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200
00 - META/CHANGELOG.md
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@ -1,100 +1,100 @@
- 2026-10-07T2310 · [[_QUEUE]] - 2026-10-08T1214 · [[Jacques Bergier]]
- 2026-10-07T2310 · [[_WAVE_C_REPORT]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Gerard Messadie]]
- 2026-10-07T2310 · [[George W. Bush]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[U.S. Navy]]
- 2026-10-07T2309 · [[_REVIEW_F6]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[The Nautilus]]
- 2026-10-07T2308 · [[George W. Bush]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Sheila Ostrander]]
- 2026-10-07T2308 · [[draft_keyed]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Rand Corporation]]
- 2026-10-07T2304 · [[Operation Gladio]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Psi Gap]]
- 2026-10-07T2304 · [[Giulio Andreotti]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Pavel Naumov]]
- 2026-10-07T2303 · [[Cold War]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Lynn Schroeder]]
- 2026-10-07T2303 · [[Cold War]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Leonid Vasiliev]]
- 2026-10-07T2303 · [[_REVIEW_F4]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Disinformation]]
- 2026-10-07T2256 · [[NASA]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR]]
- 2026-10-07T2256 · [[NASA]] - 2026-10-08T1213 · [[Telepathy]]
- 2026-10-07T2256 · [[_REVIEW_F2]] - 2026-10-08T1209 · [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]
- 2026-10-07T2252 · [[NASA_haiku_original]] - 2026-10-08T1209 · [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]
- 2026-10-07T2252 · [[Markus Wolf]] - 2026-10-08T1209 · [[_FOIA_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2252 · [[Günter Guillaume]] - 2026-10-08T1209 · [[_REVIEW_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2252 · [[Günter Guillaume]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_U.S. Navy_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2251 · [[_REVIEW_F5]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Rand Corporation_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2250 · [[Fidel Castro]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Telepathy_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2250 · [[Telepathy]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_The Nautilus_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2250 · [[Fidel Castro]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Psi Gap_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2250 · [[Telepathy]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Pavel Naumov_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2249 · [[Great Skill Program]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Lynn Schroeder_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2249 · [[Great Skill Program]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Sheila Ostrander_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2248 · [[_REVIEW_F1]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Leonid Vasiliev_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2248 · [[_REVIEW_F3]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Jacques Bergier_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2248 · [[_REVIEW_F7]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Gerard Messadie_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2246 · [[haiku_original]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Disinformation_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2246 · [[haiku_original]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Eduard Naumov_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2242 · [[_FOIA_F4]] - 2026-10-08T1208 · [[_DELTA_Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR_G1]]
- 2026-10-07T2242 · [[_NOTES_F4]] - 2026-10-08T1206 · [[George Lawrence]]
- 2026-10-07T2241 · [[_FOIA_F2]] - 2026-10-08T1206 · [[Stanford Research Institute]]
- 2026-10-07T2241 · [[_NOTES_F7]] - 2026-10-08T1206 · [[Sun Streak]]
- 2026-10-07T2241 · [[_FOIA_F7]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Walter Reed Army Institute of Research]]
- 2026-10-07T2241 · [[_NOTES_F2]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Uri Geller]]
- 2026-10-07T2241 · [[_RULES]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Russell Targ]]
- 2026-10-07T2239 · [[_NOTES_F6]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Richard S. Cesaro]]
- 2026-10-07T2239 · [[_FOIA_F6]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Richard DeLauer]]
- 2026-10-07T2238 · [[_FOIA_F1]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Project Pandora]]
- 2026-10-07T2238 · [[_NOTES_F1]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Moscow Signal]]
- 2026-10-07T2237 · [[_FOIA_F5]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Kirlian Photography]]
- 2026-10-07T2236 · [[_NOTES_F5]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Kenneth A. Kress]]
- 2026-10-07T2234 · [[_NOTES_F3]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[John Poindexter]]
- 2026-10-07T2234 · [[_FOIA_F3]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Jack Vorona]]
- 2026-10-07T2226 · [[_working_facts]] - 2026-10-08T1205 · [[Center Lane]]
- 2026-10-07T2223 · [[Wilson-Davis Memo]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Six-Day War]]
- 2026-10-07T2120 · [[Salvatore La Russa]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Ronald Moultrie]]
- 2026-10-07T2120 · [[Salvatore La Russa]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Pentagon]]
- 2026-10-07T2120 · [[_REVIEW_E5]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Marco Rubio]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Palantir Gotham]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Luis Elizondo]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[December 2017 New York Times AATIP Report]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Jay Stratton]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[KONA BLUE]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[Garry Reid]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Advanced Theoretical Physics Working Group]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[David Grusch]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] - 2026-10-08T1204 · [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Sol Foundation]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Samson Option]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Sky Watcher]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Moshe Dayan]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[GWU Program on Extremism]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Dean Rusk]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Dynetics]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[James Jesus Angleton]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Cantor Fitzgerald]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Zalman Mordecai Shapiro]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Yom Kippur War]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[BGC Group]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Walworth Barbour]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Anthropic National Security and Public Sector Advisory Council]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[USS Liberty Incident]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Peter Thiel]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Richard Helms]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Hal Puthoff]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Mossad]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Andrija Puharich]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Meir Amit]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[C.B. Scott Jones]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[A.Q. Khan]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Dimona]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Eric Davis]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Clark Clifford]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Edward Jay Epstein]] - 2026-10-08T1203 · [[Charles de Gaulle]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[David Grusch]] - 2026-10-08T1201 · [[UAP Task Force]]
- 2026-10-07T2113 · [[Arif Durrani]] - 2026-10-08T1201 · [[UAP Task Force]]
- 2026-10-07T2112 · [[Panama]] - 2026-10-08T1201 · [[_REVIEW_G2]]
- 2026-10-07T2112 · [[United States]] - 2026-10-08T1201 · [[Lockheed Skunk Works]]
- 2026-10-07T2111 · [[_REVIEW_E4]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[Waco Siege]]
- 2026-10-07T2111 · [[U.S. government]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[Vietnam War]]
- 2026-10-07T2111 · [[Associated Press]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[Lockheed Skunk Works]]
- 2026-10-07T2110 · [[Mercer family]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[John L. Wilhelm]]
- 2026-10-07T2110 · [[Iron March]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[Igor Smirnov]]
- 2026-10-07T2110 · [[Iron March]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[Samuel Koslov]]
- 2026-10-07T2109 · [[_REVIEW_E2]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[DARPA]]
- 2026-10-07T2108 · [[_FOIA_E5]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[DARPA]]
- 2026-10-07T2108 · [[Bay of Pigs]] - 2026-10-08T1200 · [[_REVIEW_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2108 · [[_NOTES_E5]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Richard S. Cesaro_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2107 · [[McGeorge Bundy]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Walter Reed Army Institute of Research_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2107 · [[Yakuza]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Uri Geller_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2107 · [[McGeorge Bundy]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Sun Streak_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2107 · [[Yakuza]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Stanford Research Institute_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2104 · [[_REVIEW_E6]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Russell Targ_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2103 · [[_REVIEW_E3]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Richard DeLauer_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2058 · [[Augusto Pinochet]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Project Pandora_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2058 · [[Augusto Pinochet]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Moscow Signal_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2058 · [[_REVIEW_E1]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Kirlian Photography_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2052 · [[_NOTES_E3]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Kenneth A. Kress_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2050 · [[_FOIA_E3]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_John Poindexter_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2050 · [[_NOTES_E4]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Jack Vorona_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2047 · [[_NOTES_E1]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_George Lawrence_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2046 · [[_FOIA_E1]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Center Lane_G4]]
- 2026-10-07T2045 · [[_FOIA_E2]] - 2026-10-08T1159 · [[_DELTA_Advanced Research Projects Agency_G4]]

13
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Charles de Gaulle.md
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@ -13,10 +13,17 @@ location: "Lille, France"
Charles de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II and later founded the Fifth Republic, serving as its first President from 1959 to 1969. He was emphatically in favor of an independent nuclear deterrent for [[France]].[^1] Charles de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II and later founded the Fifth Republic, serving as its first President from 1959 to 1969. He was emphatically in favor of an independent nuclear deterrent for [[France]].[^1]
De Gaulle won a seven-year term as president of [[France]]'s newly constituted Fifth Republic in December 1958 by promising to find an acceptable compromise for ending the war in [[Algeria]]. The war sharply divided the nation, and other issues, such as continued support for [[Israel]], seemed secondary.[^1] De Gaulle won a seven-year term as president of France's newly constituted Fifth Republic in December 1958 by promising to find an acceptable compromise for ending the war in [[Algeria]]. The war sharply divided the nation, and other issues, such as continued support for [[Israel]], seemed secondary.[^1]
De Gaulle responded to the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967 by accusing [[Israel]] of being the aggressor and canceling all of [[France]]'s arms sales to [[Israel]], abrogating twelve years of close French support. He also delayed the pending shipment of fifty previously purchased Mirage III jet fighters. He even claimed to newsmen that he had not known of Dassault's contract with [[Israel]] until the first field test in 1967 of the Jericho I missile.[^1] De Gaulle responded to the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967 by accusing Israel of being the aggressor and canceling all of France's arms sales to Israel, abrogating twelve years of close French support. He also delayed the pending shipment of fifty previously purchased Mirage III jet fighters. He even claimed to newsmen that he had not known of Dassault's contract with Israel until the first field test in 1967 of the Jericho I missile.[^1]
### Embargo and the Dassault contract
A footnote to a [[Central Intelligence Agency]] Special National Intelligence Estimate of August 10, 1967 states that "On 2 June 1967, France imposed an embargo in shipments of military items to the Middle East, but the embargo does not apply to spare parts previously contracted for," and that "there probably has been some evasion of the ban."[^2] A Control Group paper dated by the editors of the Foreign Relations of the United States to June 17, 1967 states that Israel had a contract with the French firm [[Dassault Company|Dassault]] for the MD-620 missile, with a range of 250 nautical miles, and may already have contracted for or expressed interest in as many as 250 of them.[^3] On June 27, 1967, the American ambassador [[Walworth Barbour]] wrote from Tel Aviv that if the French embargo continued and delivery of the Dassault missile were precluded, the "quite possible effect would be to stimulate Israeli missile production."[^4]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3, 13. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3, 13.
