of Information request, "Available documents do not indicate who authorized CIA to begin planning the operation, but it almost certainly was President Eisenhower himself. Eisenhower biographer Stephen Ambrose has written that the absence of documentation reflected the President's style."
The CIA document then quotes from the Ambrose biography of Eisenhower:
Before going into the operation, Ajax had to have the approval of the President. Eisenhower participated in none of the meetings that set up Ajax; he received only oral reports on the plan; and he did not discuss it with his Cabinet or the NSC. Establishing a pattern he would hold to throughout his Presidency, he kept his distance and left no documents behind that could implicate the President in any projected coup. But in the privacy of the Oval Office, over cocktails, he was kept informed by Foster Dulles, and he maintained a tight control over the activities of the CIA.[77]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat#United_States_role
JFK to his credit opposed many of the proposals the CIA & his administration offered, thank god he turned down "Operation Northwoods".
LBJ he is way too easy to come up with reasons to toss him under but the fact that Kissinger has way too much influence on US foreign policy is part of the problem, the man was horrific especially when it came to Latin American involvements. He really shouldn't receive praise as he has a lot of blood on his hands.