vault backup: 2026-10-08 12:20:40

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/INTERNATIONAL/Mossad.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ aliases:
   - Israeli Secret Intelligence Service
   - Israeli intelligence
 created: 2025-07-22
-updated: 2026-10-05
+updated: 2026-10-08
 title: Mossad
 tags:
   - Organization
@@ -86,17 +86,17 @@ relations:
     start: 1982
     end: 1982
     role: "the Mossad was made responsible for the link with the Phalangist leadership"
-    fn: 10
+    fn: 14
   - type: subject_of
     with: "[[Kahan Commission]]"
     start: 1982-09
     end: 1983-02-08
-    fn: 11
+    fn: 15
   - type: participant_in
     with: "[[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]]"
     start: 1980
     role: "joint committee with military intelligence for arms supply to Iran, according to Ari Ben-Menashe"
-    fn: 13
+    fn: 17
 ---
 The Mossad (the Institute for Intelligence and Special Assignments, in the words of the 1983 [[Kahan Commission]]) is the foreign intelligence service of [[Israel]]. Its own website carries a directive of [[David Ben-Gurion]] on its creation and lists twelve directors from [[Reuven Shiloah]] in 1949 to [[Yossi Cohen]], who left in 2021: Shiloah (1949 to 1952), [[Isser Harel]] (1952 to 1963), [[Meir Amit]] (1963 to 1968), [[Zvi Zamir]] (1968 to 1974), [[Yitzhak Hofi]] (1974 to 1982), [[Nachum Admoni]] (1982 to 1989), [[Shabtai Shavit]] (1989 to 1996), [[Danny Yatom]] (1996 to 1998), [[Efraim Halevy]] (1998 to 2002), [[Meir Dagan]] (2002 to 2011), [[Tamir Pardo]] (2011 to 2016) and Cohen (2016 to 2021).[^1] The record below follows the service where it touches the American intelligence services, the nuclear program at [[Dimona]], and the Lebanon, Iran and computer-software episodes that run through this vault.[^2]
 
@@ -116,33 +116,39 @@ The CIA's Directorate of Operations name file on [[Adolf Eichmann]], released in
 
 A National Security Archive posting records that in the spring of 1963 "some top officials in Israel, primarily Mossad chief Isser Harel with the support of Foreign Minister [[Golda Meir]]," began through leaks to the Israeli press a public campaign about German scientists in Egypt developing ballistic missiles and radiological weapons, "possibly even nuclear weapons"; that the State Department intelligence chief Thomas Hughes asked the Director of Central Intelligence [[John McCone]] for a special estimate on advanced weapons programs in the United Arab Republic and Israel; and that the estimate of May 8, 1963 concluded that Israel "will attempt to produce a weapon sometime in the next several years" unless deterred, while the United Arab Republic did not have "the capability of producing a nuclear weapon in the foreseeable future."[^7] The same posting dates the correspondence between [[John F. Kennedy]] and Ben-Gurion over Dimona inspections to those months; Mossad's own list ends Harel's term in 1963.[^1][^7]
 
+### The May 1967 estimate and the June 1967 war
+
+[[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, writes that on May 25, 1967 Tel Aviv submitted to Washington a Mossad estimate claiming the Israeli military was badly outgunned by a Soviet-backed Arab force. The CIA's [[Office of National Estimates]] appraised the paper within five hours: "We do not believe that the Israeli appreciation . . . was a serious estimate of the sort they would submit to their own high officials. We think it is probably a gambit intended to influence the US to do one or more of the following: (a) provide military supplies, (b) make more public commitments to Israel, (c) approve Israeli military initiatives, and (d) put more pressure on Nasser." [[Walt Rostow]] sent both papers to Johnson with a note that the CIA appraisal "throws a great deal of cold water on the Israeli estimate."[^8][^9] On June 1, 1967, the Mossad chief Meir Amit met Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]] in Washington; the memorandum of the conversation was written by the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, [[Rufus Taylor]].[^10]
+
 ### Plumbat, 1968
 
-Hersh wrote that Mossad wanted uranium ore of which "hundreds of tons" sat in a warehouse near Antwerp, controlled by Euratom, and that Dimona, "ostensibly a twenty-four-megawatt reactor capable of consuming no more than twenty-four tons of ore in a year," could not openly buy an eight-year supply. In March 1968, he wrote, Mossad approached one of its agents in West Germany to buy the ore for $4 million, allegedly for an Italian chemical company in Milan; Euratom approved the sale in October; the uranium left Antwerp aboard a vessel renamed the Scheersberg A, "purchased, with Mossad funds, by another Israeli agent-in-place in Turkey"; and at sea the ore was transferred to an Israeli freighter guarded by gunboats. The disappearance was known to Euratom within months, American and European agencies reported internally that Israel was involved, and it took nine years for the press to report it; Hersh cited published accounts "confirmed by Israeli officials" and a 1978 book, *The Plumbat Affair*.[^8]
+Hersh wrote that Mossad wanted uranium ore of which "hundreds of tons" sat in a warehouse near Antwerp, controlled by Euratom, and that Dimona, "ostensibly a twenty-four-megawatt reactor capable of consuming no more than twenty-four tons of ore in a year," could not openly buy an eight-year supply. In March 1968, he wrote, Mossad approached one of its agents in West Germany to buy the ore for $4 million, allegedly for an Italian chemical company in Milan; Euratom approved the sale in October; the uranium left Antwerp aboard a vessel renamed the Scheersberg A, "purchased, with Mossad funds, by another Israeli agent-in-place in Turkey"; and at sea the ore was transferred to an Israeli freighter guarded by gunboats. The disappearance was known to Euratom within months, American and European agencies reported internally that Israel was involved, and it took nine years for the press to report it; Hersh cited published accounts "confirmed by Israeli officials" and a 1978 book, *The Plumbat Affair*.[^11]
+
+On September 10, 1968, Raphael Eitan, whom the National Security Archive identifies as deputy chief of Mossad operations and the organizer of the Mossad and [[LAKAM]] team in the Plumbat operation, visited the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]] plant at Apollo, Pennsylvania, with three other Israelis, according to an Atomic Energy Commission security report of September 6, 1968.[^12]
 
 ### Osirak and the Lebanon war
 
-Hersh wrote that Hofi, "the director of Mossad," and the chief of military intelligence [[Yehoshua Saguy]] opposed the 1981 attack on [[Osirak bombing|Osirak]] "primarily because there was no evidence that Iraq was as yet capable of building a bomb," and that two weeks after the raid Hofi gave an interview, identified only by title under censorship, complaining about politicians who compromised secret intelligence, which in Hersh's account left "no doubt in the Israeli intelligence community" that Begin was the politician meant; Hersh added that Hofi was also a critic of [[Ariel Sharon]].[^9]
+Hersh wrote that Hofi, "the director of Mossad," and the chief of military intelligence [[Yehoshua Saguy]] opposed the 1981 attack on [[Osirak bombing|Osirak]] "primarily because there was no evidence that Iraq was as yet capable of building a bomb," and that two weeks after the raid Hofi gave an interview, identified only by title under censorship, complaining about politicians who compromised secret intelligence, which in Hersh's account left "no doubt in the Israeli intelligence community" that Begin was the politician meant; Hersh added that Hofi was also a critic of [[Ariel Sharon]].[^13]
 
-The Kahan Commission, reporting on the Sabra and Shatila massacres, wrote that Israel had extended aid to the Christian armed forces, that "the Mossad was made responsible for the link with the Phalangists," and that its representatives "maintained a rather close connection with the Phalangist leadership"; that the Mossad "to a not inconsiderable extent under the influence of constant and close contact with the Phalangist elite" favored strengthening the relationship while military intelligence emphasized the Phalangists' unreliability; and that the Mossad's head, in testimony of December 27, 1982, accepted that "subjective, and not only objective, relations also emerged." In the view prevailing among the Mossad agents before the war, the commission wrote, the Phalangists' atrocities were a thing of the past, although in meetings with the heads of the Mossad [[Bashir Gemayel]] had said things that "left no room for doubt" of his intention to eliminate the Palestinian problem in Lebanon even by "aberrant methods."[^10] In cables of September 15 the Mossad representative in Beirut reported the meetings of the chief of staff and the defense minister with the Phalangist leadership and that the Phalangists would enter West Beirut after the Israeli Defense Forces; a cable of September 16 at noon reported a coordination meeting to prepare the Phalangists "for operations to clear the city of terrorists," and another that they would start work at the Burj el-Barajneh camp. The head of the Mossad, who had assumed the post on September 12, 1982 after serving as deputy, learned of the decision to send the Phalangists into the camps only at the cabinet meeting of Thursday evening, did not give an assessment of their entry or express reservations, and was found by the commission to have shown an inaction that "should not be considered serious," and the commission considered it sufficient to determine responsibility without further recommendation.[^11]
+The Kahan Commission, reporting on the Sabra and Shatila massacres, wrote that Israel had extended aid to the Christian armed forces, that "the Mossad was made responsible for the link with the Phalangists," and that its representatives "maintained a rather close connection with the Phalangist leadership"; that the Mossad "to a not inconsiderable extent under the influence of constant and close contact with the Phalangist elite" favored strengthening the relationship while military intelligence emphasized the Phalangists' unreliability; and that the Mossad's head, in testimony of December 27, 1982, accepted that "subjective, and not only objective, relations also emerged." In the view prevailing among the Mossad agents before the war, the commission wrote, the Phalangists' atrocities were a thing of the past, although in meetings with the heads of the Mossad [[Bashir Gemayel]] had said things that "left no room for doubt" of his intention to eliminate the Palestinian problem in Lebanon even by "aberrant methods."[^14] In cables of September 15 the Mossad representative in Beirut reported the meetings of the chief of staff and the defense minister with the Phalangist leadership and that the Phalangists would enter West Beirut after the Israeli Defense Forces; a cable of September 16 at noon reported a coordination meeting to prepare the Phalangists "for operations to clear the city of terrorists," and another that they would start work at the Burj el-Barajneh camp. The head of the Mossad, who had assumed the post on September 12, 1982 after serving as deputy, learned of the decision to send the Phalangists into the camps only at the cabinet meeting of Thursday evening, did not give an assessment of their entry or express reservations, and was found by the commission to have shown an inaction that "should not be considered serious," and the commission considered it sufficient to determine responsibility without further recommendation.[^15]
 
 ### Iran, 1980 and 1981
 
-[[Ari Ben-Menashe]] wrote that in the fall of 1980 Begin ordered the military intelligence chief [[Yehoshua Sagi]] and the Mossad's "acting director" Nachum Admoni to create an Iran-Israel Joint Committee of military intelligence and Mossad to supply arms to Iran; that [[David Kimche]], whom he called head of Tevel, was its senior member; and that after [[Yitzhak Shamir]] became prime minister members including Kimche were forced out and Eitan ran the committee.[^12][^13] Ben-Menashe is the sole source for these passages. The Mossad's own list gives Hofi as head from 1974 to 1982 and Admoni from 1982, and the Kahan Commission describes Admoni as deputy head until September 12, 1982.[^1][^10] The House October Surprise Task Force wrote that Eitan and Saguy had told the Israeli government they never met Ben-Menashe and that his Israeli military file showed work as a translator; Ben-Menashe was acquitted in New York in November 1990.[^14] See [[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]].
+[[Ari Ben-Menashe]] wrote that in the fall of 1980 Begin ordered the military intelligence chief [[Yehoshua Sagi]] and the Mossad's "acting director" Nachum Admoni to create an Iran-Israel Joint Committee of military intelligence and Mossad to supply arms to Iran; that [[David Kimche]], whom he called head of Tevel, was its senior member; and that after [[Yitzhak Shamir]] became prime minister members including Kimche were forced out and Eitan ran the committee.[^16][^17] Ben-Menashe is the sole source for these passages. The Mossad's own list gives Hofi as head from 1974 to 1982 and Admoni from 1982, and the Kahan Commission describes Admoni as deputy head until September 12, 1982.[^1][^14] The House October Surprise Task Force wrote that Eitan and Saguy had told the Israeli government they never met Ben-Menashe and that his Israeli military file showed work as a translator; Ben-Menashe was acquitted in New York in November 1990.[^18] See [[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]].
 
 ### PROMIS, according to Ben-Menashe
 
-Ben-Menashe wrote that Eitan, as counterterrorism adviser to Begin and then to Shamir, took an interest in the software program [[PROMIS]]; that in 1982 [[Earl Brian]] approached Eitan about selling it to foreign intelligence agencies; that Eitan decided to have a "trap door" installed to give Israeli agents access to the computers of any service that bought it; that Ben-Menashe recruited his childhood friend [[Yehuda Ben-Hanan]], of Software and Engineering Consultants in California, to build the external access; that Eitan selected Jordan to test it and that Brian sold it through his company [[Hadron]]; and that [[Robert Maxwell]] "made a fortune out of it" through his companies.[^15] Ben-Menashe is the sole source for these passages. See [[PROMIS Software Scandal]].
+Ben-Menashe wrote that Eitan, as counterterrorism adviser to Begin and then to Shamir, took an interest in the software program [[PROMIS]]; that in 1982 [[Earl Brian]] approached Eitan about selling it to foreign intelligence agencies; that Eitan decided to have a "trap door" installed to give Israeli agents access to the computers of any service that bought it; that Ben-Menashe recruited his childhood friend [[Yehuda Ben-Hanan]], of Software and Engineering Consultants in California, to build the external access; that Eitan selected Jordan to test it and that Brian sold it through his company [[Hadron]]; and that [[Robert Maxwell]] "made a fortune out of it" through his companies.[^19] Ben-Menashe is the sole source for these passages. See [[PROMIS Software Scandal]].
 
 ### Vanunu and the Mirror Group, 1986
 
-Hersh wrote that copies of the photographs [[Mordecai Vanunu]] took inside Dimona were made available in London, before the Sunday Times published, to an Israeli intelligence agent masquerading as an American reporter; that they were sent by courier to the office of Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]], who ordered Mossad to get Vanunu out of London and into Israeli custody; that "no kidnapping could take place in England for diplomatic reasons"; and that Vanunu was enticed by a Mossad agent named Cindy Hanin Bentov (a pseudonym; see [[Cindy Hanin Bentov]]) to leave for Rome a few days before publication, where, according to Vanunu's account to relatives, he was drugged and returned to Israel by ship.[^16]
+Hersh wrote that copies of the photographs [[Mordecai Vanunu]] took inside Dimona were made available in London, before the Sunday Times published, to an Israeli intelligence agent masquerading as an American reporter; that they were sent by courier to the office of Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]], who ordered Mossad to get Vanunu out of London and into Israeli custody; that "no kidnapping could take place in England for diplomatic reasons"; and that Vanunu was enticed by a Mossad agent named Cindy Hanin Bentov (a pseudonym; see [[Cindy Hanin Bentov]]) to leave for Rome a few days before publication, where, according to Vanunu's account to relatives, he was drugged and returned to Israel by ship.[^20]
 
-Ben-Menashe told Hersh that after Vanunu's photographs reached the Israeli leadership he and others were told that "Peres said, 'Let's make him an example'" rather than assassinating him; that the foreign editor of the Daily Mirror, [[Nicholas Davies]], "provided the framework" for the Sunday Mirror's hostile story of September 28, which went to Maxwell, publisher of the Mirror Group; and that Maxwell told him "I know what has to happen. I have already spoken to your bosses."[^17] The Sunday Mirror's reporters Tony Frost and Mark Souster were ordered by their editor to take the photographs to the Israeli embassy; the senior deputy editor John C. Parker understood that Maxwell had given the order; the news editor Peter J. Miller said that "the line we were instructed to take cost the Sunday Mirror a world-beating exclusive"; and the editor Michael Malloy acknowledged discussing the story with Maxwell, said there was "nothing sinister or strange" in it, and recalled that Maxwell ordered the photographs shown to the Israelis.[^17] Ben-Menashe is the sole source for his own account of the meeting with Maxwell and of the instructions; the Mirror staff statements are those of the persons named.
+Ben-Menashe told Hersh that after Vanunu's photographs reached the Israeli leadership he and others were told that "Peres said, 'Let's make him an example'" rather than assassinating him; that the foreign editor of the Daily Mirror, [[Nicholas Davies]], "provided the framework" for the Sunday Mirror's hostile story of September 28, which went to Maxwell, publisher of the Mirror Group; and that Maxwell told him "I know what has to happen. I have already spoken to your bosses."[^21] The Sunday Mirror's reporters Tony Frost and Mark Souster were ordered by their editor to take the photographs to the Israeli embassy; the senior deputy editor John C. Parker understood that Maxwell had given the order; the news editor Peter J. Miller said that "the line we were instructed to take cost the Sunday Mirror a world-beating exclusive"; and the editor Michael Malloy acknowledged discussing the story with Maxwell, said there was "nothing sinister or strange" in it, and recalled that Maxwell ordered the photographs shown to the Israelis.[^21] Ben-Menashe is the sole source for his own account of the meeting with Maxwell and of the instructions; the Mirror staff statements are those of the persons named.
 
 ### Uri Geller
 
-[[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that, according to Geller, [[Moshe Dayan]] asked [[Uri Geller]] "Now, what can you do for Israel?"; that "so the story goes" Geller then met the military intelligence chief [[Aharon Yariv]] and officials of Mossad and [[Shin Bet]], was tested by them and began to work for them, viewing targets in Syria and elsewhere; and that Yariv, in an interview with the science writer John Wilhelm in the mid-1970s, denied ever meeting or consulting with Geller. Schnabel wrote that Geller says he later met secretly in hotel rooms in the United States with Israeli officials to brief them on his experiences at [[Stanford Research Institute]] and was warned "not to do certain things" there; that in one of Geller's stories a tape recorder started to play by itself at a meeting with Mossad officers; and that among the "wild surmises" in the air when CIA officials asked Puthoff about Geller was that he was "part of some Mossad disinformation project, designed to spook the Arabs into believing that Israel possessed a paranormal superman," or that Israeli intelligence wanted to infiltrate SRI. Several Israeli officials came to SRI in the summer of 1973; [[Hal Puthoff|Harold Puthoff]] "had the impression that they were from Israeli military intelligence," and they said that Geller had done "surprisingly good work for them against Middle Eastern military targets" and asked whether it was luck or verifiable psychic ability.[^18]
+[[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that, according to Geller, [[Moshe Dayan]] asked [[Uri Geller]] "Now, what can you do for Israel?"; that "so the story goes" Geller then met the military intelligence chief [[Aharon Yariv]] and officials of Mossad and [[Shin Bet]], was tested by them and began to work for them, viewing targets in Syria and elsewhere; and that Yariv, in an interview with the science writer John Wilhelm in the mid-1970s, denied ever meeting or consulting with Geller. Schnabel wrote that Geller says he later met secretly in hotel rooms in the United States with Israeli officials to brief them on his experiences at [[Stanford Research Institute]] and was warned "not to do certain things" there; that in one of Geller's stories a tape recorder started to play by itself at a meeting with Mossad officers; and that among the "wild surmises" in the air when CIA officials asked Puthoff about Geller was that he was "part of some Mossad disinformation project, designed to spook the Arabs into believing that Israel possessed a paranormal superman," or that Israeli intelligence wanted to infiltrate SRI. Several Israeli officials came to SRI in the summer of 1973; [[Hal Puthoff|Harold Puthoff]] "had the impression that they were from Israeli military intelligence," and they said that Geller had done "surprisingly good work for them against Middle Eastern military targets" and asked whether it was luck or verifiable psychic ability.[^22]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
@@ -153,14 +159,18 @@ Ben-Menashe told Hersh that after Vanunu's photographs reached the Israeli leade
 [^5]: Feinstein, Tamara, ed., "The CIA Names File on Adolf Eichmann," National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 150, March 24, 2005, citing the CIA Directorate of Operations file, vol. 1, document 49, and vol. 2, document 7. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB150/index.htm
 [^6]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 21, "Israel's Nuclear Spy," pp. 288-289.
 [^7]: Burr, William, and Avner Cohen, eds., "The Battle of the Letters, 1963," National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 671, May 2, 2019, documents 17 and 22. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2019-05-02/battle-letters-1963-john-f-kennedy-david-ben-gurion-levi-eshkol-us-inspections-dimona
-[^8]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 13, "An Israeli Decision," pp. 180-181.
-[^9]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 1, pp. 9-11; chapter 21, p. 294 footnote (Hofi and Sharon).
-[^10]: Kahan Commission Report, sections on the Phalangists and the Mossad, on the Phalangists' entry into the camps, and on the head of the Mossad (note 2).
-[^11]: Kahan Commission Report (note 2), recommendations on the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the head of the Mossad.
-[^12]: Ben-Menashe, Ari, *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*, TrineDay, 2015 reprint of the 1992 edition, passages on the Joint Committee for Iran-Israel Relations, Tevel and the Mossad directorship. https://archive.org/details/profits-of-war-1992-ari-ben-menashe
-[^13]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, passage on Begin's order to Sagi and Admoni in the fall of 1980.
-[^14]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, H. Rept. 102-1102, January 3, 1993, section on Ben-Menashe (p. 97). https://archive.org/details/14148-h.rp.-1102 ; Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 19, p. 260 footnote (acquittal in November 1990).
-[^15]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, chapter on PROMIS.
-[^16]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 15, "The Tunnel," pp. 197-198.
-[^17]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 22, "An Israeli Asset," pp. 311-315.
-[^18]: Schnabel, Jim, *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies*, Dell, 1997, chapter 9, "The Trickster." Full text read at https://archive.org/details/jim-schnabel-remote-viewers-the-secret-history-of-americas-psychic-spies_2
+[^8]: Robarge, David S. "Getting it Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War." *Studies in Intelligence* 49, no. 1 (March 2005). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-Analysis-1967-War.pdf
+[^9]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 61, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, May 25, 1967, with attached CIA appraisal. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d61
+[^10]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 124, Memorandum for the Record by Vice Admiral Rufus Taylor, June 1, 1967 (prepared June 2). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d124
+[^11]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 13, "An Israeli Decision," pp. 180-181.
+[^12]: National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (November 2, 2016), Document 10 and commentary. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-11-02/numec-affair-did-highly-enriched-uranium-us-aid-israels-nuclear-weapons-program The identification of Eitan's role is the posting's commentary.
+[^13]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 1, pp. 9-11; chapter 21, p. 294 footnote (Hofi and Sharon).
+[^14]: Kahan Commission Report, sections on the Phalangists and the Mossad, on the Phalangists' entry into the camps, and on the head of the Mossad (note 2).
+[^15]: Kahan Commission Report (note 2), recommendations on the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the head of the Mossad.
+[^16]: Ben-Menashe, Ari, *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*, TrineDay, 2015 reprint of the 1992 edition, passages on the Joint Committee for Iran-Israel Relations, Tevel and the Mossad directorship. https://archive.org/details/profits-of-war-1992-ari-ben-menashe
+[^17]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, passage on Begin's order to Sagi and Admoni in the fall of 1980.
+[^18]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, H. Rept. 102-1102, January 3, 1993, section on Ben-Menashe (p. 97). https://archive.org/details/14148-h.rp.-1102 ; Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 19, p. 260 footnote (acquittal in November 1990).
+[^19]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, chapter on PROMIS.
+[^20]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 15, "The Tunnel," pp. 197-198.
+[^21]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 22, "An Israeli Asset," pp. 311-315.
+[^22]: Schnabel, Jim, *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies*, Dell, 1997, chapter 9, "The Trickster." Full text read at https://archive.org/details/jim-schnabel-remote-viewers-the-secret-history-of-americas-psychic-spies_2

