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Most accounts of Communist agents and sympathizers active in America during WWII and the Cold War focus on spying and espionage, but a new book reveals an even more more insidious Soviet strategy. Beginning with the New Deal era, hundreds of Stalin's henchman infiltrated FDR's administration and proved immensely effective in manipulating U.S. policy to favor Moscow. Previously unavailable documents reveal that Communist operatives were embedded in nearly every federal agency, often in key positions, The most famous Soviet agent of the era is probably Alger Hiss, later convicted of perjury. He was one of the few State Department officials present when Stalin, Churchill and a gravely ill FDR met at Yalta in 1945 to decide the fate of the millions affected by WWII. Contrary to accounts that portray Hiss as no more than a clerk, the diaries of FDR's secretary of state Edward Stettinius Jr. reveal that Alger Hiss had extensive access to diplomatic data on many issues, and was the de facto U.S. representative on many important points of negotiation at Yalta. Actually, negotiation is probably not the right word for what happened at Yalta, as Stalin got most everything he asked for, with no substantive concessions required of him. With the complicity of FDR and Churchill and the active support of Hiss, Stalin aggressively claimed the spoils of war, sealing the doom of much of Eastern and Central Europe, along with large parts of Asia. Though Polish independence was the very reason Western powers joined the fighting, half of Poland was turned over to Stalin, along with our ally China. Indeed, the fall of China to Communists in 1949 is largely attributable to the Yalta conference and the machinations of other Communists who worked with Hiss in the State Department. There is much more to the story, including an explanation of why federal law was changed to allow the hiring of Communist Party members, the retaliation against patriots who dared to object, and why Soviet operatives remained in federal positions even after being named by Communist defectors Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley. Even if you aren't a history buff, you will find that the book gives insight into the willful blindness of present-day federal officials regarding the threat of radical Islam. (Threshold Editions, 2012, 294 pp., $26) |
where they worked together to influence military, intelligence, and foreign policy. A few, including White House staffer Lauchlin Currie, advised President Roosevelt directly. Many worked in the Office of Strategic Services, the intelligence agency that was the precursor to the CIA. Tactics used by Red loyalists included controlling the flow of official information, using "disinformation" and propaganda to influence superiors, and in some instances making key decisions on their own.
