|
British Security Co-ordination (BSC) was a covert organisation set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in May 1940 upon the authorisation of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Its purpose was to investigate enemy activities, prevent sabotage against British interests in the Americas, and mobilise pro-British opinion in the Americas. As a 'huge secret agency of nationwide news manipulation and black propaganda', the BSC influenced news coverage in the ''Herald Tribune'', the ''New York Post'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', and Radio New York Worldwide.〔 The fictional stories disseminated from Rockefeller Center would then be legitimately picked up by other radio stations and newspapers, before being relayed to the American public. Through this, anti-German stories were placed in major American media outlets to turn public opinion. Its cover was the British Passport Control Office. BSC benefitted from support given by the chief of the US Office of Strategic Services, William J. Donovan (whose organisation was modelled on British activities), and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt who was staunchly anti-Nazi. ==Beginnings== The declaration of war upon Germany by the British in September 1939 forced a break in liaison between SIS and the FBI, due to the US neutrality policy. William Stephenson was sent to the US by the head of SIS to see if it could be rekindled to an extent that SIS could operate effectively in the US. While J. Edgar Hoover was sympathetic, he could not go against the State Department without the President's authorisation; he also believed that if so authorised, it should be a personal liaison between Stephenson and himself without other departments being informed. In the event Roosevelt did endorse the co-operation. The liaison was necessary because Britain's enemies were already present in the US and could expect sympathy and support from German and Italian immigrants but the authorities there had no remit nor interest in activities that were not directly against US security.〔''The Secret History of British Intelligence'' p.xxvi〕 Stephenson's report on the American situation advocated a secret organisation acting beyond purely SIS activities and covering all covert operations that could be done to ensure aid to Britain and an eventual entry of the US into the war. Stephenson was given this remit and the traditional cover of appointment as a 'Passport Control Officer' which he took up in June 1940. Although the existing setup in New York was lacking, in Stephenson could call upon his personal liaison with Hoover, the support of Canada, the British Ambassador, and his acquaintances with US interventionists. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「British Security Co-ordination」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|