Abstract
This article examines Bonner Fellers' years in Cairo, Egypt as American Military Attaché. Although Fellers is relatively well known in his role in advising General Douglas MacArthur in sparing the Japanese Emperor from War Crimes prosecution, his years in Cairo is relatively unknown. Fellers was America's chief intelligence officer in Cairo from Fall 1940 to Summer 1942, a period when his country's President and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were working closely to create a de facto alliance based on sharing crucial intelligence concerning the Axis Powers. Fellers, ambitious and able, provided keen analysis and observations to his superiors in Washington, D.C. However, his encrypted cables were secretly deciphered by Italy and Germany that served as a crucial factor in Rommel's military successes against Great Britain in North Africa. The so-called "Fellers Affair" is examined in the context of intelligence warfare in Egypt and his rivalry with Joint Chief of Staff George C. Marshall's right-hand man, Dwight Eisenhower. Finally, Fellers' direct appeal to President Roosevelt for augmenting American forces in the Middle East resulted in the latter's decision to pursue that over caution expressed by Marshall and Eisenhower. This and Fellers's relations with Rahman Abdul Azzam Pasha and the Yugoslavian situation were indicative of his strong ambitions and activism, both of which would help fuel his activities in the Pacific under General Douglas MacArthur.
