In 1977 it was revealed that random American citizens were abducted & tortured for research by the CIA.Project MK Ultra was the code name for a series of covert activities in the early 1950’s.



Following the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945, the predecessor to the CIA, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), sought to recruit Nazi scientists for employment by the United States. Under the directions and supervision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Operation Paperclip recruited German scientists who were experts in a wide array of sciences, ranging from rocketry to torture.



Using the newly gathered intelligence, several programs were started which focused on the effects of drugs for interrogation purposes. The United States Navy started Project Chatter in 1947 and focused primarily on identifying and testing the use of drugs on human and animal subjects. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) started Project Artichoke which focused on the use of hypnosis, forced morphine addiction, and the use of other chemicals and methods. The intelligence divisions of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and FBI were operating under Project Artichoke.



Washington Post report on MK-Ultra On April 13, 1953, Project Artichoke became Project MK-Ultra. MK-Ultra initially began its human experimentation on CIA employees and military personnel, but soon began to include prostitutes, the mentally ill and abducted American & Canadian citizens. Operation Midnight Climax was a project operating under the banner of MK-Ultra, which consisted of a web of CIA-run safe houses in San Francisco, Marin, and New York. Prostitutes on the CIA payroll were paid to lure clients to these safe houses, where the men would be drugged and monitored behind one way glass. This method of human experimentation was desired because the victims, when released, would be too embarrassed to disclose the events. In 1962, the use of these safe houses was significantly scaled back following the recommendation of CIA Inspector General John Earman. In 1973, CIA director Richard Helms ordered the destruction of all documents pertaining to MK-Ultra. Due to the destruction of these records, it is difficult or impossible to perform additional research into MK-Ultra or the 150 individually funded sub-projects that operated under the MK-Ultra banner. Regardless, in 1974 The New York Times reported that the CIA had conducted illegal domestic activities, including experiments on U.S. citizens, which prompted Congress to intervene and conduct investigations. The Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission both released reports in 1975 that revealed that the CIA and Department of Defense conducted experiments on citizens without their consent. The Church Committee concluded in their report that “[p]rior consent was obviously not obtained from any of the subjects.” With the program now in the open, both the Canadian and American governments fight a number of court battles related to MK-Ultra’s experiments. The Canadian government settled out of court, paying each of the 127 victims $100,000 each. The American government aggressively contested any court cases relating to MK-Ultra, some of them successfully. Several plaintiffs received compensation through court orders, out-of-court settlements, and acts of Congress. President Ford and CIA director William Colby met with the family of Frank Olson, a man who died as a direct result of MK-Ultra, to publicly apoligize. Olson’s family also received $750,000 via a special act of Congress.



References

Wikipedia: MK-Ultra

Select Committee On Intelligence: Project MK-Ultra, The CIA’s Program of Research in Behavioral Modification

The Office of Heath, Safety and Security: Supreme Court Dissents Invoke the Nuremberg Code: CIA and DOD Human Subjects Research Scandals

Church Committee: The Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, Foreign and Military Intelligence

Time Magazine: The CIA: Mind-Bending Disclosures

The New York Times: Family Plans to Sue C.I.A. Over Suicide in Drug Test; Family Planning to Sue C.I.A. On Suicide in Drug Experiment

ABC News Documentary: Mission Mind Control (1979