Editing James Jesus Angleton

==Early Life and Education== 
James Jesus Angleton was born on December 9, 1917, in Boise, Idaho, to James Hugh Angleton, a cavalry officer and businessman with the National Cash Register Company (NCR), and Carmen Mercedes Moreno, a Mexican-American from Arizona. His father’s work relocated the family to Milan, Italy, in 1933, where Angleton immersed himself in European culture, attending Malvern College in England and becoming fluent in Italian. Returning to the U.S., he enrolled at Yale University in 1937, majoring in English and co-founding the literary magazine Furioso, which published poets like Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot. His intellectual intensity, cryptic demeanor, and passion for poetry, fly-fishing, and orchids earned him the nickname “the Poet.” Graduating in 1941, he briefly attended Harvard Law School but left in 1943 to join the military.

==World War II and OSS Service== 
In 1943, Angleton was drafted into the U.S. Army and recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the CIA’s precursor, for his language skills and European connections. Assigned to the X-2 counterintelligence branch in London, he trained under Kim Philby, a British MI6 officer later exposed as a Soviet double agent. In 1944, he became chief of X-2’s Italian desk in Rome, disrupting German intelligence networks, liaising with partisan groups, and penetrating Vatican and Italian political circles. His recruitment of anti-communist figures, including former fascist Valerio Borghese, laid groundwork for post-war anti-communist networks, potentially linked to [[Operation Gladio]], per *NATO’s Secret Armies* by Daniele Ganser. Angleton’s success earned him the Legion of Merit, shaping his counterintelligence expertise.

==CIA Career==
(1947–1974) Angleton joined the **Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)** in 1947, initially in the **Office of Special Operations (OSO)**, focusing on counterintelligence. His 27-year tenure, particularly as **Chief of Counterintelligence** (1954–1974), established him as a legendary yet controversial figure, known for his brilliance, paranoia, and relentless pursuit of Soviet moles.

Early CIA Roles (1947–1954): Angleton worked in Washington, D.C., and Italy, leveraging OSS contacts to monitor communist activities. In 1949, he joined the **Office of Policy Coordination (OPC)**, handling covert operations, and by 1951, he was chief of the **Special Operations Group**, forging intelligence-sharing with Israel’s **Mossad**, a lifelong alliance. He analyzed Soviet defectors and countered KGB disinformation, setting the stage for his counterintelligence dominance.
  
Chief of Counterintelligence (1954–1974): Appointed by **Allen Dulles**, Angleton led the Counterintelligence Staff, protecting the CIA from foreign penetration. His tenure included:

Mole Hunts: Influenced by Philby’s 1951 defection and Soviet defector Golitsyn’s 1961 warnings of a Soviet “master plan,” Angleton launched extensive mole hunts, suspecting over 40 officers, including James Dunn and Pete Bagley. His fixation on a “Monster Plot” led to the wrongful detention of defector Yuri Nosenko (1964–1967), who claimed Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in JFK’s assassination, a claim Angleton doubted, fueling conspiracy theories.

Operation CHAOS: From 1967, Angleton oversaw CHAOS, a domestic surveillance program targeting anti-Vietnam War activists, violating the CIA’s charter. Partnering with the FBI’s COINTELPRO, it monitored 10,000 Americans, including Martin Luther King Jr., prompting Church Committee scrutiny in 1975.

Israel Liaison: Angleton’s close ties with Mossad, particularly **Meir Amit**, facilitated intelligence exchanges but raised concerns about divided loyalties, as he reportedly shielded Israeli operations from U.S. oversight.

Philby Obsession: Philby’s 1963 defection to Moscow reinforced Angleton’s paranoia, shaping his distrust of defectors and allies, as detailed in *Wilderness of Mirrors* by David C. Martin.
HTLINGUAL: From 1955, Angleton ran a mail-interception program, opening 215,000 letters between the U.S. and Soviet bloc, violating privacy laws and complementing **NSA** surveillance.

[[MKULTRA]]: He peripherally supported the CIA’s mind-control experiments, though his focus remained counterintelligence.

==Resignation==
Angleton’s mole hunts paralyzed CIA operations, alienating Director [[William Colby]]. In 1974, *The New York Times* exposed **CHAOS**, leading to his forced resignation on December 24, 1974, amid Church Committee investigations. His staff shrank from 300 to 80, reflecting his diminished influence.

==Connections to Operation Gladio== 
Angleton’s connection to [[Operation Gladio]] NATO’s clandestine stay-behind networks to counter Soviet invasion, is plausible but indirect, rooted in his OSS and CIA roles in Italy and anti-communist operations:

- OSS Foundations (1944–1947): In Italy, Angleton recruited anti-communists, including ex-fascists like Valerio Borghese, aligning with early Gladio planning to arm stay-behind units, per *NATO’s Secret Armies* by Daniele Ganser. OSS records (National Archives) show his role in anti-communist networks but do not explicitly mention Gladio.

