Wisner moved to Washington where he associated with a group of journalists, politicians and government officials that became known as the Georgetown Set. Over the next few weeks thousands were arrested on suspicion of communist activity. So still, there's still another, you know, year left in the war. Now internal subversion communism from within - was an additional cause for direct action. CIA's Voice of Liberation also put out similar radio broadcasts. Wisner leaked details of the speech to the New York Times who published it on 2nd June, 1956. He condemned the Great Purge and accused Stalin of abusing his power. In March 1953, 209,842 acres of United Fruit Company's uncultivated land was taken by the government which offered compensation of $525,000. The Director turned to me "They tell me you know how to write. This was followed by a week of bombing ports, ammunition dumps, military barracks and the international airport. This included former members of the Nazi Party such as Gustav Hilger and Hans von Bittenfield. Carlos Castillo and his collection of soldiers now crossed the Honduran-Guatemalan border. Wisner began having trouble with J. Edgar Hoover. While its reductive to say the aftermath drove Wisner mad, its fair to say that it didnt help matters. 1944, Wisner was sent to Turkey. 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. He was a good sprinter and hurdler and in 1936 was asked to compete in the Olympic trials. The Two Frank Wisners. In the darkness I could see only a silhouette of the person entering the room; when the door closed it was dark again, and I could not make out the features of the man standing next to me. Now internal subversion communism from within - was an additional cause for direct action. 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. According to Donald N. Wilber, who was involved in this CIA plot to remove Mossadegh from power, in early August, 1953, Iranian CIA operatives, pretending to be socialists, threatened Muslim leaders with "savage punishment if they opposed Mossadegh," thereby giving the impression that Mossadegh was cracking down on dissent. . "Great," he said to Brad, "that was a good briefing." Thus by overthrowing him, America was in effect making a new decision in the cold war. To give some idea of how aggressively Wisner worked to build his spy network and subvert the Soviet Union, when the OPC was finally and officially absorbed into the CIA as the Directorate of Plans, it dwarfed the rest of the Agency, and consumed 75 percent of the CIA budget. The State Department immediately disavowed his comments and said Wisner had not been serving as an envoy but as a conduit for certain administration views.[16]. In Hungary the prime minister Imre Nagy removed state control of the mass media and encouraged public discussion on political and economic reform. Frank Justin Wisnerwas born on month day1879, at birth place. A large number of these prisoners were tortured or killed. Wisner focused his efforts on psychological warfare, most notably through Operation Mockingbird, wherein the OPC sought to influence foreign mediaand who better to plant propaganda than the press itself? Wisner grew very fond of Philby and was unaware that he was a Soviet spy betraying all his operations to his masters in Moscow. Wisner was also able to restrict newspapers from reporting about certain events. No longer would the Monroe Doctrine, which was directed against foreign imperial ambitions in the Americas from across the Atlantic or the Pacific, suffice. Name: Frank Wisner Frank G. Wisner Jr. grew up in the long shadow of his secret agent father. When the Central Intelligence Agency was established in 1947, its founding officers had to figure out how to build a global network of spies, run secret missions, overthrow governments, and recruit agents. Perhaps he had made up his mind to kill himself. [11] He went on to become a member of the board for EOG Resources. The CIA propaganda campaign included the distribution of 100,000 copies of a pamphlet entitled Chronology of Communism in Guatemala. As soon as the war ended Truman ordered the OSS to be closed down leaving a small intelligence organization, the Strategic Services Unit (SSU) in the War Department. Britain and France were both initially in favour but eventually buckled under United States pressure and agreed to abstain. [12] Wisner was chosen to lead the OPC in the capacity of Assistant Director for Policy Coordination (ADPC). Over the next few weeks riots took place in Poland and East Germany. Wisner's FBI file tells scurrilous tales of his wild life during and after World War II. It was not successful and still suffering from depression, he was released from hospital in 1958. While the Guatemalan government valued $2.99 per acre, the American government valued it at $75 per acre. He talked about his children. He was a good sprinter and hurdler and in 1936 was asked to compete in the Olympic trials. [20], In 1961, Wisner was ordered to organize CIA activities in British Guiana. On August 2, 1936, she married Arthur S. Wisner in Sparks, Nev. Mrs. Wisner had been active in the Emanuel. Carlos Castillo and his collection of soldiers now crossed the Honduran-Guatemalan border. After graduating Wisner worked as a Wall Street lawyer. Frank Gardner Wisner was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1910. Wisner was too ill to return to his post as head of the DDP. Eisenhower turned to his Chief of the Joint Chiefs. By this time Operation Mockingbird had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. He described the OPC as "Wisner's gang of weirdos" and began carrying out investigations into their past. The President strode from the room. At his funeral the Bethlehem Chapel in the National Cathedral was overflowing with old friends who sang "Fling Out the Banner" as Wisner's family marched down the aisle at the end of the service. 