Layout 8 - Winston Churchill

“Churchill exploited intelligence inall its guises as no other politicianbefore him—and certainly moreeffectively than either of his wartimeallies, Josef Stalin and FranklinRoosevelt. He left an indelible markon British intelligence, and theAnglo-American alliance owes morethan history acknowledges to hisfervent support.”CHURCHILL AND INTELLIGENCE...overseas asset. In 1951 Mossadeq nationalised this hatedsymbol of British imperialism and expelled its British technicians.The next year he kicked out all British diplomats.By 1953, London and Washington wanted to get rid ofhim. No one disliked him more than Churchill. As FirstLord of the Admiralty WSC had played a leading role innegotiating the Anglo-Iranian oil deal in the first place. Inprivate he mocked Mossadeq as “Mussy Duck.”The second actor was the head of the SIS in Iran, theHonourable “Monty” Woodhouse, later Tory MP forOxford. But he was more than that. In the Second WorldWar he’d been one of those brave young warriors fightingbehind enemy lines—in his case Greece, close to his andChurchill’s heart. In 1942 he’d helped blow up theGorgopotamos Viaduct carrying vital German supplies toNorth Africa. In 1944 he, too, had received a summons toChequers, where Churchill had taken a shine to him.Something else had happened while Woodhouse wasin England. Lunching with Anthony Eden, a fellow guestwas an attractive war widow named Davina Lytton. She wasthe daughter of the young woman who fifty years beforehad stunningly captured Churchill’s heart in India, PamelaPlowden. Romance again flourished, and Davina andMonty were soon married. “Our man in Teheran” had apersonal link with Churchill.The final actor was also well known to Churchill andhad a name resonant in the United States. Kermit Rooseveltwas a grandson to Theodore and cousin to Franklin. Heand Churchill had met at the White House Christmas partyin December 1941, and since then he’d risen high in theCIA. Now he was its field commander in Iran.The SIS and CIA concocted a joint plan to toppleMossadeq in a coup. In July 1953 Kermit Roosevelt secretlyentered Iran and, in several clandestine nighttime encounterswith the Shah worthy of any thriller, persuaded him tocooperate. In London, Woodhouse had several meetingswith Churchill. When a hesitant Anthony Eden, theForeign Secretary, fell sick, Churchill took over and gave thegreen light to the plot. In August, Teheran was convulsed incarefully-prepared rent-a-crowd riots and Mossadeq wasduly deposed.A week later a triumphant Kermit Roosevelt arrived atHeathrow Airport en route for Washington. SIS top brassgave him a splendid lunch at the Connaught Hotel beforehis final appointment of the day: Ten Downing Street.Characteristically defying his medical advisers, Churchillhad soldiered on since his stroke in June. Events in Teheranhad gripped his imagination. Learning that Roosevelt was inLondon, he demanded a personal account.At precisely 4 o’clock, Roosevelt rang the doorbell andwas ushered in by a military aide. Downstairs, in a receptionroom converted into a bedroom, he found the PrimeMinister, lying in bed propped up by pillows. Churchillgrunted a greeting, and Roosevelt sat down beside him. Thetwo men began with small talk and exchanged reminiscencesabout the White House Christmas Party. ThenRoosevelt launched on his tale, presenting the dramatichighlights in considerable detail. Churchill frequently interruptedwith questions and from time to time would dozeoff for a few moments, only to awake and grill theAmerican on a point of detail. For a full two hours the twomen talked.When Roosevelt had completed his account,Churchill grinned and shifted himself up on his pillows.“Young man,” he said, “if I had been but a few yearsyounger, I would have loved nothing better than to haveserved under your command in this great venture!”With this telling vignette I must take my leave ofChurchill. A warrior to the end, he’d exploitedintelligence in all its guises as no other politicianbefore him—and certainly more effectively than eitherof his wartime allies, Josef Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt. Heleft an indelible mark on British intelligence, which servedhim well both in peace and war during his fifty year politicalcareer. The Anglo-American intelligence alliance thatendures to this day owes more than history acknowledges tohis fervent support.The quest to understand the protean figure ofWinston Churchill grows, not diminishes, with the passageof time. As we peel away the layers of historical varnish, theportrait becomes ever richer and more complex. His adventuresin the secret world of intelligence make him an evenmore intriguing figure than we thought. ,FINEST HOUR 149 / 18