The CIA and MKULTRA
For many Americans, the 1950s were a docile decade. In U.S. history books, the period is mostly portrayed as a mellow, orderly one, especially in light of the social upheavals that followed in the 1960s. But for the Central Intelligence Agency, the “I Like Ike” years were packed with adventure and action, much of it conducted outside of the public’s view. Few programs were sheltered with more secrecy than the Agency’s mind control experiments, identified together with the code-name MKULTRA.
Concerned about rumors of communist brainwashing of POWs during the Korean war, in April 1953 CIA Director Allen Dulles authorized the MKULTRA program, which would later become notorious for the unusual and sometimes inhumane tests that the CIA financed. Reviewing the experiments five years later, one secrecy-conscious CIA auditor wrote: “Precautions must be taken not only to protect operations from exposure to enemy forces but also to conceal these activities from the American public in general. The knowledge that the agency is engaging in unethical and illicit activities would have serious repercussions in political and diplomatic circles.”
Though many of the documents related to MKULTRA were destroyed by the CIA in 1972, some records relating to the program have made it into the public domain. And the work of historians, investigative reporters, and various congressional committees has resulted in the release of enough information to make MKULTRA one of the most disturbing instances of intelligence community abuse on record. As writer Mark Zepezauer puts it, “the surviving history is nasty enough.”
The most notorious MKULTRA experiments were the CIA’s pioneering studies of the drug that would years later feed the heads of millions: lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. The CIA was intrigued by the drug and harbored hopes that acid, or a similar drug, could be used to clandestinely disorient and manipulate target foreign leaders. (The Agency would consider several such schemes in its pursuit of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who they wanted to send into a drug-induced stupor or tirade during a public or live radio speech.) LSD was also viewed as a way to loosen tongues in CIA interrogations.
In his thorough book on MKULTRA and similar projects, The Search for the “Manchurian Candidate,” John Marks reports that most of the CIA researchers tried LSD themselves. In fact, an early phase of the experiments was probably the setting for the first acid trip in the United States – experienced by a courageous CIA man no less!
Taubman, Philip. “Death of a Spy Satellite Program.” Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Stillman, Richard Joseph. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 361-369.
During a visit to Mexico, Gordon Wasson, a mycologist, discovered the use of psilocybin mushroom in spiritual ceremonies by Indian tribes. Upon experiencing the spiritual and hallucinatory effects of the mushroom, Wasson returned to the area accompanied by an experienced mycologist, Roger Heim, who managed to cultivate the mushroom once in France and send samples of it to the scientist who had discovered lysergic acid, Albert Hoffman. From the mushrooms, Hoffman successfully isolated two compounds which he further named psilocybin and psilocin. Analogs of these compounds were further synthesized and were employed mainly for psychotherapeutic uses. Many tests on psilocybin were made at Harvard University in the early 1960’s. However, along with LSD, psilocybin became a scheduled substance in 1970, making it illegal. During this time, psilocybin mushrooms became a part of the psychedelic and hippy movement and were used for recreational and spiritual purposes. Research on psilocybin ended in the late 1980’s because of strict rules imposed by the government but recently scientist have started researching on this chemical once more.
The “pentagon papers”, officially titled: Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force, was a U.S. government study commissioned, by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, in 1967. [Robert McNamara served under both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.] The study traced the United States involvement in Vietnam from World War II to the present. The papers were highly confidential and compiled by many sources. Groups, such as the military, universities, and private organizations, worked on portions of the study. The joint efforts created a 47-volume study; only 38 of the 47 volumes were physically produced. One of the groups which had worked on the study was RAND Corporation. An employee of Rand Corporation, Daniel Ellsberg, used his clearance to gain access to a printed copy of the Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg then began secretly removing and copying volumes o...
MKUltra began in April 13 1953 during the Korean War by the order of Allen Welsh Dulles, the CIA director. It began during the “paranoia” right after World War II when fear of communism was at its greatest and the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was beginning to intensify. In addition, the operation was a response to the communist nations, North Korea, Soviet Union, and China, having their own projects involving mind control. These nations, furthermore, were testing on U.S. prisoners of war to gain information on their research. The C.I.A. was headed by Sidney Gottlieb, a chemist and spymaster [8]. In his childhood, he suffered a club foot and a stuttering disability. Due to his club foot, he was excused from the military but ironically became an expert folk dancer in his later years. Also, in order to compensate for his stuttering, he received a master’s degree in speech therapy. He also earned a Ph. D from Cal Tech. During his adult life, he was a content husband who lived on a farm with his wife. He grew and sold Christmas trees at the sides of roads and only drank goat’s milk. When he wasn’t working on his farm, he focused on Project MKUltra. For instance, at times, he would dose random people with LSD soaked drinks and study the victims’ reactions. After the closure of the project, Gottlieb retired in 1972 noting that all of his work put into MKUltra was a waste and was “useless” due to the fact that there were no huge “advancements” made in the MKUltra project [9]. Likewise, the goals of the project were to create mind-controlling drugs against American enemies and find ways to assassinate U.S. enemies. These drugs included LSD, cocaine, and countless of other drugs and chemicals. The people in cha...
“INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW.” Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
COINTELPRO was founded by the FBI in 1956 as a government program for counterintelligence. The FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, was instrumental in the program’s creation. After the age of McCarthyism best known as the Second Red Scare, Hoover was concerned about the institution of Communism gaining popularity within the United States. This gave way to the creation of COINTELPRO. The program originally focused on infiltrating the Communist Party within the United States and then instilling disorder and confusion via numerous tactics. The program mainly used espionage to allo...
Prados, John. Safe for Democracy The Secret Wars of the CIA. Chicago, IL: Ivan R Dee, Publisher, 2006.
Aldrich Ames was one of the most notorious spys in United States history, single handily crippling the United States spy network in the Soviet Union, and compromising hundreds of Intelligence Operations around the world. Ames’ impact on the national security of the United States was devastating and the ramifications of his actions can still be felt today in the Intelligence Community. This paper will provide details into the background and the events surrounding Ames’ espionage and subsequent arrest for treason.
knowledge of the CIA and who would later would be involved in the clash between the
Even though the most talked about aspect of MK ULTRA was the CIA's LSD work there were also many other experiments conducted. The program included many other unusual investigations relating to the science of mind control. CIA researchers investigated the potential of numerous Para psychological phenomena, such as hypnosis, telepathy, precognition, photo kinesis and remote viewing (The ability to leave your body and move around with only your consciousness). These studies werent conducted to merely scratch the CIA's curious itch. The CIA was looking for weapons that would give the United States the upper hand in the mind wars. Because of this objective, the CIA poured millions of dollars into studies investigating literally dozens of methods of influencing and controlling the
... Sept. 11th, 2001, terrorist attack on theWorld Trade Center and the unreliability of U.S. intelligence onWeapons of mass Destruction in Iraq have been a focus of intense scrutiny in the U.S. in 2004 particularly in the context of the 9/11 Commision , the continuing armed resistance against U.S. occupation of Iraq, and the widely perceived need for systematic review of the respective roles of the CIA, FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency. On July 9th, 2004 the Senate report of Pre-war Intelligenceon Iraq of the Senate Intelligence Committe stated that the CIA described the danger presented by Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq in an unreasonable way, largely unsupported by the available intelligence. In a briefing held Sept 15th, 2001 George Tenet presented the Worldwide Attack Matrix, a "top-secret" document describing covert CIA anti-terror operations in 80 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The actions, underway or being recommended, would range from "routine propaganda to lethal covert action in preparation for military attacks". The plans, if carried out, "would give the CIA the broadest and most lethal authority in its history".
World War II was a time of intense paranoia where no one knew who to trust. Soldiers and citizens alike kept their guard up, certain that a spy was lurking just around the corner. For the sake of national security and ultimate victory, information was kept on a strict need-to-know basis, even after the war ended. This absolute secrecy has lead to large omissions from history books and holes in the public’s knowledge. By doing their duty to protect, serve, and keep quiet, thousands of brave men and women remain unknown and unrecognized for their courageous deeds. As time passes and the war’s need for silence lessened, some of these formerly silent heros have been able to be recognised, including the codebreakers of Bletchley Park. These great
?Espionage.? 2000-2004. The War to End All Wars. Michael Duffy. Original Material. Primary Documents Online.
In 1960 professor Timothy Leary urged people to try the drug LSD. Leary thought that it could help people therapeutically and he saw many benefits in the usage of the drug. LSD was first available in tablet form but when it became illegal people began to use it in other forms such as liquid acid which was taken orally, through the eyes or mucous membrane or mixed with other drugs such as marijuana.
Among the spies of the 20th century, Kim Philby was a master of his craft. “To betray, you must first belong,” Kim Philby once said. Philby betrayed his colleagues, his friends, his wives, and most of all his country. He did all this in the secret service of the Soviet Union. The effects of this master spy’s operations set the stage for post-World War II in Europe.