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+---
+created: 2025-07-22
+updated: 2025-07-22
+title: Central Intelligence Agency
+tags:
+  - organization
+  - intelligence
+  - government
+description: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the U.S. federal government, tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world.
+---
+The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) is a primary intelligence-gathering organization of the United States government. In the context of psychic research, the CIA played a significant, albeit often covert, role in funding and overseeing programs aimed at exploring and utilizing psychic phenomena for intelligence purposes.[^1]
+
+The CIA, particularly through its Photographic Intelligence Division, was instrumental in aerial reconnaissance efforts, especially with the U-2 spy plane, to monitor Soviet nuclear programs and later, the Israeli nuclear facility at [[Dimona]].[^2]
+
+## Early Involvement in Psi Research
+The CIA's interest in psi research dates back to the early 1970s, partly in response to rumors of extensive Soviet psi research. Following a number of scandals in the mid-1970s, including revelations of domestic spying, the CIA came under unprecedented scrutiny from Congress. This led to a preference for "clean" spying methods, making psychic intelligence an appealing, low-profile alternative to traditional human intelligence (HUMINT).[^1]
+
+In 1972, the CIA, through officials like [[Ken Kress]] from the Technical Services Division (TSD) (later the Office of Technical Service, OTS), provided the initial funding for [[Hal Puthoff]]'s psi research program at [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI). This funding, initially $50,000 for eight months, was contingent on the researchers demonstrating a repeatable psi phenomenon. The Office of Research and Development (ORD) also jointly managed the funding and contract.[^1]
+
+### Oversight and Tasking of Remote Viewing
+CIA officials, including [[Richard Kennett]] (from the Office of Scientific Intelligence), [[Norm Everheart]] (from OTS and liaison to Staff D), and senior figures like John McMahon (Deputy Director for Operations) and Carl Duckett (Deputy Director for Science and Technology), served as key liaisons and evaluators for the remote viewing programs at SRI and later the Army's [[STARGATE PROJECT|Grill Flame]] unit at [[Fort Meade]]. They tasked psychics like [[Ingo Swann]], [[Pat Price]], and [[Uri Geller]] with sensitive intelligence problems, ranging from locating lost objects to gathering information on foreign military installations and agents.[^1]
+
+#### Notable Operations and Impact
+*   **Semipalatinsk:** CIA officials tasked [[Pat Price]] with remote viewing a mysterious Soviet military research facility at Semipalatinsk. Price's detailed descriptions of a gantry crane and large metal spheres were later confirmed by satellite photography, significantly impressing the Agency and securing further funding for SRI's psi research.[^1]
+*   **Soviet Diplomat and Fishing Pole:** [[Norm Everheart]] utilized remote viewers to investigate a Soviet diplomat suspected of using a fishing pole for dead-drop operations, leading to the successful identification of a dead-drop site.[^1]
+*   **KGB Agent Interrogation:** Remote viewers, particularly [[Ken Bell]], were used by the CIA to telepathically interrogate a captured KGB agent in South Africa, extracting information about a hidden pocket calculator used for coding messages. This operation, facilitated by [[Norm Everheart]] and Jim Morris, was considered a success despite its unconventional nature.[^1]
+*   **Tehran Hostage Crisis:** During the Iran hostage crisis in 1979-1980, the CIA and Pentagon tasked remote viewers hundreds of times to gather information on the hostages' whereabouts and conditions. While the remote viewers experienced burnout due to the relentless tasking, the data was considered "no worse" than that collected by more conventional methods.[^1]
+*   **Moscow Embassy:** The CIA tasked remote viewers to assess the new U.S. Embassy building in Moscow for Soviet bugs, even before its construction was complete. Remote viewers like [[Joe McMoneagle]] accurately described the building being riddled with thousands of bugs and metallic decoys, including girders welded into antennas, which was later confirmed by a CIA/NSA investigation. This prescient remote viewing highlighted a major security fiasco for the U.S. diplomatic efforts.[^1]
+
+### Intelligence Liaison with Israel
+The CIA's relationship with [[Israel]]i intelligence, particularly [[Mossad]], was extensive, involving 28 formal cooperative ventures in strategic intelligence since the 1950s. These arrangements were often financed off-the-books through a special contingency fund maintained by the Director of Central Intelligence. One such operation, code-named KK MOUNTAIN, involved millions in annual cash payments to [[Mossad]] in exchange for their agents acting as American surrogates in North Africa and other regions. Other agreements financed Israeli operations in [[Syria]] and the [[Soviet Union]], where the CIA found it difficult to operate.[^2]
+
+In 1977, [[Stansfield Turner]], then Director of Central Intelligence, abruptly cut back intelligence liaison with [[Israel]] as part of a CIA restructuring. This led to a sharp reduction in the flow of intelligence from [[Israel]] to [[Washington D.C.]]. However, the CIA's "embarrassingly inept reporting on [[Iran]]", particularly their failure to anticipate the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, forced the American leadership to turn back to Israeli help in anticipating world events. This contributed to the March 1979 KH-11 agreement, which granted [[Israel]] access to high-tech satellite imagery.[^2]
+
+Initially, the KH-11 satellite's images were tightly restricted, even to close allies like [[Great Britain]]. However, [[Jimmy Carter]]'s decision to provide [[Israel]] with direct access to the KH-11 in March 1979 disrupted the satellite's careful scheduling and meant less access for some American intelligence agencies. This decision was suspected by some American intelligence officials as a reward for the [[Camp David Accords|Camp David summit]].[^2]
+
+Following the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak]] in June 1981, [[William J. Casey]], [[Ronald Reagan]]'s Director of Central Intelligence, ordered a review of [[Israel]]'s use of the KH-11 intelligence-sharing agreement. The review found that [[Israel]] had expanded the agreement to extract virtually any photograph desired, including extensive coverage of western [[Russia]] and [[Moscow]]. This led to anger within the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] over the "very lax" management of the liaison agreement. Despite this, it was agreed that photographs would continue to flow to [[Israel]], but with the initial 1979 restrictions re-enforced.[^2]
+
+### Internal Skepticism and "Giggle Factor"
+Despite the successes, the CIA faced internal skepticism regarding psi research, often referred to as the "giggle factor." Officials like Ed Rogers, chief of Staff D, were hesitant to rely solely on psychic intelligence for high-stakes operations, fearing ridicule and operational compromise. This skepticism often led to remote viewing data being used to supplement conventional intelligence rather than as a primary source, as seen in the decision not to use Price's data for a direct penetration of the Chinese Embassy basement.[^1]
+
+#### Relationship with Psychics:
+The CIA's relationship with the psychics was complex. While valuing their abilities, the Agency maintained strict secrecy regarding their identities and the nature of their work. Psychics like [[Uri Geller]] were closely scrutinized for potential deception, and the Agency was wary of being exploited or used for disinformation by foreign intelligence services. Geller himself claimed to have worked for [[Israel]]i intelligence and later for the CIA's Mexico City station, providing psychic spying services in exchange for favorable U.S. visa arrangements.[^1]
+
+---
+
+### Footnotes
+[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
+[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.