#012 - Jerryworld 7: Money, Pt. 1

Congressman Gerald R. Ford Jr. - once upon a time known as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. - is in the money. Not literally. Yet. But he’s moving major stacks for Uncle Sam. You see, with a maneuver of cunning and of sidling up to just the right power brokers, Jerry lands himself a seat on the much-coveted House Appropriations Committee in his first term in office. From rookie to MVP contender in the House. Not only that, but he’s also on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

This is another 2-parter; there’s just too much to cram into one ep. So, part 1 sets the stage and gives the context for Jerry’s rapid rise into the inner sanctum of power in the budding National Security State. The beating heart of the emerging US global empire spreading its reign over the rubble left in the wake of WWII.

We catch up with some of our “Horsemen” of the Fourth Reich, tracking them from the (twice) failed Dewey campaigns into a secluded perch nestled between the State Department and the newborn CIA, with roots firmly planted in the private sector. Their top priority was to integrate the remnants of Hitler’s Eastern-front intelligence apparatus into the American CIA. You see, the CIA was busy in the postwar period claiming its place atop the pyramid of Western intelligence, edging out the Brits who had been the Yankees’ faithful mentors heretofore… But the boys from Foggy Bottom (before the Langley HQ had even opened) had a secret weapon to propel them to the top of the Cold War hierarchy. We’re talking about the secret love between the CIA and the Nazi Gehlen Organization. In this episode, we introduce the figure of Reinhard Gehlen and, with the help of some old Dave Emory tapes, situate his role in shaping the Cold-War world.

While the horsemen and their boy Gehlen had a foot in the door by way of Frank Wisner’s Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), the election of Eisenhower and Nixon in 1952 handed them the keys to the kingdom. Ike’s cabinet was like a who’s-who of corporate CEOs and high priests of capital. We touch on some of the all-stars in Ike’s lineup, with special focus on John Foster Dulles - Secretary of State and mind-melded brother to CIA director Allen Dulles. Foster put an American spin on Gehlen’s extremist and alarmist worldview as he led the US into a global conflict on behalf of the owners of capital against national liberation movements disguised as a global battle against Soviet communism.

Things are getting dark, dear listener. So please put on your helmet flashlight, and let’s keep digging.