[^2]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 414, footnote 3, Special National Intelligence Estimate, August 10, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d414
[^3]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 305, Paper Submitted by the Control Group, undated (dated June 17, 1967 by the editors), with annex. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d305
[^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 326, Telegram 4311 from the Embassy in Israel (Barbour) to the Department of State, June 27, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d326

8
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Clark Clifford.md
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@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
--- ---
category: "Political Figure" category: "Political Figure"
created: 2024-04-25 created: 2024-04-25
updated: 2026-09-23 updated: 2026-10-08
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
- BCCI - BCCI
@ -95,6 +95,10 @@ Clifford was too ill to stand trial with Altman, who was acquitted in Manhattan
The Federal Reserve's civil proceeding, opened on July 29, 1992, continued after the criminal cases ended. Its Second Amended Notice of Intent to Prohibit of January 14, 1997, charged that Clifford and Altman, as directors of CCAH and First American, had caused CCAH to borrow from BCCI beyond the acquisition debt allowed by the 1981 order, and had breached their fiduciary duties by accepting preferential loans and stock profits from BCCI and by failing to disclose BCCI's role in the purchase of the [[National Bank of Georgia]]. The settlement recited that "Clifford has submitted medical opinions to the Board of Governors indicating that because of his advanced age and ill health, there is no reasonable prospect that he will ever participate in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of a bank holding company or insured depository institution," and the two men relinquished 1,802 (Clifford) and 895 (Altman) CCAH shares to the court-appointed trustee of First American or the fiduciaries of BCCI; the payments, the order stated, "are not fines or civil money penalties." The order is dated effective February 1998, four months after Clifford's death, and carries a signature block in his name; the document does not state when he signed it.[^8][^11] The Federal Reserve's civil proceeding, opened on July 29, 1992, continued after the criminal cases ended. Its Second Amended Notice of Intent to Prohibit of January 14, 1997, charged that Clifford and Altman, as directors of CCAH and First American, had caused CCAH to borrow from BCCI beyond the acquisition debt allowed by the 1981 order, and had breached their fiduciary duties by accepting preferential loans and stock profits from BCCI and by failing to disclose BCCI's role in the purchase of the [[National Bank of Georgia]]. The settlement recited that "Clifford has submitted medical opinions to the Board of Governors indicating that because of his advanced age and ill health, there is no reasonable prospect that he will ever participate in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of a bank holding company or insured depository institution," and the two men relinquished 1,802 (Clifford) and 895 (Altman) CCAH shares to the court-appointed trustee of First American or the fiduciaries of BCCI; the payments, the order stated, "are not fines or civil money penalties." The order is dated effective February 1998, four months after Clifford's death, and carries a signature block in his name; the document does not state when he signed it.[^8][^11]
### USS Liberty, June 1967
Notes of the National Security Council Special Committee meeting of June 9, 1967 record Clifford saying of the attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]]: "My concern is that we're not tough enough. Handle as if Arabs or USSR had done it. Manner egregious. Inconceivable that it was accident. 3 strafing passes, 3 torpedo boats. Set forth facts. Punish Israelis responsible." The note-taker, [[Harold H. Saunders]], wrote in the margin next to Clifford's remarks: "President subscribed 100%."[^12][^13]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Clifford, Clark, with Richard Holbrooke. *Counsel to the President: A Memoir.* Random House, 1991. [^1]: Clifford, Clark, with Richard Holbrooke. *Counsel to the President: A Memoir.* Random House, 1991.
@ -108,3 +112,5 @@ The Federal Reserve's civil proceeding, opened on July 29, 1992, continued after
[^9]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 6, "BCCI in the United States: Initial Entry." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm [^9]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 6, "BCCI in the United States: Initial Entry." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm
[^10]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 13, "Clark Clifford and Robert Altman." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/13clifford.htm [^10]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 13, "Clark Clifford and Robert Altman." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/13clifford.htm
[^11]: "Clifford, Altman indicted in BCCI bank fraud," United Press International, July 29, 1992. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/29/Clifford-Altman-indicted-in-BCCI-bank-fraud/5122712382400/ [^11]: "Clifford, Altman indicted in BCCI bank fraud," United Press International, July 29, 1992. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/29/Clifford-Altman-indicted-in-BCCI-bank-fraud/5122712382400/
[^12]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 236, Notes of a Meeting of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 9, 1967 (Saunders's handwritten notes). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d236
[^13]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12, p. 168, footnote, quoting the same notes from the LBJ Library.

43
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/David Grusch.md
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@ -32,19 +32,19 @@ relations:
with: "[[Eric Burlison]]" with: "[[Eric Burlison]]"
role: "special advisor on the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, announced March 27, 2025" role: "special advisor on the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, announced March 27, 2025"
start: 2025-03-27 start: 2025-03-27
fn: 9 fn: 10
- type: employed_by - type: employed_by
with: "[[Sol Foundation]]" with: "[[Sol Foundation]]"
start: 2023-05 start: 2023-05
role: "chief operating officer, per his own résumé submitted to the House Committee on Oversight; described by Garry Nolan in September 2023 as senior founding advisor and 'a founder'" role: "chief operating officer, per his own résumé submitted to the House Committee on Oversight; described by Garry Nolan in September 2023 as senior founding advisor and 'a founder'"
fn: 3 fn: 4
- type: represented - type: represented
with: "[[I. Charles McCullough III]]" with: "[[I. Charles McCullough III]]"
reverse: true reverse: true
start: 2022-05 start: 2022-05
role: "McCullough, of the Compass Rose Legal Group, filed a disclosure of urgent concern and complaint of reprisal with the Intelligence Community Inspector General on Grusch's behalf in May 2022" role: "McCullough, of the Compass Rose Legal Group, filed a disclosure of urgent concern and complaint of reprisal with the Intelligence Community Inspector General on Grusch's behalf in May 2022"
fn: 8 fn: 9
updated: 2026-10-03 updated: 2026-10-08
created: 2026-10-03 created: 2026-10-03
--- ---
[[David Grusch]] is a former intelligence officer from the [[National Reconnaissance Office]] (NRO) and the [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] (NGA) who served as the NRO's representative on the [[UAP Task Force]]. He is a key whistleblower who has provided Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General with extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says have retrieved intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.[^1] [[David Grusch]] is a former intelligence officer from the [[National Reconnaissance Office]] (NRO) and the [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] (NGA) who served as the NRO's representative on the [[UAP Task Force]]. He is a key whistleblower who has provided Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General with extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says have retrieved intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.[^1]
@ -59,23 +59,25 @@ Elizondo wrote that Grusch has provided hours of classified testimony to congres
At the hearing of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Grusch said: "I was an intelligence officer for 14 years both in the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]], both active-duty Air National Guard and Reserve at the rank of Major and most recently from 2021 to 2025, excuse me, 2023, at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, NGA, at the GS-15 civilian level, which is the military equivalent of a full bird colonel." He described himself as "my agency's co-lead in unidentified anomalous phenomena and trans medium object analysis" reporting to the UAP Task Force and then to the [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]]; said he "became a whistleblower through a PPD-19 urgent concern filing in May 2022 with the intelligence community inspector general"; and said that, in his National Reconnaissance Office reservist capacity, "I was a member of the UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021," and that "in 2019, the UAP Task Force Director asked me to identify all special access programs and controlled access programs."[^2] He said: "I 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 to those additional read-ons when I requested it," and "my testimony is based on information I have been given by individuals with a long-standing track record of legitimacy and service to this country."[^2] He also said "I have suffered retaliation for my decision."[^2] At the hearing of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Grusch said: "I was an intelligence officer for 14 years both in the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]], both active-duty Air National Guard and Reserve at the rank of Major and most recently from 2021 to 2025, excuse me, 2023, at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, NGA, at the GS-15 civilian level, which is the military equivalent of a full bird colonel." He described himself as "my agency's co-lead in unidentified anomalous phenomena and trans medium object analysis" reporting to the UAP Task Force and then to the [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]]; said he "became a whistleblower through a PPD-19 urgent concern filing in May 2022 with the intelligence community inspector general"; and said that, in his National Reconnaissance Office reservist capacity, "I was a member of the UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021," and that "in 2019, the UAP Task Force Director asked me to identify all special access programs and controlled access programs."[^2] He said: "I 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 to those additional read-ons when I requested it," and "my testimony is based on information I have been given by individuals with a long-standing track record of legitimacy and service to this country."[^2] He also said "I have suffered retaliation for my decision."[^2]
In the question period, [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] asked whether Grusch sat on "the unidentified anomalous phenomenon task force created in the 2020 NDAA." Grusch answered "Yes."[^3] Asked about the 2019 classification guidance for UAP, he said: "Yes, I am familiar with the UAP Task Force 2019 Security Classification guide. I think it is fair. I did actually help author that with the Director." On the release of videos, he said: "I will call it a lazy attitude about declassifying videos."[^3]
The record of the same hearing includes, as a document submitted by Representative [[Anna Paulina Luna]], the [[NewsNation]] article "We are not alone: The UFO whistleblower speaks," and, submitted by Representative [[Tim Burchett]], a statement for the record by [[George Knapp]] and a Defense Intelligence Reference Document titled "Advanced Space Propulsion Based on Vacuum (Spacetime Metric) Engineering."[^2] The record of the same hearing includes, as a document submitted by Representative [[Anna Paulina Luna]], the [[NewsNation]] article "We are not alone: The UFO whistleblower speaks," and, submitted by Representative [[Tim Burchett]], a statement for the record by [[George Knapp]] and a Defense Intelligence Reference Document titled "Advanced Space Propulsion Based on Vacuum (Spacetime Metric) Engineering."[^2]
### Sol Foundation ### Sol Foundation
The résumé that David Grusch filed with the [[House Committee on Oversight and Accountability]] for its July 26, 2023 hearing lists, as its first entry under experience, "May 2023-Present, Chief Operating Officer (COO), The Sol Foundation," with the description "Managing day-to-day operations for a 501c3 federally recognized non-profit. The premier center for research in the natural and social sciences, engineering, and the humanities, but also extends activities to advisory and policy work for the U.S. government/public outreach," and lists "Non-Profit Leadership" among his key competencies. The same document lists "November 2021-April 2023, Senior GEOINT Capabilities Requirements Officer, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), [[Colorado Springs]], CO (GS-15, Colonel Equiv.)," and describes him as the NGA lead for unidentified anomalous phenomena and trans-medium anomaly issues who "executed new program of record responsive to direct tasking by the Congressional Intelligence Committees."[^3] The résumé that David Grusch filed with the [[House Committee on Oversight and Accountability]] for its July 26, 2023 hearing lists, as its first entry under experience, "May 2023-Present, Chief Operating Officer (COO), The Sol Foundation," with the description "Managing day-to-day operations for a 501c3 federally recognized non-profit. The premier center for research in the natural and social sciences, engineering, and the humanities, but also extends activities to advisory and policy work for the U.S. government/public outreach," and lists "Non-Profit Leadership" among his key competencies. The same document lists "November 2021-April 2023, Senior GEOINT Capabilities Requirements Officer, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), [[Colorado Springs]], CO (GS-15, Colonel Equiv.)," and describes him as the NGA lead for unidentified anomalous phenomena and trans-medium anomaly issues who "executed new program of record responsive to direct tasking by the Congressional Intelligence Committees."[^4]
[[The Debrief]] reported that the existence of the [[Sol Foundation]] first became apparent through that résumé and related documents in early August 2023, and that the foundation was then described as "pending recognition as a 501c3 federal non-profit." [[Garry Nolan]] said in September 2023 that Grusch's title had since become "Senior Founding Advisor," that the earlier title "seemed the right thing at the time," and that Grusch "is a founder of the Sol Foundation."[^4] The foundation's [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] ruling date as a 501(c)(3) is June 2024, and its 2024 Form 990 does not list Grusch among its officers or directors; the foundation's website, read October 3, 2026, does not list him among its executive leadership or advisory board either.[^5][^6] On November 18, 2023 Grusch joined the foundation's first symposium in [[Palo Alto, California]] by video from Washington and said, "This is why we have the Sol Foundation. We need to basically create a parallel track of research and independent discovery that aren't necessarily dependent on the U.S. government to provide us all the answers."[^7] [[The Debrief]] reported that the existence of the [[Sol Foundation]] first became apparent through that résumé and related documents in early August 2023, and that the foundation was then described as "pending recognition as a 501c3 federal non-profit." [[Garry Nolan]] said in September 2023 that Grusch's title had since become "Senior Founding Advisor," that the earlier title "seemed the right thing at the time," and that Grusch "is a founder of the Sol Foundation."[^5] The foundation's [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] ruling date as a 501(c)(3) is June 2024, and its 2024 Form 990 does not list Grusch among its officers or directors; the foundation's website, read October 3, 2026, does not list him among its executive leadership or advisory board either.[^6][^7] On November 18, 2023 Grusch joined the foundation's first symposium in [[Palo Alto, California]] by video from Washington and said, "This is why we have the Sol Foundation. We need to basically create a parallel track of research and independent discovery that aren't necessarily dependent on the U.S. government to provide us all the answers."[^8]
