Past military and CIA experiments with toxic chemicals and for
behavior modification were headline news in the 1970s. Congressional
hearings uncovered illegal and extensive government programs including the
CIA's now infamous MKULTRA mind control experiments. As a result, a series
of presidential executive orders were implemented.
President Reagan's 1981 executive order, E.O. 12333, is the only current
law governing classified experiments by intelligence agencies. Adopted by
17 federal agencies, the current regulations on experiments are called
"The Common Rule". The rules cover both classified and unclassified
experiments and include the cornerstone of human experimentation law,
informed consent of the research subject. But experts agree the regulations
lack any mechanisms for how classified research can be reviewed and conducted
with informed consent.
The current regulations include CFR Part 46 section 46.101(i) which
allows for a waiver of any or all of the CFR regulations and for a statute
or executive order to override the notification and publication
requirements. The relevant section states, "Unless otherwise required by law,
Department or Agency heads may waive the applicability of some or all of the
provisions of this policy to specific research activities or classes of
research activities otherwise covered by this policy." For further
information see: http://www.mindjustice.org/subjectslack.htm
One of the most influential U.S. scientists, Dr. Edwin Land, known for
his highly successful but classified work on satellite cameras also
conducted 1960s and 1970s CIA mind control research. Dr. Land was a
presidential science advisor who served on many national security related
boards and committees.
The CIA's infamous mind control programs and
experiments were revealed in 1970s congressional hearings. Classified mind
control research took place in over eighty institutions, such as UCLA, MIT,
Stanford and Harvard. A 1979 Washington Post article reported that classified
mind control research continued under the direction of Dr. Land. Book
Disputes CIA Chief on Mind-Control Efforts: Work went on Into 1970s, Author
Says, January 29, 1979, Washington Post. The following two paragraphs are
the relevant excerpts from this article.
"Despite assurances last
year from Central Intelligence Director Stansfield Turner that the CIA's
mind-control program was phased out over a decade ago, the intelligence
agency has come up with new documents indicating that the work went on into
the 1970s, according to a new book. John Marks, the author of the book, said
the CIA mind-control researchers did apparently drop their much publicized
MK-ULTRA drug-testing program. But they replaced it, according to Marks, with
another supersecret behavioral-control project under the agency's Office of
Research and Development."
"The ORD program used a cover
organization set up in the 1960s outside Boston headed by Dr. Edwin Land, the
founder of Polaroid, who acted as a "figurehead," said Marks in his book. The
project investigated such research as genetic engineering, development of new
strains of bacteria, and mind control. The book identifies the Massachusetts
proprietary organization headed by Land as the Scientific Engineering
Institute. The CIA-funded institute was originally set up as a radar and
technical research company in the 1950s and shifted over to mind-control
experiments in the 1960s with the exception of a few scattered programs.
According to Marks, however, the ORD program was a full-scale one and just as
secret as the earlier MK-ULTRA project. ..."
Clearly, the
government position based on national security concerns is that mind control
should remain one of the deepest secrets of the nation. This critical fact is
not explored or mentioned in mainstream press. The public must sort through
the mind control debate with incomplete information. For further examples
and explanation, see: http://www.mindjustice.org/experts_6-05.htm