The lighted shaft of the Washington Monument could be seen through the trees. 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. However, Barnes convinced him that it was vital important that the Soviets did not establish a "beachhead in Central America". Secretary of State John Foster Dulles added that the Guatemala people were living under a "communist type of terrorism". The UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was so upset by the actions of the USA that he considered resigning from his post. The Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Guillermo Toriello, asked the United Nations for help against the covert activities of the United States. Wisner leaked details of the speech to the New York Times who published it on 2nd June, 1956. [16], On August 23, 1951, Wisner succeeded Allen W. Dulles and became the second Deputy Director of Plans, with Richard Helms as his chief of operations. "He realized that his life would be circumscribed by increasing cycles of depression. In April 1962 Richard Helms recalled Wisner to Washington. 2022 FOX News Network, LLC. Eisenhower shook his head, perhaps thinking of the thousands who had died in France. This included James Truitt, Russell Wiggins, Phil Geyelin, John Hayes and Alan Barth. Continue with Recommended Cookies. In fact, according to several of his friends, on social occasions he became very aggressive when discussing politics. As a result Philby was forced to leave the United States. Legal Statement. When the project collapsed, however, the Belarusians quickly settled in and obtained US citizenship and intelligence agencies protected them from exposure for decades. The real Angleton, the real Frank Wisner, the real Bill Harvey are stories in their own right. Wisner remained concerned about the spread of communism and began lobbying for a new intelligence agency. He pointed out that they had spent a great deal of money on Radio Free Europe "to get these people to revolt". Wisner expected the United States would help the Hungarians. He was educated at Woodberry Forest School in Orange and the University of Virginia. 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. With the help of George Kennan, the Office of Special Projects was created in 1948. Thomas points out that he "considered his friends Joe and Stewart Alsop to be reliable purveyors of the company line in their columns". The OPCs mission was to take on the Soviet Union, and right from the start, the Pentagongearing up for World War IIIwanted everything from insurgencies in Western Europe to sabotaging the entire Soviet air force, and it wanted them now. Tracy Barnes was field commander of what became known as Operation Success. Name: Frank Wisner He condemned the Great Purge and accused Stalin of abusing his power. The agents whom he and Burke infiltrated into Romania, Poland, the Baltic states and East Germany all disappeared; most were probably killed. Over the next few weeks thousands were arrested on suspicion of communist activity. Wisner, 72, was U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 1986 to 1991 and developed a close relationship with Mubarak in that time, according to Hazard and news reports. 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. Their articles appeared in over 300 different newspapers. "They don't seem to be up to anything. While in Bucharest he became friendly with King Michael of Romania. [12] Wisner was chosen to lead the OPC in the capacity of Assistant Director for Policy Coordination (ADPC). On August 29, 1944, Lt. Comdr. The Defense Mobilization Support Planning Activity? 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. http://spartacus-educational.com/JFKwisner.htm Categories: People Articles with hCards She was born in Ashley, N.D. She grew up and attended schools in North Dakota. A large staff under Desmond Fitzgerald of the Far East Division was set up. Arbenz, on the other hand, had simply been trying to reform his country and had not sought foreign help in this. "I got a cable in Kuala Lumpur, where I was stationed," said Arthur Jacobs, the "Ozzard of Wiz" who had been Wisner's aide in the early 1950s. 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. ", He didnt take it well. Frank Wisner killed himself with one of his son's shotguns on 29th October, 1965. He had upset the US government by nationalizing Iran's oil industry. Hoover also passed to McCarthy details of an affair that Wisner had with Princess Caradja in Romania during the war. Four months later he agreed to retire from the CIA. After graduating Wisner worked as a Wall Street lawyer. Arbenz now believed he stood little chance of preventing Castillo gaining power. By Nicholas Thompson. William (Rip) Robertson was also involved in the campaign against Arbenz. Wisner recruited Philip Graham (Washington Post) to run the project within the industry. Funded with money from the CIA and MI6, the pro-monarchy forces quickly gained the upper hand. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Brad finished and the lights went up. On April 4, 1953, Wisner persuaded Allen W. Dulles to approve $1 million to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh." Other journalists willing to promote the views of the CIA included 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). 1930 United States Federal Census. "The cable was from Des FitzGerald. Others like Stewart Alsop, Joseph Alsop and James Reston, were recruited from within the Georgetown Set. [12] Wisner is chair of the board of directors of The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.[13][14]. 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. In August, 1952, the Office of Policy Coordination and the Office of Special Operations (the espionage division) were merged to form the Directorate of Plans (DPP). Aid Groups Warn of "Secondary Disaster" as Death Toll from Turkey . (A separate Office of Special Operations conducted secret actions aimed solely at gathering intelligence.) 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. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. FrankWisner18791963Frank Wisnerin U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Frank Wisnerwas born on September 14 1879. With the help of George Kennan, the Office of Special Projects was created in 1948. 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). Hector (Rip Robertson) said only one, a courier . Wisner moved to Washington where he associated with a group of journalists, politicians and government officials that became known as the Georgetown Set. I suspect that had we known more (it would have just made us more appreciative.) [citation needed], Wisner married Mary Ellis 'Polly' Knowles (19122002) and they had four children: Elizabeth Wisner, Graham Wisner, Ellis Wisner, and Frank G. Wisner who entered into diplomatic service. Frank Wisner was constantly looked for ways to help convince the public of the dangers of communism. Nixon asked a number of questions, concise and to the point, and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the Guatemalan political situation. He was prescribed psychoanalysis and shock therapy (electroconvulsive treatment). He described the OPC as "Wisner's gang of weirdos" and began carrying out investigations into their past. After retiring from government service in 1997, Wisner joined the board at a subsidiary of Enron, the former energy company and served on the board of American International Group (AIG). It would nominally report to a senior State Department official. While its reductive to say the aftermath drove Wisner mad, its fair to say that it didnt help matters. February 1, 2011. By this time Operation Mockingbird had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. I myself was no great admirer of the Soviet Union, and I certainly had no expectation of harmonious relations after the war. The DPP now accounted for three quarters of the CIA budget and 60% of its personnel. Harrison E. Salisbury commented: "He (Wisner) was the key to a great many things, a brilliant, compulsive man, of enormous charm, imagination, and conviction that anything, anything could be achieved and that he could achieve it. In August, 1952, the Office of Policy Coordination and the Office of Special Operations (the espionage division) were merged to form the Directorate of Plans (DPP). Wisner told Clare Boothe Luce, the American ambassador in Italy: "All these people are getting killed and we weren't doing anything, we were ignoring it. He was so depressed that his wife, Polly, worried that he would try to commit suicide. Probably the most powerful of the Georgetown insiders was Frank Wisner, chief of covert operations for the C.I.A., and one of the most zealous of the anti-Communist crusaders who turned the agency . Wisner arrived in England in September, 1959. The New York Times reported that he was a personal friend of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. In 1950, the OPC was placed under the Central Intelligence Agency and renamed the Directorate of Plans. Wisner was also able to restrict newspapers from reporting about certain events. Afterward, he obviously wasnt equipped to go back to the Directorate of Plans, so he was made the station chief in London. Wisner left Bucharest in the last week of January 1945.[6]. 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. 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. Under this innocuous title, the United States was now fully in the business of covert political operations. Wisner found one of his boys' shotguns and killed himself on October 29, 1965. For months, waves of airborne spies in mission after mission landed, and each was killed straightaway. 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 told Clare Boothe Luce, the American ambassador in Italy: "All these people are getting killed and we weren't doing anything, we were ignoring it. Wisner's death saddened but did not shock his colleagues. A decision was reached to create an organization within the CIA to conduct secret political operations. It has been estimated that between January and June, 1954, the CIA spent about $20 million on Castillo's army. In July 19, 1954, he created the National Committee of Defense Against Communism and decreed the Preventive Penal Law Against Communism to fight against those who supported Arbenz when he was in power. Khrushchev became increasingly concerned about these developments and on 4th November 1956 he sent the Red Army into Hungary. After the war, he headed the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), one of the OSS successor organizations, from 1948 to 1950. The lights were turned off while Brad used slides during his report. Its not like other countries were lining up to teach the United States the finer points of espionage, so those first CIA men had to be really smart or slightly crazy. Franklived in month1918, at address, Illinois. Frank Wisner killed himself with one of his son's shotguns on 29th October, 1965. 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. Wisner began having trouble with J. Edgar Hoover. "Incredible". Over the next few weeks riots took place in Poland and East Germany. It was a warm summer night. Later that year Wisner established Mockingbird, a program to influence the domestic American media. While the Guatemalan government valued $2.99 per acre, the American government valued it at $75 per acre. Wisner became head of this new organization and Richard Helms became his chief of operations. This included former members of the Nazi Party such as Gustav Hilger and Hans von Bittenfield. ANCExplorer Frank Wisner grave.jpg. The lighted shaft of the Washington Monument could be seen through the trees. The President strode from the room. However, in 1947, he was recruited by Dean Acheson, to work under Charles Saltzman, at the State Department's Office of Occupied Territories. 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. Wisner, one of the early members of the Central Intelligence Agency, helped build, and was the . It was a warm summer night. They were defiant and proud, but besieged. Two months later he moved on to Romania where his main task was to spy on the activities of the Soviet Union. He was a good sprinter and hurdler and in 1936 was asked to compete in the Olympic trials. Unlike most members of the Georgetown Crowd, Meyer now abandoned his liberal views. Market data provided by Factset. Faked photographs were distributed that claimed to show the mutilated bodies of opponents of Arbenz. Frank Wisner was brilliant, tortured, and a founder of American intelligence. 