His attorney, [[I. Charles McCullough III]], senior partner of the [[Compass Rose Legal Group]] and the first Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, was named as the Sol Foundation's legal counsel in 2023.[^8][^4] His attorney, [[I. Charles McCullough III]], senior partner of the [[Compass Rose Legal Group]] and the first Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, was named as the Sol Foundation's legal counsel in 2023.[^5][^9]
### Congressional adviser, 2025 ### Congressional adviser, 2025
A March 27, 2025 press release from the office of Representative [[Eric Burlison]] announced Grusch as a "Special Advisor" on the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. It described his career as 14 years in the Air Force, reaching the rank of Major, with a combat tour in [[Afghanistan]] "supporting counter-illicit finance, drug, and arms-trafficking operations with [[Joint Special Operations Command]] (JSOC) and [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]]," later work as a senior intelligence officer at NGA and the NRO, representation of the NRO on the UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021, and a 2022 complaint to the Intelligence Community Inspector General "found 'credible and urgent' for reporting to the Congressional intelligence committees."[^9] Grusch is quoted: "I will use all my expertise to support Rep. Burlison and help the US Congress restore full oversight while enabling the Legislative Branch's ability to investigate and hold those accountable who have broken the law and lied not only to our Congress, but also to the [[White House|Executive Office of the President]], [[Director of National Intelligence]], and [[Department of Justice]]."[^9] A March 27, 2025 press release from the office of Representative [[Eric Burlison]] announced Grusch as a "Special Advisor" on the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. It described his career as 14 years in the Air Force, reaching the rank of Major, with a combat tour in [[Afghanistan]] "supporting counter-illicit finance, drug, and arms-trafficking operations with [[Joint Special Operations Command]] (JSOC) and [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]]," later work as a senior intelligence officer at NGA and the NRO, representation of the NRO on the UAP Task Force from 2019 to 2021, and a 2022 complaint to the Intelligence Community Inspector General "found 'credible and urgent' for reporting to the Congressional intelligence committees."[^10] Grusch is quoted: "I will use all my expertise to support Rep. Burlison and help the US Congress restore full oversight while enabling the Legislative Branch's ability to investigate and hold those accountable who have broken the law and lied not only to our Congress, but also to the [[White House|Executive Office of the President]], [[Director of National Intelligence]], and [[Department of Justice]]."[^10]
### NewsNation and Skywatcher ### NewsNation and Skywatcher
[[Nexstar Media Group]]'s November 14, 2023 announcement of [[Ross Coulthart]] as a NewsNation special correspondent stated that he "will continue to provide reporting on UFO whistleblower David Grusch."[^10] NewsNation wrote in January 2025 that "In June 2023, NewsNation was the first television network to present an interview with Grusch."[^11] Grusch is listed among those interviewed or referenced in the Part I video of [[Sky Watcher]], alongside [[Alex Klokus]], [[Jake Barber]], Garry Nolan, Col. [[Karl Nell]] and [[Fred Baker]].[^12] NewsNation's full special on Barber stated that Grusch and [[Luis Elizondo]] "say they've been told about it, they believe it exists, but they weren't a part of it themselves," and that Barber, "however, is different. He says he was part of that covert program."[^13] [[Nexstar Media Group]]'s November 14, 2023 announcement of [[Ross Coulthart]] as a NewsNation special correspondent stated that he "will continue to provide reporting on UFO whistleblower David Grusch."[^11] NewsNation wrote in January 2025 that "In June 2023, NewsNation was the first television network to present an interview with Grusch."[^12] Grusch is listed among those interviewed or referenced in the Part I video of [[Sky Watcher]], alongside [[Alex Klokus]], [[Jake Barber]], Garry Nolan, Col. [[Karl Nell]] and [[Fred Baker]].[^13] NewsNation's full special on Barber stated that Grusch and [[Luis Elizondo]] "say they've been told about it, they believe it exists, but they weren't a part of it themselves," and that Barber, "however, is different. He says he was part of that covert program."[^14]
### Retaliation and Impact ### Retaliation and Impact
@ -85,14 +87,15 @@ Since coming forward, Grusch has faced a campaign of retaliation and character a
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, hearing of July 26, 2023, Serial No. 118-53, statement of David Grusch and list of submitted documents. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53022/html/CHRG-118hhrg53022.htm [^2]: House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, hearing of July 26, 2023, Serial No. 118-53, statement of David Grusch and list of submitted documents. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53022/html/CHRG-118hhrg53022.htm
[^3]: "David C. Grusch" résumé, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, hearing of July 26, 2023. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO06/20230726/116282/HHRG-118-GO06-Bio-GruschD-20230726.pdf [^3]: 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, question period. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53022/html/CHRG-118hhrg53022.htm
[^4]: Micah Hanks, "The Sol Foundation: How a New Think Tank of Academics is Applying 'Cutting-Edge Research' to the UAP Mystery," *The Debrief*, September 12, 2023. https://thedebrief.org/the-sol-foundation-how-a-new-think-tank-of-academics-is-applying-cutting-edge-research-the-uap-mystery/ [^4]: "David C. Grusch" résumé, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, hearing of July 26, 2023. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO06/20230726/116282/HHRG-118-GO06-Bio-GruschD-20230726.pdf
[^5]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 93-3649160, and IRS Form 990 for 2024, Part VII. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/933649160/202543269349300004/full [^5]: Micah Hanks, "The Sol Foundation: How a New Think Tank of Academics is Applying 'Cutting-Edge Research' to the UAP Mystery," *The Debrief*, September 12, 2023. https://thedebrief.org/the-sol-foundation-how-a-new-think-tank-of-academics-is-applying-cutting-edge-research-the-uap-mystery/
[^6]: The Sol Foundation, home page, "People" section, https://thesolfoundation.org/ , read October 3, 2026. [^6]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 93-3649160, and IRS Form 990 for 2024, Part VII. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/933649160/202543269349300004/full
[^7]: Micah Hanks, *The Debrief*, February 12, 2024. https://thedebrief.org/the-sol-foundation-academias-new-uap-think-tank-releases-videos-of-lectures-from-its-inaugural-symposium/ [^7]: The Sol Foundation, home page, "People" section, https://thesolfoundation.org/ , read October 3, 2026.
[^8]: Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, "Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Non-Human Craft," *The Debrief*, June 5, 2023. https://thedebrief.org/intelligence-officials-say-u-s-has-retrieved-non-human-craft/ [^8]: Micah Hanks, *The Debrief*, February 12, 2024. https://thedebrief.org/the-sol-foundation-academias-new-uap-think-tank-releases-videos-of-lectures-from-its-inaugural-symposium/
[^9]: Office of Representative Eric Burlison, "Rep. Burlison Welcomes Former U.S. Air Force Officer David Grusch as Special Advisor," March 27, 2025. https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-burlison-welcomes-former-us-air-force-officer-david-grusch-special-advisor [^9]: Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, "Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Non-Human Craft," *The Debrief*, June 5, 2023. https://thedebrief.org/intelligence-officials-say-u-s-has-retrieved-non-human-craft/
[^10]: Nexstar Media Group, "NewsNation Signs Award-Winning Journalist Ross Coulthart as a Special Correspondent for the Network," November 14, 2023. https://www.nexstar.tv/newsnation-signs-ross-coulthart-as-special-correspondent/ [^10]: Office of Representative Eric Burlison, "Rep. Burlison Welcomes Former U.S. Air Force Officer David Grusch as Special Advisor," March 27, 2025. https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-burlison-welcomes-former-us-air-force-officer-david-grusch-special-advisor
[^11]: NewsNation, "UAP whistleblower says UFO retrieval program exists: NewsNation exclusive," January 16, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/uap-whistleblower-ufo-retrieval-program/ [^11]: Nexstar Media Group, "NewsNation Signs Award-Winning Journalist Ross Coulthart as a Special Correspondent for the Network," November 14, 2023. https://www.nexstar.tv/newsnation-signs-ross-coulthart-as-special-correspondent/
[^12]: Skywatcher, "Media," retrieved October 3, 2026. https://skywatcher.ai/media [^12]: NewsNation, "UAP whistleblower says UFO retrieval program exists: NewsNation exclusive," January 16, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/uap-whistleblower-ufo-retrieval-program/
[^13]: Ross Coulthart, "Whistleblower reveals UAP retrieval program; object caught on video," NewsNation, updated January 27, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/hfr-uap-recovery-video-egg-shaped-object-exclusive/ [^13]: Skywatcher, "Media," retrieved October 3, 2026. https://skywatcher.ai/media
[^14]: Ross Coulthart, "Whistleblower reveals UAP retrieval program; object caught on video," NewsNation, updated January 27, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/hfr-uap-recovery-video-egg-shaped-object-exclusive/

18
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Eugene Giaquinto.md
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@ -10,16 +10,28 @@ relations:
with: "[[Music Corporation of America]]" with: "[[Music Corporation of America]]"
role: "president, Home Entertainment division" role: "president, Home Entertainment division"
fn: 1 fn: 1
- type: director_of
with: "[[Meridian International Logistics]]"
role: "board member, per Seymour and Spy; resigned after the FBI investigation became known"
fn: 3
created: 2025-08-05 created: 2025-08-05
updated: 2026-09-23 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Eugene F. Giaquinto was the president of the home entertainment division of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]. He was a subject of a two-year investigation by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s [[Los Angeles]] Organized Crime Strike Force into suspected labor racketeering in the film industry, overseen by the strike force attorney [[Richard Stavin]]. In September 1987 MCA security officers discovered an attempt by agents to tap Giaquinto's office telephone and wrongly blamed it on the prosecutor [[Marvin Rudnick]]. The investigators did tap the telephone of Giaquinto's confidant Marty Bacow, a labor negotiator with ties to the Teamsters president Jackie Presser, and Giaquinto was one of the people Bacow talked to most.[^1] Eugene F. Giaquinto was the president of the home entertainment division of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]. He was a subject of a two-year investigation by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s [[Los Angeles]] Organized Crime Strike Force into suspected labor racketeering in the film industry, overseen by the strike force attorney [[Richard Stavin]]. In September 1987 MCA security officers discovered an attempt by agents to tap Giaquinto's office telephone and wrongly blamed it on the prosecutor [[Marvin Rudnick]]. The investigators did tap the telephone of Giaquinto's confidant Marty Bacow, a labor negotiator with ties to the Teamsters president Jackie Presser, and Giaquinto was one of the people Bacow talked to most.[^1]
A newspaper report said the FBI believed Giaquinto had passed MCA funds annually to [[Edward Sciandra]], underboss of the [[Bufalino Crime Family]], and had a longstanding relationship with [[John Gotti]] of the [[Gambino Crime Family]]. Stavin resigned from the strike force in May 1989 with the case unresolved. Giaquinto was never prosecuted, and as of 1993 the wiretaps of his conversations with Bacow remained sealed; he then ran a video production and duplication firm in the San Fernando Valley.[^1] A newspaper report said the FBI believed Giaquinto had passed MCA funds annually to [[Edward Sciandra]], underboss of the [[Bufalino Crime Family]], and had a longstanding relationship with [[John Gotti]] of the [[Gambino Crime Family]]. Stavin resigned from the strike force in May 1989 with the case unresolved. Giaquinto was never prosecuted, and as of 1993 the wiretaps of his conversations with Bacow remained sealed; he then ran a video production and duplication firm in the San Fernando Valley.[^1]
According to [[Cheri Seymour]], Giaquinto sat on the board of [[Robert Booth Nichols]]'s holding company, [[Meridian International Logistics]], which was under investigation as a source of funding for narcotics trafficking; FBI wiretaps recorded communications between the two men, and both were described in the intercepts as having a close working relationship with the Justice Department.[^2] The 1987 continuation wiretap affidavit of the FBI agent [[Thomas Gates]] names Giaquinto and [[Joseph Garofalo]] as persons committing offenses "involving the sale and possession of controlled substances," and lists among the matters the intercepts were to establish "The source of funding for the purchasing of narcotics/controlled substances and the allocation and use of the proceeds from its trafficking."[^2] [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that Giaquinto sat on the board of [[Robert Booth Nichols]]'s holding company, [[Meridian International Logistics]], and that he resigned and returned his stock certificates when he and Nichols learned of the FBI investigation; a 1992 account of hers puts the shares at 10,000.[^3] John Connolly reported in [[Spy (magazine)|Spy]] in January 1993 that Giaquinto sat on the board of the parent company of Meridian Arms, left MCA and the board when reports of the investigation surfaced, and had proposed to [[Jack Valenti]] that the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] hire Nichols for anti-piracy work in Asia.[^4] Seymour reproduced reports she attributed to [[John Cohen]], an investigator for the [[House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]], in which Gates is recorded as saying that the wiretaps showed a close working relationship between the MCA board and high-level Justice Department officials, and that Giaquinto told Bacow he would call Attorney General [[Edwin Meese]] and have the FBI investigation of MCA stopped.[^5]
### Wiretaps
The affidavit records a July 20, 1987 call in which Giaquinto told Nichols that MCA stock had fallen four points, and a July 23 call in which Giaquinto told Nichols that [[ZZZZ Best]] was a money-laundering operation for heroin money and asked what to do if Nichols's name came up.[^2] An excerpt of Gates's affidavit reproduced in Meridian's Ninth Circuit brief describes agents investigating whether others were using extortionate practices "to ensure that Eugene Giaquinto retains his position as the president of Home Entertainment for MCA/Universal, Inc.," and whether Giaquinto, Garofalo, Bacow and Nichols bought or sold stock by manipulative practices.[^6]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Knoedelseder, William. *Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia.* HarperCollins, 1993, pp. xvii, 434-448, 464. Read through the archive.org BookReader search, item stiffedtruestory00knoe. [^1]: Knoedelseder, William. *Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia.* HarperCollins, 1993, pp. xvii, 434-448, 464. Read through the archive.org BookReader search, item stiffedtruestory00knoe.
