He graduated from
Rutgers University in 1965, having studied natural sciences, languages, and politics. After receiving a Ph.D. in 1973 from
Claremont Graduate School, Codevilla began to teach political science.[1] In 1977 he joined the
U.S. Foreign Service but quickly moved to
Capitol Hill, where he served on the staff of the
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He helped to conceive the technology programs that, in 1983, were relabeled the
Strategic Defense Initiative. Between 1977 and 1985 he was on the staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He was an aide to
SenatorMalcolm Wallop, serving on the staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 1977–1985. Meanwhile, he taught political philosophy at
Georgetown University, and was a principal on Presidential transition teams for the
Department of State and the
Central Intelligence Agency. In 1980 Codevilla was appointed to the teams preparing the presidential transition for the State Department and the CIA.[4][3][5] Throughout his time in government, Codevilla published on intelligence and national security and taught. In 1985 Codevilla returned to full-time academic life as a senior research fellow at the
Hoover Institution,
Stanford University. He was professor of international relations at what is now the
Pardee School of Global Studies at
Boston University from 1995 to 2008.
Personal life
Angelo Maria Codevilla was born on May 25, 1943, in
Voghera, Italy,[6] son of Angelo (a businessman) and Serena (Almangano) Codevilla. He emigrated to the United States in 1955, and
became a US citizen in 1962. He married Ann Marie Blaesser on December 31, 1966. His children are David, Peter, Michael, Elizabeth, and Thomas. He served in the
U.S. Naval Reserve 1969–1971, leaving active duty as a
lieutenant, junior grade. He received the
Joint Service Commendation Medal.[1][4] Codevilla died in a car accident in
Tracy, California, on September 20, 2021, at the age of 78.[6]
Pollard case
While acknowledging that
Jonathan Pollard was guilty of espionage, Codevilla publicly objected on procedural and substantive grounds to the sentence given the convicted
Israeli spy.
On November 5, 2013, Codevilla wrote to then-President
Obama concerning Pollard. He stated, "Others have pointed out that Pollard is the only person ever sentenced to life imprisonment for passing information to an ally, without intent to harm America, a crime which normally carries a sentence of two to four years; and that this disproportionate sentence in violation of a plea agreement was based not on the indictment but on a memorandum that was never shared with the defense. This is not how American Justice is supposed to work." He further stated that his opinion, as those of
DCIJames Woolsey, former
Attorney generalMichael Mukasey, and former Senator
Dennis DeConcini, is based on a thorough knowledge of the case. Codevilla concluded, "having been intimately acquainted with the materials that Pollard passed and with the 'sources and methods' by which they were gathered, I would be willing to give expert testimony that Pollard is guilty of neither more nor less than what the indictment alleges."
In a contemporaneous interview with the Weekly Standard, Codevilla said that, "The story of the Pollard case is a blot on American justice", and that the life sentence "makes you ashamed to be an American."[7][8][9][10][11]
Codevilla, Angelo M. (2014). To Make and Keep Peace Among Ourselves and with All Nations. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press.
ISBN9780817917142.
Codevilla, Angelo M. (1988). The cure that may kill: unintended consequences of the INF Treaty. London: Alliance for the Institute for European Defence & Strategic Studies.
ISBN0907967930.
LCCN90108095.
^Rosen, Stephen (July 1, 1988). "While Others Build: The Common-Sense Approach to the Strategic Defense Initiative, by Angelo Codevilla (Anti-Missile Defense)". Commentary.
Book review of While Others Build: The Common-sense Approach to the Strategic Defense Initiative.