Interview · moment 5 of 23
Origins of the CIA and Allen Dulles's Nazi-Era Business Ties
from Dead President with Russ Baker · #125
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minGuest
Baker explains how Brown Brothers Harriman used Marines to protect banana plantation interests, then details the OSS's evolution into the CIA, Allen Dulles's law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, and their prewar business dealings with wealthy Germans who funded Hitler.
- 14:06When a country's political situation became unfavorable to U.S. business interests, the CIA got the military involved—Guatemala and banana plantations as examples.
- 14:17Tim points out this shocks people but happens all the time, citing U.S. military bases in 120-130 countries.
- 15:14Guest explains that peacetime intelligence gathering historically involved Americans abroad reporting to the State Department, unlike the OSS in World War II.
- 16:07Allen Dulles, longest-running CIA director, was a very close friend of Prescott Bush—George H.W. Bush's father.
- 16:32Tim asks what bonds guys like Dulles and Bush—certain understanding of how the country should work, or financial interests?
- 17:20After World War I, Sullivan and Cromwell handled major munitions manufacturers and owners of coal and mineral mines in Silesia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
- 17:41These same wealthy German and corporate interests funded Hitler, and the story gets complicated from there.
Alan DullesCIAPrescott BushWoodrow WilsonSullivan and CromwellOSSAdolf HitlerVersaillesGuatemalaLangley, Virginia