[^2]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the Meridian board seat, the narcotics-funding investigation, the Nichols intercepts and the Justice Department relationship. [^2]: Affidavit of Special Agent Thomas G. Gates in support of an application to continue interception of wire communications of Martin Bacow, Eugene Giaquinto, Joseph Garofalo, Robert Nichols and others, before Judge J. Spencer Letts, C.D. Cal. (continuation affidavit citing intercepts through September 1, 1987), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Gates." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks (file Gates.pdf), paragraphs 5, 69 and 79.
[^3]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, pp. 351 and 356; Seymour, "VORTEX," February 24, 1992. https://archive.org/details/VORTEXDocument . Sole source for the board seat and resignation. Seymour, *The Last Circle,* p. 356, paraphrases the narcotics-funding wording as describing Meridian International Logistics; the affidavit places it under the controlled-substance offenses of Giaquinto and Garofalo.
[^4]: Connolly, John. "The Story That Killed Danny Casolaro." *Spy,* January 1993. https://archive.org/details/SpyMagazine
[^5]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, pp. 347-349 ("Report No. 5" and "Report No. 6"). Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^6]: Appellant's Opening Brief, *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. Gates,* No. 90-55281 (9th Cir.), certificate dated June 27, 1990 (case removed as CV 89-4383 RG (Kx), C.D. Cal.). https://archive.org/details/MeridianV.Gates

27
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Jacques Bergier.md
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@ -10,21 +10,38 @@ summary: "Jacques Bergier was a journalist, former French resistance spy, and au
born: 1912-08-21 born: 1912-08-21
died: 1978-11-23 died: 1978-11-23
location: "Odessa, Ukraine" location: "Odessa, Ukraine"
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]"
start: 1959
role: "author of the Constellation article of December 1959 and co-author of Le Matin des magiciens"
fn: 2
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Jacques Bergier was a journalist, former French resistance spy, and author with strong ties to the intelligence community and an interest in the supernatural. He is known for bringing secret government [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] programs to public attention[^1]. Jacques Bergier was a journalist, former French resistance spy, and author with strong ties to the intelligence community and an interest in the supernatural. He is known for bringing secret government [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] programs to public attention[^1].
In December 1959, Bergier published an article in the French magazine *Constellation* titled "Thought Transfer, Weapon of War." The article reported that ESP tests had been conducted aboard the [[USS Nautilus]], the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, in 1958. The purpose of the experiment was to determine if long-distance telepathic communication could be achieved through barriers like thousands of miles of seawater, thick polar ice, and the metal walls of a submarine[^1]. In December 1959, Bergier published an article in the French magazine *Constellation* titled "La transmission de pensée, arme de guerre" (thought transfer, weapon of war). The article reported that ESP tests had been conducted aboard the [[The Nautilus|USS Nautilus]], the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. The purpose of the experiment was to determine if long-distance telepathic communication could be achieved through barriers like thousands of miles of seawater, thick polar ice, and the metal walls of a submarine[^1].
According to Bergier, the ESP experiment involved simple sender-receiver trials using [[Zener Cards]]. He identified [[William H. Bowers]], director of the Biological Department of the Air Force Research Institute, as the man overseeing the joint-service ESP experiment. Bergier's story claimed that the sender and receiver communicated telepathically over a sixteen-day period starting on July 25, 1958[^1]. According to Bergier, the ESP experiment involved simple sender-receiver trials using [[Zener Cards]]. He identified [[William H. Bowers]], director of the Biological Department of the Air Force Research Institute, as the man overseeing the joint-service ESP experiment. Bergier's story claimed that the sender and receiver communicated telepathically over a sixteen-day period; Bergier and [[Louis Pauwels]] give July 25, 1959 as the date the submarine embarked and August 10, 1959 as its return to Groton.[^1]
An expanded version of his story, "The Secret of the Nautilus," was published in France's top science journal, *Science et Vie*, in February 1960. While no authors were identified, editor [[Gérald Messadié]] stated that multiple sources had confirmed the story. [[J. B. Rhine]] of the [[Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory]] was identified as the civilian scientist assigned to the project, with reports of "about 75% of the telepathic tries are said to have been successful"[^1]. In Le Matin des magiciens, Bergier and Pauwels wrote that the [[Rand Corporation]] laid a report before [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] at the beginning of 1957 proposing telepathic communication with submarines, and listed parapsychology laboratories at Rand, [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]], [[General Electric]], Bell Telephone and [[Redstone Arsenal]]. A footnote in the passage cites a Rand Corporation report of August 31, 1958.[^2]
Whether Bergier's story was true or fabricated remains a debate, but it had real-world consequences. The Soviets used the news story to their strategic advantage, with [[Leonid Vasiliev|Leonid L. Vasilev]], Russia's leading ESP researcher, claiming that Soviet parapsychology research was stimulated by the *Nautilus* reports[^1]. An expanded version of his story, "The Secret of the Nautilus," was published in France's top science journal, *Science et Vie*, in February 1960. While no authors were identified, editor [[Gerard Messadie|Gérald Messadié]] stated, according to [[Annie Jacobsen]], that multiple sources had confirmed the story; [[Martin Ebon]] recorded in 1980 that Messadié named Bergier as his source. [[J. B. Rhine]] of the [[Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory]] was identified as the civilian scientist assigned to the project, with reports of "about 75% of the telepathic tries are said to have been successful"[^1].
The Soviets used the news story to their strategic advantage, with [[Leonid Vasiliev|Leonid L. Vasilev]], Russia's leading ESP researcher, claiming that Soviet parapsychology research was stimulated by the *Nautilus* reports[^1].
In 1963 the Sunday supplement [[This Week]] printed excerpts of the book as "The Great Nautilus ESP Hoax" and, according to the Parapsychology Foundation, reported that Bergier and Pauwels admitted they "had elaborated on reports they had heard, but not verified" and had "given the submarine a name."[^3] Ebon, who visited Messadié in 1980, wrote that Bergier concocted the story, quotes a New York Times obituary of November 24, 1978 describing Bergier as a part-time consultant for French intelligence after the war, and quotes Messadié as saying that Bergier claimed to have extracted the information from intelligence sources.[^4] [[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that Bergier "apparently had connections to French intelligence services."[^5] In 1992 the Soviet defense newspaper [[Trud]] named Bergier as the author of the French article that had caused considerable commotion in December 1959.[^6]
### Publications ### Publications
* "Thought Transfer, Weapon of War" (*Constellation*, 1959) * "La transmission de pensée, arme de guerre" (*Constellation*, December 1959)
* *Morning of the Magicians* (co-authored with Louis Pauwels) * *Morning of the Magicians* (co-authored with Louis Pauwels)
### Footnotes ### 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. [^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]: 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. Annie Jacobsen, *Phenomena* (Little, Brown and Company, 2017), dates the sixteen-day period from July 25, 1958.
[^3]: 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.
[^4]: Ebon, Martin. *Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion?* McGraw-Hill, 1983, chapter 3, pp. 29-31.
[^5]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies*. Dell, 1997, pp. 90-93. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^6]: Trud, April 10, 1992, no. 61, FBIS translation, CIA-RDP96-00792R000500610010-5, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000500610010-5.

27
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/James Jesus Angleton.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2026-05-15 created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
title: James Jesus Angleton title: James Jesus Angleton
aliases: aliases:
- James Angleton - James Angleton
@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ tags:
- 1960s - 1960s
- 1970s - 1970s
category: "Intelligence & Government" category: "Intelligence & Government"
summary: "James Jesus Angleton served as the CIA's chief of counterintelligence from 1954 to 1974, running the illegal HT/LINGUAL mail opening program, overseeing Operation CHAOS domestic surveillance, opening a 201 file on Lee Harvey Oswald in 1960 under a deliberately wrong name, maintaining the CIA's Israeli intelligence liaison under KK MOUNTAIN, and conducting a mole hunt triggered by his betrayal by Kim Philby that destroyed dozens of CIA officers' careers while the actual Soviet penetrations - Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen - operated undetected for years after his 1974 firing." summary: "CIA counterintelligence chief from 1954 to 1974 who ran HT/LINGUAL mail opening, the Israeli liaison KK MOUNTAIN, the HONETOL mole hunt and an Oswald 201 file opened in 1960."
born: 1917-12-09 born: 1917-12-09
died: 1987-05-11 died: 1987-05-11
location: "Washington, D.C." location: "Washington, D.C."
@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ The internal mole hunt, run under the codeword [[HONETOL]], focused primarily on
On February 4, 1964 - eleven weeks after Kennedy's assassination - KGB officer Yuri Nosenko defected in [[Geneva]]. His timing and central claim created an immediate crisis for Angleton: Nosenko stated he had personally reviewed the KGB's file on Oswald during Oswald's Soviet sojourn (1959-1962) and that the KGB had not recruited Oswald, had not run him as an agent, and had no connection to the [[JFK Assassination|Kennedy assassination]]. On February 4, 1964 - eleven weeks after Kennedy's assassination - KGB officer Yuri Nosenko defected in [[Geneva]]. His timing and central claim created an immediate crisis for Angleton: Nosenko stated he had personally reviewed the KGB's file on Oswald during Oswald's Soviet sojourn (1959-1962) and that the KGB had not recruited Oswald, had not run him as an agent, and had no connection to the [[JFK Assassination|Kennedy assassination]].
