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MK-Ultra was a top-secret CIA project in which the agency conducted hundreds of clandestine experimentsâsometimes on unwitting U.S. citizensâto assess the potential use of LSD and other drugs for mind control, information gathering and psychological torture. Though Project MK-Ultra lasted from 1953 until about 1973, details of the illicit program didnât become public until 1975, during a congressional investigation into widespread illegal CIA activities within the United States and around the world.
The Cold War and Project MK-Ultra
In the 1950s and 1960sâthe height of the Cold Warâthe United States government feared that Soviet, Chinese and North Korean agents were using mind control to brainwash U.S. prisoners of war in Korea.
In response, Allan Dulles, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), approved Project MK-Ultra in 1953. The covert operation aimed to develop techniques that could be used against Soviet bloc enemies to control human behavior with drugs and other psychological manipulators.
MK-Ultra
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The program involved more than 150 human experiments involving psychedelic drugs, paralytics and electroshock therapy. Sometimes the test subjects knew they were participating in a studyâbut at other times, they had no idea, even when the hallucinogens started taking effect.
Many of the tests were conducted at universities, hospitals or prisons in the United States and Canada. Most of these took place between 1953 and 1964, but itâs not clear how many people were involved in the testsâthe agency kept notoriously poor records and destroyed most MK-Ultra documents when the program was officially halted in 1973.
LSD and Sidney Gottlieb
The CIA began to experiment with LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) under the direction of agency chemist and poison expert Sidney Gottlieb. He believed the agency could harness the drugâs mind-altering properties for brainwashing or psychological torture.
Under the auspices of Project MK-Ultra, the CIA began to fund studies at Columbia University, Stanford University and other colleges on the effects of the drug. After a series of tests, the drug was deemed too unpredictable for use in counterintelligence.
MK-Ultra also included experiments with MDMA (ecstasy), mescaline, heroin, barbiturates, methamphetamine and psilocybin (âmagic mushroomsâ).
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Operation Midnight Climax
Operation Midnight Climax was an MK-Ultra project in which government-employed prostitutes lured unsuspecting men to CIA âsafe housesâ where drug experiments took place.
The CIA dosed the men with LSD and thenâwhile at times drinking cocktails behind a two-way mirrorâwatched the drugâs effects on the menâs behavior. Recording devices were installed in the prostitutesâ rooms, disguised as electrical outlets.
Most of the Operation Midnight Climax experiments took place in San Francisco and Marin County, California, and in New York City. The program had little oversight and the CIA agents involved admitted that a freewheeling, party-like atmosphere prevailed.
An agent named George White wrote to Gottlieb in 1971: âOf course I was a very minor missionary, actually a heretic, but I toiled wholeheartedly in the vineyards because it was fun, fun, fun. Where else could a red-blooded American boy lie, kill and cheat, steal, deceive, rape and pillage with the sanction and blessing of the All-Highest?â
The Death of Frank Olson
Frank Olson was a scientist who worked for the CIA. At a 1953 CIA retreat, Olson drank a cocktail that had been secretly spiked with LSD.
A few days later, on November 28, 1953, Olson tumbled to his death from the window of a New York City hotel room in an alleged suicide.
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The family of Frank Olson decided to have a second autopsy performed in 1994. A forensics team found injuries on the body that had likely occurred before the fall. The findings sparked conspiracy theories that Olson might have been assassinated by the CIA.
After prolonged legal proceedings, Olsonâs family was awarded a settlement of $750,000, and received a personal apology from President Gerald Ford and then-CIA Director William Colby.
Ken Kesey and Other MK-Ultra Participants
Ken Kesey, author of the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckooâs Nest, volunteered for MK-Ultra experiments with LSD while he was a college student at Stanford University.
Kesey later went on to promote the drug, hosting LSD-fueled parties that he called âAcid Tests.â
Acid Tests combined drug use with musical performances by bands including the Grateful Dead and psychedelic effects such as fluorescent paint and black lights. These parties influenced the early development of hippie culture and kick-started the 1960s psychedelic drug scene.
