Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

ducting experiments on witting and unwitting participants. The pro-

gram originated in 1950 and was motivated by Soviet, Chinese, and

North Korean use of mind control and brainwashing techniques.

The program was controversial from the start. After the death of an

unwitting person (Frank Olson, an army scientist who was given

LSD in 1953 and committed suicide a week later), an internal CIAin-

vestigation warned that such experimentation was dangerous. Ten

years later, a 1963 inspector general report recommended termination

of unwitting testing; however, deputy director for plans (DDP)

Richard M. Helms continued to advocate covert testing on the

grounds that the Soviet Union was making strides in this area. Once

Richard Helms became director of central intelligence (DCI), he

was compelled to end unwitting testing on the grounds that it was

morally questionable and it risked embarrassing the CIA.

MKULTRA was the subject of investigation by the Rockefeller

Commissionin 1975, the Senate Church Committeein 1976, and

other entities. The CIAtold the Church Committee that MKULTRAin-

volved human experimentation using every research “avenue” listed in

the MKULTRAdocument except for radiation. The CIAalso noted that

most of the MKULTRArecords were deliberately destroyed in 1973 by

the order of DCI Helms. In early September 1994, the CIAfound a doc-

ument that asserted that it had explored radiation on humans directly.

Following revelations of MKULTRA and other unethical CIA

practices, President Gerald R. Fordissued the first executive order

on intelligence activities in 1976, which, among other matters, pro-

hibited experimentation with drugs on human subjects, except with

informed consent; in writing and witnessed by a disinterested third

party; and in accordance with the guidelines issued by the National

Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects for Biomedical

and Behavioral Research. Subsequent executive orders by Presidents

Jimmy Carterand Ronald Reaganexpanded the directive to apply

to all human experimentations. Successive DCIs have issued internal

guidelines for implementing the executive orders.

MONGOOSE (OPERATION). Operation Mongoose was a Central

Intelligence Agency (CIA)covert actionprogram in 1961–1962 to

undermine and overthrow the Fidel Castroregime in Cuba. First

proposed in May 1961, President John F.Kennedyauthorized the

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