Angleton and Golitsyn insisted Nosenko was a Soviet "provocation" - a false defector dispatched specifically to mislead the Warren Commission. Acting on Angleton's assessment, the CIA subjected Nosenko to a program that amounted to illegal imprisonment. From April 1964 to October 1967 - three and a half years - Nosenko was held in solitary confinement in a specially constructed cell at [[Camp Peary]] ("The Farm"), the CIA's training facility in [[Virginia]]. He was subjected to hostile interrogation designed to break a fabricator. He was never charged with any crime. He never received access to counsel. The confinement ran 1,277 days and the questioning extended across roughly 292 sessions, many under polygraph, in conditions that replicated the [[Lawrence Hinkle|Hinkle]]-[[Harold Wolff|Wolff]] account of Soviet isolation interrogation: continuous light, no reading material, and round-the-clock observation. After Helms ordered the release, the [[CIA Office of Security]] officer [[Bruce Solie]] re-examined the case methodically and concluded the defection was genuine.[^5] Angleton and Golitsyn insisted Nosenko was a Soviet "provocation" - a false defector dispatched specifically to mislead the Warren Commission. Acting on Angleton's assessment, the CIA subjected Nosenko to a program that amounted to illegal imprisonment. From April 1964 to October 1967 - three and a half years - Nosenko was held in solitary confinement in a specially constructed cell at [[Camp Peary]] ("The Farm"), the CIA's training facility in [[Virginia]]. He was subjected to hostile interrogation designed to break a fabricator. He was never charged with any crime. He never received access to counsel. The confinement ran 1,277 days and the questioning extended across roughly 292 sessions, many under polygraph, in conditions that replicated the [[Lawrence Hinkle|Hinkle]]-[[Harold Wolff|Wolff]] account of Soviet isolation interrogation: continuous light, no reading material, and round-the-clock observation. After Helms ordered the release, the [[CIA Office of Security]] officer [[Bruce Solie]] re-examined the case methodically and concluded the defection was genuine.[^3]
The CIA's Soviet division eventually concluded Nosenko was genuine. [[Tennent Bagley]], his principal case officer, remained convinced he was a plant and published that argument as late as 2007. The operational consequence of treating him as fabricated: the Warren Commission was denied access to what may have been the most direct available KGB testimony about Oswald, because Angleton had rendered Nosenko's evidence institutionally unusable. What Nosenko actually knew about Oswald's KGB file - and whether his account would have materially changed the Commission's conclusions - remains one of the assassination record's unresolved questions.[^2] The CIA's Soviet division eventually concluded Nosenko was genuine. [[Tennent Bagley]], his principal case officer, remained convinced he was a plant and published that argument as late as 2007. The operational consequence of treating him as fabricated: the Warren Commission was denied access to what may have been the most direct available KGB testimony about Oswald, because Angleton had rendered Nosenko's evidence institutionally unusable. What Nosenko actually knew about Oswald's KGB file - and whether his account would have materially changed the Commission's conclusions - remains one of the assassination record's unresolved questions.[^2]
@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ From 1952 to 1973, Angleton ran HT/LINGUAL, a covert CIA program that intercepte
Over its operation, HT/LINGUAL opened approximately 215,820 letters and photographed the exterior envelopes of nearly 2.7 million pieces of mail. Recipients and senders included U.S. senators, journalists, academics, and private citizens with no intelligence connection. [[Richard Helms]] was briefed and approved continuation on multiple occasions. The Postmaster General was kept uninformed or given misleading characterizations of the program's scope. CIA lawyers repeatedly warned the program was illegal; it continued anyway. Over its operation, HT/LINGUAL opened approximately 215,820 letters and photographed the exterior envelopes of nearly 2.7 million pieces of mail. Recipients and senders included U.S. senators, journalists, academics, and private citizens with no intelligence connection. [[Richard Helms]] was briefed and approved continuation on multiple occasions. The Postmaster General was kept uninformed or given misleading characterizations of the program's scope. CIA lawyers repeatedly warned the program was illegal; it continued anyway.
HT/LINGUAL intercepted correspondence to and from Soviet addresses. Lee Harvey Oswald, having defected to the Soviet Union in 1959, maintained correspondence with American family members and later with the Soviet Embassy after his return to the United States in 1962. Whether his specific correspondence was intercepted and whether that interception contributed to the opening of his CI/SIG 201 file in December 1960 was examined by the [[Church Committee]] and the [[Assassination Records Review Board|ARRB]] without definitive resolution. The timing - Oswald's file opened December 9, 1960, as a "marked cards" file under the wrong middle name "Henry" - is consistent with HT/LINGUAL as a trigger, though no document has confirmed this directly.[^3] HT/LINGUAL intercepted correspondence to and from Soviet addresses. Lee Harvey Oswald, having defected to the Soviet Union in 1959, maintained correspondence with American family members and later with the Soviet Embassy after his return to the United States in 1962. Whether his specific correspondence was intercepted and whether that interception contributed to the opening of his CI/SIG 201 file in December 1960 was examined by the [[Church Committee]] and the [[Assassination Records Review Board|ARRB]] without definitive resolution. The timing - Oswald's file opened December 9, 1960, as a "marked cards" file under the wrong middle name "Henry" - is consistent with HT/LINGUAL as a trigger, though no document has confirmed this directly.[^4]
### The Oswald File: An Unresolved Thread ### The Oswald File: An Unresolved Thread
@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ CI/SIG - Angleton's Counterintelligence Special Investigations Group - opened th
Angleton's personal counterintelligence operation, rather than the standard Soviet division - opened and held the Oswald file has never been satisfactorily explained. The standard explanation is that Oswald was a defector under CI watch. But the specific handling - the wrong name, the bifurcated October 10, 1963 cable in which Angleton's staff processed information about Oswald's Mexico City Soviet Embassy visit while omitting known facts about his background, and Jane Roman's 1994 admission to journalist [[John Newman (historian)|John Newman]] that she was "signing off on something I know isn't true" - suggests active management rather than passive monitoring. Angleton's personal counterintelligence operation, rather than the standard Soviet division - opened and held the Oswald file has never been satisfactorily explained. The standard explanation is that Oswald was a defector under CI watch. But the specific handling - the wrong name, the bifurcated October 10, 1963 cable in which Angleton's staff processed information about Oswald's Mexico City Soviet Embassy visit while omitting known facts about his background, and Jane Roman's 1994 admission to journalist [[John Newman (historian)|John Newman]] that she was "signing off on something I know isn't true" - suggests active management rather than passive monitoring.
The question that has never been answered is whether Angleton's CI Staff was running an operation that involved Oswald - whether as a monitored subject, an unwitting asset, or something more complex - that required protecting the file from standard Soviet division handling? The "marked cards" technique implies concern about Soviet access to the file. The omissions in the Mexico City cable imply concern about something else. What both concerns were, and how they related to each other, remains the central unresolved question in the Oswald counterintelligence record.[^3] The question that has never been answered is whether Angleton's CI Staff was running an operation that involved Oswald - whether as a monitored subject, an unwitting asset, or something more complex - that required protecting the file from standard Soviet division handling? The "marked cards" technique implies concern about Soviet access to the file. The omissions in the Mexico City cable imply concern about something else. What both concerns were, and how they related to each other, remains the central unresolved question in the Oswald counterintelligence record.[^4]
### KK MOUNTAIN: The Israeli Intelligence Liaison ### KK MOUNTAIN: The Israeli Intelligence Liaison
@ -101,9 +101,11 @@ The KK MOUNTAIN relationship also produced accountability failures. Angleton's p
His CI files reportedly included a running study of American Jews in government, employing what his documents called a "Jewishness index" - tracking synagogue attendance and other markers of Jewish identity as factors in assessing loyalty risks and potential Israeli intelligence targeting. This practice ran alongside his most intimate intelligence relationship with a foreign service and his role as the CIA's primary protector of Israeli interests inside the agency - a contradiction that neither his contemporaries nor subsequent investigators have fully examined.[^1] His CI files reportedly included a running study of American Jews in government, employing what his documents called a "Jewishness index" - tracking synagogue attendance and other markers of Jewish identity as factors in assessing loyalty risks and potential Israeli intelligence targeting. This practice ran alongside his most intimate intelligence relationship with a foreign service and his role as the CIA's primary protector of Israeli interests inside the agency - a contradiction that neither his contemporaries nor subsequent investigators have fully examined.[^1]
In May 1967, according to [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, the Israelis may have tried to exploit this relationship by submitting to Washington a Mossad estimate claiming that the Israeli military was badly outgunned; Robarge writes that Angleton had for years run the Israeli account out of his Counterintelligence Staff without involving the Near East Division. The [[Office of National Estimates]] appraised the Israeli paper as "probably a gambit intended to influence the US."[^5][^6] Hersh reports, on the account of [[James H. Critchfield]], then chief of the Near East Division, that after the [[Six-Day War]] Angleton argued at a White House meeting with [[McGeorge Bundy]] and Nicholas Katzenbach that a quick land-for-peace accord with Jordan, supported by [[Moshe Dayan]] and [[Zvi Zamir]], had to be reached before Israeli settlement began, and that they "were told to knock it off"; Katzenbach, Hersh writes, had no recollection of the meeting.[^7]
### MKULTRA and Operational Hypnosis ### MKULTRA and Operational Hypnosis
In June 1960 Angleton's Counterintelligence Staff partnered with the [[TSS|Technical Services Staff]] on an expanded program of operational experiments in [[Hypnosis]], which CI officials characterized as a potential "breakthrough in clandestine technology." Under the arrangement, [[Project MKUltra|MKULTRA]] scientists developed techniques in the laboratory while Counterintelligence handled the "field experimentation." The program pursued three goals: inducing hypnosis rapidly in unwitting subjects, creating durable amnesia, and implanting durable, operationally useful posthypnotic suggestion, the building blocks of a programmed agent. The Agency released no information on any field experimentation toward the latter two goals.[^5] In June 1960 Angleton's Counterintelligence Staff partnered with the [[TSS|Technical Services Staff]] on an expanded program of operational experiments in [[Hypnosis]], which CI officials characterized as a potential "breakthrough in clandestine technology." Under the arrangement, [[Project MKUltra|MKULTRA]] scientists developed techniques in the laboratory while Counterintelligence handled the "field experimentation." The program pursued three goals: inducing hypnosis rapidly in unwitting subjects, creating durable amnesia, and implanting durable, operationally useful posthypnotic suggestion, the building blocks of a programmed agent. The Agency released no information on any field experimentation toward the latter two goals.[^3]
### Operation CHAOS (MHCHAOS) ### Operation CHAOS (MHCHAOS)
@ -111,7 +113,7 @@ Separate from the mail opening program, Angleton's Counterintelligence Staff ran
At its peak in 1971, the MHCHAOS Special Operations Group employed 52 personnel. The program maintained a computerized index called [[HYDRA]] that ultimately contained files on approximately 7,200 American citizens and cross-references to approximately 300,000 names and 1,000 organizations. [[Project MERRIMAC]], a subprogram, placed CIA infiltrators inside domestic antiwar and Black activist organizations in the [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] area. [[Project RESISTANCE]] involved CIA coordination with campus administrators, local police, and university security offices to compile dossiers on student organizations. At its peak in 1971, the MHCHAOS Special Operations Group employed 52 personnel. The program maintained a computerized index called [[HYDRA]] that ultimately contained files on approximately 7,200 American citizens and cross-references to approximately 300,000 names and 1,000 organizations. [[Project MERRIMAC]], a subprogram, placed CIA infiltrators inside domestic antiwar and Black activist organizations in the [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] area. [[Project RESISTANCE]] involved CIA coordination with campus administrators, local police, and university security offices to compile dossiers on student organizations.
