You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 4

PLAYS: 1

(John Foster Dulles - it had nothing to do with fruit . . .much)

When a coup overthrew the popularly-elected leftist government in Guatemala in June 1954, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles delivered an address to the American people extolling the virtues of our improving ties with Latin America, based on the recently adjourned Caracas Conference. It wasn't until much later that it was disclosed the overthrow was hatched, aided and executed by the CIA and that it had much to do with, of all things, fruit.

John Foster Dulles: “Throughout this period that I’ve outlined, the Guatemalan governments and the Communist agents throughout the world have persistently attempted to obscure the real issue; that of Communist Imperialism. By claiming that the United States is only interested in protecting American business. We regret that there had been disputes between the government of Guatemala and the United Fruit Company. We have urged repeatedly that these disputes should be submitted to settlement by an International tribunal or by international arbitration. That’s the way to dispose of problems of this sort.”

Despite claims to the contrary, it had very much to do with business since Dulles was a major shareholder in the United Fruit Company. But because we were knee deep in red-scare politics, any mention of the real intent to overthrow the government just didn't seem too necessary to mention at the time.

The left hand paying no attention to what the right hand was doing.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 613

PLAYS: 211

(Allen, the shady Dulles brother)

Allen Dulles was head of the CIA from 1953-1961, putting him smack in the middle of the Cold War, the Middle East, Vietnam, the Red Scare, just about everything America found itself knee deep in during the Eisenhower years. It is also interesting to note that his brother, John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State during that time (until his death in 1959) - no doubt it was an interesting atmosphere around Washington then. But in 1968 we had the infamous Pueblo Incident, where an admitted spy ship was seized in North Korean waters and the resulting embarrassment lasted for years. Dulles comfortably assesses the damage from the comfort of his retirement. As always, the Cold War has really never ended, especially in 1968.

In this interview, conducted by Mitchell Krauss for the NET series "Newsfront" in February of 1968, Dulles busily promotes his new book "Great True Spy Stories" and skillfully evades some pertinent questions.

Allen Dulles: (with reference to the Pueblo incident) “It is very important to get the type of intelligence that a ship like the Pueblo can gather. And therefore it was reasonable that it should be in that general area in order to carry out its mission. Obviously, it’s important to know what the possible antagonist is planning and doing and so forth and so on. One of the ways is to pick up from the airwaves, you know, what he’s saying.”

All in all, a rather easy game of softball, but one of the rare interviews done by someone who certainly knew where all the mummies were buried.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 54

PLAYS: 12

(Edward J. Corsi - Assassination by Innuendo)

With America hot in the grips of the Red Scare, it was possible to settle all manner of vendetta by simply implying someone had "Communist Friendly" ties. Such was the case of Edward J. Corsi, who had been appointed in 1954 by John Foster Dulles to oversee the State Department Immigration Program. Corsi, who was a liberal Republican, had apparently run afoul of a Congressman from Pennsylvania who decided Corsi was ill-equipped to handle the position and was rumored to be tied in the past to Communist front organizations. Corsi's boss, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles promptly fired him and it sent shock waves throughout Capitol Hill. The scandal was thought to have political repercussions for the upcoming 1956 elections and his firing set up an outcry that came from many unlikely sectors of the political spectrum, including Eleanor Roosevelt.

While the scandal was fresh, CBS' program Face The Nation on April 17, 1955 sat down with Corsi, and with a panel of journalists, hammered questions at him.

John Madigan (Washington Bureau Chief of Newsweek): “Do you believe you were fired in this instance because an influential Democratic Congressman made some charges concerning your alleged associations previously with Communist front organizations?

Edward Corsi: “ I haven’t the slightest doubt about that Mister Madigan, because the Secretary himself told me that.”

Madigan: “Mister Dulles has told you that he fired you because of charges made by Representative Walter of Pennsylvania?”

Corsi: “Mister Dulles told me that it was essential that he maintained friendly relations with Congress.”

Madigan: “But did he tell you that was the reason you were fired, in order to keep up such relations?”

Corsi: “Well I think that would have had no other meaning for me other than that. What he said he had to maintain friendly relations with Congress and this controversy had embarrassed those relations with Congress and I was to go to South America so that the controversy would end.”

It's interesting that political assassination by innuendo is still very much alive and used today.

In 1955 it was just as nasty.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 79

PLAYS: 7

(Lake Success 1949 - John Foster Dulles and Andrei Gromyko - between them, an iceberg)

With the upcoming General Assembly meetings at the UN, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back sixty years, before the United Nations headquarters was built and meetings were held in New York at Lake Success. In 1949 it was about forming the Atomic Energy Commission and the subject was inspections. The USSR had only announced a few weeks earlier that it had tested its first Atomic Bomb, adding one more name to the club that has grown increasingly ever since.

But in 1949 the UN was still grappling with the ground rules - where was this new potentially devastating power heading - and who else was going to get it?

During the weekly radio program Memo From Lake Success, co-produced by CBS, the CBC and United Nations Radio, the subject of regulating nuclear energy high on the list.

Future Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson is interviewed, explaining his take on the situation.

Interviewer: “Mister Pearson, the West maintains that atomic energy can be controlled internationally only by this proposed agency which will manage and operate the Atomic Industry. Would it be possible to set up, by treaty beforehand, a system of quotas, allocations of atomic plants and nuclear fuels. And then a system of continuous rigid inspection be set up for the international agency, which might be effective and perhaps necessitate a little less of the insistence on ownership and operation?"

Lester Pearson (Canadian Foreign Secretary): “ Well, of course naturally that point had occurred to people, but you must remember that the representatives of the majority in this commission, have gone through this matter very, very carefully. And they have come to the conclusion that the only safe way is to have international operations and control. But if it were possible to give more power of operations to nations, and take away some power from the international agency, then that would make it all that more important that you had complete international power of inspection at any time without any reservation of qualification. And that means a really . . well . . .quite important interference in what our Russian friends call National Sovereignty. And they have given no indication whatever at any time that they are willing to accept that kind of international supervision or inspection. And that seems to me to be the fundamental difference between the two positions now. We are willing to go very far in the direction of international inspection and supervision. They are certainly not willing to go so far."

The climate has changed considerably since 1949. There is no more Soviet Union for one thing - only now there's North Korea and Iran.

Two more members of the ever-expanding club.