Analysis of MKULTRA Hearing (Part 17)
Analysis of MKULTRA Hearing (Part 17)
This is a report prepared by the Select Committee to specify their results and how it relates to
policy and law. Fears that hostile countries would use chemical or biological agents against
Americans led to the development of a defensive program to counteract this threat. This
reason was soon replaced when the use of drugs in interrogation and control of enemy agents
was discovered. Research and development programs to find materials to alter human
behavior were initiated in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These experimental programs used
human subjects, both witting and unwitting, to determine the potential effects of chemical and
biological agents. These testing programs were considered highly sensitive. [Note: The term
“highly sensitive” was used back then as a reason to cover things up like this. Today, they just
say it’s “national security” and that covers everything.] This is where they started learning how
to compartmentalize secret programs.
These programs resulted in massive abridgments of the rights of American citizens,
sometimes with tragic consequences. The manner in which these tests were administered
demonstrated a fundamental disregard for the value of human life. [Note: Operation Paperclip
brought over hundreds of Nazi scientists and researchers who were accepted by the CIA with
open arms. Some of the worst were placed in covert compartmentalized programs which in
many cases were just a continuation of the diabolic research activities they were engaged in
under Nazi rule.]
The Committee’s investigation also raised serious questions about the command and control
procedures in place at the CIA. In fact, the CIA waived normal protocols when chemical and
biological testing was involved to protect their security. There were also other intelligence
agencies involved. For instance, the Army was doing experimental testing with LSD overseas.
Naturally, the different intelligence agencies were not sharing data due to compartmentation.
A. The Programs Investigated
1. Project CHATTER: This was a Navy program begun in 1947 which focused on the
identification and testing of “truth drugs” for use in interrogation and recruitment of agents.
The drugs researched included Anabasis aphylla, scopolamine, and mescaline. The project
ended shortly after the Korean War in 1953.
2. Project BLUEBIRD/ARTICHOKE: Project BLUEBIRD was approved by the Director of the CIA in
1950. Its objectives were:
(a) Finding means of conditioning personnel to prevent extraction of information by
unfriendlys
(b) Investigating the possibility of control of a subject using special interrogation techniques
(c) Memory enhancement
(d) Establishing defensive means for preventing hostile control of Agency personnel
Another objective was added during the project: the evaluation of offensive uses of
unconventional interrogation techniques which included drugs and hypnosis. In 1951, the
project was renamed ARTICHOKE which included “in-house” experiments on interrogation
techniques conducted under medical and security controls which ensured individual safety.
The Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) initially led the projects. Eventually, the Office of
Security ended up with control of the project in collaboration with the CIA’s Technical Services
Division (TSD). The CIA maintains that the project ended in 1956 but evidence says otherwise.
3. Project MKNAOMI: This was a major CIA program whose purpose can be summarized as:
(a) Provide for a covert support base to meet clandestine operational requirements.
(b) To stockpile lethal materials for the specific use of TSD (Technical Services Division)
(c) To maintain in operational readiness special and unique items for the dissemination of
biological and chemical materials
(d) To provide for the required surveillance, testing, upgrading, and evaluation of materials
and items in order to assure absence of defects and complete predictability of results to be
expected when operational
The CIA formed an agreement with the Army in 1952 where the Special Operations Division
(SOD) at Fort Detrick was to assist CIA in developing, testing, and maintaining biological agents
and delivery systems. The SOD was essentially developing biological weapons and delivery
mechanisms for the CIA. The CIA also requested the SOD to study the use of biological agents
against crops and animals. This project was terminated in 1970. [Note: This project is just one
example of an agency of the government gone rogue. Tasked with gathering intelligence on
foreign powers, this project shows in intent to engage in biological/chemical warfare possibly
for their own agenda which may not align with that of the US]
4. Project MKULTRA: This was the principal CIA program to research and develop chemical and
biological agents. These developed agents were then deployed in clandestine operations to
control human behavior. In January of 1973, MKULTRA records were destroyed by TSD
personnel acting on verbal orders of Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, Chief of TSD. Dr. Gottlieb was carrying
out a verbal order of then DCI Richard Helms. Helms was the individual who initially
recommended the project when he was the Assistant Deputy Director for Plans. The project
was approved on April 13, 1953. The project was always considered extremely sensitive
because:
(a) Research in the manipulation of human behavior is considered by many professionals to
be unethical
(b) Some activities raise the question of legality
(c) The testing phase places the rights and interests of U.S. citizens in jeopardy
(d) Public disclosure of MKULTRA could induce a serious adverse reaction in the public
Over the 10-year life of the program, many additional “avenues” to control human behavior
were designated as appropriate for investigation. These include radiation, electroshock,
psychology, psychiatry, sociology and anthropology, graphology, harassment substances, and
paramilitary devices and materials.
The project was implemented in three stages:
(1) The search for materials suitable for study
(2) Laboratory testing on human subjects
(3) Application of MKULTRA materials in normal life settings.
In a 1963 survey of the TSD by the Inspector General (IG), the inspector learned of the
MKULTRA program and the surreptitious administration of LSD to unwitting subjects. As a
result, the project was shut down in 1964.
5. Testing of LSD by the Army: There were 3 major phases of the testing,
(a) LSD was administered to over 1,000 soldiers who volunteered to be subjects
(b) 95 volunteers received LSD in clinical experiments
(c) 16 unwitting subjects were interrogated after receiving LSD in operational field tests