In a separate operation managed through Angleton's staff, the CIA purchased a Washington trash collection company holding contracts to collect garbage at various foreign embassies, including the Israeli Embassy - systematically sorting and analyzing the discarded material for intelligence. The program illustrated both Angleton's operational creativity and the blurring of foreign and domestic intelligence that characterized his tenure.[^4] In a separate operation managed through Angleton's staff, the CIA purchased a Washington trash collection company holding contracts to collect garbage at various foreign embassies, including the Israeli Embassy - systematically sorting and analyzing the discarded material for intelligence. The program illustrated both Angleton's operational creativity and the blurring of foreign and domestic intelligence that characterized his tenure.[^8]
### Mary Meyer ### Mary Meyer
@ -127,12 +129,15 @@ Whether Angleton's intervention was a personal act for a friend's family, an ins
His Church Committee testimony across 1975-1976 was extensive and carefully managed. He defended the principle of counterintelligence against what he characterized as Colby's reckless disclosure of sources and methods. He used T.S. Eliot's phrase "wilderness of mirrors" in testimony to characterize the nature of his work - the impossibility of distinguishing genuine intelligence from Soviet-fabricated provocation in an environment where the opponent's primary weapon was deception. He gave extended interviews to journalist [[Edward Jay Epstein]], published in *Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald* (1978), suggesting in carefully worded language that the Kennedy assassination needed to be understood in a context larger than what the Warren Commission had examined. His Church Committee testimony across 1975-1976 was extensive and carefully managed. He defended the principle of counterintelligence against what he characterized as Colby's reckless disclosure of sources and methods. He used T.S. Eliot's phrase "wilderness of mirrors" in testimony to characterize the nature of his work - the impossibility of distinguishing genuine intelligence from Soviet-fabricated provocation in an environment where the opponent's primary weapon was deception. He gave extended interviews to journalist [[Edward Jay Epstein]], published in *Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald* (1978), suggesting in carefully worded language that the Kennedy assassination needed to be understood in a context larger than what the Warren Commission had examined.
He never wrote a memoir. He grew orchids and tied fly-fishing lures and continued to believe in the reality of Soviet strategic penetration until his death from lung cancer on May 11, 1987.[^4] He never wrote a memoir. He grew orchids and tied fly-fishing lures and continued to believe in the reality of Soviet strategic penetration until his death from lung cancer on May 11, 1987.[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Mangold, Tom. *Cold Warrior: James Jesus Angleton - The CIA's Master Spy Hunter*. Simon & Schuster, 1991. Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Burleigh, Nina. *A Very Private Woman: The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer*. Bantam Books, 1998. [^1]: Mangold, Tom. *Cold Warrior: James Jesus Angleton - The CIA's Master Spy Hunter*. Simon & Schuster, 1991. Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Burleigh, Nina. *A Very Private Woman: The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer*. Bantam Books, 1998.
[^2]: Martin, David C. *Wilderness of Mirrors: Intrigue, Deception, and the Secrets that Destroyed Two of the Cold War's Most Important Agents*. Harper & Row, 1980. Bagley, Tennent H. *Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries, and Deadly Games*. Yale University Press, 2007. Golitsyn, Anatoli. *New Lies for Old: The Communist Strategy of Deception and Disinformation*. Dodd, Mead, 1984. [^2]: Martin, David C. *Wilderness of Mirrors: Intrigue, Deception, and the Secrets that Destroyed Two of the Cold War's Most Important Agents*. Harper & Row, 1980. Bagley, Tennent H. *Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries, and Deadly Games*. Yale University Press, 2007. Golitsyn, Anatoli. *New Lies for Old: The Communist Strategy of Deception and Disinformation*. Dodd, Mead, 1984.
[^3]: Newman, John. *Oswald and the CIA: The Documented Truth About the Unknown Relationship Between the U.S. Government and the Alleged Killer of JFK*. Skyhorse Publishing, 2008 (updated ed.). Church Committee (Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). Final Report, Book III: "Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans." S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976. [^3]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapters 8 and 11.
[^4]: Church Committee. Final Report, Book II: "Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans." S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976. Hersh, Seymour M. "Huge C.I.A. Operation Reported in U.S. Against Antiwar Forces." *New York Times*, December 22, 1974. Epstein, Edward Jay. *Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald*. Reader's Digest Press/McGraw-Hill, 1978. Colby, William, and Peter Forbath. *Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA*. Simon & Schuster, 1978. [^4]: Newman, John. *Oswald and the CIA: The Documented Truth About the Unknown Relationship Between the U.S. Government and the Alleged Killer of JFK*. Skyhorse Publishing, 2008 (updated ed.). Church Committee (Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). Final Report, Book III: "Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans." S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976.
[^5]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapters 8 and 11. [^5]: 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 Robarge cites Tom Mangold's Cold Warrior for the arrangement.
[^6]: 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
[^7]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 14, p. 185, footnote. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^8]: Church Committee. Final Report, Book II: "Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans." S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976. Hersh, Seymour M. "Huge C.I.A. Operation Reported in U.S. Against Antiwar Forces." *New York Times*, December 22, 1974. Epstein, Edward Jay. *Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald*. Reader's Digest Press/McGraw-Hill, 1978. Colby, William, and Peter Forbath. *Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA*. Simon & Schuster, 1978.

77
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Luis Elizondo.md
View file

@ -12,25 +12,25 @@ relations:
start: 2008 start: 2008
end: 2017-10-04 end: 2017-10-04
role: "GS-15 civilian; information-sharing work with DHS and state, local and tribal law enforcement from 2008, counterintelligence and security for AAWSAP from 2009, Director of National Programs, Special Management Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense (Guantanamo portfolio); resignation effective October 4, 2017, as he wrote" role: "GS-15 civilian; information-sharing work with DHS and state, local and tribal law enforcement from 2008, counterintelligence and security for AAWSAP from 2009, Director of National Programs, Special Management Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense (Guantanamo portfolio); resignation effective October 4, 2017, as he wrote"
fn: 5 fn: 6
- type: employed_by - type: employed_by
with: "[[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]]" with: "[[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]]"
start: 2017 start: 2017
end: 2020-12 end: 2020-12
role: "chief of security and special programs, in his account; salary cut in half during the period; relationship ended by a call from Tom DeLonge a few days before Christmas 2020" role: "chief of security and special programs, in his account; salary cut in half during the period; relationship ended by a call from Tom DeLonge a few days before Christmas 2020"
fn: 20 fn: 20?UNUSED
- type: reported_to - type: reported_to
with: "[[Garry Reid]]" with: "[[Garry Reid]]"
start: 2017 start: 2017
end: 2017-10-04 end: 2017-10-04
role: "top boss in the Pentagon chain of command, whom Elizondo wrote he kept out of the loop on AATIP; Elizondo wrote that Reid opened an Air Force Office of Special Investigations inquiry after the resignation" role: "top boss in the Pentagon chain of command, whom Elizondo wrote he kept out of the loop on AATIP; Elizondo wrote that Reid opened an Air Force Office of Special Investigations inquiry after the resignation"
fn: 20 fn: 20?UNUSED
- type: subject_of - type: subject_of
with: "[[NewsNation]]" with: "[[NewsNation]]"
role: "NewsNation reported on June 30 and July 29, 2026 on disputes between Elizondo and its correspondent Ross Coulthart and the researcher UAPGerb over his role in the Legacy Program and a rumored disclosure post" role: "NewsNation reported on June 30 and July 29, 2026 on disputes between Elizondo and its correspondent Ross Coulthart and the researcher UAPGerb over his role in the Legacy Program and a rumored disclosure post"
start: 2026-06-30 start: 2026-06-30
fn: 12 fn: 13
updated: 2026-10-03 updated: 2026-10-08
created: 2026-10-03 created: 2026-10-03
--- ---
[[Luis Elizondo]] is a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent and former employee of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He is a central figure in the effort to disclose information about [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP), due to his role leading the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP), a clandestine [[Pentagon]] program that studied the phenomenon.[^1] [[Luis Elizondo]] is a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent and former employee of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He is a central figure in the effort to disclose information about [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP), due to his role leading the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP), a clandestine [[Pentagon]] program that studied the phenomenon.[^1]
@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ His career as an intelligence officer was extensive, involving missions across t
### Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) ### Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)
In early 2009, Elizondo was approached by [[Jay Stratton]] and a colleague, "[[Rosemary Caine]]," for a role in a highly classified [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA) program. He was introduced to [[James Lacatski]], a rocket scientist who revealed the program's true purpose: the investigation of UAP. The program was initially called the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AAWSAP) and was funded by a bipartisan group of senators: [[Harry Reid]], [[Ted Stevens]], and [[Daniel Inouye]]. The primary contractor was [[Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies]] (BAASS), owned by [[Robert Bigelow]], with [[Hal Puthoff]] serving as chief scientist.[^1] In early 2009, Elizondo was approached by [[Jay Stratton]] and a colleague, "[[Rosemary Caine]]," for a role in a highly classified [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA) program. He was introduced to [[James Lacatski]], a rocket scientist who revealed the program's true purpose: the investigation of UAP. The program was initially called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AAWSAP) and was funded by a bipartisan group of senators: [[Harry Reid]], [[Ted Stevens]], and [[Daniel Inouye]]. The primary contractor was [[Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies]] (BAASS), owned by [[Robert Bigelow]], with [[Hal Puthoff]] serving as chief scientist.[^1]
AATIP investigated numerous UAP cases, developing a framework of five key "observables" to analyze their behavior: hypersonic velocity, instantaneous acceleration, low observability, transmedium travel, and antigravity. A sixth observable, biological effects, was also noted. The program explored a wide range of phenomena, from the 2004 [[Tic Tac]] to the [[Colares Incidents]] in Brazil and the strange occurrences at [[Skinwalker Ranch]].[^1] AATIP investigated numerous UAP cases, developing a framework of five key "observables" to analyze their behavior: hypersonic velocity, instantaneous acceleration, low observability, transmedium travel, and antigravity. A sixth observable, biological effects, was also noted. The program explored a wide range of phenomena, from the 2004 [[Tic Tac]] to the [[Colares Incidents]] in Brazil and the strange occurrences at [[Skinwalker Ranch]].[^1]
@ -61,61 +61,64 @@ Elizondo's involvement with AATIP was not without personal cost. He and his fami
### Resignation and Public Disclosure ### Resignation and Public Disclosure
Frustrated by the bureaucratic stonewalling, the refusal of the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] to cooperate, and the inability to brief senior leadership like Secretary of Defense [[James Mattis]], Elizondo resigned from the Pentagon on October 4, 2017. His resignation letter to Secretary Mattis, which was later made public, explicitly stated that the Department was not taking the potential threat posed by UAP seriously.[^1] Frustrated by the bureaucratic stonewalling, the refusal of the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] to cooperate, and the inability to brief senior leadership like Secretary of Defense [[James Mattis]], Elizondo resigned from the Pentagon on October 4, 2017. His resignation letter to Secretary Mattis, which was later made public, explicitly stated that the Department was not taking the potential threat posed by UAP seriously.[^1][^2]
