Home > Allen Welsh Dulles

Dulles was active in the Office of Strategic Services in Berne, Switzerland during World War II. He worked on intelligence regarding GermanThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east plans and activities. Dulles's career was jump-started by the information provided by Fritz KolbeFritz Kolbe (operational alias George Wood (born 1900 to 1971) was a German diplomat who served as a spy against the Nazi regime for the United States during World War II. He refused to accept any payment for his activities because of his dislike for the, a German diplomat and a foe of the Nazis. Kolbe supplied secret documents regarding active German spies and plans regarding the Messerschmitt Me 262The Messerschmitt Me 262 ''Schwalbe (Swallow) was the first operational jet powered aircraft. It was mass-produced in World War II and saw action from late 1944 in bomber/reconnaissance and fighter/interceptor roles. German pilots nicknamed it the Turbo, jet fighter. After the war, Dulles became the first director of the newly-formed Central Intelligence Agency.

Under Dulles's direction the agency succeeded in its first attempts at removing foreign leaders by covert means. Notably, the elected Prime Minister Mohammed MossadeghMohammed Mossadegh ( Persian: ) ( May 19, 1882 March 4, 1967) was prime minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953. Mossadegh's name is sometimes spelled Mosaddeq or Mosaddegh (note the doubled "d"), the latter of which better reflects the original Persian pronun of IranIran ( Persian: ) is a Middle Eastern country located in southwestern Asia that until 1935 was referred to in the West as Persia''. It borders Pakistan (909km of border) and Afghanistan (936km) to the east, Turkmenistan (1000km) to the northeast, the Casp was deposed in 1953, and PresidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae "before" + sedere "to sit"). Originally, the term usually referr Abenz of Guatemala was removed in 1954. These covert operations constituted an important part of the Eisenhower administration's new Cold War national security policy known as the "New Look". Dulles has also been accused of promoting Operation Mockingbird, an alleged program with a goal to influence American media companies.

In March of 1953, Senator Joseph McCarthy began a series of investigations into potential communist subversion within the CIA. Although none of the investigations revealed any wrongdoing, the hearings were still potentially damaging, not only to the CIA's reputation, but to the security of sensitive information as well. At Dulles's request, President Eisenhower demanded that McCarthy discontinue issuing subpoenas against the CIA.

During the Kennedy Administration, Dulles faced increasing criticism. The failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, and several failed assassination plots (the majority of which also utilized CIA-recruited operatives from the Mafia and anti-Castro Cubans) directly against Fidel Castro undermined the CIA's credibility, and pro-American but unpopular regimes in Iran and Guatemala were widely regarded as brutal and corrupt. Dulles was finally fired by Kennedy for his part in drafting the audacious Operation Northwoods document, which called for the CIA to stage real or simulated attacks and frame Cuba for them, in order to gain popular support for a war with that country.

Dulles published the book The Craft of Intelligence (BooksEnthsiast.com) in 1963.

After the John F. Kennedy assassination President Lyndon Johnson appointed Dulles as one of seven commissioners of the Warren Commission. Despite his knowledge of the several assassination plots by the CIA against Castro, he is not documented to have mentioned these plots to any investigating authorities during the Warren Commission.

In 1969 Dulles died of influenza, complicated by pneumonia, at the age of 75.