• bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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    5 months ago

    The Eisenhower administration used propaganda and covert action extensively, and the Central Intelligence Agency supported two military coups: the 1953 Iranian coup d’état and the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état.

    The Cuban Revolution broke out during Eisenhower’s second term, resulting in the replacement of pro-U.S. military dictator Fulgencio Batista with Fidel Castro. In response to the revolution, the Eisenhower administration broke ties with Cuba and Eisenhower approved a CIA operation to carry out a campaign of terrorist attacks and sabotage, kill civilians, and cause economic damage. The CIA also trained and commanded pilots to bomb civilian airfields. The CIA began preparations for an invasion of Cuba by Cuban expatriates, ultimately resulting in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion after Eisenhower left office.

    Oh and this one isn’t quite related but definitely interesting

    Eisenhower’s administration contributed to the McCarthyist Lavender Scare[223] with Eisenhower issuing Executive Order 10450 in 1953.[224] During Eisenhower’s presidency thousands of lesbian and gay applicants were barred from federal employment and over 5,000 federal employees were fired under suspicions of being homosexual.[225][226] From 1947 to 1961 the number of firings based on sexual orientation were far greater than those for membership in the Communist Party,[225] and government officials intentionally campaigned to make “homosexual” synonymous with “Communist traitor” such that LGBT people were treated as a national security threat.[227]

    Still he wasn’t the worst US president by a long shot, though they’re all pretty awful.