Suchergebnisse

Discussing a rarely researched aspect of the Cold War, this volume uses new material to examine how the United States trade embargo on the Soviet Union and communist China severed relationships with Europe, particularly focusing on Great Britain. In the late 1940s, the US government stopped nearly all exports to the entire Sino-Soviet bloc in the belief that it would hinder the expansion of Soviet and Chinese military potential. To continue receiving the US Marshall Aid, European countries had to impose similar bans, but were reluctant because their trade links with the USSR and its

This book traces the history of Australia's highly secret Intelligence Security Organisation. Established in the early days of the Cold War, like most intelligence organisations working under covert conditions, it exceeded the vague powers entrusted to it. It has been the subject of two Royal Commissions in Australia and in recent times several acts of Parliament have been passed in order to make it more accountable to Australia's government and its citizens

"Using new archive materials to examine an aspect of the Cold War rarely discussed elsewhere, this volume follows the details of these trade negotiations and analyses the conflicts arising between the Europeans and the US administrations over the US restrictions of their commercial operations."--Jacket

This book traces the history of Australia's highly secret Intelligence Security Organisation. Established in the early days of the Cold War, like most intelligence organisations working under covert conditions, it exceeded the vague powers entrusted to it. It has been the subject of two Royal Commissions in Australia and in recent times several acts of Parliament have been passed in order to make it more accountable to Australia's government and its citizens.

The Fifth Column in World War II: Suspected Subversives in the Pacific War and Australia. By Robert Loeffel (Houndsmill: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), pp. x + 219, £60.00 (cloth).

The USA persuaded its European allies under the terms of the Marshall Plan to agree to embargo exports to the Soviet bloc in 1947 and to the PRC when it was established in 1949. This ban took the form of an East/West trade war and literally banned the export of everything from needles to anchors. As the West invented new technology such as coaxial telephone cable or scientific instruments, these were embargoed, although the Soviets were able to develop their own versions of those products. The Americans were early developers of the electronic computer, supported greatly by extensive sales to the military. The British looked to sell their computers in external markets, including the Soviet bloc and China. The Americans objected, but their officials did not wish to alienate the British from continuing to support the East/West trade embargo and allowed a small number to be sold. US support for such sales was important because the British machines contained some essential US equipment. The Wilson government sought to expand the development and export of British high technology, including computers. This article highlights the tension between Britain and the USA, particularly under the Nixon administration, over how the British computer firms struggled to obtain sales in the communist countries.

In March 1948, Sir Percy Sillitoe, Director-General of M15, flew to Australia to inform its Prime Minister, J.B. Chifley, that a spy ring had been detected operating out of the Soviet embassy in Canberra. The details Sillitoe produced were vague and no suspect could be arrested. Then chaos broke out. The Pentagon banned all information flowing to Australia: Australian/British/US relations became strained: the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) was established under the aegis of M15, but it failed to placate the USA; and the Chifley government lost the subsequent elections. What was behind these espionage sensations? The defection of the KGB man in Canberra, Vladimir Petrov, in 1954 was expected to produce the insider's exposé on local spying and although suspected spies were paraded, nothing happened. Then in 1996, everything was made clear. The US National Security Agency (NSA) released the Australian Venona papers, comprising the decrypted Soviet cables detailing the operation of this 1940s spy ring. They had been sealed in the NSA's most secret archives for 50 years to avoid compromising all Sigint (Signal intelligence) work. The exploration of these events by Australian historians has hitherto been handicapped by a lack of knowledge about the detail of this missing intelligence dimension. The revealing of that secret now provides the opportunity for these disjointed events to be viewed in their proper Cold War perspective. This article analyses the events from the aspect of what was known before the Venona releases and what can now be known of those same events.