In researching Cummings’ life for my book about gun culture and capitalism in Cold War America, I often encountered a rumor: Interarms, the business that Cummings founded in 1954 and built into the world’s largest private arms dealer in just a few short years, began as a front for the Central Intelligence Agency. People interested in the who and why of the JFK assassination might have found the March release underwhelming, but for me, one document seems to offer confirmation of decades of historical hearsay: The CIA created and owned America’s largest gun distributor.
. . .
Summarizing Cummings’ file, the previously released redacted version of the document states that “On 17 August 1954 CUMMINGS became the principal agent of the [redacted] International Armaments Corporation and Interarmco.” In the newly released, unredacted version, it reads: “On 17 August 1954 CUMMINGS became the principal agent of the CIA-owned companies known as International Armaments Corporation and Interarmco” (emphasis mine).
In other words, the CIA “owned” the country’s largest importer and distributor of guns, the company that would spearhead a remarkable boom in gun ownership in the United States in the decade and a half before the Gun Control Act iced war-surplus imports.
. . .
Speak about destruction:
Scholars have long written of a phenomenon called “blowback” to describe what happens when the CIA’s international meddling leads to unexpected, and often disastrous, long-term consequences—think of U.S. support for the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s, for instance, eventually giving rise to al-Qaida. What would it mean to add “founded the country’s largest gun distributor” to the Blowback Hall of Fame?
Speak about destruction:
Scholars have long written of a phenomenon called “blowback” to describe what happens when the CIA’s international meddling leads to unexpected, and often disastrous, long-term consequences—think of U.S. support for the mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s, for instance, eventually giving rise to al-Qaida. What would it mean to add “founded the country’s largest gun distributor” to the Blowback Hall of Fame?
By the way the CIA has handled Blowback, you might as well say it’s as accepted as recoil.
Edit - replied instead of starting a new comment.
And you’ll still hear people deny Iran-Contra lmao
I did a deep dive not too long ago on the JFK assassination and what struck me the most is how both the conspiracy theorists and the conspiracy debunkers all seem to take for granted that the police were good at taking and collating witness testimony. Seeing that person X changed their story or person Y’s story doesn’t align with Z’s is only compelling if there’s a competent person gathering this information.
No need to do any further looking everyone knows it was H. W.
Capitalist Interests Agency
Damn, I would read slate all the time back in like 2010. First time I’ve seen something interesting on that site in like 12 years.
They’re generally terrible but they have a decent article once or twice a year. I’m still in the habit of checking the site every now and then to catch up on legal coverage.
CUMMINGS and goings of the imperialist world order
