[0:14:23 - 0:14:30] The Korean War was underway. The
Soviets had tested their first atomic bomb, and China had fallen to communism.
[0:17:22 - 0:17:27] It was also about staying ahead in an existential battle with the
Soviet Union.
[0:18:02 - 0:18:07] In the 1950s, this meant undermining the
Soviets without direct confrontation.
[0:21:08 - 0:21:24] One memo involving CIA director Walter B. Smith highlights the National Security Risk posed by flying saucers, not just as unknown aerial threats, but as tools that could be exploited by the
Soviets to spread hysteria or disrupt air defense systems.
[0:25:32 - 0:25:37] Kissinger claimed this was outdated now that the
Soviets maintained their own substantial nuclear arsenal.
[0:26:54 - 0:27:04] Also contributing was George F. Kenan, just after writing his famous long telegram under the pen name X, which shaped Cold War policy of containing
Soviet communism.
[0:28:33 - 0:28:42] At the time, Rockefeller was serving as an adviser to President Eisenhower, tasked with countering
Soviet influence in psychological warfare and beyond.
[0:28:42 - 0:28:56] After Stalin's death in 1953, US officials worried about a
Soviet peace offensive aimed at undermining US military power, sewing discord among allies, and backing revolutionary movements in the developing world.
[0:39:49 - 0:39:55] Rockefeller and Eisenhower advisor led US efforts to counter
Soviet influence through strategic initiatives.
[0:51:39 - 0:51:46] And the whole China thing, the back channels with the
Soviets, Maumgren was Nixon's, like, you know, confirmation, you know, route.