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. However, he began to get suspicious in 1951 and he asked William Harvey and James Jesus Angleton to investigate Philby. In 1951 Allen W. Dulles persuaded Cord Meyer to join the CIA. 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. Henry Cabot Lodge tried to block the Security Council from discussing a resolution to send an investigation team to Guatemala. Eisenhower spoke to his Chief of Naval Operations "Watch that sub. The CIA also provided them with classified information to help them with their work. Henry Breck, a junior CIA officer out of Groton and Harvard, watched his grim-faced elders as they mourned. Henry Breck, a junior CIA officer out of Groton and Harvard, watched his grim-faced elders as they mourned. This included George Kennan, Dean Acheson, Richard Bissell, Desmond FitzGerald, Joseph Alsop, Stewart Alsop, Tracy Barnes, Thomas Braden, Philip Graham, David Bruce, Clark Clifford, Walt Rostow, Eugene Rostow, Chip Bohlen, Cord Meyer, James Angleton, William Averill Harriman, John McCloy, Felix Frankfurter, John Sherman Cooper, James Reston, Allen W. Dulles and Paul Nitze. It was later discovered that one commander accepted $60,000 to surrender his troops. I saw Frank three days before he died and he seemed in good spirits. Wisner reportedly suffered a mental breakdown after the Soviet Union quashed the Hungarian revolution in 1956, and in 1965 he committed suicide. He condemned the Great Purge and accused Stalin of abusing his power. At this time Wisner began plotting the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. Two months later he moved on to Romania where his main task was to spy on the activities of the Soviet Union. Wisner became head of this new organization and Richard Helms became his chief of operations. "Instead of a dirge, it was exuberant, powerful, exultant," recalled Tom Braden. 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. Legal Statement. Also involved was Richard Bissell, head of the Directorate for Plans, an organization instructed to conduct covert anti-Communist operations around the world. The DPP now accounted for three quarters of the CIA budget and 60% of its personnel. According to Nina Burleigh (A Very Private Woman) these journalists sometimes wrote articles that were commissioned by Frank Wisner. Harvey reported back in June 1951 that he was convinced that Philby was a KGB spy. His army was outnumbered by the Guatemalan Army. In all, some 1,700 American POWs were transported. The State Department didnt want anything to do with these precursors to the CIA, fearing that some blown secret mission might cripple diplomacy. The FBI hated them because they didnt want competition. As Thomas Polgar later pointed out: "Sure, we never said rise up and revolt, but there was a lot of propaganda that led the Hungarians to believe that we would help. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles added that the Guatemala people were living under a "communist type of terrorism". Theres a general rule in secret operations: If it has a bland name, its important. 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. At his funeral the Bethlehem Chapel in the National Cathedral was overflowing with old friends who sang "Fling Out the Banner" as Wisner's family marched down the aisle at the end of the service. Wisner was too ill to return to his post as head of the DDP. Hector (Rip Robertson) said only one, a courier . 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). Frank Wisner, who was part of the small network of OSS hands eager to get back in the spy game, had a solution to the problem. 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.) Franklived in USA. Wisner and 21 OSS agents landed in Romania,[5] where he became head of OSS Bucharest. In early 2011, the Obama administration asked Wisner to carry views to Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, including advice that Mubarak should resign to defuse the crisis. According to Phillips he initially questioned the right of the CIA to interfere in Guatemala: In his autobiography Phillips claims he said to Barnes: "But Arbenz became President in a free election. Required fields are marked *. After the West German counterintelligence chief, Otto John, defected to the Soviet Union in 1954, Wisner fed Alsop a story that the West German spymaster had been kidnapped by the KGB. The only thing theyre proving is the law of gravity, said one CIA officer. Wisner remained concerned about the spread of communism and began lobbying for a new