Wisner’s postwar disaffection had deeper root than merely missing the action. First in Romania and then in Germany, he had been eyewitness to the Soviets’ repressive tactics in consolidating their grip over the local population. The American response, in the lawyer’s opinion, had run the gamut from energetic hand-wringing to fatalistic acceptance to tacit complicity. Like many in the intelligence community, he had been appalled by Truman’s decision to dissolve the OSS, regarding it as essentially clearing the field for the Soviets at one of history’s most crucial junctures.
