At one State Department meeting on Nasser of Egypt, Allen Dulles reportedly told a colleague, “If that colonel of yours pushes us too far, we’ll break him in half.” A man who could talk like that had real power. When, during the planning for the Guatemalan coup, one State Department official questioned the wisdom of a CIA-sponsored coup to Beetle Smith, the latter brought him up quickly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “Forget those stupid ideas and let’s get on with our work.”
