James Jesus Angleton

James Jesus Angleton ( born December 9, 1917 in Boise, Idaho; † 12 May 1987) was for many years head of the counterintelligence department of the CIA.

The former Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms commented on Angleton as follows: " At the time, Jim was regarded as the dominant counterintelligence figure in the non-communist world. " Journalist Edward Jay Epstein says, Angleton have the confidence of six CIA directors, including Walter Bedell Smith, Allen W. Dulles and Richard Helms won the key positions were occupied with him and appreciated his work.

Life

Angleton was born as the son of the cavalry officer James Hugh Angleton and his Mexican wife, Carmen Mercedes Moreno. In the 1930s, the family moved to Milan, where Angleton's father ran the Italian subsidiary of NCR Corporation. After studies at the British Malvern College, Yale University and Harvard Angleton was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS ), which also included his father, and served 1941-42 in the X2 - office in London. In 1943 he was transferred to Italy and became the war chief of the counterintelligence unit in Rome. After a stay in Washington, D.C. was Angleton late 1940s chief OSS and X2 for Italy. Back in Washington, he was employed in various successor organizations of the OSS and one of the founding officers of the Central Intelligence Agency. 1949 Angleton was chief of Staff A of the Office of Special Operations, a division that was responsible for the message earnings from abroad and was in contact with the counterintelligence departments. Angleton had good and important relations with Israel Mossad and the Shin Bet, which he used until the end of his career.

Resignation

Angleton's resignation Christmas 1974 was announced. Three higher of Angleton's staff in the counterintelligence, his deputy Raymond Rocca, William J. Hood and Angleton's Chief of Operations, Newton S. Miller, were forced to retire. The counterintelligence was reduced from 300 employees to 80.

Angleton loved poetry, especially Ezra Pound, with whom he corresponded, and Thomas Stearns Eliot. He dealt with gems and cultivation of orchids.

His mythenumrankte personality served as a model for many works of literature. Norman Mailer was inspired, for example, its shape Hugh Montague in Harlot's Ghost by Angleton. Also, the super-spy David Morrell's novel Eliot in The Brotherhood of the Rose is based on Angleton, as is the character "Mother" in Orchids for Mother by Aaron Latham. The film The Good Shepherd 2006 (German The Good Shepherd ) is a free variation of Angleton's life story. Angleton is also a central figure in the half- Roman and half non-fiction book The Company by Robert Littell, under the name of The Company 2007 - was filmed on behalf of the CIA. In forgiveness ( Luftslottet som swedish sprängdes, 2007) by Stieg Larsson Angleton is also mentioned prominently.