James Charles Angleton

[bluetrain]

Finally saw The Good Shepard tonight. Have been reading up on JJA. Interesting stuff. Did his son actually get involved with the CIA as he did in the film? Googling the son, James Charles Angleton, only yields a handful of results which lead right back to his dad. Change his name?

[TheUnspeakable]

1. don't know anything about the son-

but you might enjoy this article about the father

Paranoid shift
By Michael Hasty
Online Journal Contributing Writer



(snip) Just before his death, James Jesus Angleton, the legendary chief of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency, was a bitter man. He felt betrayed by the people he had worked for all his life. In the end, he had come to realize that they were never really interested in American ideals of “freedom” and “democracy.“ They really only wanted “absolute power.”

Angleton told author Joseph Trento that the reason he had gotten the counterintelligence job in the first place was by agreeing not to submit “sixty of Allen Dulles’ closest friends” to a polygraph test concerning their business deals with the Nazis. In his end-of-life despair, Angleton assumed that he would see all his old companions again “in hell.”

The transformation of James Jesus Angleton from an enthusiastic, Ivy League cold warrior, to a bitter old man, is an extreme example of a phenomenon I call a “paranoid shift.” I recognize the phenomenon, because something similar happened to me.
<http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_203.shtml>

[bluetrain]

2. Thank you. I still find it curious that the son seems to have disappeared off

the face of the world.

[H2O Man]

3. Intereting article

that you linked to. Thank you.

[leveymg]

4. Two of those closest friends: Prescott Bush; and Herbert Walker.

Literally. Not kidding. I'd bet a kidney on it.

[bluetrain]

5. Which is the reason why I'm asking...

These folks flock in dynasties. JJA's dad was involved with the fascists pre-WWII. I am finding it curious that the son, who, by all accounts, exists or existed, seems to have d i s a p p e a r e d. Who is he now? Has he turned his back on the whole dirty business or is he there right under our noses using a different name?

[formercia]

11. That's why this movie is being pushed now.

Trying to rehabilitate the single most important person that allowed the boys to take control of the US Government.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

6. One seriously haunted fellow...

I read a biography of James Jesus Angleton called "Cold Warrior". The man was a genius and yes, he died bitter and disillusioned. Truly "the man who knew too much".

I would like to see the film.

[bluetrain]

8. "Cold Warrior" is probably better than the film...

My friend and I missed the first hour (it's 3 hours long) and didn't feel as though we'd missed anything (heavy handed script that labored each point along with overly enthusiastic mood music orchestration) -- but, I am finding this guy's story very interesting as I research it afterward. I'd love it if we could get GWB under oath in the Libby trials...

[formercia]

7. James Jesus Angleton

was a Knight of Malta and completely paranoid. He destroyed the careers of dozens of good and loyal CIA officers. They sued the government and were later awarded $250,000 each. It was a pittance for the damage that was done to their lives. That movie is nothing but blatant Crusader propaganda meant to gloss over the life of a monster. Angleton was also instrumental in running Operation Paperclip that brought ex Nazis to the US. The troubles we are having today can be directly traced back to his actions at the end of WWII.

I refuse to watch that bit of Wurlitzer vomit.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

9. Perhaps the most paranoid person on the planet...

He was a lifelong insomniac and in his later years drove himself nuts trying to sniff out the mole he KNEW existed in the CIA. He trusted no one, and brought many a good man down,

[formercia]

10. There was method behind his madness

he also went after anyone who might be a danger to the stranglehold the Knights of Malta has on the CIA.

[leveymg]

15. Is there a link or source for more info on the KOM-CIA connection?

Thanks.

[formercia]

16. General Donovan who headed the OSS was KOM

and he made sure his knight buddies were in positions of influence. There's plenty of sources on the web about the KOM-CIA connection. Many high level Italian Mafiosi are also members of KOM as was J Edgar Hoover. That might explain Hoover's reluctance to go after the MOB.
One good book to read is: One man in his time by Serge Obolensky.
Serge was a White Russian KOM who became a member of the OSS. My father served with him in North Africa. Serge 'captured' the island of Sardinia single-handedly. The Italian commander of the garrison was also KOM and handed it over to him on a handshake. The Rat Line and Operation Paperclip were both KOM operations.

[DemReadingDU]

12. Larry Johnson: Backgrounder for "The Good Shepherd"

12/26/06 The Good Shepherd is a great movie and deserves to be seen. Unfortunately, it assumes folks are knowledgeable about the history of the OSS and the CIA. This is not your father's America. The IPOD/cell phone generation never knew the Cold War or the Second World War. To compensate for this deficiency I offer the following links that, if read, will enhance your enjoyment of The Good Shepherd.

http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/12/backgrounder_fo.html

[Octafish]

13. Thanks, DemReadingDU! Great resource from Johnson...

One name I'd add is Ted Shackley,
sort of the Bush Family representative
on the Board of Directors of Murder, Inc.

Looks a heckuva lot like
the Edward Wilson character, too.

[DemReadingDU]

14. Maybe it's the glasses

(Let’s also give some credit to whoever aptly decided to fit Matt Damon with perhaps the least flattering pair of eyeglasses in the history of the cinema; this is not the right movie for a sexy, glamorous spy.)

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/12/21/103402.php