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. Frank G. Wisner, an ex-OSS man, was brought in from the State Department to head it, with a cover title of his own invention. 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 graduating Wisner worked as a Wall Street lawyer. Accepting that further resistance would only bring more deaths he announced his resignation over the radio. [8] Twelve B-17 Flying Fortress planes flew out the prisoners in hourly shifts. No senior gure of the time at CIA ever had anything to do with that organization. Wisner was a genteel lawyer from Mississippi who grew bored with office life and joined the Navy. After Pearl Harbor, he found himself in the Office of Strategic Services, where he spied behind enemy lines, eventually becoming head of OSS operations in southeastern Europe. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Mockingbird: The Subversion Of The Free Press By The CIA, DHS Now Spies on Journalists, Keeps Records of Online Activity, Guatemala: The Coup that Radicalised Che Guevara, Smoking Out Fox News Correspondent Mort Kondrackes DIA/PSYOP Roots, Joe Conason on Elizabeth Dilling Glenn Beck's Favorite Nazi, BuzzFeed: Secret CIA Files Say Staffers Committed Sex Crimes Involving Children, Israels Propaganda War Blame the Grand Mufti, Crimes against Humanity in Guatemala: How the CIA and the Pentagon Supported the Military Dictatorship, Islamic Army in Iraq Denies Media Reports that the US Killed 18 Al Qaeda Combatants, Accused Liberian War Criminal Charles Taylor 'Worked with the CIA' (Al Jazeera), The Role of the CIA: Behind the Dalai Lamas Holy Cloak. Guillermo Toriello appealed to the United Nations to help protect Guatemalan government. Jake Esterline was placed in charge of the CIA's Washington task force in the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala. 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. 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. He later claimed that Wisner had become obsessed with the Soviet Union: "He was already mobilizing for the cold war. Mrs. Wisner had gone to Chicago to visit with friends for a few days, taking her children with her.. If it gets near the coast of Guatemala we'll sink the son-of-a-bitch. ' Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. He was a good sprinter and hurdler and in 1936 was asked to compete in the Olympic trials. His army was outnumbered by the Guatemalan Army. In March 1945, Wisner was transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany. "Frank Wisner, Jr. was a big catch for Enron Corporation. You've averted a Soviet beachhead in our hemisphere." Feit Frank Visner aka Wisner or Vizner was born about 1857 in Cslav, Kutn Hora District, (Central Bohemian District), Bohemia, Austria. I myself was no great admirer of the Soviet Union, and I certainly had no expectation of harmonious relations after the war. Frank Wisner was the first American in, and this - you're talking August, September - I guess September of 1944. Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, was put in charge of what became known as Operation Ajax. [18], J. Edgar Hoover and U.S. He is the son of Frank Wisner, Sr., a man very well known at the CIA, who was the operational chief to conduct at least three coups d'tat--Arbenz in Guatemala, Mossadeq . The UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was so upset by the actions of the USA that he considered resigning from his post. 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 added that he felt personally betrayed by this behaviour. David Atlee Phillips was appointed to run the propaganda campaign against Arbenz's government. 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". Wisner and 21 OSS agents landed in Romania,[5] where he became head of OSS Bucharest. In 1976, at the beginning of the Carter administration, he served under Cyrus Vance as Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State. Over lunch in a glass-enclosed restaurant overlooking Central Park, they engage in verbal thrust and parry over the foreign policy issues of the day. If it gets near the coast of Guatemala we'll sink the son-of-a-bitch. ' 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 committed suicide. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. They were defiant and proud, but besieged. According to Nina Burleigh (A Very Private Woman) these journalists sometimes wrote articles that were commissioned by Frank Wisner. Wisner expected the United States would help the Hungarians. Faked photographs were distributed that claimed to show the mutilated bodies of opponents of Arbenz. 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. Wisner's friends believed the illness was triggered by the failure of the Hungarian Uprising. Such vague accusations as that "more than ten people have died mysteriously" can always be explained in some natural way e.g. Another project started by Wisner was called Operation Bloodstone. Frank Wisner, the father of American covert operations, was both. Khrushchev's de-Stalinzation policy encouraged people living in Eastern Europe to believe that he was willing to give them more independence from the Soviet Union. In 1954 Wisner arranged for the funding the Hollywood production of Animal Farm, the animated allegory based on the book written by George Orwell. Members are only revealed after their death - a wreath of black magnolias shaped like '7' is laid at the gravesite. Frank Wisner, Jr., had a more steady career in the State Department, was the ambassador in Egypt between 1986 and 1991. . Wisner was educated at the University of Virginia, where he received both a B.A. The plot against Arbenz therefore became part of Executive Action (a plan to remove unfriendly foreign leaders from power).