On Dulles brothers

From an interview with Stephen Kinzer author of a new book on Dulles brothers: "On the Dulles' ability to overthrow regimes in Iran and Guatemala but not in Cuba or Vietnam

They were able to succeed [at regime change] in Iran and Guatemala because those were democratic societies, they were open societies. They had free press; there were all kinds of independent organizations; there were professional groups; there were labor unions; there were student groups; there were religious organizations. When you have an open society, it's very easy for covert operatives to penetrate that society and corrupt it."

From another part of the interview:

On what's changed in the American mindset since the Dulles era

"Particularly in the reaction to the Syria bombing, I'm beginning to wonder if something profound isn't changing in the minds of at least some Americans.

"People are looking at each other and saying, 'I can't get a job and my leaders are telling me I should be focusing on fixing Syria.' I think the disconnect that that represents is slowly dawning on some Americans. Maybe we finally are burying John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles."

One reader comments "I wish the last statement of the story resonated with me as there would be nothing better than for the American public to wake up in such a way.. Unfortunately it looks like the main reason for such an aversion to the Syrian bombing was that old "black man in the White House" story. The progressive people are against the war an mass while the war hungry found themselves in a conundrum: they would habitually embrace the war but their main tactic is to oppose ANYTHING Obama does. If the next President is another Republican we will likely see the reverse course of this trend, I am sorry to say."