WI: CIA assassinations in allied countries are leaked

I picked this premise up from a book. Basically, what if throughput the 50s-70s of the Cold War, the CIA actually performed assassinations on activists or politicians that were anti US in allied countries like France.

One particular assassination scenario in the book was this. During the 60s, several French politicians are campaigning to get US nukes and military bases of French soil. In response to this, Washington sends out some "specialists" to take care of these protesting politicians.

The specialists have the anti US movement politicians assassinated by making their deaths look like they were done by French revolutionaries or OAS and perform similar operations like this in other allied countries.

What if these assassinations were leaked during the Cold War and how would this affect relations between the US and allied nations? How would the Soviets use this to their advantage? What would happen to the CIA?
 
What if these assassinations were leaked during the Cold War and how would this affect relations between the US and allied nations?

The nonaligned movement just got a lot stronger. Depending on the severity (like if its conclusive evidence on a JFK scale killing), you'd assuredly see nukes pointed both directions. The trade and diplomatic recriminations could be especially nasty in some cases.

How would the Soviets use this to their advantage?

It's a huge propaganda victory, especially if it's before the JFK assassination.

What would happen to the CIA?

Probably disbanded or alternately, brought under the explicit control of the military.
 
There's no "what if" about it - the CIA WERE knocking off politicians and backing coup d'etats left right and centre until at least the 1970s.

The French demand to remove US bases and military out of France was due to CIA backed attempts on De Gaulle's life, so he pulled the French out of NATO and told the US to get out of France, prompting the US ambassador to enquire if he wanted the US war dead removed as well.

It was well into the 80s before the French rejoined NATO.
 
There's no "what if" about it - the CIA WERE knocking off politicians and backing coup d'etats left right and centre until at least the 1970s.

The French demand to remove US bases and military out of France was due to CIA backed attempts on De Gaulle's life, so he pulled the French out of NATO and told the US to get out of France, prompting the US ambassador to enquire if he wanted the US war dead removed as well.

It was well into the 80s before the French rejoined NATO.

In my experience, theories about the CIA being behind the plots against De Gaulle tend to be promoted by the kind of pseudo-leftists who think that Europeans are contstitutionally incapable of doing bad stuff unless the Yanks force them into it. And the evidence presented doesn't go much beyond "Well, De Gaulle was against American foreign-policy, so obviously, the CIA would want him dead."

That said, if it's not off-the-charts implausible to think that if right-wing French military officers would be willing to kill De Gaulle, it wouldn't be beyond the pale to think the same thing about right-wing CIA officers. What's your source for the CIA-OAS connection?
 

CalBear

Moderator
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There's no "what if" about it - the CIA WERE knocking off politicians and backing coup d'etats left right and centre until at least the 1970s.

The French demand to remove US bases and military out of France was due to CIA backed attempts on De Gaulle's life, so he pulled the French out of NATO and told the US to get out of France, prompting the US ambassador to enquire if he wanted the US war dead removed as well.

It was well into the 80s before the French rejoined NATO.
Oh you better have a PILE of peer reviewed documentation for this one.

Right now it looks like you are simply flogging a unsupported rumor as fact.
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
There's no "what if" about it - the CIA WERE knocking off politicians and backing coup d'etats left right and centre until at least the 1970s.

The French demand to remove US bases and military out of France was due to CIA backed attempts on De Gaulle's life, so he pulled the French out of NATO and told the US to get out of France, prompting the US ambassador to enquire if he wanted the US war dead removed as well.

It was well into the 80s before the French rejoined NATO.

Respectfully, you have been duped with this trash.
In addition, France never left NATO. They took their military forces out of the command structure underde Gaulle and rejoined that post 2000.
Where do you get your supposed information from?
 
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