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Advanced Research Projects Agency.md

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
----
-created: 2025-07-22
-updated: 2026-06-12
-title: Advanced Research Projects Agency
-aliases:
-  - ARPA
-tags:
-  - organization
-  - government
-  - research
-description: The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was a U.S. government agency responsible for funding and overseeing advanced technological research, including early investigations into psychic phenomena. It is now known as DARPA.
-category: "U.S. Government"
-summary: "The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), now known as DARPA, was a U.S. government agency that funded advanced technological research including early classified investigations into psychic phenomena during the Cold War."
-start: 1958
-end: 1972
-location: "Arlington, Virginia"
----
-The [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA) was a U.S. government agency responsible for funding and overseeing advanced technological research. It is now known as [[DARPA]] ([[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]]).[^1]
-
-In the early 1970s, ARPA showed interest in psychic phenomena, sending a three-man team to observe [[Uri Geller]] at [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) in early 1973.[^1]
-
-While ARPA's corporate stance was not to pursue further investigations into Geller, one of its team members, psychologist [[Robert Van de Castle]], was reportedly impressed by Geller's abilities.[^1]
-
-### Long-Horizon Research and Military Psychology
-
-ARPA was specifically designed to sponsor projects whose results would not arrive for ten to fifteen years, providing a funding mechanism for long-horizon military science outside standard procurement budgets. Its [[Arlington, Virginia]] headquarters sat in the same building complex as the [[USARIBSS|Army Research Institute]] and other military psychological research organizations. In the psychological sciences its Cold War work concentrated on biofeedback research and early brain-weapon studies (including whether pilots' brain states could be linked to missile systems), and on the psychology of insurgent organizations, with [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] as the primary focus. The most prominent ARPA-commissioned psychological study was the [[Rand Corporation]]'s Viet Cong motivation and morale study of the early 1960s, and ARPA also sponsored [[Project Agile]], a series of Asian military-science studies that included the [[Battelle Memorial Institute]] smell-weapons research of 1966. A 1964 classified memorandum from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering placed ARPA in an integrating role for behavioral and social science research across the service branches.[^2]
-
----
-
-[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
-[^2]: Peter Watson, *War on the Mind: The Military Uses and Abuses of Psychology*. Basic Books, 1978.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.md

@@ -15,42 +15,57 @@ relations:
     start: 2025-08-05
     end: 2025-08-06
     role: "named sponsor of the August 5-6, 2025 workshop 'Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis' held at Associated Universities, Inc. (paper 26-P-0344)"
-    fn: 2
+    fn: 9
   - type: partner_of
     with: "[[Associated Universities, Inc.]]"
     start: 2025
     role: "the invitation letter to the 2025 workshop describes 'a new collaboration between the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and Florida State University (FSU)'"
-    fn: 2
+    fn: 9
   - type: partner_of
     with: "[[Florida State University]]"
     start: 2025
     role: "same collaboration; Gretchen Stahlman of the FSU School of Information signed the invitation letter on behalf of the organizing committee"
-    fn: 2
-updated: 2026-10-04
+    fn: 9
+updated: 2026-10-08
 ---
-The [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] (AARO) is the official office within the [[United States]] [[Department of Defense]] tasked with investigating [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP). It was established by Congress in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and is the successor to the [[UAP Task Force]].[^1]
+The [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] (AARO) is the official office within the [[United States]] [[Department of Defense]] tasked with investigating [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP). Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 required the Secretary of Defense to establish an office to carry out the duties of the [[UAP Task Force]], "as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act."[^1][^2] The Deputy Secretary of Defense established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office by memorandum on July 15, 2022, "to meet the DoD requirements in section 1683 of the NDAA for FY 2022," and Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, enacted December 23, 2022, provided that the office be "known as the 'All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.'"[^3][^4]
 
 ### Establishment and Mandate
 
 The creation of AARO was a direct result of the legislative efforts of [[Christopher Mellon]], [[Luis Elizondo]], and a bipartisan group of senators and representatives who were concerned about the national security implications of UAP and the lack of transparency from the Pentagon. The office is mandated to synchronize efforts across the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to detect, identify, and attribute objects of interest in, on, or near military installations, operating areas, training areas, special use airspace, and other areas of interest.[^1]
 
+On November 23, 2021 the Deputy Secretary of Defense, [[Kathleen Hicks]], directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security to establish the [[Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group]] (AOIMSG) "as the successor to the U.S. Navy's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force," with an executive council (AOIMEXEC).[^5]
+
+The July 15, 2022 memorandum established the office "to carry out the duties that were to be fulfilled by the AOIMSG." It directed the Secretary of the Navy to "disestablish the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) no later than the date the AARO is established," and to support "the transfer of any data, analysis, or other relevant material, to the AARO."[^6]
+
+Section 1673 of the 2023 act directs a secure mechanism for reporting "any activity or program by a department or agency of the Federal Government or a contractor of such a department or agency relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, including with respect to material retrieval, material analysis, reverse engineering, research and development."[^7]
+
+The office's March 2024 historical record report states that AOIMSG "had not achieved initial operating capability before subsequent legislation in the FY2022 NDAA resulted in it being renamed to AARO," and dates the UAP Task Force "August 2020-November 2021."[^8]
+
 AARO is required to provide regular briefings to Congress and to produce an annual public report on its findings. The establishment of a permanent, congressionally-mandated UAP office with a direct line of reporting to lawmakers is a significant step forward in the effort to bring transparency and scientific rigor to the study of UAP.[^1]
 
 ### Academic Workshops
 
-The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office is named as sponsor of a two-day workshop held August 5 and 6, 2025 at the headquarters of [[Associated Universities, Inc.]] (AUI) in [[Vienna, Virginia]]. The sponsoring office's own paper, "2025 UAP Workshop: Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis. Workshop Synthesis and Recommendations," carries the line "Workshop sponsored by: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)" and the document number 26-P-0344. Its executive summary states that the workshop "brought together 40 participants from government, academia, and independent research organizations," and the text adds that "Outside participation was limited due to budget constraints and institutional capacity."[^2]
+The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office is named as sponsor of a two-day workshop held August 5 and 6, 2025 at the headquarters of [[Associated Universities, Inc.]] (AUI) in [[Vienna, Virginia]]. The sponsoring office's own paper, "2025 UAP Workshop: Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis. Workshop Synthesis and Recommendations," carries the line "Workshop sponsored by: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)" and the document number 26-P-0344. Its executive summary states that the workshop "brought together 40 participants from government, academia, and independent research organizations," and the text adds that "Outside participation was limited due to budget constraints and institutional capacity."[^9]
 
-The invitation letter reproduced in the paper's Appendix A, signed by [[Gretchen Stahlman]] of [[Florida State University]] and [[Tim Spuck]] of AUI on behalf of the organizing committee, states that the event "builds upon a previous NSF-funded workshop held in 2024" and that "A new collaboration between the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and Florida State University (FSU) has convened to host the upcoming event." The 2024 workshop was held May 15 to 17, 2024 at AUI under [[National Science Foundation]] award 2301922, via a $25,000 supplement (see [[2024 AUI UAP Workshop]]). The 2025 letter anticipated "25-30 experts," and the final count was 40. It offered lodging and most meals and stated that the organizers were "unable to compensate you for travel costs."[^2]
+The invitation letter reproduced in the paper's Appendix A, signed by [[Gretchen Stahlman]] of [[Florida State University]] and [[Tim Spuck]] of AUI on behalf of the organizing committee, states that the event "builds upon a previous NSF-funded workshop held in 2024" and that "A new collaboration between the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and Florida State University (FSU) has convened to host the upcoming event." The 2024 workshop was held May 15 to 17, 2024 at AUI under [[National Science Foundation]] award 2301922, via a $25,000 supplement (see [[2024 AUI UAP Workshop]]). The 2025 letter anticipated "25-30 experts," and the final count was 40. It offered lodging and most meals and stated that the organizers were "unable to compensate you for travel costs."[^9]
 
-The paper's recommended next steps are standardized metadata templates for UAP reports, a hybrid of qualitative expertise and AI tools with human oversight, triage of reports by credibility and corroboration, preservation and digitization of historical reports, enhancement of public reporting portals, and further convenings to build a "community of practice." Its guidelines for conduct state that the workshop would "NOT be focused on what UAP are or their origins," and name tags could list a first name with no institutional affiliation.[^2]
+The paper's recommended next steps are standardized metadata templates for UAP reports, a hybrid of qualitative expertise and AI tools with human oversight, triage of reports by credibility and corroboration, preservation and digitization of historical reports, enhancement of public reporting portals, and further convenings to build a "community of practice." Its guidelines for conduct state that the workshop would "NOT be focused on what UAP are or their origins," and name tags could list a first name with no institutional affiliation.[^9]
 
-The [[Society for UAP Studies]] published a report by [[Greg Bishop]] dated September 2, 2025 stating that AARO and AUI "convened a symposium at the AUI headquarters in Vienna, Virginia," and that "AARO director Kosloski emphasized that the mission of his office is to study UAP as a potential deficit in 'domain awareness.'" The report identifies the director as Acting Director Dr. [[Jon Kosloski|Jon T. Kosloski]].[^3]
+The [[Society for UAP Studies]] published a report by [[Greg Bishop]] dated September 2, 2025 stating that AARO and AUI "convened a symposium at the AUI headquarters in Vienna, Virginia," and that "AARO director Kosloski emphasized that the mission of his office is to study UAP as a potential deficit in 'domain awareness.'" The report identifies the director as Acting Director Dr. [[Jon Kosloski|Jon T. Kosloski]].[^10]
 
-On April 29, 2026 AUI's podcast "[[Beyond the Breakthrough]]" (episode "Making Sense of the Unknown," with Spuck and Stahlman) stated in its notes: "The 2025 workshop, 'Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis' was supported by the U.S. All-domain Anomaly Office."[^4]
+On April 29, 2026 AUI's podcast "[[Beyond the Breakthrough]]" (episode "Making Sense of the Unknown," with Spuck and Stahlman) stated in its notes: "The 2025 workshop, 'Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis' was supported by the U.S. All-domain Anomaly Office."[^11]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
 [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
-[^2]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "2025 UAP Workshop: Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis. Workshop Synthesis and Recommendations," 26-P-0344, August 5-6, 2025, https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Information%20Papers/2025_UAP_Workshop_Paper.pdf (archived PDF: https://web.archive.org/web/20260927135859/https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Information%20Papers/2025_UAP_Workshop_Paper.pdf).
-[^3]: Greg Bishop, "AARO and AUI Engage Academia in UAP Symposium," Society for UAP Studies, September 2, 2025, https://www.societyforuapstudies.org/post/aaro-and-aui-engage-academia-in-uap-symposium.
-[^4]: "Making Sense of the Unknown," Beyond the Breakthrough (Associated Universities, Inc. podcast), April 29, 2026, https://beyondthebreakthrough.podbean.com/e/uap-data/.
+[^2]: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Public Law 117-81, Sec. 1683, "Establishment of office, organizational structure, and authorities to address unidentified aerial phenomena." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ81/html/PLAW-117publ81.htm
+[^3]: Deputy Secretary of Defense, memorandum, "Establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," July 15, 2022. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jul/20/2003039074/-1/-1/1/ESTABLISHMENT-OF-THE-ALL-DOMAIN-ANOMALY-RESOLUTION-OFFICE.PDF
+[^4]: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Public Law 117-263, Sec. 1683, "Establishment of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," and Sec. 1673, "Unidentified anomalous phenomena reporting procedures." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ263/html/PLAW-117publ263.htm
+[^5]: Department of Defense, "DoD Announces the Establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG)," press release, November 23, 2021. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2853121/dod-announces-the-establishment-of-the-airborne-object-identification-and-manag/
+[^6]: Deputy Secretary of Defense, memorandum, "Establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," July 15, 2022. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jul/20/2003039074/-1/-1/1/ESTABLISHMENT-OF-THE-ALL-DOMAIN-ANOMALY-RESOLUTION-OFFICE.PDF
+[^7]: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Public Law 117-263, Sec. 1683, "Establishment of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," and Sec. 1673, "Unidentified anomalous phenomena reporting procedures." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ263/html/PLAW-117publ263.htm
+[^8]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I," March 2024, p. 24. https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
+[^9]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "2025 UAP Workshop: Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis. Workshop Synthesis and Recommendations," 26-P-0344, August 5-6, 2025, https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Information%20Papers/2025_UAP_Workshop_Paper.pdf (archived PDF: https://web.archive.org/web/20260927135859/https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Information%20Papers/2025_UAP_Workshop_Paper.pdf).
+[^10]: Greg Bishop, "AARO and AUI Engage Academia in UAP Symposium," Society for UAP Studies, September 2, 2025, https://www.societyforuapstudies.org/post/aaro-and-aui-engage-academia-in-uap-symposium.
+[^11]: "Making Sense of the Unknown," Beyond the Breakthrough (Associated Universities, Inc. podcast), April 29, 2026, https://beyondthebreakthrough.podbean.com/e/uap-data/.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/DARPA.md

@@ -1,23 +1,159 @@
 ---
 created: 2025-07-22
-updated: 2025-07-22
+updated: 2026-10-08
 title: DARPA
+aliases:
+  - DARPA
+  - ARPA
+  - Advanced Research Projects Agency
+  - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
 tags:
   - Organization
   - Government
   - Research
-  - USA
   - Defense
-  - Technology
+  - ARPANET
+  - RemoteViewing
+  - ProjectPandora
+  - TotalInformationAwareness
+  - BrainComputerInterface
 description: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
 category: "U.S. Government"
-summary: "The DARPA (DARPA) is the modern name for the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). It is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the..."
+summary: "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), founded in 1958 as ARPA, funded psychic research at Stanford Research Institute, the Pandora microwave program and the Total Information Awareness office."
 start: 1958
 location: "Arlington, Virginia"
+relations:
+  - type: contractor_to
+    with: "[[Stanford Research Institute]]"
+    reverse: true
+    start: 2005
+    fn: 28
+  - type: funded
+    with: "[[Stanford Research Institute]]"
+    start: 1983
+    fn: 17
+  - type: funded
+    with: "[[Project Pandora]]"
+    end: 1970
+    fn: 3
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[Richard S. Cesaro]]"
+    reverse: true
+    start: 1967
+    fn: 23
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[George Lawrence]]"
+    reverse: true
+    start: 1972
+    fn: 10
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[John Poindexter]]"
+    reverse: true
+    start: 2002
+    end: 2003
+    fn: 26
+  - type: funded
+    with: "[[Center Lane]]"
+    start: 1983
+    fn: 19
 ---
-The [[DARPA|Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (DARPA) is the modern name for the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA). It is a research and development agency of the [[United States Department of Defense]] responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.[^1]
+The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the [[United States Department of Defense]] that funds advanced technology for military use. It was established in 1958 as the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).[^1]
 
