The Legacy Of Angleton's Paranoia

Fear a powerful emotion, once it is born it is merely impossible for it to perish. Fear corrupts, tortures, and haunts all. Humans have a horror encrypted into their core. With the power of holding one's fear forms the feeling of paranoia leading to the most holiest power of all, control. Throughout history paranoia has been used to control mass populations and indoctrinate their mind. A common example of this, is the reign of Joseph Stalin; dictator of the Soviet Union who used the paranoia of death and being sent to concentration camp to control his citizens and sustain power. George Orwell, a man who recognized this demoralizing form of dictatorship and was terrified, of what might come if no one rebelled against this. Furthermore he

The Soviet Union controlled every attribute of their economy and focused in developing a strong and self-sufficient country. The Soviet became the superpower of the west as their military strengthened and their prevailing economy influenced other countries to follow their communist ways. But the Soviet’s accomplishment came with secrecy only an insider would recognize. The British intelligence recruited a Russian double agent as he escaped house arrest as the Soviet became suspicious. The double agent Intel displayed the deceiving economy of the Soviet Union.

It wasn’t until 2000 that Hanssen was investigated as a potential spy. His actions were uncovered after a Russian defector gave the FBI the Ramon Garcia files. The package included a trash bag used at a dead drop. Hanssen’s fingerprints were on the trash bag (Mcgeary, 2001). The damage caused by Hanssen’s treachery was grave, including numerous classified documents to include the FBI’s Double Agent program, an NSA and FBI tunnel plan underneath the Russian embassy, and a highly classified compartmented foreign threat policy program. (Pluta,

During the Cold War, America and the Soviet Union were competing to develop more sophisticated weaponry than each other. Because of this, Americans dreaded the Soviet Union. They also feared communism– which according to Achieve 3000’s passage,“Case Against Rosenberg Falls Apart”,“It is the political theory that the Soviet’s lived by” (1). Also according to Achieve 3000, “The Americans thought that the Soviet Union had spies that were in the midst of the American people” (1). This fear lead to many precautions that the government made to prevent the American people from fearing the Soviet Union which was called the “Red Scare”.

The Soviet Union first learned of the American atomic bomb how? *through the use of espionage*

This event was “The first major Soviet defection for the post-war era” (Whitaker, Reg and Hewitt, Steve, 15). Gouzenko’s reveal of the Soviet spies to the RCMP and Canadian Government made Canada feel as though they did indeed have a part in the Cold War. What is more, the ordeal also made the Cold War “real” for many Canadians. Up until then, the Cold War had really been between the United States and Russia, and while Canada is geographically in the middle of the two countries, they were not directly involved in the war. The discovery of spies not only in the United States but in Canada as well brought Canadians to the realization that the Cold War could greatly affect Canada.

The Cold War took place after World War II between the years of 1947 and 1991. It was a struggle for supremacy between both the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades. Major crises occurred such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some of the resulting issues. For many, the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue because it is always unknown as to what they could be used for. Neither side ever fought the other because the casualties would be tragic, but they did ‘fight’ for their beliefs using client states who fought for their beliefs on

“A story of betrayal, a love story, a spy story, a story of a family torn apart, and a story of government overreaching (Linder).” A scientist of the Manhattan Project, a research project to produce nuclear weapons, Klaus Fuchs told the authorities that he “met with a Soviet agent named Raymond and provided notes on the working design for the atomic bomb (Linder).” The police later learned that the spy Raymond was actually a man by the name of Harry Gold. As a witness in the case, Harry Gold was called to the stands to testify. The police showed Gold a picture and he was able to identify that that was the man he met. “The man pictured was David Greenglass (Linder).” Greenglass told the authorities that his wife, Ruth, and his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg, were part of the Soviet spy ring. The government wanted to use Ethel and Julius as scapegoats and they wanted them to reveal the names of their associates. They never sold out their

