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These days, the John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles are almost forgotten in a parade of more colorful Cold War figures. There's an airport, notably mainly for still not being hooked up to DC public transit, and that's it. They deserve to be remembered, because the pattern of foreign intervention that they set in place still echoes in a legacy of blowback and forever war.
The Dulles were American aristocracy, grandsons and newphews of Secretaries of State, raised on flinty Yankee valeus, and clearly aimed for great things. Foster was a dry lawyer and theologian, who helped negotiate the settlement to the First World War as a diplomatic attache. Allen was a philanderer and gentleman scoundrel, who ran intelligence out of Switzerland at the same time. Both brothers were partners at Sullivan & Cromwell, the original Wall Street law firm, where they made fortunes and developed the principle that what was good for America's biggest companies was good for the world. To them, the interests of United Fruit were the same as the interests of Guatemala, despite all evidence to the contrary. During the 1930s and 40s, Foster cultivated friends in conservative circles, while Allen helped found the OSS.
Both of them acceded to great power with the election of Eisenhower in 1952. Foster became Secretary of State; Allen first director of the CIA. Ike believed in the effectiveness of covert action from his time as commanding general in the Second World War. The Dulles believed in aggressive confrontation against Communism. The potential of a handful of American advisers leading local armies to victory against pro-Communist leaders was too much for the three to avoid, particularly when the other options seemed either Communist victory or expensive commitment of ground troops. Together, they overthrew governments worldwide, from Latin America to the Middle East and Pacific, taking bigger and bigger risks until a new president, and Foster's death in 1959, left Allen out to hang with the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
The Dulles brothers were guided by a Manichean view of the world, a 'with us or against us' mentality that alienated potential allies. They sponsored coups where soft power would have been more effective, and ignored a chance to de-escalate the Cold War following the death of Stalin. Their interventions created legacies of corruption and legitimate anti-American feelings, while leaving the basic problems of the Third World unresolved. Poverty, suffering and war were the result. Even in 2018, the asymmetric war between the United States and Iran is a legacy of their blowback, and the revolution against the Shah they installed in a coup.
Kinzer opens the book looking for a bust of Dulles that once sat in an entrance hall in the airport that bears his name. He closes it looking for a Diego Rivera mural that depicts the brothers as ghouls. He suggests the two works of art should be displayed together. The Dulles made Cold War policy as firm and unyielding as iron. We still live in the cage they crafted.
The Dulles were American aristocracy, grandsons and newphews of Secretaries of State, raised on flinty Yankee valeus, and clearly aimed for great things. Foster was a dry lawyer and theologian, who helped negotiate the settlement to the First World War as a diplomatic attache. Allen was a philanderer and gentleman scoundrel, who ran intelligence out of Switzerland at the same time. Both brothers were partners at Sullivan & Cromwell, the original Wall Street law firm, where they made fortunes and developed the principle that what was good for America's biggest companies was good for the world. To them, the interests of United Fruit were the same as the interests of Guatemala, despite all evidence to the contrary. During the 1930s and 40s, Foster cultivated friends in conservative circles, while Allen helped found the OSS.
Both of them acceded to great power with the election of Eisenhower in 1952. Foster became Secretary of State; Allen first director of the CIA. Ike believed in the effectiveness of covert action from his time as commanding general in the Second World War. The Dulles believed in aggressive confrontation against Communism. The potential of a handful of American advisers leading local armies to victory against pro-Communist leaders was too much for the three to avoid, particularly when the other options seemed either Communist victory or expensive commitment of ground troops. Together, they overthrew governments worldwide, from Latin America to the Middle East and Pacific, taking bigger and bigger risks until a new president, and Foster's death in 1959, left Allen out to hang with the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
The Dulles brothers were guided by a Manichean view of the world, a 'with us or against us' mentality that alienated potential allies. They sponsored coups where soft power would have been more effective, and ignored a chance to de-escalate the Cold War following the death of Stalin. Their interventions created legacies of corruption and legitimate anti-American feelings, while leaving the basic problems of the Third World unresolved. Poverty, suffering and war were the result. Even in 2018, the asymmetric war between the United States and Iran is a legacy of their blowback, and the revolution against the Shah they installed in a coup.
Kinzer opens the book looking for a bust of Dulles that once sat in an entrance hall in the airport that bears his name. He closes it looking for a Diego Rivera mural that depicts the brothers as ghouls. He suggests the two works of art should be displayed together. The Dulles made Cold War policy as firm and unyielding as iron. We still live in the cage they crafted.