Kinzer posits that these two men, very different in their mannerisms but perfectly aligned in their politics, exerted a strong influence on American foreign policy and squandered an invaluable opportunity to lead the world responsibly in the postwar era.ĭeeply researched and well-written, The Brothers demonstrates how the Dulles brothers contributed to three insidious dynamics that still plague American politics today. Kinzer’s eponymous brothers are John Foster and Allen Dulles, progeny of early 20th-century American elites who rose to power during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. Stephen Kinzer’s The Brothersoffers a powerful analysis of American arrogance and stupidity in the wake of World War II––one that is surely edifying even if it is also flawed.
As with slavery, Native American genocide, and many other homegrown atrocities, we must confront these unseemly aspects of our past in order to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Implanted in them from a very young age," Kinzer says.Anyone who takes an honest look at American history must grapple with our shameful record of foreign intervention. In their policy decisions: "They had this view of the world that was Terry Gross that the Dulles' shared background and ideology played out President Kennedy replaced Allen Dulles after theĬovert operation he recommended to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba endedĭisastrously in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. In his new book, The Brothers, Kinzer says the Dulles' actions "helped set off some of the world's most profound long-term crises."ĭulles died in 1959. Governments they thought unfriendly to American interests in Guatemala, Kinzer says the Dulles brothers shaped America's standoff with the State, and Allen Dulles director of the CIA.
President Dwight Eisenhower appointed John Foster Dulles secretary of In 1953, for the first and only time in history, two brothers wereĪppointed to head the overt and covert sides of American foreign policy.
0 kommentar(er)
