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(JFK - Berlin - 1963 - Bringing the message to the worlds largest group of shut-ins)

With the Cuban Missile Crisis a fresh memory only eight months earlier, President Kennedy toured Europe in the summer of 1963 and stopped in Berlin on June 26, 1963 to address a crowd of over 150,000 against the ominous backdrop of the Wall that divided the two Berlins.

"Today the proudest boast is, Ich Bin ein Berliner"

The day before, Kennedy spoke at the Assembly Hall in Frankfurt and offered a similar message.

Kennedy: “For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”

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All in all, JFK did much to bolster the confidence of the German people, in light of the increased Cold War posturing going back and forth in the divided city. Still, it wasn't until 26 years later that the Wall would finally come down.

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(The Berlin Wall - so after 28 years of grief, death and terror, it's over in a few minutes.)

With the relaxation on travel restrictions between East and West Germany, it was only a matter of time before the wall dividing the two Berlins became impractical and a relic of the Cold War. But the speed with which the change occurred took the rest of the world by surprise. As the day wore on and as reports came in as fast as they happened, it was slowly becoming apparent to the rest of the world that the Iron Curtain indeed was evaporating.

Mike Pulsiver (CBS News): "Witnesses are quoted as saying they have seen East German soldiers dismantling a section of the Berlin Wall as an incredible story keeps unfolding at breakneck speed."

The irony was, after so many years of a seemingly impregnable wall dividing the city and the endless attempts to escape to the West and the loss of life that happened during those attempts, the fact that the wall came down so quickly seemed ironic and in some ways strange. But the people of Berlin seized the moment and it became one huge party. The past was gone and there was no turning back.

As a bonus for our German friends, or those of you who want to brush up on your German, I've included a several news reports from German Radio from November 9-11, 1989. They are separated by a few seconds of silence between cuts.

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The clips go as follows:

1. Press Conference with Gunter Schabowski, DDR
2. Radio report
3. Radio DDR – 3 am news
4. Berlin Radio
5. SFB Radio – 8 am news
6. Comments by Walter Momper from Bonn
7. Jugenradio DT 64 – News 5pm.
8. Willy Brandt address
9. Address by Egon Krenz

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(East Berlin 1953 - Getting to be an all-too-familiar image: Rocks vs. Tanks)

As the Cold War trudged on during the 1950s, there were a few uprisings that became wrinkles in the Iron Curtain. One was the East Berlin riots that began in June of 1953. They were quickly joined by other disturbances around East Germany, with a few cities in the Eastern Bloc joining in. They were quickly extinguished but gave the West a glimpse that not all was as it was portrayed to be. As these newscasts from June 17-23rd attest.

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(Willy Brandt, 1961 - You'd chain smoke too if you had the Russian Army staring at you all day)

Since next week signals twenty years since the infamous Berlin Wall came down, I thought I would post a few items dealing with Germany during the Post-War years. Talk of reunification had been going on since 1946, with the Russians vehemently opposed to it at every opportunity. There had been showdowns between east and west at various times all the way up to November 9, 1989. Always Berlin was perceived as the flash point in any heating up of the Cold War and life in Berlin was regarded by many as life under a heated microscope.

But before August of 1961 there was no wall separating the two Berlins. Only miles of barbed wire fence and checkpoints and troops.

Willy Brandt had the dubious distinction of being Mayor of West Berlin during this time. It was certainly no easy task.

On March 12, 1961, Brandt sat down to a panel interview on Meet The Press and asked about the situation as it currently was in Berlin.

Stewart Hensely (UPI): “Mister Mayor, Soviet Premier Khruschev a few weeks ago sent a communication to Chancellor Adenauer which he restated the demands on Berlin and Germany. This came after a period of relative quiet. Do you anticipate that this Spring or this Summer we’re going to see another increase in pressure on Berlin to bring a crisis as we had in ’58 and ’59?”

Brandt: “It’s hard of course to predict what will happen, but personally I’m inclined to believe that we will not have a new Berlin crisis within the next few months. But the memorandum indicates that new pressure might come sometime later this year.”

Prophetic words from Brandt, since less than five months later the Russians constructed a vast and inescapable wall, dividing the two Berlins. Frequently referred to as "The Wall of Shame", it stood in mute testimony to just how tenuous peace was. And it stood there for 28 more years.

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(Budapest on November 4 - Waking up to smell the sulfur)

Just when the world thought the Cold War wasn't going to get any colder, this happens. Only twelve days earlier, Hungary went through something of an upheaval with anti-Soviet riots springing up all over the country and a return to power of Imre Nagy (pronounced: Imray Nahj), the moderate who was ousted by pro-Soviet Premier Andras Hegedus in 1955.