-While the *Remote Viewers* text primarily refers to the agency by its earlier name, ARPA, DARPA continues to be at the forefront of advanced research, including areas that may touch upon human capabilities and unconventional intelligence methods.
+### Names, leadership and headquarters
+
+[[Barry M. Leiner]] and coauthors date the first renaming to DARPA to 1971, a return to ARPA in 1993, and a second return to DARPA in 1996.[^2] A history prepared for the agency by the [[Institute for Defense Analyses]] gives 1972 for the renaming to DARPA.[^1] A letter from the agency to [[Warren G. Magnuson]], chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, gave its headquarters as 1400 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia.[^3]
+
+The same Institute for Defense Analyses history lists [[Jack Ruina]] as director from 1961 to 1963, [[Robert Sproull]] from 1963 to 1965, and [[Charles Herzfeld]] from 1965 to 1967. [[Eberhardt Rechtin]] became director in 1967 after about six months in which the deputy director, [[Peter Franken]], served as acting director. [[Stephen Lukasik]] became director in 1971, and [[George H. Heilmeier]] was named by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, [[Malcolm Currie]], with [[James Schlesinger]] as Secretary of Defense. [[Robert Fossum]] became director in 1977, [[Robert Cooper]] in 1981 and [[Robert Duncan]] in 1985, and [[Raymond Colladay]], formerly of [[NASA]], served as director for 18 months. The history describes the agency's Vietnam-era role as operating particularly through its Advanced Sensor program.[^1] [[Anthony Tether]] was director in August 2003.[^4]
+
+### Long-horizon research and military psychology
+
+ARPA was designed to sponsor projects whose results would not arrive for ten to fifteen years, providing a funding mechanism for long-horizon military science outside standard procurement budgets. Its [[Arlington, Virginia]] headquarters sat in the same building complex as the [[USARIBSS|Army Research Institute]] and other military psychological research organizations. In the psychological sciences its Cold War work concentrated on biofeedback research and early brain-weapon studies (including whether pilots' brain states could be linked to missile systems), and on the psychology of insurgent organizations, with [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] as the primary focus. The most prominent ARPA-commissioned psychological study was the [[Rand Corporation]]'s Viet Cong motivation and morale study of the early 1960s, and ARPA also sponsored [[Project Agile]], a series of Asian military-science studies that included the [[Battelle Memorial Institute]] smell-weapons research of 1966. A 1964 classified memorandum from the Director of Defense Research and Engineering placed ARPA in an integrating role for behavioral and social science research across the service branches.[^5]
+
+### Early psychic inquiries, 1972 to 1973
+
+[[Ray Hyman]] wrote that he visited SRI on December 8, 1972, with the agency's George Lawrence.[^6] Beaumont wrote that in 1972 the agency sent a team to evaluate the claimed results obtained at [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) with the spoon-bender [[Uri Geller]], headed by [[George Lawrence]], a psychologist open-minded on parapsychology, and including Hyman, an accomplished magician, and [[Robert Van de Castle]], a University of Virginia sleep and dream expert and a past president of the [[Parapsychological Association|American Parapsychological Association]]. Beaumont described the team's report as totally negative.[^7] A CIA Office of Research and Development memorandum of January 24, 1973 refers to "Drs. Austin Kibler and George Lawrence" of ARPA as having been to SRI to observe Geller, [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]].[^8] [[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that the agency sent a three-man team to look at Geller at SRI in early 1973, one member of which was a University of Virginia psychologist While the agency's corporate stance was not to pursue Geller further, Schnabel wrote, Van de Castle was impressed by Geller's abilities.[^9]
+
+[[Time]] reported in 1974 that Hyman, accompanied by Lawrence, described as a DoD projects manager for the Advanced Research Projects Agency, caught Geller in some outright deceptions. Time quoted Hyman as calling the SRI tests conducted with what he termed "incredible sloppiness."[^10]
+
+[[Michael Zarbo]], an Army captain writing a master's thesis at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] college in 1992, citing [[Ronald McRae]]'s [[Mind Wars]], wrote that Lawrence "was ordered by his superiors to find something to satisfy Congressional demands to match purported Soviet efforts in the field."[^11]
+
+Beaumont wrote that the Army awarded a contract of $145,000 to examine Kirlian photography in 1976 and that the researchers found the "aura" to be an interaction of body moisture and the electric field.[^7] [[David Suter]], in an undated [[Washington Post]] article, attributed a $145,000 contract to the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, placing it "last year."[^12]
+
+Suter reported that DARPA spokesperson Jane Smith denied that the agency had any interest in psychic research or in Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ. He reported that Director George H. Heilmeier had stated that the agency had not received, and was not considering, a formal or informal proposal on psychic research. According to a paid consultant who briefed the agency, SRI had proposed a $3.5 million program on remote viewing. Suter also reported that Colonel Austin Kibler, director of DARPA's human resources division in 1973, confided to a consulting psychologist that "it could be that we are pretending to support this [psychic] work to throw off the Russians."[^12] Skeptics at the agency, Suter wrote, flew in an outside team of debunkers to brief engineers considering SRI's psychic work.[^12]
+
+[[Kenneth A. Kress]], writing in the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] journal [[Studies in Intelligence]] in the winter of 1977, recalled that DARPA reported "not only a showing of interest but a hostile response." He described a briefing at which "the SRI contractors and I" faced "an assemblage of hostile DARPA people who had been convened especially to debunk our results," after which contacts with DARPA stopped for several years and the Navy funded a replication.[^13]
+
+### The DARPA computer network and remote viewing experiments, 1975 to 1979
+
+A 1977 SRI report by Puthoff, Targ and [[Edwin May]], titled "Advanced Threat Technique Assessment," has a section on long-distance remote viewing that lists "Use of the DARPA teleconferencing computer network to provide date and time records of experiments in progress." The experiments ran between New York and California, New York and Dayton, and New Orleans and California.[^14] A 1977 proceedings volume of the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society describes the TALK mode of the DARPA net being used for post-experiment feedback between a subject at SRI and an experimenter on the East Coast.[^15] Zarbo describes a 1976 test, reported in a [[New York Times]] article that he dates to 1983, in which Targ acted as a conduit in New York City while a viewer at SRI typed impressions on a terminal linked to the DARPA network, the target being a fountain in Washington Square Park. The thesis footnote for the article lists William J. Broad, "Pentagon is said to Focus on ESP for Wartime Use," January 10, 1984, section C.[^11]
+
+In 1979 [[Harry Snyder]] and Arlene Snyder of [[Systemetrics]], Inc., issued a critical evaluation of remote viewing research under contract 77F104420. The report states that the DARPA computer teleconferencing network coordinated experimental timing and provided time and date stamped records of all communications.[^16]
+
+### Funding routed through DARPA, 1983
+
+Army and Defense Intelligence Agency records released through the CIA reading room describe DARPA as the source of money for remote viewing work at SRI in 1983. A February 21, 1983 information paper of the [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command]] (INSCOM), signed by [[Robert Jachim]] as project manager, states that a memorandum of January 19, 1983 from the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering lifted a prohibition on the use of P6 funds for the [[Grill Flame]] project. The paper reports that Dr. [[Jack Vorona]] of the Defense Intelligence Agency "has either obtained or received commitment for $200K from DARPA" to keep SRI intact for fiscal 1983.[^17] The same paper states that the Director of the GDIP Program, Mr. Hurwitz, wrote the memorandum for the Under Secretary, and lists among his objectives for Grill Flame: "Keep the SRI team intact - Use the Dr DeLaurer Memo to get funds to SRI."[^17]
+
+A February 28, 1983 INSCOM information paper repeats the $200,000 figure and describes it as money DIA had determined was needed to keep DIA intact for fiscal 1983.[^18] An undated Army memorandum (DAMI-ISH), concerning a funding initiative for the INSCOM unit called [[Center Lane]], states that "Contact with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the actual source of the funds, resulted in a decision to move the money covertly through DCSRDA, if approved." It refers to the end of fiscal 1983 and records that the Congressional prohibition against use of [[National Foreign Intelligence Program]] (NFIP) or NFIP-derived funds "has been discussed with DARPA, but will be reiterated."[^19]
+
+A Defense Intelligence Agency project report dated October 19, 1983 totals the three-year Grill Flame project at $1,475.5K for fiscal years 1981 to 1983. It divides that sum into $962K for DIA, $313.5K for the Army, and $200K for DARPA. Its largest task line is remote viewing enhancement training at $575K.[^20] A later DIA special access program file on [[Sun Streak]] describes the R/D link through [[SRI International]] as "accomplished via HQ SGRD funding and a DARPA MIPR."[^21]
+
+### Congressional funding through DARPA, 1986 program
+
+Edwin May and Wanda Luke wrote in a research plan dated May 10, 1991 that beginning in fiscal year 1986 the [[United States Army Medical Research and Development Command]] began a five-year investigation of anomalous mental phenomena at SRI International. They wrote that the Command did not fund the fourth and fifth years, and that the House Appropriations Committee funded the fourth year, at the level of the third, through DARPA to the Command's contract.[^22]
+
+### Project Pandora and the Moscow Signal
+
+A memorandum dated September 27, 1967 reports on Project BIZARRE and its relation to Project PANDORA. It is signed by [[Richard S. Cesaro]] as acting director of Advanced Sensors at ARPA. It states that "The central nervous system of primates has been penetrated directly or indirectly by non-thermal modulated microwave radiation," and that the frequency and modulation used "simulated a portion of the 'Moscow Signal.'" The memorandum adds: "The potential of exerting a degree of control on human behavior by low level selectively modulated microwave radiation should be investigated for potential weapon applications."[^23]
+
+In the September 15, 1977 letter to Senator Magnuson, the agency stated that Pandora was classified at the direction of the Department of State and the United States Intelligence Board, that its total cost was $4,615,000, and that DARPA terminated the project in March 1970 and transferred its assets to the [[Walter Reed Army Institute of Research]].[^3] The letter states that "classification of Project Pandora was a foreign relation rather than a national security matter," and that DARPA did not foresee the development of microwave weapons directed at altering nervous system function or behavior.[^3]
+
+[[Annie Jacobsen]] reports that in 1969 the program was expanded to include human subjects, under the code names Big Boy and Project Bizarre, with microwave beams directed at sailors at the [[Philadelphia Naval Yard]].[^24]
+
+### Information Awareness Office and Total Information Awareness, 2002 to 2003
+
+The conference report on the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations act, House Report 108-283, was taken up by the House on September 24, 2003. Section 8131 provides that none of the funds may be obligated "for the Terrorism Information Awareness Program," with a proviso excepting "processing, analysis, and collaboration tools for counterterrorism foreign intelligence" funded in the National Foreign Intelligence Program, and defines that program as "the program known either as Terrorism Information Awareness or Total Information Awareness, or any successor program, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or any other Department or element of the Federal Government."[^25] The joint explanatory statement records that the conferees "agree with the Senate position which eliminates funding for the Terrorism Information Awareness (TIA) program within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)," and "direct that the Office be terminated immediately," meaning the [[Information Awareness Office]].[^25]
+
+The statement names four projects previously under the office that may continue under DARPA: Bio-Event Advanced Leading Indicator Recognition Technology, Rapid Analytic Wargaming, Wargaming the Asymmetric Environment, and Automated Speech and Text Exploitation in Multiple Languages (including Babylon and Symphony).[^25] The conference agreement states that it "does not restrict the National Foreign Intelligence Program from using processing, analysis and collaboration tools for counterterrorism foreign intelligence purposes."[^25] DARPA created the Information Awareness Office in mid-January 2002, and [[John Poindexter]] directed it. On August 12, 2003 he submitted a five-page letter of resignation to Tether, effective August 29.[^26]
+
+### ARPANET
+
+Leiner and coauthors state that [[Lawrence G. Roberts]] went to DARPA in late 1966 to develop the computer network concept and published a plan for the ARPANET in 1967. [[Bolt, Beranek and Newman]] developed the switches, called IMPs, under Frank Heart's leadership, with [[Robert Kahn]] responsible for overall system design. The first switch was installed at UCLA in September 1969. The authors credit Kahn with introducing open-architecture networking in late 1972, shortly after he arrived at DARPA.[^2]
+
+### Neural interface programs
+
+In January 2016 DARPA announced the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program, managed by [[Phillip Alvelda]]. The release sets a size goal of about one cubic centimeter for an implantable device that would link neural activity with digital systems, and gives a ceiling of $65 million over four years.[^27] The release lists devices that could compensate for deficits in sight or hearing by feeding digital auditory or visual information to the brain.[^27]
+
+### Contractors
+
+Federal award records list 113 DARPA prime contract awards to SRI International with action dates from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2026, whose Award Amount fields total $462,329,429.73 and whose transactions inside that date range total $423,420,369. The largest record is contract HR001106C0023, with action dates from November 2005 to March 2011 and an award amount of $41,671,826.77.[^28] Other records describe supply chain hardware security, machine translation under the BOLT program, semantic forensics, and molecular discovery.[^28]
 
 ### Footnotes
-[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
+
+[^1]: Richard H. Van Atta, Seymour J. Deitchman and Sidney G. Reed, "DARPA Technical Accomplishments, Volume III: An Overall Perspective and Assessment of the Technical Accomplishments of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: 1958-1990," Institute for Defense Analyses, IDA Paper P-2538, July 1991, DTIC ADA241680, sections A and E and footnote 19. https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA241680
+[^2]: Barry M. Leiner, Vinton G. Cerf, David D. Clark, Robert E. Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Daniel C. Lynch, Jon Postel, Larry G. Roberts and Stephen Wolff, "The Past and Future History of the Internet," *Communications of the ACM* 40, no. 2 (February 1997), pp. 102 to 108, footnote 3 on p. 103. https://www.lk.cs.ucla.edu/data/files/Leiner/Past%20and%20Future%20History%20of%20the%20Internet.pdf
+[^3]: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, letter to Senator Warren G. Magnuson, Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, September 15, 1977, on agency letterhead (1400 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia). https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/rhwvuj-tzy4b/14.pdf
+[^4]: Caterinicchia, "Poindexter leaving DARPA," *Nextgov/FCW*, August 13, 2003 (letter addressed to "DARPA director, Anthony Tether"). https://www.nextgov.com/people/2003/08/poindexter-leaving-darpa/201670/
+[^5]: Peter Watson, *War on the Mind: The Military Uses and Abuses of Psychology*. Basic Books, 1978.
+[^6]: Ray Hyman, "Psychics and Scientists: 'Mind-Reach' and Remote Viewing," *The Humanist*, May/June 1977, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080037-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080037-4.pdf
+[^7]: Roger A. Beaumont, "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," clipping reproduced in CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3 (journal and date not given in the clipping; c. 1981). Sole source for the team's composition as described here and for the Army Kirlian contract; Hyman dates the visit December 8, 1972. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
+[^8]: CIA Office of Research and Development memorandum ORD-413-73, "Briefing by Stanford Research Institute," January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2.pdf
+[^9]: Jim Schnabel, *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies* (Dell, 1997), p. 138 (index entry "Agency (ARPA), 138-39"); Hyman, who was present at the visit, gives December 8, 1972.
+[^10]: "Boom Times on the Psychic Frontier," *Time*, March 4, 1974, cover story, CIA reading room copy CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8.pdf
+[^11]: Michael E. Zarbo, "Remote Viewing: Parapsychological Potential for Intelligence Collection?" master's thesis, Defense Intelligence College, November 1992, CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6. The thesis calls Lawrence "DARPA's director" (its footnote 71 cites McRae, Mind Wars, 1984, p. 107); the 1974 Time account gives his title as DoD projects manager for ARPA, and the Institute for Defense Analyses history lists Lukasik as director from 1971 and Heilmeier as the director appointed under Currie, who became Director of Defense Research and Engineering in 1973. Sole source for the 1976 Targ test. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6.pdf
+[^12]: David Suter, article for *The Washington Post*, continued from page B5, undated clipping reproduced in CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
+[^13]: Kenneth A. Kress, "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," *Studies in Intelligence* 21, no. 4 (Winter 1977), CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030040-0. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030040-0.pdf
+[^14]: Harold E. Puthoff, Russell Targ and Edwin C. May, "Advanced Threat Technique Assessment," Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, 1977, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200270001-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000200270001-7.pdf
+[^15]: Proceedings, International Conference on Cybernetics and Society, sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., September 19 to 21, 1977 (IEEE catalog 77CH1259-1), CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080055-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080055-4.pdf
+[^16]: Harry L. Snyder and Arlene G. Snyder, "Summary and Critical Evaluation: Research in Remote Viewing," Report RV-79-1, Systemetrics, Inc., June 1, 1979, contract 77F104420, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100440001-9. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100440001-9.pdf
+[^17]: INSCOM information paper IAOPS-H-S, "GRILL FLAME," February 21, 1983, signed Robert J. Jachim, Project Manager, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100350001-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001100350001-2.pdf
+[^18]: INSCOM information paper IAOPS-H, "Information for ACSI-INSCOM Meeting," February 28, 1983, with enclosures, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030007-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030007-5.pdf
+[^19]: Department of the Army memorandum DAMI-ISH, "CENTER LANE DAMI-ISH Funding Initiative," undated (refers to the end of FY 83), CIA-RDP96-00788R001700180003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700180003-3.pdf
+[^20]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Directorate for Scientific and Technical Intelligence, "GRILL FLAME Project Report," October 19, 1983, Appendix III, CIA-RDP96-00788R001000410001-6. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001000410001-6.pdf
+[^21]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "SUN STREAK" special access program background, CIA-RDP96-00789R000700260002-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R000700260002-5.pdf
+[^22]: Edwin C. May and Wanda L. W. Luke, "A Long-Term, Integrated, Basic and Applied Research Plan (U)" (draft), May 10, 1991, CIA-RDP96-00789R003100060001-1; the same passage appears in "A Comprehensive Research Plan for Anomalous Mental Phenomena (U)," CIA-RDP96-00789R003100080001-9. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R003100060001-1.pdf
+[^23]: ARPA memorandum ARPA-AS-TS-67-20, "Project BIZARRE," September 27, 1967, signed Richard S. Cesaro, Acting Director, Advanced Sensors, declassified copy. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/rhwvuj-tzy4b/08.pdf
+[^24]: Annie Jacobsen, *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis* (Little, Brown and Company, 2017). Sole source for the passage so cited.
+[^25]: Congressional Record, House, September 24, 2003, pp. H8500 to H8550, Conference Report on H.R. 2658, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004 (House Report 108-283), Sec. 8131 and Joint Explanatory Statement. https://sgp.fas.org/congress/2003/tia.html
+[^26]: Dan Caterinicchia, "Poindexter leaving DARPA," *Nextgov/FCW*, August 13, 2003. https://www.nextgov.com/people/2003/08/poindexter-leaving-darpa/201670/
+[^27]: DARPA, "Bridging the Bio-Electronic Divide," January 19, 2016 (paraphrased). https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/bridging-the-bio-electronic-divide
+[^28]: USAspending.gov API, POST /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ and /api/v2/search/spending_by_category/recipient/, filters: time_period 2007-10-01 to 2026-09-30, award_type_codes A, B, C, D, recipient_search_text "SRI INTERNATIONAL", awarding subtier agency "Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency" (toptier Department of Defense); the count endpoint returned 113 contracts; reproduced October 8, 2026. https://api.usaspending.gov/docs/endpoints

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Economic Development Commission.md

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ relations:
     role: "program compliance officer"
     fn: 2
 created: 2026-09-25
-updated: 2026-09-25
+updated: 2026-10-08
 ---
 
 The Economic Development Commission is the board of the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]] that grants tax-incentive certificates to companies operating in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], trading large reductions in territorial income, gross-receipts, excise, and withholding taxes for local employment and investment. It certified [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein's]] [[Financial Trust Company]] from 1999 and his [[Southern Trust Company]] from 2013, and his companies kept their benefits after his 2008 [[Florida]] conviction, his 2010 registration as a sex offender in the territory, and a January 2015 internal query about "current media discussions surrounding a principal of Southern Trust Company." The future governor [[Albert Bryan]] chaired the commission when it issued Southern Trust's certificate in January 2014, and the future congressional delegate [[Stacey Plaskett]] was its general counsel from 2007 to 2014. A consultant retained by [[JPMorgan Chase]] put Epstein's total benefits at about 300 million dollars.[^1][^2][^3]
@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ Southern Trust reported net income of 50.3 million dollars in 2013, 67.5 million
 
 For 2013 through 2017 Southern Trust received tax exemptions of 73.6 million dollars, and after it elected S-corporation status Epstein's personal income-tax exemption for the period was 71.3 million dollars. Including gross-receipts taxes, the territory estimated that the certificate allowed Epstein to avoid 80,576,236 dollars in taxes. Southern Trust had assets of about 391 million dollars by 2015. The authority's records show Epstein's companies received 144.9 million dollars in incentives between 2013 and 2019 alone, according to filings by the Virgin Islands [[Department of Justice]].[^1][^5]
 
+### Black Diamond Affiliates
+
+The Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority's fiscal 2016 annual report lists Black Diamond Advisors, LLLP and Black Diamond Holding, LLLP, affiliates of Stephen Deckoff's [[Black Diamond Capital Management]], among its site visits to beneficiaries of the commission's program on St. Thomas.[^7] Its fiscal 2023 annual report records certificate orientations on February 7, 2023 for Black Diamond Advisors, LLC and Black Diamond Holdings, LLC, each for a modification of its certificate on St. Thomas.[^8] [[Suzanne Carlson]] of the Virgin Islands Daily News reported in February 2026 that the two companies had received benefits from the commission since 2012.[^9]
+
 ### Oversight
 
 Bess testified that compliance review consisted of checking that the figures on the summary page of a beneficiary's annual report matched the supporting pages, "many of which were authored by the company itself": "I would look at the presentation and what was presented at the back and ensure that the numbers total." Asked whether any part of her job involved "reviewing the character of the people who are the owners of the companies receiving tax benefits," she said no, and said such review "would usually come from the application side."[^2]
@@ -82,9 +86,9 @@ In January 2015 the authority's director of compliance requested an assessment o
 
 ### Litigation and Aftermath
 
-In its January 2020 civil action against the Epstein estate, the territory alleged that Southern Trust fraudulently induced the commission to grant its benefits. The November 2022 settlement returned "more than $80 million in economic development tax benefits that Epstein and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained." In the territory's 2022 suit against JPMorgan, the bank's consultant [[Carlyn Irwin]] found that "the EDC did not investigate or question" Epstein's claims, including "computer generated solutions for medical problems"; that the territory, expecting 1.30 dollars in economic benefit for each dollar of tax benefit, received a return of pennies on the dollar; and that "giving Mr. Epstein $300 million in benefits made no economic sense." Irwin also found that Epstein "funneled a $15,000 donation from Southern Trust to Ms. Plaskett and a $10,000 donation to the Mapp-Potter Inaugural committee." Plaskett acknowledged in a May 2023 deposition receiving about 30,000 dollars in campaign contributions from Epstein and his employees.[^3][^5][^7]
+In its January 2020 civil action against the Epstein estate, the territory alleged that Southern Trust fraudulently induced the commission to grant its benefits. The November 2022 settlement returned "more than $80 million in economic development tax benefits that Epstein and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained." In the territory's 2022 suit against JPMorgan, the bank's consultant [[Carlyn Irwin]] found that "the EDC did not investigate or question" Epstein's claims, including "computer generated solutions for medical problems"; that the territory, expecting 1.30 dollars in economic benefit for each dollar of tax benefit, received a return of pennies on the dollar; and that "giving Mr. Epstein $300 million in benefits made no economic sense." Irwin also found that Epstein "funneled a $15,000 donation from Southern Trust to Ms. Plaskett and a $10,000 donation to the Mapp-Potter Inaugural committee." Plaskett acknowledged in a May 2023 deposition receiving about 30,000 dollars in campaign contributions from Epstein and his employees.[^3][^5][^10]
 
