Mind Control

By Marren Haneberg Cara Prange

 The

government has conducted experiments through projects such as MK-ULTRA, MK-DELTA, ARTICHOKE, Project BLUEBIRD, Project CHATTER, and Operation Midnight Climax.  The projects were classified while they were conducted ("Project MK-Ultra," truthcontrol.com)

Project ARTICHOKE researched interrogation methods.  Branched off of Project BLUEBIRD  The CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence ran the operation.  The operation began in 1951 and became MKULTRA in 1953 ("Project ARTICHOKE," wikipedia.org).  Involved the effects of hypnosis and of forced morphine addiction (and the resulting withdrawal—also forced) ("US Government Secret LSD Experiments: Operation Artichoke," medonnews.wordpress.com). 

MK-ULTRA was the government investigation of substances and physical means of mind control and interrogation.  The project took place in the 1950s and 1960s (ended in 1965).  It was headed by Sidney Gottlieb, a chemist for the CIA.  The experiments were conducted on “as many as 40 unwitting subjects, including prison inmates and patrons of brothels set up and run by the agency [CIA]” (“MKULTRA,” wanttoknow.info).  It was uncovered and investigated in 1977. 

 Took

place in the 1950s in New York, San Francisco, and Marin.  Sidney Gottlieb headed the operation.  Prostitutes in brothels run by the CIA were paid to spike unsuspecting clients’ drinks with LSD.  The CIA observed the effects through oneway mirrors.  The CIA also filmed the effects, but destroyed all of the films in 1972 (“CIA: Bastion of Integrity,” apfn.org).



Substances were investigated to:

• Induce or enhance hypnosis. • Enhance endurance against brainwashing, torture,

isolation, and interrogation. • Induce amnesia of events before and during use. • Knockout the user and be administered in drinks, foods, cigarettes, or as an aerosol. They had to be safe and give the user amnesia.



Substances investigated included: cannabis, barbiturates (depressants), psilocybin, and LSD.

• Especially LSD, however, the government concluded that

LSD was too unpredictable to use for mind control (“History of MK-ULTRA. CIA Program on Mind Control,” mindspring.com).

 The

government sought to find a “truth drug” through Operation CHATTER.  Took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  CHATTER was conducted by the Navy.  The Navy sought to find a drug that would essentially be a truth serum, which would be useful during interrogation ("US Government Secret LSD Experiments: Operation Artichoke,“ medonnews.wordpress.com).

 Operation

BLUEBIRD took place at the same time as Operation CHATTER.  Instead of searching for a truth drug, BLUEBIRD investigated exploitable ways to alter personalities.  Included the use of LSD on suspected double agents and North Korean prisoners of war (Truly, “Code Name Artichoke,” dcdave.com).

 Primarily

investigated means of chemical and biological warfare. • Included LSD experimentation.

 Some

of the “doctors” involved in the experiments were recruited from Nazi Germany through Operation Paperclip (“MKDelta,” wiki.exopaedia.org).

 MK-ULTRA

only tested on mind control techniques on American and Canadian citizens.  MK-DELTA was created to govern the use of the substances, such as LSD, overseas (“Project MKDelta,” wikipedia.org).

A

1952 government memo was found that outlines the basic experiment motive.  It read: “Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self-preservation?” (“Project Artichoke,” wikipedia.org).

 According

to declassified government documents regarding MK-ULTRA, MKULTRA was “concerned with the research and development of chemical, biological, and radiological materials capable.. to control human behavior” (Robinett, “Declassified MK-Ultra Project Documents,” michael-robinett.com).  The government was searching for ways to control others via the mind.

 Operations

grew from of fear of Soviet and Chinese interrogation and brainwashing techniques. • CIA feared that Soviets and Chinese would use

these against their own agents.

 Also

to improve interrogation techniques.  They also wanted to possibly use the investigated substances (such as LSD) against enemies (“Inside Mind Control,” science.discovery.com).

Experiments included “sensory deprivation, bodily function deprivation and sleep deprivation in rooms with no windows and continuous light” (“Project MK-Ultra,” truthcontrol.com).  They also included surgical operations such as pre-frontal lobotomy, shock therapy (electrical and chemical), and sleep deprivation.  Interrogation to get a calculated answer from the subject took place during these experiments (Holley, “MKULTRA,” wanttknow.info). 

 According

to Jim Keith, writer of Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness, “at least four of the MKULTRA programs were specifically conducted on children” (Keith, “Project MK-Ultra,” truthcontrol.com).  Some subjects (such as those in Operation Midnight Climax) were unaware that they were being experimented on.  The means of experimenting were often invasive and traumatic for the subjects (“History of MK-ULTRA,” CIA Program on Mind Control, mindspring.com).

 MK

stands for “mind control,” using the German spelling “kontrolle.”  The German spelling is most likely inspired by the Nazi Germany experimentation techniques.  The U.S. Government means of experiment were extremely similar to that of the Nazis (“Project MK-Ultra,” truthcontrol.com).

 Are

there truly methods to gain control over another’s psyche?  Is it possible to alter a personality? Or are we born with a set, unalterable identity?  Is the change in behavior as a result of these treatments and methods due to control of the mind? Or is it simply conditioning and an attempt to survive due to the traumatic conditions which are caused by many of these treatments? (“History of MK-ULTRA,” CIA Program on Mind Control, mindspring.com).

1. "CIA: Bastion of Integrity." The Winds. APFN, 25 June 1997. Web. 10 Apr 2012. . 2."History of MK-ULTRA. CIA Program on Mind Control." Mind Spring. N.p., n.d.Web. 10 Apr 2012. . 3. Holley, Joe. "MKULTRA." What to Know. N.p., 16 June 2005. Web. 11 Apr 2012. . 4. "Inside Mind Control." Science. N.p., n.d.Web. 10 Apr 2012. . 5. "MKDelta." Exopaedia. N.p., 10 May 2007. Web. 12 Apr 2012. . 6."Project MKDelta." Wikipedia. N.p., 20 March 2012. Web. 10 Apr 2012. . 7. "Project MK-Ultra." Truth Control. Truth Control, n.d. Web. 11 Apr 2012. . 8. Truley, Hugh. "Code Name Artichoke." DC Dave. N.p., 27 May 2009. Web. 10 Apr 2012. http://www.dcdave.com/article5/090527.htm. 9. Robinett, Michael. "Declassified MK-Ultra Project Documents." . N.p., n.d.Web. 11 Apr 2012. . 10. "US Government Secret LSD Experiments: Operation Artichoke." World Press. Ganja Farmer's Emerald Triangle News, 24 Oct 2012. Web. 11 Apr 2012. . 11. "Project ARTICHOKE." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 12 March 2012. Web. 11 Apr 2012. .