This military history offers a provocative take on the “Special Relationship” between the UK and the USA from the close of WWI into the Cold War. After the Great War, the American government contemplated what it would mean to pursue global superpower status. One potential consequence might have been conflict with Great Britain. And so, the US drew up War Plan Red: a scheme by which American forces invaded Canada and the Caribbean, drawing the Royal Navy into North American waters—and leaving the rest of the British Empire vulnerable to attack. In 1939, the American military created an intelligence-gathering machine within their Embassy in London under Ambassador Joe Kennedy. Two years later, the US Army Special Observer Group traveled to Britain to plan for Anglo-American cooperation should the United States enter World War II. Their intelligence-gathering activities spread out as far as the Middle East, Africa, South America, Russia, and Asia—far beyond the terms of the original brief. At the start of the Cold War, a whole new range of subterfuge was initiated by the CIA. So, were the Americans allies or spies? In this enlightening study, acclaimed military historian Graham M. Simons examines how two of history’s greatest allies could find themselves in bitter conflict.

After the Great War, there was much debate in the USA whether the country should isolate itself from ‘old world’ conflicts or follow an imperialist path and become the world’s only superpower. If the USA was to become a superpower, then conflict with Great Britain might result. Consequently, the US drew up War Plan Red. This was a scheme for the USA to invade Canada and the Caribbean which would draw the Royal Navy into North American waters where it would be destroyed. Without the Royal Navy, the rest of the British Empire would be vulnerable to American attacks. It became clear, however, as the decade wore on, that the Imperialists were not going to gain a clear-cut victory, so other means of achieving their aims would be needed. In 1939 the American military establishment created an intelligence-gathering machine within their Embassy in London under the Ambassadorship of Joseph Patrick Kennedy. Then in spring 1941, a small group of US Army officers traveled to Britain to plan for Anglo-American cooperation should the United States became involved in the Second World War. This was the US Army Special Observer Group, or SPOBS as it was commonly known. It is questionable whether the Military Attachés and SPOBS activities were ‘spying’, for they were operating – at least in the early days – with the full permission and knowledge of the British Government. Their intelligence-gathering activities spread out as far as the Middle East, Africa, South America, Russia and Asia – far beyond the terms of the original brief. It did not cease with the outbreak of peace – the advent of the Cold War between East and West brought forth a whole new range of subterfuge and behind-the-scenes activities by the CIA. So, were the Americans allies or spies? Certainly, the SPOBS bled Great Britain white of data and information, sending it all back to the War Department in Washington under the guise of helping. It was also a blueprint that America used in one form or another to ‘encourage’ regime change around the world through the seventy years or so after the Second World War and which continues to this day.

A humorous history of simmering tensions between the US and Canada from the War of 1812 to actual invasion plans drawn up by both sides. It’s known as the world’s friendliest border. Five thousand miles of unfenced, unwalled international coexistence and a symbol of neighborly goodwill between two great nations: the United States and Canada. But just how friendly is it really? In War Plan Red, the secret “cold war” between the United States and Canada is revealed in full and humorous detail. With colorful maps and historical imagery, the breezy text walks the reader through every aspect of the long-running rivalry—from the “Pork and Beans War” between Maine and Newfoundland lumberjacks, to the “Pig War” of the San Juan Islands, culminating with excerpts from actual declassified invasion plans the Canadian and US militaries drew up in the 1920s and 1930s.

In this riveting memoir, bestselling author Perkins details his former role as an economic hit man. This stunning, behind-the-scenes expos reveals a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe.

A wide-ranging study of developments in global French-language cinema

Publisher Description

An award-winning author tells the stories of the audacious American politicians, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers of other countries with disastrous long-term consequences.