-The [[Virgin Islands Department of Justice]] answered JPMorgan's account of the program through its spokesperson Venetia Velazquez, who said that "the USVI identified and addressed deficiencies in Southern Trust's and Financial Trust's compliance with the federal tax incentive program." As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from obtaining incentive certificates. Companies affiliated with the investor [[Stephen Deckoff]], who bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from the Epstein estate in 2023, have held commission benefits since 2012.[^2][^5][^8]
+The [[Virgin Islands Department of Justice]] answered JPMorgan's account of the program through its spokesperson Venetia Velazquez, who said that "the USVI identified and addressed deficiencies in Southern Trust's and Financial Trust's compliance with the federal tax incentive program." As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from obtaining incentive certificates. Companies affiliated with the investor [[Stephen Deckoff]], who bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from the Epstein estate in 2023, have held commission benefits since 2012.[^2][^5][^9]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
@@ -94,5 +98,7 @@ The [[Virgin Islands Department of Justice]] answered JPMorgan's account of the
 [^4]: "Virgin Islands governor's wife employed by convicted sex-offender billionaire." *The Daily Caller,* April 22, 2012. https://dailycaller.com/2012/04/22/virgin-islands-governors-wife-employed-by-convicted-sex-offender-billionaire/
 [^5]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Court filings show V.I. First Lady's loyalty to Epstein." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* June 21, 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/court-filings-show-v-i-first-ladys-loyalty-to-epstein/article_c2dca0a7-a243-5365-88c0-389c576ad022.html (2012 response exchange; 144.9 million dollars in incentives 2013 to 2019; Plaskett deposition; no amendment of the law).
 [^6]: "Apollo Announces Review of Significant Governance Enhancements as Part of Continued Evolution and Institutionalization of the Firm and Leadership Transition." *Apollo Global Management,* January 25, 2021. https://www.apollo.com/insights-news/pressreleases/2021/01/apollo-announces-review-of-significant-governance-enhancements-as-part-of-continued-evolution-and-institutionalization-of-the-firm-and-leadership-transition-211534651 (Dechert LLP review: about 158 million dollars paid by Black to Epstein, 2012 to 2017).
-[^7]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million." *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/
-[^8]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Still no resort plans for Epstein's islands purchased by Deckoff." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 6, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/still-no-resort-plans-for-epsteins-islands-purchased-by-deckoff/article_84d776de-8427-4080-a1b5-6cf81418e23d.html (Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings receiving EDC benefits since 2012).
+[^7]: Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, *FY 2016 Annual Report,* Table 3, Site Visits, p. 30. https://usvieda.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2016_EDA_Annual_Report_FINAL.pdf
+[^8]: Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, *FY 2023 Annual Report,* Certificate Orientations, pp. 24 to 25. https://usvieda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2023-Annual-Report_Revised-Apr-4-2025.pdf
+[^9]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Still no resort plans for Epstein's islands purchased by Deckoff." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 6, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/still-no-resort-plans-for-epsteins-islands-purchased-by-deckoff/article_84d776de-8427-4080-a1b5-6cf81418e23d.html (Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings receiving EDC benefits since 2012).
+[^10]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million." *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Office of Naval Intelligence.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ summary: "United States Navy intelligence office created by a general order of M
 start: 1882-03-23
 location: "Washington, D.C."
 created: 2026-09-24
-updated: 2026-09-24
+updated: 2026-10-08
 relations:
   - type: head_of
     with: "[[Theodorus B. M. Mason]]"
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ During [[World War II]] the office employed [[Karl Baarslag]], who afterward "wo
 
 ### Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
 
-In early 2017, while an unpaid consultant to ONI, [[Christopher Mellon]] was introduced by [[Jim Semivan]] to [[Luis Elizondo]], who was then running the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]]. The [[UAP Task Force]], established in 2020 as the successor to that program under [[Jay Stratton]], was a program within ONI.[^11]
+In early 2017, while an unpaid consultant to ONI, [[Christopher Mellon]] was introduced by [[Jim Semivan]] to [[Luis Elizondo]], who was then running the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]].[^11] The [[UAP Task Force]] was approved by the Deputy Secretary of Defense on August 4, 2020, and the Department of the Navy was assigned to lead it under the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.[^12] The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence described it in June 2020 as the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force "at the Office of Naval Intelligence."[^13] The task force charter of September 1, 2020 was issued by the [[Naval Intelligence Activity]], and provides that leadership "will be designated by the Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity."[^14] A July 2020 briefing slide from the task force's director gives the office as the Office of the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare.[^15] In Elizondo's account, the task force succeeded AATIP under the leadership of [[Jay Stratton]].[^11]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
@@ -101,3 +101,7 @@ In early 2017, while an unpaid consultant to ONI, [[Christopher Mellon]] was int
 [^9]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010.
 [^10]: Dean, Eddie. "Finders' Keeper." *Washington City Paper,* May 24, 1996. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/287890/finders-keeper/
 [^11]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent.* William Morrow, 2024.
+[^12]: Department of Defense, "Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force," press release, August 14, 2020. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/
+[^13]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021," S. Rept. 116-233, June 17, 2020, cover and pp. 11 to 12. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-116srpt233/pdf/CRPT-116srpt233.pdf
+[^14]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Charter for Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force," Ser NW20S0068, September 1, 2020, in the Department of the Navy final response in FOIA case DON-2021-003140, April 22, 2025. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/navy/DON-2021-003140.pdf
+[^15]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Interagency Task Force" briefing slide, July 2020, header block, in the message chain released by The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/USSCReferredRedacted.pdf

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Pentagon.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
   - Pentagon Building
   - Pentagon building
 created: 2026-10-07
-updated: 2026-10-07
+updated: 2026-10-08
 title: Pentagon
 tags:
   - Organization
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ relations:
     with: "[[September 11 attacks]]"
     start: 2001-09-11
     role: "struck by American Airlines Flight 77"
-    fn: 32
+    fn: 35
 ---
 
 The Pentagon is the headquarters of the [[Department of Defense]] in Arlington, Virginia. Its rooms and offices appear in the record of a remote viewing tasking, a 1979 Army human subjects review of protocols from the [[Stanford Research Institute]], the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force that produced the [[Pentagon Papers]], and the dispute over the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]].[^1]
@@ -78,25 +78,27 @@ Elizondo describes absorbing the program's remnants into his own portfolio. He h
 
 On August 4, 2020, Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist approved the establishment of the [[UAP Task Force]], which the Department of the Navy leads under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.[^23] AARO's historical record report lists the DoD UAP Task Force, led by the U.S. Navy, among the programs that preceded it,[^24] and describes a 1949 period in which, according to one account, perceived pressure from the Pentagon's leadership led the remaining staff of [[Project Grudge]] who held the interplanetary view to change their minds.[^25]
 
-The statute now codified at 50 U.S.C. 3373 directs the Secretary of Defense, with the Director of National Intelligence, to establish within 120 days of December 23, 2022 an office, to be known as AARO, to carry out the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force as in effect on December 26, 2021. The office's director reports directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.[^26]
+In April 2021 the Pentagon spokesperson [[Susan Gough]] told [[The Debrief]]: "I can confirm that the referenced photos and videos were taken by Navy personnel. The UAPTF has included these incidents in their ongoing examinations." Gough declined to say whether the objects shown had been identified, and cited operations security.[^26] On November 23, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Defense [[Kathleen Hicks]] directed the establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) as the successor to the Navy's task force, with an executive council to oversee it.[^27] A July 15, 2022 memorandum established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office and directed the Secretary of the Navy to disestablish the task force "no later than the date the AARO is established."[^28]
+
+The statute now codified at 50 U.S.C. 3373 directs the Secretary of Defense, with the Director of National Intelligence, to establish within 120 days of December 23, 2022 an office, to be known as AARO, to carry out the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force as in effect on December 26, 2021. The office's director reports directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.[^29]
 
 ### Contra recruitment
 
-In [[Dark Alliance]], [[Gary Webb]] wrote that Major General [[Charles E. Boyd]], described as a top U.S. Air Force official, invited [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]] to the Pentagon to discuss ideas. There, after sounding out Bermúdez on the idea of running a rebel force to harass the Sandinistas, Boyd told him that he had a friend at the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] who was interested in speaking with him. Webb wrote that by mid-1980 Bermúdez had moved to a rented house in [[Miami]] and that, according to one account, he was then on the CIA's payroll.[^27] The [[FDN]] was the Contra group that pursued resistance activities on the Northern Front from bases in Honduras, according to the CIA Inspector General's report on the Northern Front Contras.[^28] Charles Graham Boyd, who was Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division of the Air Staff's Directorate of Plans at the Pentagon in 1979 and 1980, gave an oral history in which that division is described as dealing with all the countries of Latin America and Canada.[^29]
+In [[Dark Alliance]], [[Gary Webb]] wrote that Major General [[Charles E. Boyd]], described as a top U.S. Air Force official, invited [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]] to the Pentagon to discuss ideas. There, after sounding out Bermúdez on the idea of running a rebel force to harass the Sandinistas, Boyd told him that he had a friend at the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] who was interested in speaking with him. Webb wrote that by mid-1980 Bermúdez had moved to a rented house in [[Miami]] and that, according to one account, he was then on the CIA's payroll.[^30] The [[FDN]] was the Contra group that pursued resistance activities on the Northern Front from bases in Honduras, according to the CIA Inspector General's report on the Northern Front Contras.[^31] Charles Graham Boyd, who was Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division of the Air Staff's Directorate of Plans at the Pentagon in 1979 and 1980, gave an oral history in which that division is described as dealing with all the countries of Latin America and Canada.[^32]
 
 ### The 1967 march, the Pentagon Papers and the 1972 bombing
 
-On October 21, 1967, a [[March on the Pentagon]] was held against the Vietnam War. The National Archives estimates a crowd of 100,000 gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and gives two arrest figures: "nearly 700 protesters had been jailed" and, on a release sheet, "more than six-hundred persons arrested." NARA holds a Universal Newsreel reel covering the march.[^30]
+On October 21, 1967, a [[March on the Pentagon]] was held against the Vietnam War. The National Archives estimates a crowd of 100,000 gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and gives two arrest figures: "nearly 700 protesters had been jailed" and, on a release sheet, "more than six-hundred persons arrested." NARA holds a Universal Newsreel reel covering the march.[^33]
 
 The Pentagon Papers, officially titled the "Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force," were commissioned by Secretary of Defense [[Robert McNamara]] in 1967. Portions were leaked to the press in June 1971.[^1] The National Archives page links a 1973 interview with [[Daniel Ellsberg]] titled "Why I Did It."[^1] On the fortieth anniversary of the leak, the National Archives, with the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon presidential libraries, released the complete report: 48 boxes and approximately 7,000 declassified pages, about 34 percent of it available for the first time.[^1]
 
-The [[Weather Underground]] claimed responsibility for a number of bombings from 1970 onward. An FBI appendix on the Weathermen, reproduced in the William Kunstler FBI files, lists the U.S. Capitol Building in March 1971 and "the Pentagon Building in May, 1972" among them.[^31]
+The [[Weather Underground]] claimed responsibility for a number of bombings from 1970 onward. An FBI appendix on the Weathermen, reproduced in the William Kunstler FBI files, lists the U.S. Capitol Building in March 1971 and "the Pentagon Building in May, 1972" among them.[^34]
 
 ### September 11, 2001
 
-On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37:46 a.m., traveling at approximately 530 miles per hour. The [[9/11 Commission]] report states that all on board, and many civilian and military personnel in the building, were killed.[^32]
+On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37:46 a.m., traveling at approximately 530 miles per hour. The [[9/11 Commission]] report states that all on board, and many civilian and military personnel in the building, were killed.[^35]
 
-On September 10, 2001, Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] gave the kickoff remarks for DoD Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week, titled "Bureaucracy to Battlefield," and said: "Our financial systems are decades old. According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions."[^33] A Department of Defense Inspector General report issued February 25, 2000 stated that of $6.9 trillion in accounting entries for fiscal year 1999, $2.3 trillion "was not supported by adequate audit trails or sufficient evidence to determine their validity," $2 trillion was not reviewed because of time constraints, and $2.6 trillion were supported. A follow-up report dated August 18, 2000 gave a total of $7.6 trillion in department-level entries after an additional $0.7 trillion was identified; $3.5 trillion were supported with proper research, reconciliation and audit trails, and another $1.8 trillion were identified but not reviewed. It described $2.3 trillion of entries as ones that "were made to force financial data to agree with various sources of financial data without adequate research and reconciliation, were made to force buyer and seller data to agree in preparation for eliminating entries, did not contain adequate documentation and audit trails, or did not follow accounting principles."[^34][^35]
+On September 10, 2001, Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] gave the kickoff remarks for DoD Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week, titled "Bureaucracy to Battlefield," and said: "Our financial systems are decades old. According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions."[^36] A Department of Defense Inspector General report issued February 25, 2000 stated that of $6.9 trillion in accounting entries for fiscal year 1999, $2.3 trillion "was not supported by adequate audit trails or sufficient evidence to determine their validity," $2 trillion was not reviewed because of time constraints, and $2.6 trillion were supported. A follow-up report dated August 18, 2000 gave a total of $7.6 trillion in department-level entries after an additional $0.7 trillion was identified; $3.5 trillion were supported with proper research, reconciliation and audit trails, and another $1.8 trillion were identified but not reviewed. It described $2.3 trillion of entries as ones that "were made to force financial data to agree with various sources of financial data without adequate research and reconciliation, were made to force buyer and seller data to agree in preparation for eliminating entries, did not contain adequate documentation and audit trails, or did not follow accounting principles."[^37][^38]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
@@ -125,13 +127,16 @@ On September 10, 2001, Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] gave the kickoff
 [^23]: Department of the Navy, "Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force," press release, August 14, 2020, archived capture of https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/2314280/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/
 [^24]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "Report on the Historical Record," Volume I, February 2024, p. 13, https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
 [^25]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "Report on the Historical Record," Volume I, February 2024, p. 15, https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
-[^26]: 50 U.S.C. 3373, "Establishment of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3373
-[^27]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* New York: Seven Stories Press, 1998, Chapter 2. Sole source for the passages so cited.
-[^28]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, *Report of Investigation (96-0143-IG)*, Volume II: The Contra Story, October 8, 1998, section on Northern Front Contras, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/north.html
-[^29]: Boyd, Charles Graham, oral history interview, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, https://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Boyd.Charles.Graham.pdf
-[^30]: "This Week in Universal News: The March on the Pentagon, 1967," National Archives, Unwritten Record blog, https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/?p=4211
-[^31]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, "Weathermen" appendix, reproduced in the William Kunstler FBI files (FBI Vault, William Kunstler), https://archive.pov.org/disturbingtheuniverse/fbi-files/6/
-[^32]: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, *The 9/11 Commission Report*, 2004, p. 10 and note 61, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf
-[^33]: Rumsfeld, Donald H., "Bureaucracy to Battlefield," remarks as delivered at the Pentagon, September 10, 2001, Department of Defense Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week kickoff, archived capture of http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2001/s20010910-secdef.html (September 15, 2001)
-[^34]: Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Report No. D-2000-179, "Department-Level Accounting Entries for FY 1999," August 18, 2000, https://media.defense.gov/2000/Aug/18/2001713967/-1/-1/1/00-179.pdf
-[^35]: Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Report No. D-2000-091, "Internal Controls and Compliance With Laws and Regulations for the DoD Agency-Wide Financial Statements for FY 1999," February 25, 2000, https://media.defense.gov/2000/Feb/25/2001715708/-1/-1/1/00-091.pdf
+[^26]: The Debrief, "Pentagon Confirms Leaked UFO Images Are Authentic," April 10, 2021, quoting Gough. https://thedebrief.org/pentagon-confirms-leaked-ufo-images-are-authentic/
+[^27]: Department of Defense, "DoD Announces the Establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG)," press release, November 23, 2021. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2853121/dod-announces-the-establishment-of-the-airborne-object-identification-and-manag/
+[^28]: Deputy Secretary of Defense, memorandum, "Establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," July 15, 2022. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jul/20/2003039074/-1/-1/1/ESTABLISHMENT-OF-THE-ALL-DOMAIN-ANOMALY-RESOLUTION-OFFICE.PDF
+[^29]: 50 U.S.C. 3373, "Establishment of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3373
+[^30]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* New York: Seven Stories Press, 1998, Chapter 2. Sole source for the passages so cited.
+[^31]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, *Report of Investigation (96-0143-IG)*, Volume II: The Contra Story, October 8, 1998, section on Northern Front Contras, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/north.html
+[^32]: Boyd, Charles Graham, oral history interview, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, https://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Boyd.Charles.Graham.pdf
+[^33]: "This Week in Universal News: The March on the Pentagon, 1967," National Archives, Unwritten Record blog, https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/?p=4211
+[^34]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, "Weathermen" appendix, reproduced in the William Kunstler FBI files (FBI Vault, William Kunstler), https://archive.pov.org/disturbingtheuniverse/fbi-files/6/
+[^35]: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, *The 9/11 Commission Report*, 2004, p. 10 and note 61, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf
+[^36]: Rumsfeld, Donald H., "Bureaucracy to Battlefield," remarks as delivered at the Pentagon, September 10, 2001, Department of Defense Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week kickoff, archived capture of http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2001/s20010910-secdef.html (September 15, 2001)
+[^37]: Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Report No. D-2000-179, "Department-Level Accounting Entries for FY 1999," August 18, 2000, https://media.defense.gov/2000/Aug/18/2001713967/-1/-1/1/00-179.pdf
+[^38]: Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, Report No. D-2000-091, "Internal Controls and Compliance With Laws and Regulations for the DoD Agency-Wide Financial Statements for FY 1999," February 25, 2000, https://media.defense.gov/2000/Feb/25/2001715708/-1/-1/1/00-091.pdf

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/U.S. Navy.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ aliases:
   - "USN"
 title: U.S. Navy
 created: 2025-07-22
-updated: 2026-10-07
+updated: 2026-10-08
 tags:
   - Organization
   - Military
@@ -128,7 +128,9 @@ Navy money also appears in the record of CIA subproject 54. At the August 3, 197
 
 ### Navy psi contracts: Stanford Research Institute, Naval Ocean Systems Center and the Star Gate review
 
-In February 1960 the French magazine *Science et Vie* published "The Secret of the Nautilus" ([[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]), reporting that the U.S. government had used telepathy to communicate with the crew of the [[The Nautilus|USS Nautilus]] under the Arctic ice cap, in a project involving the Navy, the Air Force, [[Westinghouse]], [[General Electric]], [[Bell Laboratories]] and the [[RAND Corporation]]. Jim Schnabel writes that an Air Force officer named in the story denied it, that the skipper of the Nautilus insisted the submarine had been in dry dock during the period, that the article's author [[Gerard Messadie]] had been fed the story by [[Jacques Bergier]], and that Soviet researchers cited the story as justification for psi research.[^11]
+In February 1960 the French magazine *Science et Vie* published "The Secret of the Nautilus" ([[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]), reporting that the U.S. government had used telepathy to communicate with the crew of the [[The Nautilus|USS Nautilus]] under the Arctic ice cap, in a project involving the Navy, the Air Force, [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]], [[General Electric]], [[Bell Laboratories]] and the [[RAND Corporation]]. Jim Schnabel writes that an Air Force officer named in the story denied it, that the skipper of the Nautilus insisted the submarine had been in dry dock during the period, that the article's author [[Gerard Messadie]] had been fed the story by [[Jacques Bergier]], and that Soviet researchers cited the story as justification for psi research.[^11]
+
+The 1972 DIA report records that "the US Navy subsequently denied the reports of telepathic testing on atomic submarines."[^40] [[Sheila Ostrander]] and [[Lynn Schroeder]] write that the Navy denied the story "in tones of demi-horror" and quote its position as "No one in the Navy has anything to do with telepathy."[^41] [[Martin Ebon]] wrote that when he sought confirmation the Navy denied that such a test had taken place.[^42] The Nautilus's first captain, [[William R. Anderson]], told This Week in 1963 that on the date the French account gave the ship was "high and dry in dock at Portsmouth, N. H., undergoing her first major overhaul," and the Navy's own history of the ship records that she entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in May 1959 for her first complete overhaul.[^43][^44] In 1982 [[Roger A. Beaumont]] wrote that the reports were "denied forthwith by the Navy."[^45]
 
 In 1973 [[Ingo Swann]] and, to a far greater extent, [[Pat Price]] described details of a secret facility near Sugar Grove, [[West Virginia]], ostensibly a U.S. Navy communications base staffed by [[NSA]] cryptographers. Schnabel writes that the data was accurate enough to prompt a hostile security investigation of Richard Kennett, that [[Harold Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] were interrogated, and that agents of the [[Defense Investigative Service]] questioned their neighbors.[^12]
 
@@ -221,3 +223,9 @@ The NSA released a 1981 cryptologic history report, "Attack on a SIGINT Collecto
 [^37]: U.S. Navy, Record of Proceedings, Court of Inquiry to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the armed attack on USS Liberty (AGTR-5) on 8 June 1967, with endorsements, as released by the Judge Advocate General: summary of events (PDF pp. 8 to 10), CINCUSNAVEUR first endorsement of June 18, 1967 (PDF pp. 34 to 38, paragraphs 2 and 15), and Naval Communications Command sixth endorsement (PDF p. 3). https://libertyincident.com/docs/CourtOfInquiry.pdf (the original is held by the U.S. Government; a photocopy is held as Liberty (Ship) Court of Inquiry records, Hoover Institution Library and Archives, collection 86041, https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt4p30341f).
 [^38]: Report of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Fact Finding Team, "USS Liberty Incident," June 1967, introduction and roster of persons visited. https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/terrorism/liberty/173.pdf
 [^39]: National Security Agency, "Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the U.S.S. Liberty," U.S. Cryptologic History, Special Series, Crisis Collection, vol. 1, 1981, pp. 34 to 35 (declassified November 8, 2006, MDR 51712), copy at the National Security Archive, https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB24/nsa10.pdf; release summary at https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-s-liberty-attack/
+[^40]: LaMothe, John D. *Controlled Offensive Behavior: USSR*, ST-CS-01-169-72, July 1972, Section II, para. 3, CIA-RDP96-00792R000600360001-2, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000600360001-2. Its ref. 77 is Messadie, G., "Du Nautilus," Science et Vie, Number 509, February 1960.
+[^41]: Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain*. Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 7.
+[^42]: Ebon, Martin. *Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion?* McGraw-Hill, 1983, chapter 3, pp. 22-25.
+[^43]: Newsletter of the Parapsychology Foundation, "Nautilus Hoax Exposed," vol. 10, no. 6, November-December 1963, citing This Week, September 8, 1963. NSA-RDP96X00790R000100040002-2, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/nsa-rdp96x00790r000100040002-2.
+[^44]: "History of USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571)," Submarine Force Library and Museum, Naval History and Heritage Command. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/subforce/about-us/history.html
+[^45]: Beaumont, Roger A. "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," *Signal*, January 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r001700360003-3.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/UAP Task Force.md