intelligence agency. This included James Truitt, Russell Wiggins, Phil Geyelin, John Hayes and Alan Barth. And yet, the junior Wisner cut a path for himself in the diplomatic corps that made him one of the country's most accomplished, and respected, envoys. A decision was reached to create an organization within the CIA to conduct secret political operations. [18], J. Edgar Hoover and U.S. This became the espionage and counter-intelligence branch of the Central Intelligence Agency. Later, several of the people involved in Operation Success, including Richard Bissell and Tracy Barnes, regretted the outcome of the Guatemala Coup. [14], According to its secret charter, the OPC's responsibilities include "propaganda, economic warfare, preventive direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance groups, guerrillas and refugee liberation groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world. In June 2013, Wisner joined the advisory board of Ergo, a global intelligence and advisory firm. Dulles decided that Richard Bissell rather than Richard Helms should become the new head of the DPP. Edit Search New Search Jump to Filters. CIA, "Letter of . Eisenhower shook hands all around. Under this innocuous title, the United States was now fully in the business of covert political operations. Afterward, he obviously wasnt equipped to go back to the Directorate of Plans, so he was made the station chief in London. When the war ended, the OSS was shut down and Wisner returned to the soul-draining doldrums of office life. Work out a new speech for Brad We went to the White House in the morning. Others like Stewart Alsop, Joseph Alsop and James Reston, were recruited from within the Georgetown Set. [17] Another project he was involved in was with regard to the Belarus Brigade's leaders, a unit incorporated into a German SS division, who were assisted into the United States after the Second world war, due largely to his efforts. He was a good sprinter and hurdler and in 1936 was asked to compete in the Olympic trials. President Dwight Eisenhower responded by claiming that Guatemala had a "communist dictatorship.. had established an outpost on this continent to the detriment of all the American nations". ", Wisner, who had been involved in creating this propaganda, told friends that he felt the American government had let Hungary down. This resulted in the religious community turning against Mossadegh. 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. The CIA was also busy bribing Arbenz's military commanders. As a result the resolution was defeated by 5 votes to 4. After graduating Wisner worked as a Wall Street lawyer. Frank Gardner Wisner was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1910. They were defiant and proud, but besieged. In April 1962 Richard Helms recalled Wisner to Washington. In this position, he was instrumental in supporting pro-American forces that toppled Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran in 1953[citation needed] and Jacobo Arbenz Guzmn in Guatemala in 1954. Four days later, after a day in which Mubarak allies took violent reprisal against democracy activists, Wisner spoke to a security conference in Europe and called it "crucial" that Mubarak stay on in the interest of "stability." . With the help of Romanian Intelligence, they manage to obtain tons of records, including SD files, 200 rolls of German film and a large amount of Russian information. "All these people are getting killed, Wisner later said, and we weren't doing anything, we were ignoring it. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKwisner.htm, Your email address will not be published. Powered and implemented byFactSet Digital Solutions. Wisner was transferred to the OSS station in Wiesbaden. post-template-default single single-post postid-2835 single-format-standard. With the help of resident Anastasio Somoza, Castillo had formed a rebel army in Nicaragua. By this time Operation Mockingbird had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. But the navy is watching a Soviet sub in the area; it could be there to evacuate some of Arbenz's friends, or to supply arms to any resisters.". Graham himself recruited others who had worked for military intelligence during the war. The CIA sent Wisner to the Sheppard-Pratt Institute, a psychiatric hospital near Baltimore. Contents Arbenz, on the other hand, had simply been trying to reform his country and had not sought foreign help in this. Wisner Junior was well-known in the CIA and he worked as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of . He was impressive - not at all the disturbing man he was in the shadows. Wisner, as head of the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), took overall responsibility for the operation. Sudden Death. Wisner's other great success was the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz. In March 1945, Wisner was transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany. Such vague accusations as that "more than ten people have died mysteriously" can always be explained in some natural way e.g. The Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Guillermo Toriello, asked the United Nations for help against the covert activities of the United States. Crocker's efforts contributed to the organization and successful discussions at the February 1984 Lusaka Conference regarding conflicts in Angola and Namibia.