Project FF

Last updated

Project FF or Fat Fucker was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) project aimed at pressuring King Farouk of Egypt to make political reforms that would lessen the likelihood of violent political change in the country contrary to American interests. The government of the United States was concerned that the ever-increasing political instability in Egypt, much of it linked to the perceived corruption and incompetence of both the royal court and the traditional political establishment, would inevitably result in the toppling of the Egyptian government if not remedied. In particular, they feared the prospect of a partial or full communist takeover. The project was masterminded by CIA Director Allen Dulles, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, CIA operative Kermit "Kim" Roosevelt Jr., and CIA Station Chief in Cairo Miles Copeland, Jr. [1] [2] [ page needed ] [3]

The historian Matthew F. Holland wrote, "Kim's idea was to orchestrate 'peaceful revolution' in Egypt to replace the corrupt political system in Egypt with a progressive dictatorship under the king that would be more amenable to American control. Copeland had unofficially named the operation 'Project FF', the 'FF' unflatteringly standing for 'fat Fucker'." [4]

However, the unwillingness of Farouk to change eventually caused the project to move to support his overthrow. Roosevelt secretly met with the Free Officers Movement, [4] a group of nationalist revolutionaries in the army of Egypt and Sudan that was opposed to the monarchy and to the United Kingdom's continuing military presence in the country. [5] The Free Officers, led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, had already been planning to overthrow Farouk, and launched their revolution with a coup d'etat against the King on 23 July 1952. [6] [7] Miles Copeland stated that the US [8] provided support for the revolutionary government to be "coup proof" and helped in establishing the new General Intelligence Agency (Al-Mukhabarat el Aam), modelled after the American Central Intelligence Agency, as well as German advisors who had served in German military intelligence, including the Abwehr, to create the new security apparatus. [9]

Project FF was used as a blueprint for the following year's Operation Ajax, the CIA role in the coup backed by the Americans and the British in Iran against the democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul-Karim Qasim</span> Prime Minister of Iraq from 1958 to 1963

Abdul-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli al-Zubaidi was an Iraqi military officer and nationalist who came to power in 1958 when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown during the 14 July Revolution. He ruled the country as the prime minister until his downfall and execution during the 1963 Ramadan Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1953 Iranian coup d'état</span> Coup to depose the elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh

The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état, was the U.S.- and British-instigated, Iranian army-led overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the autocratic rule of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on 19 August 1953, with the objectives being to protect British oil interests in Iran after its government refused to concede to western oil demands. It was instigated by the United States and the United Kingdom. This began a period of dissolution for Iranian democracy and society whose effects on civil rights and injustice are prevalent to this day.

United States intervention in Chilean politics started during the War of Chilean Independence (1812–1826). Since then the influence of United States in both the economic and the political arenas of Chile has been significant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kermit Roosevelt Jr.</span> American intelligence officer (1916–2000)

Kermit "Kim" Roosevelt Jr. was an American intelligence officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services during and following World War II. A grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, Roosevelt went on to establish American Friends of the Middle East and then played a lead role in the CIA's efforts to overthrow Mohammad Mosaddegh, the democratically elected Majlis-appointed prime minister of Iran, in August 1953.

Blowback is the unintended consequences and unwanted side-effects of a covert operation. To the civilians suffering the blowback of covert operations, the effect typically manifests itself as "random" acts of political violence without a discernible, direct cause; because the public—in whose name the intelligence agency acted—are unaware of the effected secret attacks that provoked revenge (counter-attack) against them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project FUBELT</span> 1970–1973 CIA operations in Chile to suppress Salvador Allende

Project FUBELT is the codename for the secret Central Intelligence Agency operations that were to prevent Salvador Allende's rise to power before his confirmation and to promote a military coup in Chile. This project came after the circumstantial failure of Track I, which involved making president Eduardo Frei Montalva interfere with the 1970 national election in opposition to Allende.

Robert "Bob" Dreyfuss is an American investigative journalist and contributing editor for The Nation magazine. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Diplomat, Mother Jones, The American Prospect, TomPaine.com, and other progressive publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Copeland Jr.</span> American espionage agent, musician, and businessman (1916–1991)

Miles Axe Copeland Jr. was an American musician, businessman, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) founding member best known for his relationship with Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and his public commentary on intelligence matters. Copeland participated in numerous covert operations, including the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état and the 1953 Iranian coup d'état.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Egyptian revolution</span> Military overthrow of King Farouk

The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état and 23 July Revolution, was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952 the revolution began with the toppling of King Farouk in a coup d'état by the Free Officers Movement. This group of army officers was led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Revolution ushered in a wave of revolutionary politics in the Arab World, and contributed to the escalation of decolonisation, and the development of Third World solidarity during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt Jr.</span> American soldier, scholar, polyglot and CIA officer (1918–1990)

Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt Jr., the first grandson of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, was a soldier, scholar, polyglot, authority on the Middle East, and career CIA officer. He served as chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's stations in Istanbul, Madrid and London. Roosevelt had a speaking or reading knowledge of at least twenty languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14 July Revolution</span> Iraqi military coup in 1958

The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi military coup, was a coup d'état that took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq which resulted in the toppling of King Faisal II and the overthrow of the Hashemite-led Kingdom of Iraq. The Iraqi Republic established in its wake ended the Hashemite Arab Federation between Iraq and Jordan that had been established just six months earlier.

