Operation Bloodstone

Operation Bloodstone was a covert operation whereby the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sought out Nazis and collaborators living in Soviet-controlled areas, to work undercover for U.S. intelligence inside the Soviet Union, Latin America, and Canada, as well as domestically within the United States.[1][2] Many of those who were hired as part of Bloodstone were high-ranking Nazi intelligence agents who had committed war crimes.

History

Operation Bloodstone was initially proposed by the U.S. State Department, and was approved by SANACC (the State, Army, Navy, Air Force Coordinating Committee) on June 10, 1948. In the initial stages of the operation, a brief paper identified these anti-Communist elements in non-Western hemisphere countries outside the Soviet orbit who "have shown extreme fortitude in the face of the Communist menace" and have "demonstrated the know-how to counter Communist propaganda and techniques to obtain control of mass movements."[3] Operation Bloodstone sought to tap these individuals who were "immobilized" due to lack of funds and a coordinated international movement. In July, SANACC expanded the operation to:[4]

comprise those activities against the enemy which are conducted by Allied or friendly forces behind enemy lines ... [to] include psychological warfare, subversion, sabotage, and miscellaneous operations such as assassination, target capture and rescue of Allied airmen.

By 1976, Operation Bloodstone was no longer a closely guarded secret, but an investigation revealed that two other highly classified programs were connected to it: Operation Paperclip and Alsos Mission.[5]

See also

• Counterintelligence Corps
• Operation Paperclip
• Operation Rusty
• Operation Sunrise (World War II)
• U.S. intelligence involvement with German and Japanese war criminals after World War II

References

1. Valentine, Douglas (2004). The Strength of the Wolf: The Secret History of America's War on Drugs. Verso. p. 100. ISBN 9781859845684.
2. Wilford, Hugh (2009). The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America. Harvard University Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 9780674045170.
3. Simpson, Christopher (2014-06-10). Blowback: America's Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy. Open Road Media. ISBN 9781497623064.
4. Gerolymatos, Andre (2010). Castles Made of Sand: A Century of Anglo-American Espionage and Intervention in the Middle East. Macmillan. p. 144. ISBN 9781429913720.
5. Dionisi, David J. (2011). Vigilant Christian II: Preventing an American Hiroshima. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781426993756.