[9]. 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. During this period Wisner worked closely with Kim Philby, the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) liaison in Washington. Hoover, claimed that Caradja was a Soviet agent. Eisenhower shook his head, perhaps thinking of the thousands who had died in France. He became Assistant Director of the Office of Policy Coordination. Frank Wisner, Jr., had a more steady career in the State Department, was the ambassador in Egypt between 1986 and 1991. . Thus by overthrowing him, America was in effect making a new decision in the cold war. While in Germany he served under Allen W. Dulles. . Henry Cabot Lodge tried to block the Security Council from discussing a resolution to send an investigation team to Guatemala. Who made that decision?". Frank Wisner was the first American in, and this - you're talking August, September - I guess September of 1944. He lived in Romania with a beautiful Russian spy. Frank George Wisner II (born July 2, 1938) is an American businessman and former diplomat who had served as acting United States Secretary of State for a few hours following the resignation of the previous acting United States Secretary of State Arnold Kanter at noon on January 20, 1993 until the confirmation by the United States Senate and He gained support for this from James Forrestal, the Defense Secretary. He pointed out that they had spent a great deal of money on Radio Free Europe "to get these people to revolt". After graduating Wisner worked as a Wall Street lawyer. Wisner found one of his boys' shotguns and killed himself on October 29, 1965. Your email address will not be published. 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. The results were horrifying2500 Hungarians were killed, 200,000 were forced to flee their country, and tens of thousands were arrested and imprisoned. He was dismissed from the CIA in 1950 after an arrest a few years earlier brought his homosexuality to the attention of Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Lavender scare that saw a purge of the State Department personnel because of charges of homosexuality. It has been estimated that between January and June, 1954, the CIA spent about $20 million on Castillo's army. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Wisner's friends believed the illness was triggered by the failure of the Hungarian Uprising. On January 4, 1951, the CIA merged the two offices and created a new Plans Division, which has had sole control over secret operations of all types since that date. On January 4, 1951, the CIA merged the two offices and created a new Plans Division, which has had sole control over secret operations of all types since that date. Wisner moved to Washington where he associated with a group of journalists, politicians and government officials that became known as the Georgetown Set. Members are only revealed after their death - a wreath of black magnolias shaped like '7' is laid at the gravesite. Among his overseas assignments, Wisner served as the United States Ambassador to Zambia (197982); Egypt (198691), the Philippines (199192), and India, 199497. He had upset the US government by nationalizing Iran's oil industry. It had also given America resources and experience (concentrated in private hands) with the world outside the Americas, used effectively by the OSS during World War II American government, however, had stayed in America, lending its influence to business but never trying to overthrow other governments for commercial purposes. A large number of these prisoners were tortured or killed. Tracy Barnes was field commander of what became known as Operation Success. With the help of resident Anastasio Somoza, Castillo had formed a rebel army in Nicaragua. Iranians took to the streets against Mohammed Mossadegh. 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". Recalled one CIA officer, I would be at a meeting where it was obvious that the decision had been made the night before at a dinner party., Still, the jobs toll on Wisner was becoming apparent. In 1954 Wisner arranged for the funding the Hollywood production of Animal Farm, the animated allegory based on the book written by George Orwell. Nixon asked a number of questions, concise and to the point, and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the Guatemalan political situation. Wisner was also able to restrict newspapers from reporting about certain events. Death 29 Oct 1965 (aged 56) Kent . I was vaguely uncomfortable. Frank Wisner took over direct command of the everyday operations of the Indonesian project. A month earlier word had spread through the agency that the New York Times was embarking on a first-ever investigation of the CIA. When this failed he put pressure on Security Council members to vote against the resolution. Another historical falsehood is that becoming a leader at CIA hinges on membership in Skull and Bones, the secret society at Yale. According to Nina Burleigh (A Very Private Woman) these journalists sometimes wrote articles that were