Lansdale, Edward G.
Lansdale, Edward G. (1908–1987), U.S. intelligence officer and general.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lansdale attended UCLA and then became an advertising executive. He served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II, but achieved fame during the Cold War as one of the most celebrated U.S. intelligence officers. While he was never an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), he often worked on behalf of the CIA using the cover of an Air Force officer.
Technically a mid‐level operative, Lansdale became legendary for identifying and funding effective non‐communist alternative leaders, becoming known in the 1950s as “our man in Asia.” In the Philippines, he played a controversial but important role in helping President Ramon Magsaysay gain power and defeat communist insurgents. Later, in Vietnam, he engineered psychological warfare...
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