So on the morning of November 4th, 1956 when you fell out of bed, it sounded like this:

Bob Pfeiffer (CBS News announcer): “ The latest word from Budapest is that Soviet armored forces seized Budapest in a surprise attack today and captured the government of Premier Imre Nagy. According to communications from Vienna the last words at 8:24 am from the . . .one of the news bureaus in Vienna was – ‘we shall leave our post, we shall leave our post’, according to the Budapest operator ‘goodbye friends, goodbye friends. God save our souls, the Russians are too near’. And then the line from Budapest went dead. Repeating – the Soviet armored forces seized Budapest in a surprise attack today and captured the government of Premier Imre Nagy.”

The Russian army quickly captured Budapest and within days the revolt was crushed and the pro-Soviet hardline regime of Janos Kadar was installed. Hungary would slip back into the Soviet Bloc and not really re-emerge until the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years later.

At the time the situation was worrisome as it came hot on the heels of a number of violent clashes in 1956 - the Suez Canal crisis, the Algerian conflict and the anti-communist riots in Poland. It also came at a time when Russia, under the leadership of Nikita Khruschev, was denouncing the Stalin regime and the hope was the new leadership would reflect a moderation on the hardline policies of the past.

No such luck.

Oh . . .the fabulous fifties.

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(Class of '78 - Voted Most Likely To Succeed)

Another case of history repeating itself. We all like to think the troubles in Afghanistan began in December 1979, when Soviet troops massed on the Afghan border and invaded.

Nope, 'fraid not. It actually got started in 1973 with the initial overthrow of the monarchy, during a staged coup when the King was in Italy having eye surgery. But that's another report (as soon as I dig up the tapes). That particular coup was given support by the Russians (and the U.S. it should be noted) in the area of arms and ideology, the regime under Muhammad Daud having distinct Marxist leanings. It was in April of 1978 when another coup was staged, overthrowing the Daud regime which got the Russians attention that led to the 1979 invasion.

The breakdown goes a little like this:

With Muhammad Daud's death, the government of Afghanistan was run by a divided, dilettante Marxist clique that launched a train of events eventually leading to the disintegration of the state. They named their regime the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).

Continue reading »

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(Ode To The Eternal Bogeyman)

A little history - this time it's August 1949. Sixty years ago and the world, aside from the personalities, hairstyles, customs and technology is just about the same.

Only then it was corruption in Government (the Five Percenters), Free German Elections, Voice of America versus Radio Moscow, China, Polio, The Voodoo Murder Case, Herbert Hoover, John Barrymore and the Vanishing World of Burlesque.

It is probably all quaint by comparison, a curio of a deep-distant past. Most, if not all the people whose voices you hear are gone. The situations completely forgotten, and never brought up in any conversation.

Why is any of this important or even worth the half-hour it takes to listen to this? In each of these stories is some shred of what we're about today, this moment. Fear and apathy, for two, are with us constantly. In 1949 they took the form of the Soviet Union and The Red Scare. Today it's fear of the unknown - fear we won't get what we want and fear we will lose what we have. Fear based on someone telling us we should be fearful, but not knowing exactly why.

At least in 1949 you could point your finger directly at Russia and lay all blame on them. Today it's not so easy - the lines are intentionally blurred, the causes complex. People who should know better don't and people who don't know are blind and scared.

Strangely, it was always this way.

Even 60 years ago.

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(C. Douglas Dillon - bringing the date to the prom)

With the recent news of Sec. of State Clinton's defense pact with Colombia, I was thinking about how our foreign policy has been something of a hit-and-miss situation with regards to Latin America in recent years.

Historically, Latin America has always seemed like the girlfriend you had under the bleachers but never took to the prom (h/t Susie!) - someone you needed in a pinch, but never took very seriously. We had the Good Neighbor Policy during World War 2 and the Alliance for Progress during the Cold War. Both overtures were made out of fear. Certainly fear the Axis would establish a beach head during World War 2 and definitely a fear of Cuba's close association with the Soviet Union during the Cold War would lead to a communist sweep of the Southern Hemisphere.

We have usually always pledged undying love and support but only in crisis - not on the day-to-day. Because of that, I don't think the average American really knows anything about the vast expanse of land just south of us - nothing about the people, the culture, the politics. We know all about the drugs, immigration and NAFTA - but nothing of the inner-workings of a continent so close to us. And that is ultimately our problem.

So, in an effort to put some historic perspective on what we do overseas - not only in Latin America but Africa and the rest of the world, I'm going to regularly include some of our Foreign Policy issues of the past so hopefully some light can be shed on what we need to do if we're planning on staying the super-power we so much like being. On top of that, ignorance of your culture and the world not only isn't cool - it's dangerous.

