James Jesus Angleton: Poetry, Fly Fishing, and Fascism

Toward the end of the Second World War, many Americans had rather strong feelings about Fascists, mostly, that Fascists were evil and tyrranical, fueled by hatred and a total disregard for human life.

But there were some who didn’t feel that the Fascists were all that bad. Some Americans actually thought that perhaps the Fascists actually had some good points, if you didn’t get too hung up on the violent anti-semitism.

Jim Angleton fell solidly in the latter category. As a young man, he was intrigued by the ideology of Fascism. As he grew up, Jim denounced fascism in all the appropriate meetings and hearings. But behind the scenes, he helped facilitate the migration of Nazis and Italian fascists into the service and protection of the United States government.