Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

wide array of support services. In addition, Air Force ISR contributes

to national intelligence capabilities by operating a worldwide array of

ground-based, airborne, shipborne and space-based high-technology

sensors.

AJAX (OPERATION).Acovert actionby the Central Intelligence

Agency (CIA) in 1953 to overthrow the government of Prime Minis-

ter Mohammad Mossadegh in Iran. Both the American and British

governments were angered by Mossadegh’s nationalization of the

Anglo-Iranian Oil Corporation in 1952. In addition, the Iranian Com-

munist Party was gaining influence, and President Dwight D. Eisen-

howerfeared that the Iranian political climate, if left unchecked,

would enable the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to

have a stronghold on Iranian oil. ACIAoperative, Kermit Roosevelt

(grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt) headed a joint U.S.-

British operation that incited a revolt against Mossadegh, overthrow-

ing him and restoring Shah Reza Pahlavi to power. This action,

though lauded as a successful covert operation at the time, engen-

dered resentment of the United States and the United Kingdom

among Iranians and sparked an insurgent religious movement that

eventually ousted the shah in 1979 and led to the Iranian hostage cri-

sis, during which Iranian students held 54 American officials hostage

for 444 days. The hostages were released on 20 January 1981.

ALIAS.Afictitious name employed by an officer of the Central Intel-

ligence Agency (CIA) to mask his identity when conducting opera-

tions. ACIAofficer may use many aliases during an operation. See

alsoPSEUDONYM.

ALIEN REGISTRATION ACT.SeeMcCARTHYERA.

ALL AMERICAN SYSTEM.The All American system was an inno-

vative agent extraction procedure employed by the British toward the

end of World War II. The procedure involved the use of a modified

version of a mail pickup system used by All American Aviation be-

fore America’s entry into the war. The mail package to be picked up

was secured to a transfer line, strung between two wheel poles, set 54

feet apart. The aircraft designated to do the pickup approached the

ALL AMERICAN SYSTEM•3

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