@@ -6,26 +6,123 @@ tags:
   - Pentagon
   - USGovernment
 category: "U.S. Government"
-summary: "The UAP Task Force (UAPTF) was a program within the United States Office of Naval Intelligence that was established to standardize the collection and reporting of sightings of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)."
+aliases:
+  - UAP Task Force
+  - UAPTF
+  - UAP TF
+  - Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force
+  - Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force
+  - Interagency Task Force
+  - ITF
+summary: "The UAP Task Force was a Navy-led interagency unit approved by Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist on August 4, 2020 and succeeded by AOIMSG and AARO."
 start: 2020
 end: 2022
 location: "Washington, D.C."
+relations:
+  - type: director_of
+    with: "[[Jay Stratton]]"
+    reverse: true
+    role: "first director, per Luis Elizondo and a Radiance Technologies release of May 12, 2022"
+    fn: 18
+  - type: member_of
+    with: "[[David Grusch]]"
+    reverse: true
+    start: 2019
+    end: 2021
+    role: "member as National Reconnaissance Office reservist, per his statement of July 26, 2023"
+    fn: 20
+updated: 2026-10-08
 ---
-The [[UAP Task Force]] (UAPTF) was a program within the United States Office of Naval Intelligence that was established to standardize the collection and reporting of sightings of [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP). It was the official successor to the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and was responsible for continuing the investigation into the UAP issue within the U.S. government.[^1]
+The UAP Task Force (UAPTF) was a Navy-led interagency unit for the collection and analysis of [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP) reports. Its establishment was approved by [[David L. Norquist]], Deputy Secretary of Defense, on August 4, 2020, and announced by the [[Department of Defense]] on August 14, 2020.[^1] Its charter, issued by the [[Naval Intelligence Activity]] on September 1, 2020, calls it a "Congressionally mandated, Deputy Secretary of Defense directed" entity.[^2] The unit was succeeded by the [[Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group]] (AOIMSG) in November 2021 and by the [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] (AARO) under a memorandum dated July 15, 2022.[^3][^4]
 
-### Origins and Leadership
+### Predecessor reporting and the 2020 direction
 
-The UAP Task Force was established in 2020, following the public disclosure of AATIP and the growing pressure from Congress for greater transparency on the UAP issue. The task force was built from the ground up by [[Jay Stratton]], who had been a key member of the AATIP team. Stratton was named the first director of the UAP Task Force and was responsible for creating a whole-of-government interagency effort to investigate UAP.[^1]
+The report of the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] accompanying the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 was submitted on June 17, 2020 by [[Marco Rubio]]. Its section on advanced aerial threats states that the committee "supports the efforts of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force at the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] to standardize collection and reporting on unidentified aerial phenomenon." The committee directed the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] to report on UAP within 180 days.[^5] On December 21, 2020 Rubio had the joint explanatory statement for the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 printed in the Congressional Record. The statement provides that it "incorporates by reference, and the Executive Branch shall comply with, all direction contained in" the Senate committee's report, S. Rept. 116-233.[^6]
 
-### Role and Function
+A briefing titled "Task Force Overview," dated February 27, 2020 and prepared by the Office of Naval Intelligence for its deputy director, quotes committee language that the USD(I) should "establish a joint task force under ONI leadership to work across the Department of Defense, and with the intelligence community, and with the interagency develop and execute plans to collect, exploit, and analyze operational and scientific and technical data."[^7] A March 2020 briefing for the [[House Armed Services Committee]] repeats the same language.[^8] A slide attached to a July 2020 message chain gives the origin as "2020 NDAA directed that Naval Intelligence lead an Interagency Task Force (ITF)".[^9]
 
-The primary mission of the UAP Task Force was to detect, analyze, and catalog UAP that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security. The task force was responsible for briefing members of Congress and the White House National Security Council on its findings. It was also responsible for producing the landmark June 2021 "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," the first official U.S. government report on UAP to be released to the public in decades.[^1]
+A message chain of July 22 to 24, 2020, among the office of the [[United States Strategic Command]] J2, the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and an official signing as Director of the "ITF" for the Naval Intelligence Activity, carries the subject line "Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) Interagency Task Force" and plans a brief to STRATCOM senior leaders. One message of July 24, 2020 reads "The existence/ mission of UAP TF appears to be in the New York Times this morning."[^9]
 
-### Challenges and Successor
+### Approval, charter and structure
 
-Like its predecessor, the UAP Task Force faced significant challenges from within the [[Pentagon]]. The "Legacy Program," a deeply hidden effort within the military-industrial complex that allegedly controlled recovered UAP materials, actively worked to obstruct the task force's efforts. Despite these challenges, the UAP Task Force was successful in raising the profile of the UAP issue within the government and laying the groundwork for future legislative action.[^1]
+On August 14, 2020 the Department of Defense announced that David L. Norquist approved the establishment of the task force on August 4. The release states that "The [[Department of the Navy]], under the cognizance of the [[Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security]], will lead the UAPTF." It gives the mission as "to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security."[^1]
 
-The UAP Task Force was eventually succeeded by the [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] (AARO), a permanent UAP office established by Congress in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).[^1]
+The charter, dated September 1, 2020, sets the mission as "to detect, analyze, catalog, consolidate and exploit advanced non-traditional aerospace vehicles currently posing an operational threat to U.S. National Security and avoid strategic surprise." It states that "Leadership of the Task Force will be designated by the Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity." The Director must "provide periodic updates, via the chain of command, to the UAP Executive Steering Committee (EXCOM)," and the task force must send a formal written report each month "to the Under Secretary of the Navy in support of the Under Secretary of the Navy's reporting requirement to the Deputy Secretary of Defense." The charter refers to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy memorandums that directed its establishment. Two memoranda of September 23, 2020 cite them as dated August 4, 2020 and August 26, 2020.[^2][^10]
+
+The same memoranda, from the Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity, ask the Army and the Air Force for participants, "preferably from both the operational and intelligence directorates within your services." They state that the Naval Intelligence Activity "will assess status, and if ready, determine a transition plan for the UAP TF by 1 January 2021."[^10]
+
+A briefing for the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] dated May 17, 2021 carries the title Director of the UAP Task Force, Naval Intelligence Activity, on its title slide, without printing a name. It describes nine participating organizations, eight partner agencies, five full-time employees and "12+ matrixed employees" across the government.[^11]
+
+The charter came out of a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the Department of the Navy under case DON-2021-003140. The Navy's final response, dated April 22, 2025, gives the request date as January 29, 2021. It reports one responsive document, refers other records to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and withholds portions under exemptions (b)(1) and (b)(6).[^2][^12]
+
+### The 2021 assessment and the reporting record
+
+The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" on June 25, 2021. The report says that the UAPTF and the ODNI National Intelligence Manager for Aviation drafted it. It states that "The Director, UAPTF, is the accountable official for ensuring the timely collection and consolidation of data on UAP." The dataset is "limited primarily to U.S. Government reporting of incidents occurring from November 2004 to March 2021."[^13]
+
+The assessment states that "144 reports originated from USG sources. Of these, 80 reports involved observation with multiple sensors." It also states that "No standardized reporting mechanism existed until the Navy established one in March 2019." It reports: "We were able to identify one reported UAP with high confidence. In that case, we identified the object as a large, deflating balloon. The others remain unexplained."[^13]
+
+The assessment places unexplained reports in five possible categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. Government or industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and an "other" bin. It counts "18 incidents, described in 21 reports" in which observers reported "unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics," and notes "11 reports of documented instances in which pilots reported near misses with a UAP." It states: "We currently lack data to indicate any UAP are part of a foreign collection program or indicative of a major technological advancement by a potential adversary."[^13]
+
+The May 17, 2021 briefing gives the multi-sensor share as 55 percent of the 144 reports.[^11][^14]
+
+### Public claims and Pentagon responses
+
+On April 10, 2021 [[The Debrief]] reported on leaked photographs and video attributed to the task force. The [[Pentagon]] spokesperson [[Susan Gough]] told the outlet: "I can confirm that the referenced photos and videos were taken by Navy personnel. The UAPTF has included these incidents in their ongoing examinations." Gough declined to comment on whether any objects in the images had been identified and cited operations security.[^15] [[Jeremy Corbell]] reported that the night-vision video relates to a July 2019 incident involving the [[USS Russell]] off San Diego.[^15]
+
+A December 2020 article in The Debrief described a photograph of a triangular object rising from the ocean. Emails of December 3 and 4, 2020, released under FOIA case 21-F-0299, include a message from the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations office to Susan Gough that reads "Jay [Stratton] tells me the photo is part of the active investigation, so it would probably be withheld from release for that reason."[^16] In a statement to The Black Vault, [[Jay Stratton]] said "I was handling multiple cases" at the time, and "We had photographs from F/A-18 pilots, instances of UAP that appeared triangular/pyramidal, and other unrelated cases." He said that no such photograph was received by the task force.[^16] The article's author, [[Tim McMillan]], told the same outlet that its information "came from multiple sources with direct access to early UAPTF intelligence documents."[^16]
+
+### Leadership and testimony
+
+[[Luis Elizondo]]'s account identifies Jay Stratton as the task force's first director.[^17] [[Radiance Technologies]] announced on May 12, 2022 that Stratton had joined as a subject matter expert and described him as the first director of the UAPTF.[^18] [[George Knapp]] of [[KLAS-TV]] reported on May 24, 2022 that in January 2021 Stratton was "surprisingly transferred out of the job."[^19] Elizondo, in his 2024 book, says that Stratton built the task force from the ground up, that Stratton was named its first director after the Secretary of Defense announced it, and that the task force briefed members of Congress and the National Security Council. He also says that the [[Legacy Program]] pushed back against the task force's work.[^17]
+
+The witness record of the July 26, 2023 House Oversight subcommittee hearing lists [[David Grusch]] as "Former National Reconnaissance Office Representative, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, Department of Defense." In his written statement Grusch said that he was "my agency's co-lead in unidentified anomalous phenomena and trans medium object analysis" and was responsible for "reporting to the UAP Task Force." He said that he served as a reservist for the National Reconnaissance Office and "was a member of the UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021."[^20] He said that "In 2019, the UAP Task Force Director asked me to identify all special access programs and controlled access programs," and that he was "informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access."[^20]
+
+Asked by [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] whether he sat on "the unidentified anomalous phenomenon task force created in the 2020 NDAA," Grusch answered "Yes." He also said that he "did actually help author" the task force's 2019 security classification guide, which he described as written "with the Director."[^20]
+
+At the May 17, 2022 hearing, [[Scott Bray]] said that "Almost 2 years ago, in August of 2020, Deputy Secretary of Defense Norquist directed the establishment of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force within the Department of the Navy." The subcommittee chairman, [[André Carson]], called it "the third version of this task force in DOD."[^21] Asked about a reported incident at [[Malmstrom Air Force Base]], [[Ronald Moultrie]] passed the question to Bray. Bray said "That data is not within the holdings of the UAP Task Force," "I have not seen the official data on that," and "We have not looked at that incident."[^21] Asked about any government study between [[Project Blue Book]] and the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]], Moultrie said "I am familiar with Blue Book. I am familiar with AATIP. I haven't seen other documented studies that have been done by DOD in that regard."[^21]
+
+### AATIP and the official account
+
+Elizondo's account, which places him in charge of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), treats the UAPTF as its successor.[^17] An undated information memorandum from [[Garry Reid]], Director for Defense Intelligence in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, refers to events of December 18, 2017 and states: "To the best of my knowledge, he had no job responsibilities related to the AATIP. The AATIP was terminated in 2012." The same memorandum says that Elizondo "has provided three different explanations for his sudden resignation."[^22] Elizondo's resignation letter, dated October 3, 2017, took effect October 4, 2017, and is in the same release.[^22]
+
+The AARO historical record report of March 2024 says that "Unlike AAWSAP, AATIP was never an official DoD program," and that "AAWSAP/AATIP was terminated in 2012 upon the completion of its deliverables due to DIA and DoD concerns about the project." The report lists the UAPTF separately under the heading "August 2020-November 2021." It says the task force "helped standardize, destigmatize, and increase the volume of UAP reporting," and that its "methods and processes directly led to the identification of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) high altitude balloons that traversed over the continental United States." It attributes that last claim to "AARO discussions with UAPTF leadership."[^23]
+
+### Successor offices and the statute
+
+Deputy Secretary of Defense [[Kathleen Hicks]] directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security on November 23, 2021 to establish the AOIMSG "as the successor to the U.S. Navy's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force," with an Airborne Object Identification and Management Executive Council (AOIMEXEC) to oversee it.[^3]
+
+Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, enacted December 27, 2021, required the Secretary of Defense, within 180 days, to establish an office "to carry out the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act."[^24]
+
+A memorandum dated July 15, 2022 established the AARO "to carry out the duties that were to be fulfilled by the AOIMSG." It directed the Secretary of the Navy to "disestablish the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) no later than the date the AARO is established," and to support "the transfer of any data, analysis, or other relevant material, to the AARO."[^4]
+
+Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, enacted December 23, 2022, required an office, to be established within 120 days, "to carry out the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, as in effect on December 26, 2021." The office was to be "known as the 'All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.'"[^25] Section 1673 of the same act directs a secure mechanism for reporting "any activity or program by a department or agency of the Federal Government or a contractor of such a department or agency relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, including with respect to material retrieval, material analysis, reverse engineering, research and development."[^25]
+
+The AARO report says that AOIMSG "had not achieved initial operating capability before subsequent legislation in the FY2022 NDAA resulted in it being renamed to AARO."[^23] The July 15, 2022 memorandum states that its amendments were approved "to meet the DoD requirements in section 1683 of the NDAA for FY 2022."[^4]
 
 ### Footnotes
-[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
+
+[^1]: Department of Defense, "Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force," press release, August 14, 2020. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/ (Wayback Machine copy, https://web.archive.org/web/2021/https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2314065/establishment-of-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-task-force/)
+[^2]: Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, final response letter in FOIA case DON-2021-003140, April 22, 2025, signed for R. Strong, Director, Navy FOIA/PA Program Office, enclosing the Naval Intelligence Activity, "Charter for Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force," September 1, 2020, hosted by The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/navy/DON-2021-003140.pdf
+[^3]: Department of Defense, "DoD Announces the Establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG)," press release, November 23, 2021. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2853121/dod-announces-the-establishment-of-the-airborne-object-identification-and-manag/ The OSD(PA) briefing card "AOIMSG Establishment," dated November 23, 2021, is in the Office of the Secretary of Defense FOIA reading room, file 22-F-0381. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/22-F-0381_PA_AOIMSG_Briefing_Cards_05-22-23.pdf
+[^4]: Deputy Secretary of Defense, memorandum, "Establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," July 15, 2022. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jul/20/2003039074/-1/-1/1/ESTABLISHMENT-OF-THE-ALL-DOMAIN-ANOMALY-RESOLUTION-OFFICE.PDF
+[^5]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021," S. Rept. 116-233, June 17, 2020, pp. 11 to 12, submitted by Mr. Rubio. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-116srpt233/pdf/CRPT-116srpt233.pdf
+[^6]: Congressional Record, vol. 166, no. 218, December 21, 2020, pp. S7932 to S7934, joint explanatory statement for the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Part II, introduced by Mr. Rubio. https://irp.fas.org/congress/2020_cr/fy2021-exp.html (text of the Record reproduced by the Federation of American Scientists)
+[^7]: Office of Naval Intelligence, "Office of Naval Intelligence 27 Feb 2020 Task Force Overview," briefing for the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, released by The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/DDNIBriefRedacted.pdf
+[^8]: Office of Naval Intelligence, "Task Force Overview," briefing for the House Armed Services Committee, March 2020, released by The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/HASCBriefRedacted.pdf
+[^9]: Task force briefing slides ("Interagency Task Force," Director, ITF, Naval Intelligence Activity) and the message chain "Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) Interagency Task Force," July 22 to 24, 2020, with STRATCOM J2 and Defense Intelligence Agency correspondents, released by The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/USSCReferredRedacted.pdf
+[^10]: Naval Intelligence Activity memoranda Ser NIA/20S0063 and Ser NIA/20S0064, September 23, 2020, in the FOIA release cited at note 2. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/navy/DON-2021-003140.pdf
+[^11]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," briefing by the Director, UAP Task Force, for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, May 17, 2021, released by The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UAPTFHPSCIBriefRedacted.pdf
+[^12]: The Black Vault, "FOIA Release Reveals Secret Charter Behind Creation of Pentagon's UAP Task Force," which publishes the Navy release and gives the filing date as August 14, 2020; the Navy's letter gives January 29, 2021. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-release-reveals-secret-charter-behind-creation-of-pentagons-uap-task-force/
+[^13]: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," June 25, 2021, pp. 2 to 9. https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf
+[^14]: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation, hearing "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," May 17, 2022, transcript, remarks of [[Adam Schiff]], who said the ODNI reported "144 UAPs between 2004 and 2021, 80 percent of which were recorded on multiple instruments"; the ODNI report counts 80 of 144. https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114761/documents/HHRG-117-IG05-Transcript-20220517.pdf
+[^15]: Susan Gough as quoted in Tim McMillan's report "Pentagon Confirms Leaked UFO Images Are Authentic," The Debrief, April 10, 2021. https://thedebrief.org/pentagon-confirms-leaked-ufo-images-are-authentic/
+[^16]: The Black Vault, "FOIA-Released Emails Mention Alleged Triangular UAP Photo; Former UAP Task Force Director Speaks Out," FOIA case 21-F-0299, reproducing emails of December 3 and 4, 2020 and a statement from Jay Stratton. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-released-emails-mention-alleged-triangular-uap-photo-former-uap-task-force-director-speaks-out/
+[^17]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024). Sole source for the passages so cited.
+[^18]: "John F. Stratton Jr. Joins Radiance Technologies as SME for Intel Strategy," Radiance Technologies, PR Newswire, May 12, 2022, read in the Internet Archive capture of the same date. https://web.archive.org/web/20220512145721/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-f-stratton-jr-joins-radiance-technologies-as-sme-for-intel-strategy-301546258.html
+[^19]: George Knapp, "More UFO hearings? Congress might consider hearing from these 2 men," 8 News Now (KLAS), May 24, 2022. https://digital-release.8newsnow.com/?p=1136519
+[^20]: David Grusch, statement, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, hearing "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency," July 26, 2023, witness list and question period. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53022/html/CHRG-118hhrg53022.htm
+[^21]: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation, hearing "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," May 17, 2022, statements of Ronald S. Moultrie and Scott W. Bray, the chairman's opening remarks, and the question period. https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114761/documents/HHRG-117-IG05-Transcript-20220517.pdf
+[^22]: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, information memoranda from Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence, "Response to Your Questions on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and Actions of Former DoD Employee Luis Elizondo," and "Update on Media Reporting Related to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program," both undated, with Elizondo's resignation letter at Tab B. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/18-F-0324_Docs.pdf
+[^23]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I," cleared for open publication March 6, 2024, pp. 22 to 24 and notes 69 to 70. https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
+[^24]: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Public Law 117-81, Sec. 1683, "Establishment of office, organizational structure, and authorities to address unidentified aerial phenomena." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ81/html/PLAW-117publ81.htm
+[^25]: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Public Law 117-263, Sec. 1683, "Establishment of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office," and Sec. 1673, "Unidentified anomalous phenomena reporting procedures" (50 U.S.C. 3373b). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ263/html/PLAW-117publ263.htm

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority.md

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ relations:
     role: "assistant chief executive"
     fn: 2
 created: 2026-09-25
-updated: 2026-09-25
+updated: 2026-10-08
 ---
 
 The Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority is a semi-autonomous public corporation of the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], created under Title 29, section 1101 of the Virgin Islands Code, whose board, the [[Economic Development Commission]], grants tax-incentive certificates to companies that locate in the territory. Through the commission and its predecessor, the [[Industrial Development Commission]], it certified [[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein's]] [[Financial Trust Company]] from 1999 and his [[Southern Trust Company]] from 2013, and continued the benefits after his 2008 conviction and his 2010 registration as a sex offender in the territory. The future governor [[Albert Bryan]] chaired the authority while serving as Commissioner of Labor, the future congressional delegate [[Stacey Plaskett]] was its general counsel, and the attorney who helped Epstein buy [[Little St. James]], [[Henry Smock]], was long counsel to its board. A consultant retained by [[JPMorgan Chase]] put Epstein's total benefits at about 300 million dollars.[^1][^2][^3]
@@ -72,13 +72,15 @@ The authority did not audit Financial Trust until 2008, nearly ten years after t
 