Other notable people who reportedly volunteered for CIA-backed experiments with LSD include Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead lyricist; Ted Kaczynski, better known as the âUnabomberâ; and James Joseph âWhiteyâ Bulger, the notorious Boston mobster.
Church Committee
In 1974, New York Times journalist Seymour Hersh published a story about how the CIA had conducted non-consensual drug experiments and illegal spying operations on U.S. citizens. His report started the lengthy process of bringing long-suppressed details about MK-Ultra to light.
The following year, President Fordâin the wake of the Watergate scandal and amid growing distrust of the U.S. governmentâset up the United States Presidentâs Commission on CIA Activities within the United States to investigate illegal CIA activities, including Project MK-Ultra and other experiments on unsuspecting citizens.
The Commission was led by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and is commonly referred to as the Rockefeller Commission.
The Church Committeeâhelmed by Idaho Democratic Senator Frank Churchâwas a larger investigation into the abuses of the CIA, FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies during and after the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.
The Church Committee delved into plots to assassinate foreign leaders, including Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. It also uncovered thousands of documents related to MK-Ultra.
These revelations resulted in Fordâs 1976 Executive Order on Intelligence Activities that prohibited âexperimentation with drugs on human subjects, except with the informed consent, in writing and witnessed by a disinterested party, of each such human subject.â
Example output
The provided text offers a detailed insight into the CIA's MK-Ultra project, its context, operations, and aftermath. Here's an extensive analysis:
### Overview of MK-Ultra
- **Nature and Duration:** MK-Ultra was a top-secret CIA project from 1953 to about 1973. It involved clandestine experiments, often on unwitting U.S. citizens.
- **Objectives:** To investigate LSD and other drugs for mind control, information gathering, and psychological torture.
- **Public Exposure:** Details emerged in 1975 during a congressional probe into illegal CIA activities.
### Cold War Context
- **Era:** The project occurred at the Cold War's peak in the 1950s and 1960s.
- **U.S. Government's Fears:** Concerned about mind control techniques used by Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean agents on U.S. POWs in Korea.
- **CIA's Response:** Under Allan Dulles, the CIA initiated MK-Ultra to counteract and develop similar techniques.
### Implementation of MK-Ultra
- **Experiments:** Over 150 experiments involving psychedelic drugs, paralytics, and electroshock therapy.
- **Participants:** Some subjects were aware, while others were unknowingly involved.
- **Venues:** Conducted in U.S. and Canadian universities, hospitals, and prisons, mainly between 1953 and 1964.
- **Record-Keeping:** Poor documentation and destruction of most records in 1973.
### Specific Projects and Drugs
- **LSD Research:** Led by Sidney Gottlieb, focusing on LSD for brainwashing or torture. Ultimately deemed unpredictable for counterintelligence.
- **Other Substances:** Included MDMA, mescaline, heroin, barbiturates, methamphetamine, and psilocybin.
- **Operation Midnight Climax:** Involved luring men to CIA safe houses for drug experiments, with little oversight.
### Notable Incidents and Individuals
- **Frank Olson's Death:** A CIA scientist who died in 1953 after unknowingly consuming LSD, leading to conspiracy theories.
- **Ken Kesey:** Participated in MK-Ultra's LSD experiments; later influenced 1960s drug culture.
- **Other Notables:** Participants included Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, Ted Kaczynski, and mobster Whitey Bulger.
### Public Exposure and Legal Actions
- **Seymour Hersh's Revelation (1974):** Exposed CIA's non-consensual drug experiments and spying.
- **Rockefeller Commission (1975):** Investigated illegal CIA activities, including MK-Ultra.
- **Church Committee:** Broader investigation into U.S. intelligence abuses, revealing extensive MK-Ultra documents.
- **Legal Outcome:** Fordâs 1976 Executive Order, prohibiting non-consensual drug experimentation.
### Conclusion
MK-Ultra, with its broad scope in mind control and drug experimentation, reflects the extent of Cold War espionage tactics. Its exposure highlighted ethical breaches in intelligence operations, leading to significant legal reforms and public scrutiny.
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