- CIA and Italian Intelligence (1950s–1970s): As counterintelligence chief, Angleton collaborated with Italy’s SIFAR and SID, including Federico Umberto D’Amato, a Gladio figure. He funded the Christian Democratic Party to counter the Italian Communist Party (PCI), supporting Gladio’s anti-communist goals, as noted in *The CIA in Western Europe* by Alfred McCoy. His ties to [[Licio Gelli]] of the [[Propaganda Due P2]] Masonic Lodge, a Gladio-linked group, suggest peripheral involvement in Italy’s [[“Strategy of Tension”]] (1960s–1980s), though a 1990 Italian parliamentary report does not name him.

- Crypto AG Support: Angleton initiated Operation Rubicon, securing CIA access to [[Crypto AG]] in 1970, enabling surveillance of NATO allies, including Italy, per a 2020 *Washington Post* report. This likely aided Gladio’s secure communications, but no evidence confirms direct use.

==Other Relevant Connections==  
[[Operation Condor]]: Angleton’s counterintelligence indirectly supported Operation Condor (1975–1983), a U.S.-backed campaign by Southern Cone dictatorships. His vetting of defectors and intelligence-sharing via [[Condortel]] (a DINA network) and [[Crypto AG]], used by Condor nations like Chile, aided anti-communist regimes, including Pinochet’s, per a 1977 DIA report. He was retired during the 1976 [[Orlando Letelier]] assassination, limiting direct involvement, but his earlier support for Chile’s 1973 coup (Operation FUBELT) set a precedent.

CIA and NSA: Angleton’s **Counterintelligence Staff** collaborated with the **National Security Agency (NSA)** on signals intelligence, notably through Crypto AG and HTLINGUAL, enhancing CIA-NSA surveillance capabilities. His Operation GOLD (Berlin Tunnel, 1955–1956) with MI6 shows NSA synergy, per declassified CIA files.

- [[Condortel and [[Crypto AG]] Angleton’s Crypto AG role enabled CIA monitoring of Condor nations’ communications, including Chile’s DINA, which used Condortel for coordination, per a 1977 DIA report. His counterintelligence likely supported [[Condortel]]’s intelligence-sharing, though no specific records confirm this.  [[Operation PBSuccess]]: Angleton’s early counterintelligence vetted defectors for Operation PBSuccess (1954 Guatemala coup), but he was not a lead operative, unlike Tracy Barnes or [[E. Howard Hunt]], per *Secret History* by Nick Cullather.

==Post-CIA Life and Legacy==  
After resigning, Angleton lived quietly in Arlington, Virginia, focusing on fly-fishing, orchid cultivation, and poetry. He testified before the **Church Committee** in 1975, defending **CHAOS** but admitting errors. In 1976, he co-founded the **Security and Intelligence Fund** to advocate for robust intelligence. His health, weakened by heavy smoking and drinking, succumbed to lung cancer, and he died on May 11, 1987, at age 69, in Washington, D.C., survived by his wife, **Cicely d’Autremont**, married in 1943, and their three children: **Carmen**, **Lucia**, and **Guru Sangat Kaur**.

Angleton’s legacy is dual-edged: he strengthened CIA counterintelligence, thwarting Soviet penetrations, but his paranoia crippled operations, as detailed in *Wilderness of Mirrors*. His role in **CHAOS**, **HTLINGUAL**, and **Crypto AG** fueled public distrust, contributing to post-Watergate reforms. The **Angletonian** approach—obsessive secrecy—remains a cautionary tale.

==Personal Life==  
Angleton’s marriage to Cicely, a poet and heiress, endured despite his secretive lifestyle. Known for his gaunt, bespectacled appearance and cryptic aphorisms (e.g., “deception is a state of mind”), he was likened to a spider weaving intrigue. His hobbies—fly-fishing, growing rare orchids, reciting Pound’s *Cantos*—offered respite from espionage.


==Conclusion==
James Jesus Angleton, from OSS operative to CIA counterintelligence chief, shaped Cold War espionage with brilliance and paranoia. His Italian networks and [[Crypto AG]] role likely supported [[Operation Gladio]]’s anti-communist infrastructure, while his intelligence-sharing aided [[Operation Condor]] via [[Condortel]]. His legacy, blending genius and overreach, endures in intelligence history.

==Resources==
Review declassified CIA cables (1970s), Church Committee transcripts (1975), *The Ghost* by Jefferson Morley, and Italian Gladio reports (1990). Cross-reference with FBI’s Angleton file and *The Condor Years* by John Dinges, ensuring claims align with primary evidence.