Paranoia an uncontrollable emotion that refers to the suspicion or perception that one has against a hostile or aggressive figure or horror. It can often lead to the point of delusion or irrationality in the person. This emotion is catastrophic, it takes over people's minds and bodies, making their “true” self disappear. Once the fear is inside of a person it is hard to overcome. 1984, is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell. He writes about what he imagines the year 1984 will be like, based off of his knowledge about war, fear, and totalitarian governments in the 1940s and 50s. George Orwell, has personal experience of innocent people that were haunted by paranoia, and is one of the key reasons he decided to become an author and write this book. Paranoia is a frequent recurring topic in this novel, that many citizens in the city of Oceania experience, most importantly, the main character, Winston. People in Airstrip one are haunted by Big brother and the Party, because of their cruel ways of order. Big Brother is a real life representation of dictators from World War Ⅱ, but mostly portrays qualities like Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union. The party ruled under Big Brother, making policies, claims, and decisions for Oceania. Paranoia always has been an analytical part of governments, and is so influential in 1984. This feeling exhibits the true meaning of fear and the alterations that come along with the power a certain group or figure holds above a

The above quote, by Richard Nixon, best captures the mass hysteria and paranoia that dominated the American people during the Cold War Era. It would only be 15 years till an article by a New York Times reporter by the name of Seymour Hersh accusing the CIA of targeting antiwar protestors as well as many others whom they believed where foreign agents and had conducted everything from break-ins to wiretaps and even placement of informants within groups to monitor their actions. Later in the article Hesrh would state that the concept of the program was developed by a presidential aid and was in fact encouraged by members of the executive branch. He also revealed heavy involvement by the FBI on the behest of CIA director Helms who had been known to believe that the KGB had infiltrated the United States government.

Hanssen, carrying a package of documents, identified himself by his Soviet codename, "Ramon Garcia.” The Russian officer, who evidently did not recognize Hanssen's codename, got into his car and drove off. The Russians then filed an official protest with the State Department, believing Hanssen to be a double agent. Despite showing his face, giving away his code name, and revealing his FBI affiliation, Hanssen escaped arrest when the investigation didn't go anywhere (Wise, 2003).

One of the biggest justifications for Angleton’s paranoia, even arguably in his later years when Golitsyn and Nosenko sealed the end of his CIA career, comes from events that took place after his resignation and the airing of the Family Jewels before Congress, one of Angleton’s most high profile public appearances. In February 1994, a CIA agent by the name of

The term “Covert Action” brings with it a connotation of shadowy figures wrapped in secrecy and intrigue. It also brings with it a substantial amount of moral questions as to “what is right.” The use of covert action has been widely publicized since the early seventies, but trying to find out the truth to these events has been difficult to say the least. What is even more difficult, is historically recording these events into categories of successes or failures. These operations are difficult to dissect because of their secrecy and although events have been recorded, some facts simply aren’t apparent. This paper will seek to identify the complex issues associated with covert operations.

The conundrum Truman had, was a direct representation of how much the intelligence community did not agree that the Soviets were not allies anymore. Intelligence documents illustrate such. Before the blockade, although the idea of aggression was entertained, it was not reported as a real possibility.26 Some reports even claim that the Soviets had no intention of blockading Berlin, but instead hampering the intelligence community’s effectiveness.27 However, the intelligence community was changing illustrated by this statement, “Sokolovsky’s reply to Robertson (text in mytel 1543, June 301) can obviously be considered as preparation for Soviet reversal of Berlin blockade. It is, however, typical Soviet example of vague and implied promises and

Klaus Fuchs' espionage case is one of the most intriguing in all of history, considering that it is the first major espionage case involving information concerning atomic bombs. One of the things that make this particular case distinguishable from others is the fact that Fuchs operated as a spy consequent to the Second World War. It is only safe to say that he played an active role in making the Cold War happen. Fuchs was a theoretical physicist and his ingenuity made it possible for him to get involved in significant operations such as the Manhattan Project and the development of the hydrogen bomb. Fuchs' Communist convictions influenced him to provide the Soviet Union with information that proved to be essential when considering the Cold War context.