 On July 10, 2019, four days after Epstein's arrest, the authority's spokeswoman [[Shanell Petersen]] advised its "Business Ambassador," Bryan's wife [[Yolanda Bryan]], about two press inquiries concerning "Jeffrey Epstein being an active EDC Beneficiary," and a notation recommended "contacting Southern Trust and IYG (companies which he has ownership interest) to update them that we have provided public information based on the Sunshine Act," adding that "Informing them will allow them to prepare their PR team." The Business Ambassador post was created after Bryan took office in 2019. Smock took part in the authority's nine-step protocol for press inquiries after the arrest. In October 2019 the managing director, [[Margarita Benjamin]], forwarded a [[The New York Times|New York Times]] reporter's questions to colleagues with the comment, "I personally think the questions are opening us up to public scrutiny."[^3][^5]
 
+The authority's fiscal 2023 annual report records certificate orientations on February 7, 2023 for Black Diamond Advisors, LLC and Black Diamond Holdings, LLC, affiliates of [[Black Diamond Capital Management]], each for a modification of its certificate on St. Thomas.[^10] The fiscal 2016 annual report lists Black Diamond Advisors, LLLP and Black Diamond Holding, LLLP among its site visits.[^11]
+
 ### Henry Smock
 
-Smock, who assisted Epstein in the 1998 purchase of Little St. James, served for years as counsel to the authority's board and to the board of the [[University of the Virgin Islands]]. In an October 19, 2011 email to Epstein headed "UVI Park Directors," Cecile de Jongh profiled board candidates for the university's research and technology park, one of the incentive programs on which Kellerhals advised clients, noting of the university's president, "DO NOT KNOW HIM THAT WELL AND HE IS NEW TO THE VI," and of Smock, a former judge of the Territorial Court from 1987 to 1993, former chairman of the Law Revision Commission and former president of the Virgin Islands Bar Association: "FRIEND." According to [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] notes of a 2023 interview with the former Attorney General [[Denise George]], Bryan told her to settle the territory's case against the Epstein estate for 80 million dollars and to "select Henry Smock" as mediator; Smock later represented Bryan in his 2023 divorce, the records of which were sealed at his request.[^3][^10]
+Smock, who assisted Epstein in the 1998 purchase of Little St. James, served for years as counsel to the authority's board and to the board of the [[University of the Virgin Islands]]. In an October 19, 2011 email to Epstein headed "UVI Park Directors," Cecile de Jongh profiled board candidates for the university's research and technology park, one of the incentive programs on which Kellerhals advised clients, noting of the university's president, "DO NOT KNOW HIM THAT WELL AND HE IS NEW TO THE VI," and of Smock, a former judge of the Territorial Court from 1987 to 1993, former chairman of the Law Revision Commission and former president of the Virgin Islands Bar Association: "FRIEND." According to [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] notes of a 2023 interview with the former Attorney General [[Denise George]], Bryan told her to settle the territory's case against the Epstein estate for 80 million dollars and to "select Henry Smock" as mediator; Smock later represented Bryan in his 2023 divorce, the records of which were sealed at his request.[^3][^12]
 
 ### Aftermath
 
-The estate settled the territory's case in November 2022 for more than 105 million dollars, returning "more than $80 million in economic development tax benefits that Epstein and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained." In the territory's suit against JPMorgan, the bank's consultant [[Carlyn Irwin]] reported that "the EDC did not investigate or question" Epstein's business claims and that "giving Mr. Epstein $300 million in benefits made no economic sense." As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from receiving certificates. Companies affiliated with [[Stephen Deckoff]], who bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from the estate in 2023, have held commission benefits since 2012.[^3][^5][^11][^12]
+The estate settled the territory's case in November 2022 for more than 105 million dollars, returning "more than $80 million in economic development tax benefits that Epstein and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained." In the territory's suit against JPMorgan, the bank's consultant [[Carlyn Irwin]] reported that "the EDC did not investigate or question" Epstein's business claims and that "giving Mr. Epstein $300 million in benefits made no economic sense." As of June 2023 the territory had not amended its law to bar registered sex offenders from receiving certificates. Companies affiliated with [[Stephen Deckoff]], who bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from the estate in 2023, have held commission benefits since 2012.[^3][^5][^13][^14]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
@@ -91,6 +93,8 @@ The estate settled the territory's case in November 2022 for more than 105 milli
 [^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01580553, DataSet 10, memorandum from Harry Beller to JPMorgan wire desk, September 21, 2012 (JPM-SDNY-00059908). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01580553.pdf ; Kellerhals Ferguson Kroblin PLLC, "Erika Kellerhals," attorney biography, captured August 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190810121434/https://www.kellfer.com/attorneys/erika-kellerhals/
 [^8]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Court filings show V.I. First Lady's loyalty to Epstein." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* June 21, 2023. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/court-filings-show-v-i-first-ladys-loyalty-to-epstein/article_c2dca0a7-a243-5365-88c0-389c576ad022.html (144.9 million dollars in incentives, 2013 to 2019; no amendment of the law).
 [^9]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Files reveal Epstein's efforts to influence V.I. officials; emails with Mapp." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/files-reveal-epstein-s-efforts-to-influence-v-i-officials-emails-with-mapp/article_2dd4fe69-4daf-4dc2-b3b8-37a929002bb6.html
-[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00720076, DataSet 9, email, Cecile de Jongh to Jeffrey Epstein, cc Jeanne Brennan, "UVI Park Directors," October 19, 2011 (duplicate EFTA02035483, DataSet 10). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00720076.pdf
-[^11]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million." *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/
-[^12]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Still no resort plans for Epstein's islands purchased by Deckoff." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 6, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/still-no-resort-plans-for-epsteins-islands-purchased-by-deckoff/article_84d776de-8427-4080-a1b5-6cf81418e23d.html (Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings receiving EDC benefits since 2012).
+[^10]: Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, *FY 2023 Annual Report,* Certificate Orientations, pp. 24 to 25. https://usvieda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2023-Annual-Report_Revised-Apr-4-2025.pdf
+[^11]: Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, *FY 2016 Annual Report,* Table 3, Site Visits, p. 30. https://usvieda.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2016_EDA_Annual_Report_FINAL.pdf
+[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00720076, DataSet 9, email, Cecile de Jongh to Jeffrey Epstein, cc Jeanne Brennan, "UVI Park Directors," October 19, 2011 (duplicate EFTA02035483, DataSet 10). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00720076.pdf
+[^13]: "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million." *U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,* December 1, 2022. https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/
+[^14]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Still no resort plans for Epstein's islands purchased by Deckoff." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 6, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/still-no-resort-plans-for-epsteins-islands-purchased-by-deckoff/article_84d776de-8427-4080-a1b5-6cf81418e23d.html (Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings receiving EDC benefits since 2012).

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 created: 2026-05-15
-updated: 2026-05-17
+updated: 2026-10-08
 title: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
 aliases:
   - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ tags:
   - 1950s
   - 1960s
 category: "U.S. Government"
-summary: "The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the U.S. Army's principal biomedical research laboratory, involved during the Cold War in classified Project Pandora investigations into the biological effects of the Moscow Signal microwave emissions on primates at its Forest Glen Section."
+summary: "The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the Army's principal biomedical laboratory, where Project Pandora irradiated primates at the Forest Glen Section and to which DARPA transferred Pandora's assets in 1970."
 start: 1893-01-01
 location: "Silver Spring, Maryland"
 ---
@@ -28,5 +28,11 @@ An elaborate facility was constructed inside WRAIR, specifically at its Forest G
 
 Later, in the 1990s, [[David Morehouse]] was transferred to the psychiatric ward at Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg, after a period at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for psychiatric evaluation. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center Sanity Board concluded that Morehouse did not have a severe mental disease or defect, but rather major depression and alcohol abuse[^1].
 
+### Transfer of Project Pandora, 1970
+
+A DARPA letter of September 15, 1977 to Senator [[Warren G. Magnuson]] states that "Project Pandora was terminated by DARPA in March 1970 and all assets were transferred to Walter Reed Army Institute for Research (WRAIR) for disposition," that "there has been no DARPA interest in the work being carried on at WRAIR" since, and that the agency has no knowledge whether the data collected at Walter Reed were destroyed. The letter gives the total cost of Pandora as $4,615,000 and states that a detailed breakout of the costs of "the Walter Reed facilities" is not available.[^2]
+
 ### Footnotes
+
 [^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
+[^2]: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, letter to Senator Warren G. Magnuson, September 15, 1977, National Security Archive. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/rhwvuj-tzy4b/14.pdf

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Black Diamond Capital Management.md

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+---
+aliases:
+  - Black Diamond Capital Management, LLC
+  - Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C.
+  - Black Diamond Capital
+  - BDCM
+category: "Private Organization"
+tags:
+  - Company
+  - Finance
+  - HedgeFund
+  - DistressedDebt
+  - CollateralizedLoanObligations
+  - FormADV
+  - VirginIslands
+  - EconomicDevelopmentCommission
+summary: "Black Diamond Capital Management is the credit and distressed-investment adviser founded in 1995 by Stephen H. Deckoff, with a St. Thomas principal office and about 10.7 billion dollars under management."
+location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Stamford, Connecticut"
+relations:
+  - type: founded
+    with: "[[Stephen Deckoff]]"
+    reverse: true
+    start: 1995
+    role: "founder"
+    fn: 1
+  - type: head_of
+    with: "[[Stephen Deckoff]]"
+    reverse: true
+    role: "managing principal (Form ADV Schedule A)"
+    fn: 3
+created: 2026-10-08
+updated: 2026-10-08
+---
+
+Black Diamond Capital Management is a registered investment adviser that manages credit, stressed and distressed debt, collateralized loan obligations, and private equity funds. The firm was founded in 1995 by [[Stephen Deckoff]], who is its managing principal.[^1][^2]
+
+### Registration and offices
+
+The firm has been registered with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission|U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] since August 10, 2010. Its state notice filings are dated August 10, 2010 for Connecticut and April 1, 2013 for the Virgin Islands. Its most recent Form ADV Part 1A was filed on July 13, 2026.[^3]
+
+The principal office in the filing is 5330 Yacht Haven Grande, Suite 100, in [[St. Thomas]], [[U.S. Virgin Islands]]. The mailing address is in [[Stamford, Connecticut]]. Other offices listed in Schedule D Section 1.F are in [[London]], Stamford (two entries), Addison, Windsor, Santa Clara, and [[Grand Cayman]].[^4]
+
+### Assets and ownership
+
+Item 5.F of the filing reports total regulatory assets under management of 10,714,142,774 dollars.[^3] The firm's website, as archived in 2020, stated that it managed over 8 billion dollars.[^1] Forbes reported in 2023 that the Stamford-based company managed some 9 billion dollars in assets.[^2]
+
+Schedule A lists Deckoff as managing principal and a control person with an ownership code of E, meaning 75 percent or more. It lists [[Mounir Nahas]] as chief operating officer with an ownership code of B, meaning 10 percent to less than 25 percent, and [[Mitchell Goldfarb]] as general counsel and chief compliance officer from May 2026.[^3]
+
+Schedule B lists [[SD Investments|SD Investments, LLC]], a domestic entity, as a member of [[Black Diamond Capital Holdings]] with an ownership code of E, dated October 2006. It lists Deckoff as a member of SD Investments with an ownership code of E, dated February 1997.[^3] The filing's firm record also lists [[Black Diamond Holdings, LLLP]] and [[Black Diamond Advisors, LLLP]] among the names under which the firm and its relying advisers appear, and a Schedule D ownership table lists Black Diamond Advisors, LLLP as a member with an ownership code of E, dated November 2021, under CRD number 290531.[^3]
+
+### Affiliates in the Virgin Islands
+
+The Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority's fiscal 2016 annual report lists Black Diamond Advisors, LLLP and Black Diamond Holding, LLLP among site visits for beneficiaries of the [[Economic Development Commission]] program.[^5] The fiscal 2023 report lists certificate orientations on February 7, 2023 for Black Diamond Advisors, LLC and Black Diamond Holdings, LLC, both recorded as modifications on St. Thomas.[^5] [[Suzanne Carlson]] reported in February 2026 that the two companies had received tax-incentive benefits from the commission since 2012.[^6]
+
+### PTC Alliance Acquisition, 2009
+
+In October 2009, [[PTC Alliance]] filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Funds managed by the firm, identified as the pre-petition term lenders, signed an asset purchase agreement to act as stalking horse bidder for substantially all of the company's assets under Section 363. Deckoff, as managing principal, described the proposed transaction as establishing "a new corporation with a stronger balance sheet and lower cost structure."[^7]
+
+### Schedule 13D filings
+
+The firm (CIK 0001282197) and Stephen Deckoff filed Amendment No. 3 to a Schedule 13D for [[Consumer Portfolio Services]] (event date March 10, 2022) reporting 4,647,042 shares, 22.05 percent of the class, and an Amendment No. 1 for [[KVH Industries]] (event date February 3, 2023) reporting 3,298,597 shares, 17.20 percent. The KVH filing states that the company's board agreed in a cooperation agreement to nominate Deckoff as a Class III director. The EDGAR index also lists Schedule 13G filings by the firm for [[Hawaiian Telcom Holdco]], [[Viasystems Group]], Saratoga Investment Corp and Canterbury Park Holding Corp, and Form D notices for its funds.[^8]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Black Diamond Capital Management, "About," archived page, Wayback Machine snapshot dated 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/2020/http://www.bdcm.com/about.html
+[^2]: Chang, Richard J. "Exclusive: Billionaire Investor Buys Jeffrey Epstein's Private Islands For $60 Million." *Forbes,* May 2023. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02810216, copy filed as Exhibit 29 to document 226-30, *Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.,* No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank,%20N.A.,%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02810216.pdf
+[^3]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, firm record for Black Diamond Capital Management (firm ID 154495, Form ADV filing dated July 13, 2026), including Part 1A Items 1.F, 1.G and 5.F, Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule D ownership tables and the firm's other-names list. https://api.adviserinfo.sec.gov/search/firm/154495 and https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/154495/PDF/154495.pdf
+[^4]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Form ADV Part 1A, Schedule D Section 1.F (other offices), firm ID 154495, 2026 filing. https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/154495/PDF/154495.pdf
+[^5]: Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, *FY 2016 Annual Report,* Table 3, Site Visits, p. 30, https://usvieda.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2016_EDA_Annual_Report_FINAL.pdf ; *FY 2023 Annual Report,* Certificate Orientations, pp. 24 to 25, https://usvieda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2023-Annual-Report_Revised-Apr-4-2025.pdf
+[^6]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Still no resort plans for Epstein's islands purchased by Deckoff." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 6, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/still-no-resort-plans-for-epsteins-islands-purchased-by-deckoff/article_84d776de-8427-4080-a1b5-6cf81418e23d.html
+[^7]: "PTC Alliance Files for Chapter 11 Protection." Association for Iron & Steel Technology, posted October 2, 2009. https://www.aist.org/ptc-alliance-files-for-chapter-11-protection
+[^8]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR, Schedule 13D/A accessions 0001140361-22-009441 (Consumer Portfolio Services) and 0001140361-23-004863 (KVH Industries), and EDGAR full-text search for "Black Diamond Capital Management," October 8, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1007587/000114036123004863/brhc10047604_sc13da.htm

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Cali Drug Cartel.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
   - Cali Drug Cartel
   - Cali Cartel
 created: 2026-05-17
-updated: 2026-09-22
+updated: 2026-10-08
 category: "Organized Crime"
 tags:
   - Organization
@@ -24,13 +24,15 @@ The cartel laundered its substantial profits through various channels, notably M
 
 Investigations into the Cali Cartel frequently intersected with U.S. government operations and intelligence activities. [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]] and [[Jose Santacruz Londono]] were significant targets of a major [[DEA|DEA]] Centac investigation, which led to their indictments in Los Angeles and New York in 1978. However, these cases reportedly did not progress beyond the indictment phase, and the Centac 21 task force was dismantled during the [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George H.W. Bush]] administrations, leading to suspicions among disgruntled [[DEA|DEA]] agents of a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] connection.[^1]
 
+In 1992 Salvadoran authorities arrested members of a group that had taken five 500-pound bombs from a battalion at the San Salvador airport. [[Semana]] reported on April 12, 1992 that the arrested men, among them a Salvadoran army colonel, [[Roberto Antonio Leiva Jacobo]], confessed that they had been hired by members of the Cali cartel, who paid four million dollars for the bombs, and that a Salvadoran government source said the bombs were meant for a plan to kill [[Pablo Escobar]] in the [[Envigado]] prison.[^4] Gary Webb reported that [[Enrique Miranda]] doubted [[Marcos Aguado]]'s boasts of flying weapons to the cartels until a Salvadoran Air Force colonel and his associates were arrested in 1992 for selling bombs and high explosives to Colombian drug dealers.[^5]
+
 ### Connection to the Contras
 
-The cartel's connection to the Contra drug network ran through Meneses's organization on the [[United States|U.S.]] West Coast and through direct payments to the [[Contras]]. During the [[Manuel Noriega|Noriega]] trial, former [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín]] cartel transportation boss [[Carlos Lehder]] confirmed under oath that the cartel had given the Contras $10 million. Ramon Milian-Rodriguez, a graduate of Santa Clara University, testified before the [[John Kerry|Kerry]] Committee that he used his firm to launder that $10 million donation, which he said was arranged by and paid to former [[Central Intelligence Agency]] agent [[Felix Rodriguez]], a [[Cuba|Cuban]] veteran of the [[Bay of Pigs|Bay of Pigs]].[^4]
+The cartel's connection to the Contra drug network ran through Meneses's organization on the [[United States|U.S.]] West Coast and through direct payments to the [[Contras]]. During the [[Manuel Noriega|Noriega]] trial, former [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín]] cartel transportation boss [[Carlos Lehder]] confirmed under oath that the cartel had given the Contras $10 million. Ramon Milian-Rodriguez, a graduate of Santa Clara University, testified before the [[John Kerry|Kerry]] Committee that he used his firm to launder that $10 million donation, which he said was arranged by and paid to former [[Central Intelligence Agency]] agent [[Felix Rodriguez]], a [[Cuba|Cuban]] veteran of the [[Bay of Pigs|Bay of Pigs]].[^6]
 
 ### Connection to the Dark Alliance Network
 
-[[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]]'s supplier [[Aparicio Moreno]] was a Colombian with reported ties to both the [[FDN]] and the CIA.[^2] Webb wrote that [[Rafael Cornejo]] was involved in a major cocaine pipeline running from Cali to several West Coast cities. The Meneses organization's supply chain originated with the Colombian cartels.[^4]
+[[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]]'s supplier [[Aparicio Moreno]] was a Colombian with reported ties to both the [[FDN]] and the CIA.[^2] Webb wrote that [[Rafael Cornejo]] was involved in a major cocaine pipeline running from Cali to several West Coast cities. The Meneses organization's supply chain originated with the Colombian cartels.[^6]
 
 ### Intelligence Connections
 
@@ -52,4 +54,6 @@ Historically, during [[Jimmy Carter]]'s presidency, his human rights foreign pol
 [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
 [^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Prologue: "It was like they didn't want to know"
 [^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
-[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 12: "This guy talks to God"
+[^4]: "¿Bombas contra Escobar?", *Semana*, April 12, 1992, https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/bombas-contra-escobar/17208-3. Sole source for the 1992 bomb-case details; the Cali cartel buyers are Semana's report of the arrested men's confessions and of an unnamed Salvadoran government source.
+[^5]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion* (Seven Stories Press, 1998), Chapter 13, "The wrong kind of friends," and Cast of Characters. Sole source for the passages so cited.
+[^6]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 12: "This guy talks to God"

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/First Intercontinental Development Corporation.md

@@ -1,15 +1,19 @@
 ---
+aliases:
+  - FIDCO
+  - First Intercontinental Development Corp.
 tags:
   - Organization
   - Company
   - FrontCompany
   - NSC
+  - NSA
   - PROMIS
 category: "Private Organization"
-updated: 2026-09-22
+updated: 2026-10-08
 summary: "First Intercontinental Development Corporation was a company whose board of directors included prominent figures with ties to government and intelligence, and it was reportedly a National Security Council cutout."
 ---
-[[First Intercontinental Development Corporation|FIDCO]] was a company whose board of directors included prominent figures with ties to government and intelligence, and it was reportedly a [[National Security Council|NSC]] cutout. It figures in [[Danny Casolaro]]'s "[[The Octopus]]" investigation.[^1]
+First Intercontinental Development Corporation (FIDCO) was a company whose board of directors included prominent figures with ties to government and intelligence, and it was reportedly a [[National Security Council|NSC]] cutout. It figures in [[Danny Casolaro]]'s "[[The Octopus]]" investigation.[^1]
 
 ### Board of Directors
 
@@ -27,11 +31,19 @@ The Board of Directors of FIDCO consisted of individuals with significant backgr
 
