08.01.20
IBM and the Bomb – Part III: IBM’s Watson Jr. Rose From Business V.I.P. to U.S. Ambassador in the Soviet Union During the Cold War (Which IBM Profited From)
Ever wondered why a nation spends trillions of dollars on nukes that are never used?
Wikipedia on business-politics overlap and conflict
Summary: Like his father, who was IBM‘s co-founder and later president of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which helped the Nazis, Watson Jr. entered US and international politics in his later days; recently-declassified documents show us his political legacy
IN our introduction and then in part 1 and in part 2 we highlighted a number of key findings, which are well supported by a number of independent sources, both in the press and the national archives (declassified as recently as a few years ago). IBM played a role in Cold War politics and it also profits to this very day from Cold War politics (armament and modernisation of nuclear stockpiles). IBM isn’t one of those cuddly, peace-loving companies that are mostly mythical; to make matters worse, IBM is among the very worst and it’s a problem to GNU/Linux because IBM controls Red Hat, OIN, the Linux Foundation (many existing and former IBMers are there), OASIS and so on…
I’ve never been against IBM per se; IBM did a lot for GNU/Linux, for OpenDocument Format (ODF) and so much more. This is a matter of public record and it is undeniable. In recent years, however, IBM also lobbied aggressively for patents on software. IBM did this not only in the US; it even did that in India and elsewhere. That’s imperial by nature. Imagine Chinese or Indian companies lecturing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the US Congress about how American law should be shaped. Sounds laughable, right? Well, never underestimate American exceptionalism.
In any event, IBM’s Watson Jr. (son of the founder, who had met Hitler and had profited from the Holocaust and eugenics when it was still 'hip') became a top-level politician. He literally represented the United States in Russia/USSR (Moscow) during the Cold War.
We’ve acquired and downloaded a bunch of documents, some of which more relevant to us than others.
As the following item, declassified 6 years ago, put it:
Here’s the text. They’re taking a private jet to Spain, where the US dropped several atomic bombs — hydrogen bombs even — by accident (and IBM then helped retrieve them over a decade earlier than Watson’s appointment):
1. (C – ENTIRE TEXT)
2. DEPARTMENT WAS JUST INFORMED THAT SENATOR AND MRS. CHARLES PERCY WILL VISIT SPAIN APRIL 18-27 ACCOMPANIED BY MR. AND MRS. THOMAS WATSON (FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, IBM) AND MR. AND MRS. ROBERT GALVAN (CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, MOTOROLA). THE PURPOSE OF THE VISIT IS TOURISM.
3. THE GROUP WILL ARRIVE IN MADRID ABOARD A PRIVATE PLANE AT 2200 HRS. APRIL 18 AND WILL STAY AT THE RITZ HOTEL THROUGH THE 22ND (MR. WATSON MAY NOT ARRIVE UNTIL THE 21ST) ON THE 23RD, THEY WILL STAY IN GRANADA AT THE ALHAMBRA PALACE, AND THE 24-27 IN SEVILLE AT THE HOTEL MACAREINA.CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIALSTATE 093437THEY PLAN TO RETURN DIRECTLY TO THE US ON APRIL 27.
4. THE DEPARTMENT HAS FURNISHED SOME UNCLASSIFIED BRIEFING MATERIALS TO SENATOR PERCY’S OFFICE. WE ALSO TOOK THE LIBERTY OF OFFERING THE GROUP AN EMBASSY BRIEFING DURING THEIR STAY IN MADRID. THEY HAVE NOT YET DECIDED WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE BRIEFING, BUT SENATOR PERCY IS EXPECTED TO REQUEST
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
A CALL ON THE AMBASSADOR.
5. BECAUSE OF THEIR CONCERN FOR PERSONAL SECURITY, THE GROUP DOES NOT WANT ANY PUBLICITY AND WOULD LIKE TO HOLD VERY CLOSE THE FACT OF THEIR VISIT.