Here is a Press conference from August 22, 1961 featuring Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon, giving an outline of the events at the Punta del Este Conference in Uruguay.

C.Douglas Dillon: “No matter how good their intentions, no matter how much national effort is brought to bear upon their enormous problems, the leaders of Latin America cannot translate their ambitious plans and dreams for their peoples into reality without financial and technical assistance from the United States. And on the long term basis, which is indispensable to sound programming. We must recognize the questions about the future of the Alliance for Progress are not our prerogative alone. They’re also being asked in Latin America about us, about our intentions, about our capacity to help make The Alliance for Progress a success. These questions were raised in open meeting at Punta del Este by the representative of the Castro regime. Who boasted that only their monolithic form of statism could produce progress."

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(Khruschev and Nixon in Moscow - the Revere Ware took backseat)

It was this day, fifty years ago that the Cold War became something of a pissing contest between Vice-President Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev.

It all started at the Moscow Fair on July 24, 1959 during a tour of a model kitchen, put together as an example of the typical American home by The State Department.

It quickly dissolved into a shouting match over who had the better advances in technology, even down to kitchen appliances.

It all pointed out how volatile our relationship was with the Soviet Union - how we could agree on literally nothing, and how adamant each side was portraying each other as backward and neanderthal.

Still, it made for good copy and every newspaper and magazine in the world had pictures of Nixon and Khruschev flailing arms around - all for the sake of a washer/dryer combination.

Typical of their exchange:

Nixon: "You won't conceded anything, will you?"

Kruschev: "We too, as you know, don't kill flies with our nostrils!"

Back when the Cold War became just a little bit funny.

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(Coined the phrase "Massive Retaliation" - Ike ran with it)

Fifty years ago this week, former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles died after a two-year bout with cancer. Largely credited as the architect of America's Cold War Policy, Dulles wasn't a big believer in negotiation as a way to deal with the Soviet Union, but rather a staunch believer in nuclear options as a deterrent. His brother, Allen was one of the first directors of the Central Intelligence Agency and with tacit encouragement of John instituted many policies which are still in use today in the area of surveillance.

The clips I ran across are a series of tributes broadcast from May 26-28, 1959 by conservative far-right columnist and commentator Fulton Lewis Jr. Lewis made no apologies about his undying love for Dulles and these broadcasts take fawning and demigodery to new heights. Lewis was an ardent anti-communist and supporter of Joe McCarthy, once referring to Arthur Miller as "That pinko playwright" in one of his broadcasts. His popularity flourished in the 1950's as a result of his brand of "folksy wingnutery"over the Mutual Radio Network.

Lewis was not alone in his anti-liberal rants. A further indication the media was never the bastion of left-wing thought as many would have us believe.

In any event, after Dulles' passing, a general thaw was beginning in our East-West relationships, only to be re-frozen when the U-2 incident came to light - a policy instituted by Dulles and continued despite claims to the contrary.

Old habits are just hard to break I suppose.

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(It seemed like a great idea at the time)

Twenty years ago this month, hot on the heels of Glasnost and Perestroika within the Soviet Union, Chinese students tried for the same thing - a reform of government, an idealogical shift from hardline Mao-styled Communism to a more democratic approach, a relaxing of rigid policies and a free exchange of ideas and enterprise.

It was a little like a movement in the former Czechoslovakia twenty years before that. Prague Spring in 1968 and the liberal experiment of Alexander Dubcek. The climate in the Soviet Union was different that time, and the movement was quickly extinguished.

But it was thought since the mood had changed so much in the Soviet Union in those twenty years, why couldn't the mood change in China as well?

Lofty expectation but sadly, no. Or not in 1989 anyway.

Here are some clips from May 13-15 1989. As the confrontation wears on into June, I will add those to give some sort of timeline sense to the events that took place.

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Rep. Paul Broun, R-GA, was on Fox and Friends yesterday touting his proposal to have Congress officially designate 2010 "The Year of the Bible", and he had an interesting rationale for it:

Broun: Well, it's all about freedom, actually. The Bible was the basis of our laws, it was the basis of the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence -- the Bible was the founding source.

Hmmmmm. Well, some of us have heard otherwise, but OK, whatever.

You may remember Rep. Broun. Last November he won lots of friends on both sides of the aisle and in the White House when he warned that Obama was preparing a Hitler-like dictatorship with his civilian-youth-corps proposal: "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did ... When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist."

Broun is, of course, asking President Obama to issue this proclamation. And what will Obama achieve by issuing it?

Broun: The Bible was the basis of our nation. And as we look to the future, and as we deal with our economic problems, as we're stealing our grandchildren's future, we need to look at the principles that were taught Biblically. When our Founding Fathers established this country, they established it on freedom. That's what the Bible teaches. Every single one of our laws are based on the Biblical precepts. And we need to turn back to those precepts if our country's going to be strong and great again.