 ### Activities and Allegations
 
-FIDCO was reportedly used as a NSC cutout in [[Lebanon]] to arrange the release of a prisoner. According to Seymour, letters of the summer of 1983 between Michael A. McManus and George K. Pender concerned FIDCO's role in Lebanon. A follow-up letter from George K. Pender to [[Amin Gamayel]], the president of Lebanon, indicated that transactions could be telexed to Robert Booth Nichols' address. The Arab Bank Limited in Amman, [[Jordan]], responded positively to a potential financial transaction of "US$ three billion or more" for the reconstruction of Lebanon.[^1]
+FIDCO was reportedly used as a NSC cutout in [[Lebanon]] to arrange the release of a prisoner. [[Peter Zokosky]] told Seymour in 2001 that FIDCO was an "NSA front corporation used in Lebanon," that its directors "contracted" with Nichols, and that he had been on it "briefly."[^2] According to Seymour, letters of the summer of 1983 between Michael A. McManus and George K. Pender concerned FIDCO's role in Lebanon. A follow-up letter from George K. Pender to [[Amin Gamayel]], the president of Lebanon, indicated that transactions could be telexed to Robert Booth Nichols' address. The Arab Bank Limited in Amman, [[Jordan]], responded positively to a potential financial transaction of "US$ three billion or more" for the reconstruction of Lebanon.[^1]
 
 [[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed that FIDCO was a NSC corporate cutout and that he was a technical advisor for the organization. He also stated that FIDCO had a companion company called Euramae Trading, which operated throughout the [[Middle East]] and was involved in the drug trade, allegedly as a NSC-directed operation.[^1]
 
 Robert Booth Nichols used FIDCO to verify his credibility in proposed arms projects, including the construction of an R&D facility for weapons systems on the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]]. Michael Riconosciuto also claimed that Robert Booth Nichols was involved in illicit activities through FIDCO, including attempting to take embargoed technology out of the United States.[^1]
 
+### Nevada Charter Record
+
+The filing index of Nevada charter C417-1961 lists an amendment on August 7, 1984 under the name First Intercontinental Development Corporation, with authorized stock of 10,000,000 shares at one cent par. The same charter's earlier amendments read Nevada Real Estate Investment Corporation (1972), Harbor Resources Incorporated (1979) and Western Smelting & Refining, Inc. (1982); its current record is under the name [[Meridian International Logistics]], Inc., Robert Booth Nichols's holding company, with annual lists filed from 1998 to 2002, a 1992 registered agent in Las Vegas, and the status "Permanently Revoked."[^3] A separate California stock corporation named First Intercontinental Development Corporation (number 0871867) shows Franchise Tax Board suspensions in 1983, 1994 and 2000.[^4]
+
 ### Footnotes
-[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010. Sole source. The company is not mentioned in the House Judiciary Committee's report of 1992 or in the Justice Department's reports of 1993 and 1994 on the INSLAW affair.
+
+[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010. Sole source.
+[^2]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, chapter 22, interview of Peter Zokosky, February 14, 2001. Sole source.
+[^3]: OpenCorporates, record and filing list for Meridian International Logistics, Inc., Nevada company C417-1961 (retrieved October 8, 2026). https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_nv/C417-1961/filings
+[^4]: OpenCorporates, record for First Intercontinental Development Corporation, California company 0871867 (retrieved October 8, 2026). https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/0871867

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Lockheed Skunk Works.md

@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ The Wall Street Journal reported on June 21, 2025 that Davis, "for years ... was
 
 The July 26, 2023 hearing of a subcommittee of the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Oversight Committee]], at which [[David Grusch]] testified under oath to "a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program," names no company in its transcript: the words Lockheed, Skunk Works, EG&G and [[Battelle Memorial Institute|Battelle]] do not occur in it. Asked by Representative [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] about "the interactions between defense contractor companies and any UAP-related programs," Grusch answered "the contractors, you know, or the metal benders, so to speak, the ones actually doing specific performance on government contracts"; asked by Representative [[Eric Burlison]] whether there was evidence the recovered aircraft were produced by domestic military contractors, he said "Not to my knowledge. Plus, the recoveries predate a lot of our advanced programs" that he was "waiving off."[^8]
 
-The [[Department of Defense]]'s [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] stated in February 2024 that it "found no empirical evidence for claims that the USG and private companies have been reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology"; that "The executives, scientists, and chief technology officers of the companies named by interviewees met with the Director of AARO and denied on the record that they have ever recovered, possessed, or engaged in reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial technology"; and, of a thirdhand account by one interviewee that an unnamed organization held twelve recovered craft and had a [[Central Intelligence Agency]] "partnership with the company that ended in 1989," that it "discovered no empirical evidence supporting these claims." The report does not name the companies. It describes "Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program organization, also known as 'Skunk Works'" as the developer of the [[P-175 Polecat]] unmanned aircraft (first flight 2005, disclosed at the 2006 [[Farnborough Airshow]]) and the [[RQ-170 Sentinel]], and Lockheed Martin with [[Boeing]] and [[Advanced Research Projects Agency|DARPA]] as developers of the [[RQ-3 Dark Star]], which "Some observers asserted ... resembled a flying saucer with long narrow wings."[^9] A Pentagon spokeswoman, [[Sue Gough]], told the Wall Street Journal that the investigation "has not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently."[^7]
+The [[Department of Defense]]'s [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] stated in February 2024 that it "found no empirical evidence for claims that the USG and private companies have been reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology"; that "The executives, scientists, and chief technology officers of the companies named by interviewees met with the Director of AARO and denied on the record that they have ever recovered, possessed, or engaged in reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial technology"; and, of a thirdhand account by one interviewee that an unnamed organization held twelve recovered craft and had a [[Central Intelligence Agency]] "partnership with the company that ended in 1989," that it "discovered no empirical evidence supporting these claims." The report does not name the companies. It describes "Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program organization, also known as 'Skunk Works'" as the developer of the [[P-175 Polecat]] unmanned aircraft (first flight 2005, disclosed at the 2006 [[Farnborough Airshow]]) and the [[RQ-170 Sentinel]], and Lockheed Martin with [[Boeing]] and [[DARPA|DARPA]] as developers of the [[RQ-3 Dark Star]], which "Some observers asserted ... resembled a flying saucer with long narrow wings."[^9] A Pentagon spokeswoman, [[Sue Gough]], told the Wall Street Journal that the investigation "has not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently."[^7]
 
 [[Ron Blackburn]], a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel then at the Skunk Works, helped [[John B. Alexander]] draw up the invitation list for the [[Advanced Theoretical Physics Working Group]] in 1984, according to Alexander (see those pages).
 

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Meridian International Logistics.md

@@ -1,21 +1,129 @@
 ---
-tags:
-  - Organization
-  - Company
-  - FBI
-  - TheOctopus
-  - DrugTrafficking
+title: Meridian International Logistics
+aliases:
+  - Meridian International Logistics
+  - Meridian International Logistics, Inc.
+  - MIL
+  - MIL, Inc.
+  - Meridian Logistics
+  - Meridian Arms
+  - Meridian Arms Corporation
+created: 2026-05-17
+updated: 2026-10-08
 category: "Private Organization"
-summary: "Meridian International Logistics was a holding company associated with Robert Booth Nichols, who was a principal in the organization."
+tags:
+  - Company
+  - HoldingCompany
+  - ArmsTrade
+  - TheOctopus
+  - PROMIS
+  - OrganizedCrimeInvestigation
+  - MCA
+  - CabazonWackenhut
+  - NSA
+  - Yakuza
+summary: "Nevada holding company of Robert Booth Nichols, owner of Meridian Arms Corporation, named in a 1987 FBI wiretap file on MCA's home-video chief and in Nichols's 1989 libel suit against FBI agent Thomas Gates."
+location:
+  - "Los Angeles, California"
+relations:
+  - type: head_of
+    with: "[[Robert Booth Nichols]]"
+    reverse: true
+    fn: 1
+  - type: owned
+    with: "[[Meridian Arms Corporation]]"
+    role: "100 percent of the stock, as alleged in the 1989 complaint"
+    start: 1989-06-16
+    fn: 2
+  - type: subject_of
+    with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
+    start: 1987-09
+    role: "organized-crime investigation led by Special Agent Thomas Gates"
+    fn: 6
+  - type: director_of
+    with: "[[Eugene Giaquinto]]"
+    reverse: true
+    role: "board member, according to Cheri Seymour and Spy; resigned and returned 10,000 shares according to Seymour"
+    fn: 8
+  - type: director_of
+    with: "[[Peter Zokosky]]"
+    reverse: true
+    role: "board member, asked later to be taken off the board (Zokosky to Seymour, 2001)"
+    fn: 13
 ---
-[[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]] was a holding company associated with [[Robert Booth Nichols]], who was a principal in the organization. It was under investigation by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] as a suspected "source of funding for the purchasing of narcotics/controlled substances and the allocation and use of the proceeds from its trafficking."[1]
+Meridian International Logistics, Inc. (MIL) was a Nevada corporation with its principal place of business in [[Los Angeles]], controlled by [[Robert Booth Nichols]]; its 1989 complaint against the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent [[Thomas Gates]] described it as doing business overseas, especially in [[Australia]] and [[Japan]], and as the owner of all the stock of [[Meridian Arms Corporation]].[^1][^2]
 
-Reportedly, [[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]] functioned as a [[National Security Council|NSC]] cutout, used for the purpose of "funneling money to pay the board of directors." A friend of Nichols, who was once on the board, explained that the [[National Security Council|NSC]] operates as a "profit-making entity" with unlimited funding and no accountability due to national security considerations. This individual further stated that all covert business conducted at that time related to "money and/or drugs," with drugs serving as international currency, often referred to as "gold," due to the high market demand and profitability.[1]
+### Corporate record
 
-[[Eugene Giaquinto]], then president of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] home entertainment division, was a board member of [[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]]. Both Giaquinto and Nichols reportedly maintained a close working relationship with the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]], according to wiretaps.[1]
+The corporation's Nevada charter is file number C417-1961. The [[Nevada Secretary of State]] filing index, as transcribed by OpenCorporates, begins with articles of incorporation on March 27, 1961, and lists amendments whose entries read Nevada Real Estate Investment Corporation (April 20, 1972), Harbor Resources Incorporated (February 12, 1979), Western Smelting & Refining, Inc. (April 20, 1982) and [[First Intercontinental Development Corporation]] (August 7, 1984, with authorized stock of 10,000,000 shares at one cent par). The record now stands under the name Meridian International Logistics, Inc., with annual lists of officers filed in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, a registered-agent change on March 30, 1992 to Edward G. Marshall of Las Vegas, a registered-agent resignation on August 16, 2006, and a status of "Permanently Revoked."[^3]
 
-[[Michael Riconosciuto]] was also associated with [[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]], serving as Vice President of Meridian Arms, a subsidiary of [[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]]. He claimed that [[Robert Booth Nichols]] was under [[Harold Okimoto]] from the Hawaiian Islands, who was represented as an intelligence person and had worked under [[Frank Carlucci]] for years.[1]
+Meridian Arms Corporation is a separate California stock corporation (number 0853005), with a registered address at 834 Rose Blossom Drive, Cupertino. Its filings show a [[California Franchise Tax Board]] suspension on December 1, 1986, a revivor on December 17, 1986, and a second suspension on November 1, 2000.[^4] The 1987 continuation affidavit of Gates gives Nichols's employment as Meridian International Logistics at the same Cupertino address.[^5]
+
+### The 1987 FBI investigation
+
+In September 1987 the FBI's Los Angeles Division began an investigation of Nichols, who, "acting through Meridian," was suspected of involvement in organized crime; Special Agent Thomas Gates led it, and learned that Nichols "had potential illegal contacts with individuals in both Japan and Australia," which he pursued through the Japanese and Australian legal attachés.[^6]
+
+The wiretap record consists of a series of sworn affidavits by Gates submitted to Judge J. Spencer Letts of the [[United States District Court for the Central District of California]] on March 27, May 20, June 25, July 15 and August 3, 1987, and a continuation affidavit, all in the inquiry into [[Martin Bacow]], a labor negotiator, and [[Eugene Giaquinto]], president of the home-entertainment division of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]. The continuation affidavit lists Nichols among the persons whose calls were to be intercepted, with a note that California Department of Justice records showed he had obtained several permits to possess and sell firearms, including machine guns. It states that FBI files showed that in 1978 Nichols "was allegedly an international money launderer for money generated through narcotics trafficking and organized crime (LCN) activities," and that he "may have been associated with the Gambino LCN family in New York City." It records a 1985 Honolulu arrest of Nichols for driving under the influence, and FBI surveillance on July 15, 1987 of Giaquinto leaving Le Dome restaurant on Sunset Boulevard with an unidentified male, who took a box from Giaquinto's trunk; Gates wrote that a booking photograph of Nichols appeared to show the same individual.[^5]
+
+In paragraph 5 the affidavit states that there was probable cause to believe that Giaquinto, [[Joseph Garofalo]] "and others as yet unknown" had been committing offenses "involving the sale and possession of controlled substances and a conspiracy to do so" under Title 21 of the United States Code, sections 841, 844 and 846, and that the intercepted conversations would establish, as the fourth item, "The source of funding for the purchasing of narcotics/controlled substances and the allocation and use of the proceeds from its trafficking." The stock-fraud offenses stated in the same paragraph name Giaquinto, Garofalo, Bacow and Nichols; the controlled-substance offenses name Giaquinto and Garofalo.[^5]
+
+Among the intercepts Gates summarized: on July 20, 1987 Giaquinto told Nichols that MCA stock had dropped four points, and Nichols said a "Hawaiian" had made a heavy deal and was of great value to people in a "reporting mode"; on July 23 Giaquinto described to Nichols a conversation about [[ZZZZ Best]] as a money-laundering operation for heroin money, and asked what to do if Nichols's name came up, and Gates rendered Nichols's answer as to tell the truth, that Nichols had written a treatment (a script) and was looking for a production company; on July 27 Nichols told Giaquinto he was leaving the country and gave a Hawaii number where "Harold (possibly Okimoto)" would have a tape put on the answering machine. In the affidavit's list of the Hawaii connections, a vehicle with Hawaii plates seen on July 15 was registered to [[Wells Fargo]] at a Honolulu residential address where a Harold Tadao Okimoto lived, the same address and telephone number Nichols had given at his 1985 arrest, and Gates reported that more than fifty vehicles in Hawaii were registered to Wells Fargo at different residential addresses although the bank had no auto-leasing business there, a method of registration that led him to believe "some type of covert activity may be involved."[^5]
+
+The author [[Dan Moldea]] wrote that the reporter [[Anita Busch]] asked him about "mystery man Robert Booth Nichols, a shadowy associate of Seagal's," meaning the actor [[Steven Seagal]], and that he suggested she call [[Richard Stavin]], the former federal prosecutor "who had investigated him."[^7] [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that Stavin and Gates "conducted the wiretaps relating to Meridian International Logistics"; that Nichols told her on February 13, 1992 that MCA was trying to leverage itself for sale to the Japanese and that Giaquinto was also a corporate partner in his company; and that when the two learned of the FBI investigation Giaquinto resigned from MIL and returned his stock certificates.[^8]
+
+### Meridian International Logistics v. United States
+
+On June 16, 1989, MIL sued Gates in Los Angeles Superior Court, in his individual capacity, for libel, slander and interference with contractual relationships, praying for $11,000,000. The complaint, as summarized in MIL's brief to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]], alleged that Gates had made statements to the [[Australian Federal Police]] in Canberra, to persons in Brisbane and Innisfail, Queensland, and to an individual in Tokyo, that MIL was guilty of a $500,000,000 "share fraud," that MIL and its officers had participated in a Sydney-based confidence scheme in 1982, and that its officers were involved with the [[Gambino Crime Family]] and the [[Yakuza]]; it alleged the statements were false and known by Gates to be false, and that he acted outside his authority.[^2] The brief put to the court the question whether an FBI agent could tell a foreign police force that officers of MIL were involved with the Mafia and the Yakuza.[^2]
+
+On July 20, 1989 the United States Attorney certified that Gates had acted within the scope of his employment, which removed the case to federal court and substituted the United States as defendant. The government filed declarations from Gates, his supervisor and a [[Department of Justice]] attorney, which the district court sealed and reviewed in camera. MIL filed a declaration from the former FBI special agent [[Ted Gunderson]] that the foreign contacts "would never, under FBI policies, be initiated by an agent assigned to the Los Angeles field office." On September 25, 1989 the district court found that Gates had acted within the scope of his employment and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. On July 19, 1991 the Ninth Circuit (No. 90-55281, Judge Wiggins) held the sealed ex parte procedure proper on the facts, but reversed because the declarations "only assert generally that Gates' investigation was proper" and did not address the specific allegations about the foreign contacts; it remanded for further documentary proof.[^6] [[Spy (magazine)|Spy]] reported in January 1993 that the suit had recently been dismissed.[^9]
+
+### Board members and subsidiary
+
+Seymour wrote, on the basis of her 1992 investigation, that the board of directors of Meridian Arms consisted of Nichols, Peter Zokosky, [[Harold Okimoto]], [[Glen R. Shockley]] and others, that [[Michael Riconosciuto]] had once been vice president of Meridian Arms, and that Giaquinto sat on the MIL board and formally resigned, returning 10,000 shares, after the FBI investigation became known to Nichols; she attached what she described as documentation of the resignation. She also described corporate minutes dated August 26, 1988 that referred to a grant available to a Japanese medical school, and wrote that Nichols, when she asked, said he had facilitated research on cytotoxic T-lymphocytes through five offshore institutes, classified by the sponsoring governments.[^10] Seymour also wrote that Riconosciuto claimed Nichols was under Okimoto of the Hawaiian Islands, who was represented as an intelligence person and had worked under [[Frank Carlucci]] for years.[^11]
+
+Spy's January 1993 account, by John Connolly, states that by 1981 Nichols and Zokosky, a retired arms manufacturer, had formed the munitions company Meridian Arms, which joined a small California Indian tribe and the [[Wackenhut Corporation]] in a scheme to manufacture arms on the reservation; that Nichols obtained California machine-gun permits, in Meridian's effort to supply guns for the contras, with a recommendation from a CIA official named Larry Curran; that his application listed Okimoto, "believed by intelligence sources to be a high-ranking member of Japan's Yakuza crime syndicate," as a former employer; and that Giaquinto, "then president of the home-entertainment division of MCA," sat on the board of Meridian Arms's parent company. Spy wrote that the taps caught Giaquinto and Nichols discussing possible takeovers of MCA and the effect on stock prices, that the wiretaps showed Giaquinto enjoyed a special relationship with [[John Gotti]], and that before leaving MCA and the board Giaquinto proposed to [[Jack Valenti]] that the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] hire Nichols to coordinate anti-piracy work in Asia. Valenti told Spy, "I didn't feel comfortable with Nichols." Spy also wrote that the investigation "was later quashed by Reagan-administration officials."[^9]
+
+[[David Corn]] reported in The Nation in October 1991 that, according to legal records, Nichols ran MIL, "a California-based company that does extensive business overseas, especially in Australia and Japan; engages in innovative medical research; markets low-cost earth removal systems; and owns 100 percent of Meridian Arms Corporation." Citing the correspondence of a business associate, Corn wrote that Nichols's company was formed in the 1970s to develop a submachine gun producible for $50 or less, that the State Department's objection to exporting the technology caused difficulties, that production had been planned for Australia in 1983, and that in 1984 Nichols wrote of "enhanced gaseous fuel devices." Riconosciuto, Corn wrote, said he and Nichols had a falling-out in 1984. Corn also reported that a copy of the Gates wiretap request was in [[Danny Casolaro]]'s papers.[^1]
+
+### Gates and the House Judiciary Committee
+
+Seymour reproduced reports she attributed to [[John Cohen]], an investigator for the [[House Committee on the Judiciary]], of conversations with Gates. In them Gates is recorded as saying that "high level Department of Justice officials" had a close working relationship with the board of directors of MCA, that he learned this from FBI wiretaps on MCA, and that the wiretaps disclosed "high level DOJ officials were tied to illegal activities of MCA"; that a wiretap conversation between Nichols and a Justice Department official showed Nichols was warned the FBI was investigating him; that the wiretaps showed "a close working relationship between the Board of Directors of MCA, Attorney General Edwin Meese, and the White House"; that Giaquinto told Bacow he would call Meese and have the FBI investigation of MCA stopped; and that the investigation was shut down and sealed by the Department of Justice because the Japanese were interested in purchasing MCA. Gates is further recorded as saying the wiretap "extensively documents Robert Booth Nichols' connection with the highest levels of the U.S. Department of Justice."[^12]
+
+The House Judiciary Committee's report records that Gates gave a sworn statement on March 25 and 26, 1992; that Gates said Casolaro claimed to have found a link between the Inslaw matter, the activities at the Cabazon reservation and the entertainment-industry organized-crime investigation; that Nichols, "according to documents submitted to a Federal court by the FBI, has ties with organized crime and the world of covert intelligence operations"; and that Gates maintained that pertinent information on Nichols's past existed in sealed wiretap and grand jury records. Stavin provided the committee a 72-page affidavit by Gates, and the committee stated that it took no position on Gates's assertions concerning Nichols except that they were sworn statements.[^13]
+
+### Cabazon and Wackenhut
+
+The House Judiciary Committee's 1992 report on [[Inslaw]] recorded that in a December 1991 telephone call Nichols said that he and Riconosciuto had worked together at the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] in the early 1980s, that he had been hired by [[Dr. John Philip Nichols|John Phillip Nichols]], who worked with Riconosciuto on the joint venture, and that he wanted Zokosky present at any later interview. It concluded: "there have been a number of speculative reports and fragmentary records purporting to link Robert Booth Nichols, through a company called Meridian Arms Corporation, and Michael Riconosciuto to certain covert intelligence activities, including a joint venture between the Cabazon Indian Reservation and Wackenhut, Inc.," and called the continuing intersection of the names of Riconosciuto, [[Earl Brian]], Nichols and the reservation "certainly intriguing and curious asssociations" [sic] without the "causation and factual convergence necessary to draw conclusions."[^14]
+
+The Justice Department's 1993 report by Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] found the Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture was formed in April 1981 to bid on government guard contracts, with John Philip Nichols as tribal administrator negotiating for the tribe; that Zokosky, a former president of Armtec Defense Products, became an advisor to Nichols and the venture on combustible cartridge casings; that Zokosky and others from the venture travelled to [[Picatinny Arsenal]] to meet Dr. Harry Fair; and that no evidence supported Riconosciuto's claims that PROMIS work took place there.[^15]
+
+### Zokosky's account of the company
+
+Zokosky told Seymour and the journalist [[Kelly O'Meara]] on February 14, 2001 that he had been asked by Nichols to join the MIL board and had later asked to be removed; that MIL was a "front company" used for "funneling money to pay the board of directors," payments of "five figures"; that the money came from the [[NSA|National Security Agency]], which makes a "profit," and he alluded that some of the money came from drug profits; and that drugs were called "gold" and used as currency. He said John Vanderwerker and Glenn Shockley worked for the CIA and were involved with the Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture. He said it was his understanding that Nichols worked for the [[National Security Council]], "everything revolves around the NSC," doing contract work for the NSA and NSC and occasionally for other agencies. He also said that Nichols and Riconosciuto did business in Australia that he thought had something to do with the [[Nugan Hand Bank]], that he and Nichols and others had presented a proposal to develop biological warfare technology at Stormont Laboratories for sale to the Army (to Dr. Harry Fair at Picatinny Arsenal) and to FMC Corporation, and that Nichols had once worked for Okimoto in Hawaii. In the same interview he showed a three-page FBI Los Angeles report dated December 2, 1982, which Seymour summarized as stating that a confidential source had alleged on March 16, 1978 that Nichols was "an international money launderer," that his name was associated with the illegal transportation of narcotics through the "Golden Triangle," and that Nichols "should be considered armed and dangerous."[^16]
+
+### Casolaro and Nichols
+
+Bua's report records that after a dinner at a friend's home Casolaro telephoned Nichols at his Los Angeles home from 1:40 to 2:46 a.m. Eastern time, and that Nichols told the investigators Casolaro mentioned planning a trip to the Cabazon reservation to "wrap up" his research. It records that Nichols told a Martinsburg detective on September 30, 1991 that Casolaro had been murdered and that Riconosciuto was probably involved, and states that Nichols was in London on the day Casolaro died. It describes the January 1993 Spy article as suggesting that Nichols had Casolaro killed for fear of being exposed as someone who years earlier had offered to become an FBI informant against the Mafia, and states that the investigators found no evidence he had anything to do with the death. In a footnote Bua stated that Nichols testified on March 11, 1993 that he had been a member of the United States intelligence community for many years, and continued: "No evidence supports that claim. In fact, the CIA informed us that it does not have, nor has it ever had, any employment relationship, contractual relationship or any other association with Mr. Booth Nichols."[^17]
+
+The House report records that Hamilton and Riconosciuto told its investigators Nichols was Casolaro's primary source, that Nichols in a January 21, 1992 interview said he acted as a sounding board for Casolaro, and that Nichols would not give a sworn statement; Stavin stated under oath that Casolaro had called him about a week before his death and mentioned Robert Nichols.[^18]
 