commissioned by Frank Wisner. However, Barnes convinced him that it was vital important that the Soviets did not establish a "beachhead in Central America". Frank Gardiner Wisner - Commander, United States Navy Central Intellignce Agency February 27, 2023 by Michael Robert Patterson Frank Gardner Wisner was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1910. During his absence Wisner's job was covered by his chief of operations, Richard Helms. He became Assistant Director of the Office of Policy Coordination. He eventually had a breakdown, was hospitalized, and received an aggressive course of electroshock therapy. Its worth noting that Wisner was the Christopher Hitchens of his daya relentless charmer and bon vivant who threw all the best parties with the most interesting, powerful, and influential guests. According to Deborah Davis, Meyer became Mockingbird's "principal operative". This was the elite which ran American foreign policy and shaped legislation at home. He was first stationed in Cairo where he spent an uneventful year. The growth of the OSS brought conflict with John Edgar Hoover who saw it as a rival to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A large staff under Desmond Fitzgerald of the Far East Division was set up. The Scroll and Key tomb is admired for its Moorish Revival style Scroll and Key, Yale, New Haven, Connecticut Nagy also released anti-communists from prison and talked about holding free elections and withdrawing Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. 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. When he finished Alien Dulles said, "Brad, I've never heard such crap." [2] An event carried out Events Participated in References Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, Penguin, 2007, pp.36-38. To confront Soviet aggression, Wisner eventually organized a secret army in Europe. Wisner worked well with Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda and helped to rebuild bilateral relations between Zambia and the USA after a 1980 spy scandal at the U.S. embassy in Lusaka. 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 second Deputy Director of Plans (DDP) in charge of the Directorate of Plans (DDP) of the Central Intelligence Agency from August 23, 1951 to September 1958. The whole arrangement of American power in the world from the nineteenth century was based on commercial concerns and methods of operation his had given America a material empire through the ownership of foreign transport systems, oil fields, estancias, stocks, and shares. The Combat Applications Group does not write database software for infantry supply clerks; it is better known as Delta Force. Wisner was also deeply involved in establishing the Lockheed U-2 spy plane program run by Richard M. Bissell Jr.[1], Wisner suffered a serious breakdown in September 1958. However, in 1947, he was recruited by Dean Acheson, to work under Charles Saltzman, at the State Department's Office of Occupied Territories. The CIA began providing financial and logistic support for Colonel Carlos Castillo. All rights reserved. Castillo's new government was immediately recognised by President Dwight Eisenhower. Over the next few weeks riots took place in Poland and East Germany. Five thousand refugees volunteered to be part of a post-nuclear guerrilla force, which was just what it sounds likeFallout: New Stalingrad. "Incredible". He was prescribed psychoanalysis and shock therapy (electroconvulsive treatment). Admiral. I myself was no great admirer of the Soviet Union, and I certainly had no expectation of harmonious relations after the war. They were defiant and proud, but besieged. (The CIA posted guards to keep the KGB from seeing who was there.). It was a warm summer night. After World War II, American governments were more willing to use their influence and strength all over the world for the first time and to see an ideological implication in the "persecution" of US business interests. He described the OPC as "Wisner's gang of weirdos" and began carrying out investigations into their past. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. As Thomas Polgar later pointed out: "Sure, we never said rise up and revolt, but there was a lot of propaganda that led the Hungarians to believe that we would help. After leaving the OSS Wisner joined the Wall Street law firm, Carter Ledyard. David Atlee Phillips was appointed to run the propaganda campaign against Arbenz's government. [10], Wisner died by suicide on October 29, 1965.[22]. While in Bucharest he became friendly with King Michael of Romania. 1930 United States Federal Census. In late 2002, Wisner co-chaired an independent working group that developed a model for the US's post-conflict role in Iraq, should an invasion occur. In 1953 the brothers helped out Edward Lansdale and the CIA in the Philippines: "Wisner actively courted the Alsops, along with a few other newsmen he regarded as suitable outlets. Wisner was appointed director of the organization. "Frank Wisner, Jr. was a big catch for Enron Corporation. According to Deborah Davis (Katharine the Great): "By the early 1950s, Wisner 'owned' respected members of the New York Times, Newsweek, CBS and other communications vehicles.".