6. POST WILL BE INFORMED OF ANY SPECIFIC REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM SENATOR PERCY OR THE OTHERS. CHRISTOPHERCONFIDENTIAL
NNN
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
There was also this trip to France (remember that Watson Junior's brother became a politician there after he had paid Nixon). As images:
The underlying text (what’s not redacted) speaks of a private jet again:
1. SENATOR PERCY’S TRIP IS PERSONAL. ARRIVING BORDEAUX
LATE SATURDAY, MAY 28. WILL TOUR BORDEAUX AREA MONDAY AND TUESDAY, LEAVING TUESDAY AFTERNOON MAY 31 FOR DIJON. SOMEONE THERE IS ARRANGING A TOUR OF THE BURGUNDY AREA.
SENATOR WILL ARRIVE PARIS THURSDAY, JUNE 2; STAYING AT THE RITZ HOTEL.
2. FRIDAY AFTERNOON JUNE 3, AT 3:30 HAS A MEETING SCHEDULED
WITH THE PRESIDENT OF FRANCE. LEAVING PARIS SUNDAY MORNING JUNE 5.
3. ACCOMPANYING SENATOR AND MRS. PERCY ARE:
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
PAGE 02 STATE 120755
MR. AND MRS. THOMAS WATSON, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF IBM, NOW CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF IBM; AND MR. AND MRS. ROBERT GALVIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MOTOROLA.
4. TRAVEL IS TOTALLY BY PRIVATE PLANE. MR. GALVIN IS ARRANGING THE TOUR.
5. PERCY REMAINS WILLING AND INTERESTED IN ANY ADDITIONAL
ACTIVITIES EMBASSY MAY FEEL USEFUL, AS SUGGESTED GAMMON-JENKINS TELECON MAY 13. VANCE
UNCLASSIFIED
NNN
Things became more interesting when Mr. VIP Watson started representing the US in deciding on issues like sanctions (in this case against Iran). Here’s another document:
The text:
1. FOLLOWING UPI ITEM, DATELINED MOSCOW, DECEMBER 25, WAS BURIED IN FRONT SECTION OF DECEMBER 26 WASHINGTON POST.
2. BEGIN TEXT.
DIPLOMATS SAY SOVIET STAND ON U.N. SANCTIONS IS UNCLEAR THE SOVIET UNION REFUSED A CHRISTMAS EVE APPEAL BY U.S. AMBASSADOR THOMAS WATSON FOR ASSURANCES THAT MOSCOW WOULD NOT VETO U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN, DIPLOMATIC SOURCES SAID TODAY.
WATSON REQUESTED AND RECEIVED A MEETING WITH SOVIET FOREIGN MINISTER ANDREI GROMYKO LAST NIGHT, AND DIPLOMATS IN MOSCOW SAID HE ASKED FOR A PROMISE THAT MOSCOW WOULD NOT EXERCISE ITS VETO WHEN THE MOTION COMES UP FOR A VOTE.UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED STATE 331220GROMYKO, HOWEVER, REFUSED TO MAKE ANY PROMISES AND THE SOURCES SAID THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION WAS STILL NOT SURE IF THE MOTION TO CLAMP ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON IRAN WOULD PASS THE SECURITY COUNCIL.
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
A SPOKESMAN FOR THE U.S. EMBASSY IN MOSCOW REFUSED TO CONFIRM THE TOPIC OF WATSON’S CONVERSATION WITH GROMYKO EXCEPT TO SAY IT INVOLVED “MATTERS OF MUTUAL INTEREST TO BOTH COUNTRIES.” END TEXT.
VANCEUNCLASSIFIED
NNN
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
Sheryl P. Walter Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review 20 Mar 2014
What we generally have here is the IBM family deciding on US foreign policy and international politics. Maybe one day Bill Gates hopes to do the same thing, just like Robert Gates.
As a lot of the above deals with nuclear weapons, it is imperative that we remember IBM stood to gain a lot from it. This is a subject we’ll explore again in the next part. █
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