----
 ### Footnotes
-[1] Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
+
+[^1]: Corn, David. "The Dark World of Danny Casolaro." *The Nation,* October 28, 1991, pp. 511-515 (Nichols "runs Meridian International Logistics ... and owns 100 percent of Meridian Arms Corporation"). https://archive.org/details/Danny-Casolaro
+[^2]: Appellant's Opening Brief, *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. Gates,* No. 90-55281 (9th Cir.), Robinson, Robinson & Phillips, certificate dated June 27, 1990, statement of the case and issues presented (the complaint as filed in Los Angeles Superior Court June 16, 1989, removed as CV 89-4383 RG (Kx) before Judge Richard A. Gadbois, Jr.). Scanned in the Danny Casolaro papers, State Historical Society of Missouri. https://archive.org/details/MeridianV.Gates
+[^3]: OpenCorporates, record for Meridian International Logistics, Inc., Nevada company C417-1961, and its filing list (retrieved October 8, 2026). https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_nv/C417-1961 ; https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_nv/C417-1961/filings.
+[^4]: OpenCorporates, record for Meridian Arms Corporation, California company 0853005 (retrieved October 8, 2026). https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/0853005
+[^5]: Affidavit of Special Agent Thomas G. Gates in support of an application to continue interception of wire communications of Martin Bacow, Eugene Giaquinto, Angelo Commito, Edward Sciandra, Michael Del Gaizo, Joseph Garofalo, Robert Nichols and others, before Judge J. Spencer Letts, C.D. Cal. (continuation affidavit citing intercepts through September 1, 1987), paragraphs 3, 5, 9-13, 46, 69, 76, 79 and 84; Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Gates." Seymour, *The Last Circle,* p. 356, paraphrases the narcotics-funding wording as describing MIL as "at that time suspected as a 'source of funding'"; the affidavit places the wording under the controlled-substance offenses of Giaquinto and Garofalo. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks (file Gates.pdf)
+[^6]: *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. United States,* 939 F.2d 740 (9th Cir. July 19, 1991) (No. 90-55281); the brief at note 2 describes MIL as "a Nevada corporation which has its primary place of business in Los Angeles." https://static.case.law/f2d/939/cases/0740-01.json
+[^7]: Moldea, Dan E. *Hollywood Confidential: A True Story of Wiretapping, Friendship, and Betrayal,* chapter 1 excerpt. https://www.moldea.com/BPFH-ChapterOne.pdf
+[^8]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, pp. 351 and 356. https://archive.org/details/TheInslawAffair . Sole source for the Giaquinto resignation.
+[^9]: Connolly, John. "The Story That Killed Danny Casolaro." *Spy,* January 1993. https://archive.org/details/SpyMagazine (1992-12-DEC-JAN)
+[^10]: Seymour, Cheri. "VORTEX," diary dated February 24, 1992, affidavit page notarized October 28, 1992, pp. 11-12; Internet Archive item VORTEXDocument records Seymour's later statement that it was written hurriedly under duress and before she verified its contents. https://archive.org/details/VORTEXDocument
+[^11]: Seymour, *The Last Circle,* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the passage so cited.
+[^12]: Seymour, *The Last Circle,* pp. 347-349 ("Report No. 5" and "Report No. 6," which Seymour wrote were by John Cohen, from conversations with Thomas Gates). Sole source for the passages so cited. https://archive.org/details/TheOctopusExposed
+[^13]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair,* H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, section on Danny Casolaro and notes 212-217. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
+[^14]: Same, notes 134 and 222.
+[^15]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua* (March 1993), section on the Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture, pp. 55-58. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
+[^16]: Seymour, *The Last Circle,* pp. 337-342, interview of Peter Zokosky, February 14, 2001, from Seymour's and O'Meara's notes. https://archive.org/details/TheOctopusExposed . Sole source for the passages so cited.
+[^17]: Bua report (note 15), pp. 157-159 and note 58 (on p. 159), citing *Booth Nichols v. City of Los Angeles,* No. NCC 31322B, trial transcript, March 11, 1993, pp. 32 et seq.
+[^18]: House report (note 13), notes 213 and 214 (Stavin sworn statement, March 13, 1992, pp. 23-24; memorandum of interview with Nichols, January 21, 1992).

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Rand Corporation.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 created: 2025-07-22
-updated: 2026-06-12
+updated: 2026-10-08
 title: Rand Corporation
 tags:
   - Organization
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ tags:
 category: "Private Organization"
 start: 1946
 location: "Santa Monica, California"
-summary: "The Rand Corporation is the US Air Force's principal Cold War nonprofit think tank in Santa Monica, founded as Project RAND in 1946 and incorporated in 1948, whose Vietnam-era Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Study produced critical findings that were suppressed at the time and later vindicated by Rand's own official history."
+summary: "The Rand Corporation is the Air Force's principal Cold War nonprofit think tank in Santa Monica, founded as Project RAND in 1946, whose Vietnam-era Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Study produced suppressed critical findings."
 ---
 The Rand Corporation, whose name is an acronym for Research and Development, is headquartered in [[Santa Monica, California]], with a Washington, D.C., office near the [[White House]]. It arose from the partnership between university scientists and the military that developed during the Second World War, established as Project RAND in 1946 with the [[U.S. Air Force]] as its primary institutional sponsor and incorporated as an independent nonprofit in 1948. It is not primarily a psychological research organization; economists and political scientists form the largest part of its staff. In the [[Cold War]] it was among the first institutions to apply systematic psychological and social scientific methods to military problems, including censorship policy, the psychological effects of weapons, propaganda organization, and, most controversially, the morale and motivation of enemy forces during the [[Vietnam War]].[^1]
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Rand produced a classified 1949 conference report on methods for studying the ps
 
 ### The VC Motivation and Morale Study
 
-In the early 1960s, [[Advanced Research Projects Agency|ARPA]] commissioned Rand to study the motivation and morale of the Viet Cong. The project, known as the Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Study (the M&M Study), ran from late 1964 through end of 1968, jointly sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and ARPA. It produced approximately 2,371 interviews totaling over 60,000 pages of documentation, conducted at approximately forty locations across South Vietnam including CIA detention centers and provincial holding facilities. Respondents were Viet Cong prisoners of war, defectors (Chieu Hoi ralliers), refugees, and others with knowledge of VC activities. Respondents were not informed of the interviewer's affiliation or the project's nature.[^1]
+In the early 1960s, [[DARPA|ARPA]] commissioned Rand to study the motivation and morale of the Viet Cong. The project, known as the Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Study (the M&M Study), ran from late 1964 through end of 1968, jointly sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and ARPA. It produced approximately 2,371 interviews totaling over 60,000 pages of documentation, conducted at approximately forty locations across South Vietnam including CIA detention centers and provincial holding facilities. Respondents were Viet Cong prisoners of war, defectors (Chieu Hoi ralliers), refugees, and others with knowledge of VC activities. Respondents were not informed of the interviewer's affiliation or the project's nature.[^1]
 
 ### Phase I: Donnell, Zasloff, and Pauker
 
@@ -64,9 +64,14 @@ Rand's Santa Monica headquarters is described in accounts from the period as res
 
 ### Remote Viewing Era References
 
-In accounts of the 1970s parapsychology research milieu, Rand is noted as larger and more prestigious than the [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] among scientific think tanks, and it figures in the early, later-debunked rumors of a [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|USS Nautilus]] telepathy experiment.[^2]
+In accounts of the 1970s parapsychology research milieu, Rand is noted as larger and more prestigious than the [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] among scientific think tanks, and it figures in the French accounts of 1959 and 1960 of a [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|USS Nautilus]] telepathy experiment, which the U.S. Navy denied and which a 1975 DIA study called rumors.[^2][^3]
+
+In Le Matin des magiciens, [[Jacques Bergier]] and [[Louis Pauwels]] wrote that at the beginning of 1957 the Rand Corporation laid before [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] a report proposing telepathy for communicating with submarines, particularly under the polar ice cap, and that the report had no effect for a year. In the same chapter they list Rand among the organizations with parapsychology study laboratories, and a footnote cites a "Rapport de la Rand Corporation, 31 août 1958" in connection with a statement that the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission proposed in 1958 to use clairvoyants to guess where Russian bombs would fall.[^4] A report to Soviet Defense Minister [[Rodion Malinovsky]] of March 1960, as quoted by [[I. V. Tsykunov]], says that from the end of 1957 Rand, Westinghouse and Bell Telephone had been working intensively on telepathy.[^5]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
 [^1]: Peter Watson, *War on the Mind: The Military Uses and Abuses of Psychology*. Basic Books, 1978. pp. 388-394 (Ch. 21), 462-468 (App. II); Mai Elliott, *RAND in Southeast Asia: A History of the Vietnam War Era*. RAND CP-564, 2010; Anthony Russo, "Looking Backward: RAND and Vietnam," *Ramparts*, October 1972; RAND report series: RM-4507/3-ISA (March 1965), RM-4911-2-ISA/ARPA (1966), RM-5446-1-ISA/ARPA (October 1967), RM-5462-1 (November 1969), RM-6131-1 (September 1970).
 [^2]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
+[^3]: Maire, Louis F., III, and J. D. LaMothe. *Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research*, DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500420001-2, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000500420001-2.
+[^4]: Pauwels, Louis, and Jacques Bergier. *Le Matin des magiciens*, abridged and annotated university edition prepared by Yvonne Lenard with Monica Faulkner (Harper and Row, 1967), pp. 136-141.
+[^5]: Tsykunov, I. V. "От фантазии к реальности: как история «Наутилуса» открыла гонку сверхъестественных вооружений между СССР и США" [From fantasy to reality: how the story of the Nautilus opened the race for supernatural weapons between the USSR and the USA]. Aliter, no. 20 (2023), pp. 34-55. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ot-fantazii-k-realnosti-kak-istoriya-nautilusa-otkryla-gonku-sverhestestvennyh-vooruzheniy-mezhdu-sssr-i-ssha. Sole source for the passages so cited.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Stanford Research Institute.md

@@ -16,7 +16,12 @@ summary: "Stanford Research Institute is the Menlo Park research institute, foun
 start: 1946
 location: "Menlo Park, California"
 created: 2025-07-22
-updated: 2026-06-20
+updated: 2026-10-08
+relations:
+  - type: contractor_to
+    with: "[[DARPA]]"
+    start: 2005
+    fn: 15
 ---
 
 Stanford Research Institute, known since 1977 as SRI International, is a nonprofit contract research institute in Menlo Park, California, founded in 1946 by trustees of Stanford University as a center of innovation serving regional and global industry. It became independent of Stanford in 1970. Over its history SRI developed bank check automation, the location study for Disneyland, [[Douglas Engelbart]]'s Augmentation Research Center and the 1968 demonstration later called the "Mother of All Demos," the second node of the ARPANET, the Shakey mobile robot, and the speech assistant that became Siri, and it also housed the government-funded parapsychology program run by [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]].[^1][^2]
@@ -29,7 +34,7 @@ In April 1953 [[Walt Disney|Walt]] and [[Roy Disney]] hired the SRI economist Ha
 
 ### The Augmentation Research Center
 
-In 1957 the electrical engineer Douglas Engelbart joined SRI, where he pursued a conviction, set out in his October 1962 report *Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework*, that computers should be built to extend rather than replace human reasoning. That report, prepared for the [[U.S. Air Force]] Office of Scientific Research, drew the attention of [[J.C.R. Licklider]], the first director of the Information Processing Techniques Office of the Defense Department's [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA), who funded Engelbart's new Augmentation Research Center in early 1963; [[NASA]] and ARPA support expanded after [[Robert Taylor]] took up the cause, first at NASA and then as IPTO director from 1965.[^3][^4]
+In 1957 the electrical engineer Douglas Engelbart joined SRI, where he pursued a conviction, set out in his October 1962 report *Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework*, that computers should be built to extend rather than replace human reasoning. That report, prepared for the [[U.S. Air Force]] Office of Scientific Research, drew the attention of [[J.C.R. Licklider]], the first director of the Information Processing Techniques Office of the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), who funded Engelbart's new Augmentation Research Center in early 1963; [[NASA]] and ARPA support expanded after [[Robert Taylor]] took up the cause, first at NASA and then as IPTO director from 1965.[^3][^4]
 
 The center built the oN-Line System, or NLS, a working interactive computing environment running on an SDS 940 timesharing computer that combined the mouse (which Engelbart invented and patented), a chord keyset, bit-mapped screens, hierarchical document outlines, hypertext links, on-screen windows, and real-time collaborative editing among networked terminals. Engelbart's team included researchers such as [[Bill English]], who built the first mouse prototype, and the future [[Xerox PARC]] and Apple lineage of graphical-interface design traces directly to their work.[^3][^4]
 
@@ -55,6 +60,14 @@ From 1972 to about 1995 SRI hosted a classified, government-funded parapsycholog
 
 SRI developed several of the core techniques of the field, including [[Coordinate Remote Viewing]] (CRV) and the use of outbounder teams sent to randomly chosen locations for a viewer to describe. The institute's prestige and its heavy reliance on classified government contracts made it a fitting home for the sensitive work, and Puthoff and Targ published some of their results in reputable scientific journals, lending the field a measure of credibility that helped persuade parts of the intelligence community that remote viewing might serve as an intelligence-gathering tool.[^9]
 
+In February 1983 an INSCOM information paper stated that Dr. [[Jack Vorona]] of the Defense Intelligence Agency "has either obtained or received commitment for $200K from DARPA," the amount he stated was needed to keep SRI intact for fiscal 1983.[^10] An Army memorandum on the [[Center Lane]] funding initiative states that "Contact with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the actual source of the funds, resulted in a decision to move the money covertly through DCSRDA, if approved."[^11] A DIA project report of October 19, 1983 divides the $1,475.5K three-year Grill Flame budget into $962K from DIA, $313.5K from Army INSCOM and $200K from DARPA.[^12] A DIA special access program background document for [[Sun Streak]] describes the research and development link via SRI International as "accomplished via HQ SGRD funding and a DARPA MIPR."[^13]
+
+Edwin May and Wanda Luke wrote in 1991 that beginning in fiscal year 1986 the Army Medical Research and Development Command began a five-year investigation of anomalous mental phenomena at SRI International, that the Command did not fund the fourth and fifth years, and that the House Appropriations Committee funded the fourth year through DARPA to the Command's contract.[^14]
+
+### DARPA contracts, 2005 to 2026
+
+Federal award records list 113 DARPA prime contract awards to SRI International with action dates from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2026, whose award amounts total $462,329,429.73 and whose transactions inside that date range total $423,420,369. The earliest of these awards began on July 25, 2005. The largest is contract HR001106C0023, with performance dates of November 14, 2005 to March 31, 2011 and an award amount of $41,671,826.77.[^15] Award descriptions include supply chain hardware security, machine translation under the BOLT program, semantic forensics, and molecular discovery.[^15]
+
 ### Footnotes
 
 [^1]: "History, Leadership, and Values," About SRI International, on the 1946 founding by Stanford trustees as a center of innovation, the 1970 separation from Stanford, the ERMA and MICR banking work, and the institute's scale. https://www.sri.com/about-us/
@@ -66,3 +79,9 @@ SRI developed several of the core techniques of the field, including [[Coordinat
 [^7]: Lyman, Richard W. "At the Hands of the Radicals," *Stanford* magazine, January/February 2009 (excerpt from *Stanford in Turmoil*), https://stanfordmag.org/contents/at-the-hands-of-the-radicals ; Stanford University News Service releases of April 4 to May 1, 1969, April Third Movement Historical Archive, https://a3mreunion.org/archive/1968-1969/68-69_stanford_releases/68-69_stanford_releases.html ; "May 16 Protest at SRI," same archive, 1968-1969.
 [^8]: Standard accounts of the SRI remote-viewing program, 1972 to about 1995, funded by the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency and run by Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff with subjects including Ingo Swann and Pat Price, as one strand of the program later known as Project Stargate. See the vault pages on Hal Puthoff, Russell Targ, and Project Stargate.
 [^9]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, on the SRI psychic-research program, the subjects including Ingo Swann, Pat Price, and Uri Geller, the development of Coordinate Remote Viewing and outbounder protocols, and the publication of results in scientific journals.
+[^10]: INSCOM information paper IAOPS-H-S, "GRILL FLAME," February 21, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100350001-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001100350001-2.pdf
+[^11]: Department of the Army memorandum DAMI-ISH, "CENTER LANE DAMI-ISH Funding Initiative," undated, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700180003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700180003-3.pdf
+[^12]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Directorate for Scientific and Technical Intelligence, "GRILL FLAME Project Report," October 19, 1983, Appendix III, CIA-RDP96-00788R001000410001-6. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001000410001-6.pdf
+[^13]: Defense Intelligence Agency, SUN STREAK special access program background, CIA-RDP96-00789R000700260002-5 (same passage in CIA-RDP96-00789R002100260043-4 and CIA-RDP96-00789R001800710001-4). https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R000700260002-5.pdf
+[^14]: Edwin C. May and Wanda L. W. Luke, "A Long-Term, Integrated, Basic and Applied Research Plan (U)" (draft), May 10, 1991, CIA-RDP96-00789R003100060001-1. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R003100060001-1.pdf
+[^15]: USAspending.gov, prime contract awards (award types A to D), awarding sub-agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, recipient SRI International, action dates October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2026, retrieved October 8, 2026. https://www.usaspending.gov/search