J. Edgar Hoover

You call J. Edgar Hoover the American Machiavelli, why?
'Hoover was the man who created the modern security state in the 1930s. Collecting fingerprints was his idea. Other modern techniques for gathering intelligence were also his. These included tapping telephone conversations, installing listening devices, breaking into homes and offices to steal documents, and putting up cameras on every street corner. His legacy is everywhere. Hoover knew, like Machiavelli, that information was power. He alone had been given the power to gather information by President Franklin Roosevelt. At the same time, he could use intelligence to make or break presidents.'

Did Hoover go too far in his fear of communists?
'It was not only the eight thousand members of the Communist Party that Hoover feared, but also the successful Soviet spy network that was present in the United States. In addition, there were another ten thousand or so fascists. Fear lies in what you do not know. During World War II, it was not clear whether Hitler or Stalin would win. After the war, Stalin had taken over half of Europe, but the FBI had no intelligence about Stalin's further intentions. What the FBI did know was that the Soviets had discovered not only the secrets of the atomic bomb, but also those of the hydrogen bomb. The American people were very afraid of nuclear attacks. It was a real fear, because Russian spies had infiltrated the Pentagon, the CIA, and the FBI, while the FBI did not attempt to infiltrate Moscow until 1958.'