Working with [[Christopher Mellon]] and [[Jim Semivan]], Elizondo went public. He was the primary source for a landmark New York Times article in December 2017 that disclosed the existence of AATIP. The article carried the Navy videos later known as "FLIR1" (Tic Tac) and "[[GIMBAL]]" (the article carried two videos; "GOFAST" followed in March 2018). [[Politico]] reported in 2021 that the [[Washington Headquarters Services]] declassification division approved the videos "for unlimited distribution" inside the government; the Department of Defense stated on April 27, 2020 that it authorized the release of three unclassified Navy videos, which had been circulating in the public domain after "unauthorized releases in 2007 and 2017."[^2][^3] The Office of the Secretary of Defense file released to [[The Black Vault]] under the Freedom of Information Act in August 2019 contains an August 23, 2017 email in which Elizondo asked Michael Russo of the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review to "consider our request for unrestricted release"; an August 24, 2017 reply from Russo that if the service-level classification authority verified that removing the metadata made the videos unclassified, "please feel free to move forward with release"; and a DD Form 1910 whose publication-data block reads "Not Applicable. Not for publication. Research and analysis ONLY and info sharing with other USG and industry partners for the purposes of developing a database to help identify, analyze and ultimately defeat UAS threats." Joseph Gradisher, a Navy spokesman, said in 2019 that neither the cognizant Navy offices nor the review office had a record of correspondence responding to a request for unrestricted release of the videos in 2017.[^4] This event ignited a global conversation and marked a pivotal moment for the disclosure movement.[^1] Working with [[Christopher Mellon]] and [[Jim Semivan]], Elizondo went public. He was the primary source for a landmark New York Times article in December 2017 that disclosed the existence of AATIP. The article carried the Navy videos later known as "FLIR1" (Tic Tac) and "[[GIMBAL]]" (the article carried two videos; "GOFAST" followed in March 2018). [[Politico]] reported in 2021 that the [[Washington Headquarters Services]] declassification division approved the videos "for unlimited distribution" inside the government; the Department of Defense stated on April 27, 2020 that it authorized the release of three unclassified Navy videos, which had been circulating in the public domain after "unauthorized releases in 2007 and 2017."[^3][^4] The Office of the Secretary of Defense file released to [[The Black Vault]] under the Freedom of Information Act in August 2019 contains an August 23, 2017 email in which Elizondo asked Michael Russo of the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review to "consider our request for unrestricted release"; an August 24, 2017 reply from Russo that if the service-level classification authority verified that removing the metadata made the videos unclassified, "please feel free to move forward with release"; and a DD Form 1910 whose publication-data block reads "Not Applicable. Not for publication. Research and analysis ONLY and info sharing with other USG and industry partners for the purposes of developing a database to help identify, analyze and ultimately defeat UAS threats." Joseph Gradisher, a Navy spokesman, said in 2019 that neither the cognizant Navy offices nor the review office had a record of correspondence responding to a request for unrestricted release of the videos in 2017.[^5] This event ignited a global conversation and marked a pivotal moment for the disclosure movement.[^1]
Post-resignation, Elizondo joined [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] (TTSA), founded by musician [[Tom DeLonge]], and has worked relentlessly to advocate for UAP transparency. His efforts, in concert with Mellon and others, have been crucial in briefing members of Congress, which led directly to the creation of the [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] (AARO) and the passage of historic UAP disclosure legislation within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).[^1] Post-resignation, Elizondo joined [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] (TTSA), founded by musician [[Tom DeLonge]], and has worked relentlessly to advocate for UAP transparency. His efforts, in concert with Mellon and others, have been crucial in briefing members of Congress, which led directly to the creation of the [[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office]] (AARO) and the passage of historic UAP disclosure legislation within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).[^1]
### Recruitment, offices and resignation, in Elizondo's account ### Recruitment, offices and resignation, in Elizondo's account
Elizondo wrote that in 2008 he returned to the Department of Defense in the [[Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence]], working on information sharing among the department, the [[Department of Homeland Security]] and state, local and tribal law enforcement, from an eleventh-floor corner office in a building in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] that the Pentagon rented and that housed divisions of [[Boeing]] including Phantom Works, at the GS-15 grade, and that in early 2009 his assistant announced two visitors, Jay Stratton and a colleague he calls "Rosemary Caine," who asked for his counterintelligence and security experience for "a highly classified program led out of our office at DIA," which Stratton said he had helped create under the name AAWSAP, later AATIP, and which they said reported "directly to the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and to Congress." After two more meetings he was taken to a tenth-floor office in a Virginia building where he met James Lacatski, who asked "What do you think about UFOs?"; at a second meeting Lacatski told him the program had the support of the DIA director, Lieutenant General [[Michael D. Maples]], and had been funded by Harry Reid, Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye. Elizondo wrote that an Army friend he calls "John Robert," who served with him in Korea in the 1990s and acted as liaison between another intelligence agency and AAWSAP, had referred him.[^5] Elizondo wrote that in 2008 he returned to the Department of Defense in the [[Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence]], working on information sharing among the department, the [[Department of Homeland Security]] and state, local and tribal law enforcement, from an eleventh-floor corner office in a building in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] that the Pentagon rented and that housed divisions of [[Boeing]] including Phantom Works, at the GS-15 grade, and that in early 2009 his assistant announced two visitors, Jay Stratton and a colleague he calls "Rosemary Caine," who asked for his counterintelligence and security experience for "a highly classified program led out of our office at DIA," which Stratton said he had helped create under the name AAWSAP, later AATIP, and which they said reported "directly to the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and to Congress." After two more meetings he was taken to a tenth-floor office in a Virginia building where he met James Lacatski, who asked "What do you think about UFOs?"; at a second meeting Lacatski told him the program had the support of the DIA director, Lieutenant General [[Michael D. Maples]], and had been funded by Harry Reid, Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye. Elizondo wrote that an Army friend he calls "John Robert," who served with him in Korea in the 1990s and acted as liaison between another intelligence agency and AAWSAP, had referred him.[^6]
He wrote that after the program lost support at DIA, in 2010, he moved its remnants into his own portfolio as Director of National Programs, Special Management Staff, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which managed national-level special access programs for the National Security Council and the White House and, in his case, Guantanamo Bay; that his base was office 3C503A in the Pentagon; that he "dual-used" existing funds so that a video sent for analysis could be tested both as a possible Russian MiG-25 and as a UAP; and that the only contractors who remained with Stratton and himself were Puthoff, a physician he calls Will Livingston and [[Eric Davis]]. He named as his superiors in this period [[Neill Tipton]], whom he described as running the Intelligence Sharing and Foreign Intelligence Relationship Office, and Tipton's boss John Pede.[^6] He wrote that after the program lost support at DIA, in 2010, he moved its remnants into his own portfolio as Director of National Programs, Special Management Staff, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which managed national-level special access programs for the National Security Council and the White House and, in his case, Guantanamo Bay; that his base was office 3C503A in the Pentagon; that he "dual-used" existing funds so that a video sent for analysis could be tested both as a possible Russian MiG-25 and as a UAP; and that the only contractors who remained with Stratton and himself were Puthoff, a physician he calls Will Livingston and [[Eric Davis]]. He named as his superiors in this period [[Neill Tipton]], whom he described as running the Intelligence Sharing and Foreign Intelligence Relationship Office, and Tipton's boss John Pede.[^7]
Elizondo wrote that in 2016 the Joint Staff declined to give Stratton's OPLAN Interloper an Alternative Compensatory Control Measures designation, that in 2017 he sought a briefing of Secretary of Defense James Mattis through a SECDEF liaison, a White House advisor named Brad Byers and a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] liaison officer he calls "Shari Smith," that Tipton agreed to take over AATIP and accepted a draft memo but delayed signing it; and that he resigned in a letter to Mattis "effective 4 October 2017," after more than twenty-two years of service, with a second, shorter letter to his chain of command.[^7] He wrote that his immediate supervisor on the Guantanamo portfolio, John Garrity, telephoned that day to say that Garry Reid, whom he described as controlling security, law enforcement and security clearances for the department, wanted to see him; that Reid said he would have to tell people Elizondo was "acting crazy"; and that Reid seized his computers and files, questioned his staff and began an inquiry through the Air Force [[Office of Special Investigations]] which, he wrote, "found no impropriety in my actions."[^8] Elizondo wrote that in 2016 the Joint Staff declined to give Stratton's OPLAN Interloper an Alternative Compensatory Control Measures designation, that in 2017 he sought a briefing of Secretary of Defense James Mattis through a SECDEF liaison, a White House advisor named Brad Byers and a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] liaison officer he calls "Shari Smith," that Tipton agreed to take over AATIP and accepted a draft memo but delayed signing it; and that he resigned in a letter to Mattis "effective 4 October 2017," after more than twenty-two years of service, with a second, shorter letter to his chain of command.[^8] He wrote that his immediate supervisor on the Guantanamo portfolio, John Garrity, telephoned that day to say that Garry Reid, whom he described as controlling security, law enforcement and security clearances for the department, wanted to see him; that Reid said he would have to tell people Elizondo was "acting crazy"; and that Reid seized his computers and files, questioned his staff and began an inquiry through the Air Force [[Office of Special Investigations]] which, he wrote, "found no impropriety in my actions."[^9]
After the [[New York Times]] story of December 16, 2017, Elizondo wrote, the Pentagon spokesperson Dana White confirmed his role in AATIP to Politico, but in 2019 the spokesperson [[Christopher Sherwood]] told reporters that "Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program," which Elizondo wrote Sherwood privately acknowledged was untrue; that a [[Freedom of Information Act]] response said his electronic files had been deleted as having "no historic value," and that an email transferring AATIP duties to Tipton in 2017 was released in May 2024 after a FOIA appeal; and that after a Defense Department inspector general review Garry Reid was reassigned to DIA as a "special advisor." Elizondo wrote that a Pentagon spokesperson later confirmed that he "provides technical advice on a variety of classified topics for the US Space Force."[^9] The Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office found in 2024 that AATIP "was never an official DoD program" (see Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program). After the [[New York Times]] story of December 16, 2017, Elizondo wrote, the Pentagon spokesperson Dana White confirmed his role in AATIP to Politico, but in 2019 the spokesperson [[Christopher Sherwood]] told reporters that "Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program," which Elizondo wrote Sherwood privately acknowledged was untrue; that a [[Freedom of Information Act]] response said his electronic files had been deleted as having "no historic value," and that an email transferring AATIP duties to Tipton in 2017 was released in May 2024 after a FOIA appeal; and that after a Defense Department inspector general review Garry Reid was reassigned to DIA as a "special advisor." Elizondo wrote that a Pentagon spokesperson later confirmed that he "provides technical advice on a variety of classified topics for the US Space Force."[^10] The Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office found in 2024 that AATIP "was never an official DoD program" (see Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program).