It's absolutely critical for us to understand what freedom's all about, what our own responsibility is all about, and what government's function within our society is supposed to be. And we have forgotten that in Washington. We are heading down a road that's going to destroy our nation. We are headed toward a total government control of everybody's lives -- a loss of freedom, a loss of our money, a loss of our private property -- and it's extremely critical now for us to go back to those foundational principles that this country was founded upon.

That's the reason a proclamation of "The Year of the Bible" will help people understand what the importance of those, um, principles are all about as we go forward to make our nation secure, free, and great again.

Oh. OK. So you want President Obama to issue this proclamation so right-wing nutcases like yourself can hijack the entire text of the Bible to promote your teabagging brand of politics. Whose entire purpose is to undermine the agenda of both the president and the Democratic Congress.

Right. Well, lots of luck with that, Rep. Broun.

You can't make this stuff up.

(Made Three Mile Island look like a picnic)

Right after posting my week-long report on Three Mile Island, I was asked by a number of readers to also add Chernobyl (as well as Love Canal and Bhopal) to the mix of historic disasters brought on by human error.

Without a doubt, Chernobyl is one of the worst examples of a wrong switch flipped. With a continuing death toll twenty-three years later and an entire city abandoned, it gives pause to the argument that Nuclear energy is completely safe. It is the consideration that always needs to be brought into the equation, and very often isn't.

This is not to advocate abandoning Nuclear power as an energy source. It is to advocate, as with all new technologies that have capabilities of great good as well as great harm, balance and diligent safeguards and realize things can always go terribly, terribly wrong.

Here is a very interesting photo essay on Chernobyl and the aftermath twenty years after.

Look at the photos and imagine any one of a number of cities you know.

(Howard K. Smith, Daniel Schorr, Charles Collingwood, Eric Severeid, Ernest Leiser, David Schoenbrun discuss Berlin)

"If, at this conference we could make a beginning toward relaxing the tension then, as they believe, in diplomacy as in forestry that great oaks from little acorns grow, perhaps we could plant an acorn at this conference."- Charles Collingwood.

On the eve of the G-20 Summit in London, I was thinking back on previous summits, back when there was a Cold War. Before The Soviet Union dissolved, everything that seemed to go wrong in the world after 1945 was either directly or indirectly attributed to the goings on of The Evil Empire. The ever-present threat of Communism seemed to be the one glue that held most of Europe and the Western Hemisphere together. It was the one fear that held everything else in check. All out nuclear war was never far away from peoples minds, and the threat of total annihilation made for many sleepless nights.

And so it was this particular Summit Conference, held over the question of Germany, or to be specific, West Berlin that drove all the Super Powers to the negotiation table. The question of reunification was argued since the end of the War and would stay that way until well into the 1980's. And it was always the potential flash point for a crisis threatening to become World War 3.

So fifty years ago next month, on May 10 1959, the Geneva Conference of Foreign Ministers would begin, in another attempt to negotiate another Cold War strategy. Nothing was particularly accomplished, and whatever was achieved died the following year with the U-2 incident and the eventual building of the Berlin Wall. On the eve of the Conference, a panel of CBS News correspondents got together to discuss what lay ahead. It's interesting to compare journalistic skills then and now - how, even within a news organization there was no lock-step point of view, opinions ran the gamut.

Information, even in the relatively primitive days of the 1950's was considered important.

("It is far easier to make war than to make peace" - Georges Clemenceau - French Statesman, 1919)

2009 is the year for a lot of milestone anniversaries. The Moon landing in 1969, Tiananmen Square, the reunification of Germany, the first open elections in Glasnost-era Soviet Union and Solidarity's sweep to power in Poland - all in 1989. Pretty impressive year.

Post World War 2 has always been a fascination with me. Certainly the Cold War, the dissolving of former colonies and the emergence of Nuclear Superpowers were major factors in shaping Foreign Policy as we know it today. The role of Secretary of State became much more prominent during this time, probably more than any other in our history. George C. Marshall is mostly remembered as the author of The Marshall Plan and the system of Foreign Aid in helping rehabilitate countries devastated by the war.

But antagonisms between the Soviet Union and the former Allies began pretty much from the get-go, when the question of what to do about Germany came up.

Germany was unified in 1989 - it didn't happen overnight. Beginning in 1947, as this clip from Marshall's return from a failed London Conference points out, The Soviet Union was dead against any idea of unification. A stand which would eventually lead to the construction of the infamous Berlin Wall

The issue was simple - it was whether or not Germany was to continue divided, or whether the Allies could agree to recreate a unified Germany. Unless this could be achieved, all other questions relating to Germany would remain academic.