The cia and the soviet bloc book review

The Central Intelligence Agency was established by Harry S Truman after World War II and it soon provided covert political and paramilitary support to further US foreign policy Strengthened by President Eisenhower by the early 1950s under the command of Allen Dulles the CIA was actively overthrowing governments notably Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran in 1953 and President Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala in 1954 The Agency was less effective in Eastern Europe however where the Soviet Union had established control despite opportunities for US intereference such as the East German riots in 1953 and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Here Stephen Long challenges the accepted view that the US believed in a post World War II ordering of Europe which placed the East outside an American sphere of influence He argues instead that disorder prevailed over design in the planning and organization of intelligence operations during the early stages of the Cold War and that the period represents a missed opportunity for the US during the Cold War. The cia and the soviet bloc book review Featuring new archival material and a new approach which seeks to unpick the relationship between the CIA the US government and the Soviet Union The CIA and the Soviet Bloc sheds new light on espionage the Cold War US diplomatic history and the history of twentieth century Europe The CIA and the Soviet Bloc Political Warfare the Origins of the CIA and Countering Communism in Europe Library of Modern American History This book details the bureaucratic struggles of the US in setting up and conducting political warfare in the Soviet Bloc during the early years of the Cold War The book got a bit bogged down in acronyms but has some interesting accounts of bureaucratic infighting the political dimensions of covert action and the unintended consequences of seemingly small policy choices I recommend the book to those interested in the history of the US intelligence community cold war scholars and those interested in covert intelligence operations The CIA and the Soviet Bloc Political Warfare the Origins of the CIA and Countering Communism in Europe Library of Modern American History