Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotes
The structure of our intelligence system is faulty. It makes no sense. It has to be reorganized, and we should have done it years ago. Nothing has changed since Pearl Harbor. I have suffered an 8 year defeat on this. I will leave a Legacy of Ashes to my successor
In retrospect Eisenhower may have been responsible for not firing Alan Dulles early in his first administration as was recommended—{634616}
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969, 34th President of the United States (Republican KS), Meeting with Central Intelligence Agency Director Allan Dulles, 1960, .
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Kellis had blown the whistle on the Central Intelligence Agency as well as castigated Director Allan Dulles. The President acted and appointed General Jimmy Doolittle to conduct an investigation which confirmed the Kellis letter about the Central Intelligence Agency. The President ordered reforms but left Dulles in place as director. While Kellis was offended by Dulles’s immoral, un-Christian behaviors, some thought that we had to have people like that. See {634614} for a view that Eisenhower considered in keeping Dulles in place.
Berg, one of the early OSS recruits, was a brilliant loner and somewhat paranoid. His early modus operandi was to work with no partners, never as part of a team, and only report to the head of the agency and a deputy or two and otherwise never reveal where he was or how he did things. Berg however was brilliant and multilingual, and even was able to have discussions with the best Physicist left in Germany--Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg. Berg determined that Heisenberg was not working on an atomic bomb with some clever technical discussions and listening to some of Heisenberg's presentations. Therefore, following his orders, he did not assassinate the German Scientist whuch he was prepared to do. Other than OSS officials, many in America did not believe that the Germans would not have their best scientist working on Nuclear Energy. However, Hitler was biased against what he called "Jewish Sceince" and bet on jet planes. After the war, The CIA reorganized the American espionage effort and there was no place for Berg’s old school style.
When he became a candidate, he modified this position and stated that he would abolish both agencies spying on Americans activities but not necessarily abolish all the functions of the agency.
Dulles was a master of fending off calls for CIA reform. In this case he pretended to look for another agency to take over covert operations, but found in each case that they could not keep secrets well enough. In the 21st century, the CIA was still handling covert operations and have relinquished nothing.
Sichel resigned in protest over these operations. See {634963} for an official corroboration of the CIA Korean fiasco.
His concern was well placed. For over half a century thereafter, the tail did wag the dog, and while there have been many successful covert operations, the risk and current pressure siphoned off talent and management attention from intelligence—the Central Intelligence Agency’s primary job.
Even the CIA and the other U. S. Intelligence missed predicting the Arab Spring, but so did the intelligence services of all our allies, Russia, China and even Israel which usually has the best intelligence in the Middle East. One of the reasons he argues is that media and technology played such an important role in facilitating the Arab Spring and the intelligence agencies do not really understand the new media world. The people who do some argue are too young to ever be in enough key positions in these agencies to have much influence.
Ford was then a member of Congress. This was known as the “Domino Theory” and was the strategic reason that sending troops to Vietnam was in America’s vital Interest. However, the Domino Theory was incorrect. Vietnam did fall to the Communists, and yet NONE of the countries became communist. Actually, they became even more democratic.
Powell, after being assured that the intelligence about the Iraq WMD showing that they were about to deploy a nuclear weapon and they had poison gas was absolutely true, was the major spokesperson to the UN and much of the United States justifying the Iraq War. It was all untrue, and Powell’s credibility which had been exceptional was hurt very badly. He soon resigned.
Silberman-Robb WMD Commission
- Born: October 14, 1890
- Died: March 28, 1969
- Nationality: American
- Profession: President
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower GCB OM GCS CCLH KC NPk was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he became a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