The United States (U.S.) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been involved in covert actions and contingency planning in Iraq ever since the 1958 overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy, although the historiography of Iraq–United States relations prior to the 1980s is considered relatively underdeveloped, with the first in-depth academic studies being published in the 2010s.

Central Intelligence Agency activities in Syria since the agency's inception in 1947 have included coup attempts and assassination plots, and in more recent years, extraordinary renditions, a paramilitary strike, and funding and military training of forces opposed to the current government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramadan Revolution</span> 1963 Baathist military coup in Iraq

The Ramadan Revolution, also referred to as the 8 February Revolution and the February 1963 coup d'état in Iraq, was a military coup by the Iraqi branch of the Ba'ath Party which overthrew the Prime Minister of Iraq, Abdul-Karim Qasim in 1963. It took place between 8 and 10 February 1963. Qasim's former deputy, Abdul Salam Arif, who was not a Ba'athist, was given the largely ceremonial title of President, while prominent Ba'athist general Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr was named Prime Minister. The most powerful leader of the new government was the secretary general of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, Ali Salih al-Sa'di, who controlled the National Guard militia and organized a massacre of hundreds—if not thousands—of suspected communists and other dissidents following the coup.

The March 1949 Syrian coup d'état was a bloodless coup d'état that took place on 30 March. It was the first military coup in modern Syrian history and overthrew the country's democratically-elected government. It was led by the Syrian Army chief of staff, Husni al-Za'im, who became president of Syria on 11 April 1949. Among the officers who assisted al-Za'im's takeover were Sami al-Hinnawi and Adib al-Shishakli, both of whom in sequence would later also become military leaders of the country. Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli, was accused of purchasing inferior arms for the Syrian Army and poor leadership. He was briefly imprisoned, but then released into exile in Egypt. Syria's legislature, then called the House of Representatives, was dissolved. al-Za'im also imprisoned many political leaders, such as Munir al-Ajlani, whom he accused of conspiring to overthrow the republic.

The Arab Cold War was a political rivalry in the Arab world from the early 1950s to the late 1970s and a part of the wider Cold War. It is generally accepted that the beginning of the Arab Cold War is marked by the Egyptian revolution of 1952, which led to Gamal Abdel Nasser becoming president of Egypt in 1956. Thereafter, newly formed Arab republics, inspired by revolutionary secular nationalism and Nasser's Egypt, engaged in political rivalries with conservative traditionalist Arab monarchies, influenced by Saudi Arabia. The Iranian Revolution of 1979, and the ascension of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as leader of Iran, is widely seen as the end of this period of internal conflicts and rivalry. A new era of Arab-Iranian tensions followed, overshadowing the bitterness of intra-Arab strife.

James Hugh Keeley Jr. was an American diplomat.

Since the 19th century, the United States government has participated and interfered, both overtly and covertly, in the replacement of many foreign governments. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. government initiated actions for regime change mainly in Latin America and the southwest Pacific, including the Spanish–American and Philippine–American wars. At the onset of the 20th century, the United States shaped or installed governments in many countries around the world, including neighbors Hawaii, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Salih al-Sa'di</span> Iraqi politician (1928–1977)

Ali Salih al-Sa'di was an Iraqi politician. He was General Secretary of the Iraqi branch of the Baath Party from the late 1950s until the November 1963 Iraqi coup d'état. From February 8, 1963 until the November 1963 Iraqi coup d'état, he was Deputy Prime Minister under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Minister of the Interior and as Commander of the National Guard.

References

  1. ↑ Wilford, Hugh (2013). America's great game: the CIA's secret Arabists and the shaping of the modern Middle East. New York: Basic Books. pp. 133–150. ISBN   9780465019656.
  2. ↑ Geoffrey Wawro, Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East. The Penguin Press, 2010.[ page needed ]
  3. ↑ Prados, John. Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA. Page 98. Retrieved on 27 June, 2024
  4. 1 2 Holland, Matthew F. (July 11, 1996). America and Egypt: From Roosevelt to Eisenhower. Praeger. p. 27. ISBN   978-0275954741.
  5. ↑ "Our Secret Agents, CIA report" (PDF). CIA.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Egyptian Military's Long Con Is Almost Complete". Vice News . Vice. March 26, 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Mubarak Lay Dying". The New Yorker. June 20, 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Mysterious Doings of CIA" (PDF). cia.gov. 6 November 1954. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2017.
  9. ↑ Copeland Jr., Miles Axe (1969). The Game of Nations. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 97–104. ISBN   9780297764168.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.