### NewsNation, 2025 and 2026 ### NewsNation, 2025 and 2026
NewsNation's January 16, 2025 article on [[Jake Barber]] stated that "other whistleblowers, including Lue Elizondo and [[David Grusch]], have alleged a secret government UFO program exists but Barber says he knows it's true because he's part of it," and the full-special article of the same month stated that Grusch and Elizondo "say they've been told about it, they believe it exists, but they weren't a part of it themselves."[^10][^11] NewsNation's January 16, 2025 article on [[Jake Barber]] stated that "other whistleblowers, including Lue Elizondo and [[David Grusch]], have alleged a secret government UFO program exists but Barber says he knows it's true because he's part of it," and the full-special article of the same month stated that Grusch and Elizondo "say they've been told about it, they believe it exists, but they weren't a part of it themselves."[^11][^12]
On June 30, 2026 NewsNation reported that its special correspondent [[Ross Coulthart]] had said on his "[[Reality Check (NewsNation)|Reality Check]]" podcast that "There are people who bitterly resent and don't think it's a good idea that Lue be appointed to a position of power in UAP transparency, because they think that he was part of a previous agenda that was essentially to try to control the narrative, to restrict what the public is entitled to know about the UAP disclosure," and "I've spoken to people in the [[Legacy Program]] who knew Lue." Elizondo told NewsNation's [[Chris Cuomo]] that "I've committed myself to transparency to the degree that I could," that "I didn't say I worked for the Legacy Program," that "we cannot confirm or deny" statements are not "some sort of implicit 'yes,'" and that "I think Ross is an excellent investigative journalist." The article gives Elizondo's account that he directed the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and "resigned in 2017 in protest."[^12] On June 30, 2026 NewsNation reported that its special correspondent [[Ross Coulthart]] had said on his "[[Reality Check (NewsNation)|Reality Check]]" podcast that "There are people who bitterly resent and don't think it's a good idea that Lue be appointed to a position of power in UAP transparency, because they think that he was part of a previous agenda that was essentially to try to control the narrative, to restrict what the public is entitled to know about the UAP disclosure," and "I've spoken to people in the [[Legacy Program]] who knew Lue." Elizondo told NewsNation's [[Chris Cuomo]] that "I've committed myself to transparency to the degree that I could," that "I didn't say I worked for the Legacy Program," that "we cannot confirm or deny" statements are not "some sort of implicit 'yes,'" and that "I think Ross is an excellent investigative journalist." The article gives Elizondo's account that he directed the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program and "resigned in 2017 in protest."[^13]
On July 29, 2026 NewsNation reported that the anonymous researcher known online as [[UAPGerb]] (named Sam in the article), speaking to Coulthart, said Elizondo was part of a "controlled narrative" and noted speculation that he was "being positioned for a role with the National Security Council or as an adviser to the White House"; the article states "Elizondo has not confirmed the rumors." In a [[YouTube]] video Elizondo called the claims false, confirmed he was moving to [[Washington, D.C.]] because "fighting for UAP disclosure is a full-time job," and told Coulthart "please, for the love of God, be more careful with who you decide to have on your program." The article states that Elizondo said one narrative, which he claims the researcher made up, was that he and [[James Clapper]], the former [[Director of National Intelligence]], "had colluded to create a network" for "soft disclosure," and quotes Elizondo: "That is 1,000% not accurate. In fact, we never had such a conversation, and Jim Clapper and I never met to have that conversation."[^13] On July 29, 2026 NewsNation reported that the anonymous researcher known online as [[UAPGerb]] (named Sam in the article), speaking to Coulthart, said Elizondo was part of a "controlled narrative" and noted speculation that he was "being positioned for a role with the National Security Council or as an adviser to the White House"; the article states "Elizondo has not confirmed the rumors." In a [[YouTube]] video Elizondo called the claims false, confirmed he was moving to [[Washington, D.C.]] because "fighting for UAP disclosure is a full-time job," and told Coulthart "please, for the love of God, be more careful with who you decide to have on your program." The article states that Elizondo said one narrative, which he claims the researcher made up, was that he and [[James Clapper]], the former [[Director of National Intelligence]], "had colluded to create a network" for "soft disclosure," and quotes Elizondo: "That is 1,000% not accurate. In fact, we never had such a conversation, and Jim Clapper and I never met to have that conversation."[^14]
### Resignation and the December 2017 placement ### Resignation and the December 2017 placement
Elizondo's resignation took effect October 4, 2017, according to the Pentagon; a Pentagon official told Politico that Mattis's receipt of the letter could not be confirmed. His letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis cited "bureaucratic challenges and inflexible mindsets" and the "overwhelming evidence" at "both the classified and unclassified levels," and, [[Keith Kloor]] wrote in *[[The Intercept]]*, "does not mention AATIP or Elizondo's role as its director."[^14][^15] [[Gideon Lewis-Kraus]] wrote that the previous day had been his last day of work, and that on October 4, 2017 [[Leslie Kean]] met him, Hal Puthoff and Jim Semivan in a hotel bar near the Pentagon at the request of Christopher Mellon; Kean told Lewis-Kraus that Elizondo "had incredible gravitas."[^16] Elizondo spoke onstage at the To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science launch later in October 2017.[^16] In an August 2017 email reviewed by Politico he proposed an unclassified "community of interest" database; "Washington Headquarters Services" approved three [[United States Navy|Navy]] videos "for unlimited distribution" within government, and Elizondo, Mellon and others concluded that more was needed. Politico reported in 2021 that the Pentagon "officially acknowledged the existence of the AATIP program and Elizondo's role in it."[^2] In December 2017 Politico quoted Elizondo: "We tried to work within the system. We were trying to take the voodoo out of voodoo science," and he described sightings "often reported in the vicinity of nuclear facilities, either ships at sea or power plants"; the Times quoted his resignation letter's phrase "unusual aerial systems interfering with military weapon platforms and displaying beyond-next-generation capabilities."[^17] Elizondo's resignation took effect October 4, 2017, according to the Pentagon; a Pentagon official told Politico that Mattis's receipt of the letter could not be confirmed. His letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis cited "bureaucratic challenges and inflexible mindsets" and the "overwhelming evidence" at "both the classified and unclassified levels," and, [[Keith Kloor]] wrote in *[[The Intercept]]*, "does not mention AATIP or Elizondo's role as its director."[^15][^16] [[Gideon Lewis-Kraus]] wrote that the previous day had been his last day of work, and that on October 4, 2017 [[Leslie Kean]] met him, Hal Puthoff and Jim Semivan in a hotel bar near the Pentagon at the request of Christopher Mellon; Kean told Lewis-Kraus that Elizondo "had incredible gravitas."[^17] Elizondo spoke onstage at the To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science launch later in October 2017.[^17] In an August 2017 email reviewed by Politico he proposed an unclassified "community of interest" database; "Washington Headquarters Services" approved three [[United States Navy|Navy]] videos "for unlimited distribution" within government, and Elizondo, Mellon and others concluded that more was needed. Politico reported in 2021 that the Pentagon "officially acknowledged the existence of the AATIP program and Elizondo's role in it."[^3] In December 2017 Politico quoted Elizondo: "We tried to work within the system. We were trying to take the voodoo out of voodoo science," and he described sightings "often reported in the vicinity of nuclear facilities, either ships at sea or power plants"; the Times quoted his resignation letter's phrase "unusual aerial systems interfering with military weapon platforms and displaying beyond-next-generation capabilities."[^18]
The resignation letter, dated October 3, 2017, states: "Effective 4 October 2017, I humbly submit my resignation as Director, National Programs Special Management Staff," and says the resignation is submitted "in hopes it will encourage you to ask the hard questions."[^19] An information memorandum from [[Garry Reid]], Director for Defense Intelligence, states that Elizondo "has provided three different explanations for his sudden resignation," that he first told his supervisor he was leaving for a job opportunity "that required his immediate availability," and that an informal Air Force assessment "did not find any wrongdoing by Mr. Elizondo."[^19]
### Pentagon statements beside his account ### Pentagon statements beside his account
December 2017: Politico's [[Bryan Bender]] wrote that Pentagon spokeswoman [[Dana White]] "confirmed to Politico that the program existed and was run by Elizondo." June 1, 2019: spokesperson Christopher Sherwood told *The Intercept* that AATIP "did pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena" but that "Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI," that he "cannot confirm" White's statement, and that Elizondo "worked for other organizations in DoD." June 13, 2019: [[Susan Gough]] told [[The Black Vault]] that Reid's July 24, 2009 memorandum was authentic and "makes no change to previous statements," and that "Elizondo did interact with the DIA office managing the program while the program was still ongoing, but he did not lead it." Bender wrote on June 2, 2019 that he expected "a much more definitive statement from the Pentagon" and that The Intercept's "assertions and innuendo" were wrong. Elizondo, in the Intercept article, did not respond to requests for comment; he told Kloor earlier in 2019 that he was a government contractor "but it's not what you think it is."[^15][^18] December 2017: Politico's [[Bryan Bender]] wrote that Pentagon spokeswoman [[Dana White]] "confirmed to Politico that the program existed and was run by Elizondo." June 1, 2019: spokesperson Christopher Sherwood told *The Intercept* that AATIP "did pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena" but that "Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI," that he "cannot confirm" White's statement, and that Elizondo "worked for other organizations in DoD." June 13, 2019: [[Susan Gough]] told The Black Vault that Reid's July 24, 2009 memorandum was authentic and "makes no change to previous statements," and that "Elizondo did interact with the DIA office managing the program while the program was still ongoing, but he did not lead it." Bender wrote on June 2, 2019 that he expected "a much more definitive statement from the Pentagon" and that The Intercept's "assertions and innuendo" were wrong. Elizondo, in the Intercept article, did not respond to requests for comment; he told Kloor earlier in 2019 that he was a government contractor "but it's not what you think it is."[^16][^20]
### Galileo Project ### Galileo Project
On October 30, 2021 Elizondo and Mellon became research affiliates of [[Harvard University|Harvard]]'s [[Galileo Project]]; Elizondo was quoted: "Deliberate and methodical research, along with strict rigor will help ensure the tenets of the scientific method are followed."[^19] The October 2021 announcement credits both with "two years of patient public and private lobbying" behind the June 2021 ODNI report.[^19] On October 30, 2021 Elizondo and Mellon became research affiliates of [[Harvard University|Harvard]]'s [[Galileo Project]]; Elizondo was quoted: "Deliberate and methodical research, along with strict rigor will help ensure the tenets of the scientific method are followed."[^21] The October 2021 announcement credits both with "two years of patient public and private lobbying" behind the June 2021 ODNI report.[^21]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: Bender, Bryan. *Politico Magazine,* May 28, 2021. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/28/ufos-secret-history-government-washington-dc-487900 [^2]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 202 to 217 (resignation at p. 202; Garry Reid indexed at pp. 143 to 144, 202 to 203, 209, 212, 215 to 217, 238 to 239) and pp. 205 to 207, 218 and 219 (offer from Tom DeLonge, salary cut and end of the arrangement).
[^3]: U.S. Department of Defense. "Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos," April 27, 2020. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/ (read through the Internet Archive capture, https://web.archive.org/web/2020id_/https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/). [^3]: Bender, Bryan. *Politico Magazine,* May 28, 2021. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/28/ufos-secret-history-government-washington-dc-487900
[^4]: [[The Black Vault]], FOIA release of Office of the Secretary of Defense case 18-F-0644, August 2019 (emails of August 23 and 24, 2017 between Luis Elizondo and Michael Russo of the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review, with the DD Form 1910; the form's text is poorly legible in the scan and is quoted as transcribed in the research notes), https://www.theblackvault.com/casefiles/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/18-F-0644.pdf ; Joseph Gradisher quoted in "U.S. Navy Confirms Videos Depict Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, Not Cleared for Public Release," The Black Vault, September 2019, https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-navy-confirms-videos-depict-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-not-cleared-for-public-release/ [^4]: U.S. Department of Defense. "Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos," April 27, 2020. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/ (read through the Internet Archive capture, https://web.archive.org/web/2020id_/https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-the-release-of-historical-navy-videos/).
[^5]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 3 to 14 (Caine indexed at p. 5; Reid, Bigelow and Maples at pp. 13 to 14). Page numbers are those of the printed index where it lists the passage. [^5]: [[The Black Vault]], FOIA release of Office of the Secretary of Defense case 18-F-0644, August 2019 (emails of August 23 and 24, 2017 between Luis Elizondo and Michael Russo of the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review, with the DD Form 1910; the form's text is poorly legible in the scan and is quoted as transcribed in the research notes), https://www.theblackvault.com/casefiles/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/18-F-0644.pdf ; Joseph Gradisher quoted in "U.S. Navy Confirms Videos Depict Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, Not Cleared for Public Release," The Black Vault, September 2019, https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-navy-confirms-videos-depict-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-not-cleared-for-public-release/
[^6]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 82 to 93 (Higgins, Tipton and Pede at pp. 87 to 89; Will at p. 90; office 3C503A at p. 93). [^6]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 3 to 14 (Caine indexed at p. 5; Reid, Bigelow and Maples at pp. 13 to 14). Page numbers are those of the printed index where it lists the passage.
[^7]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 147 to 202 (Interloper at pp. 147 and 186; Byers at pp. 189 and 217; Tipton at p. 192; resignation letter at p. 202). [^7]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 82 to 93 (Higgins, Tipton and Pede at pp. 87 to 89; Will at p. 90; office 3C503A at p. 93).
[^8]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 202 to 203 and 211. [^8]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 147 to 202 (Interloper at pp. 147 and 186; Byers at pp. 189 and 217; Tipton at p. 192; resignation letter at p. 202).
[^9]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 209 to 217 and 238 (Dana White at p. 210; Sherwood at p. 217; deletion at p. 212; Space Force statement at p. 238); photograph captions on the email released in May 2024. [^9]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 202 to 203 and 211.
[^10]: NewsNation, "UAP whistleblower says UFO retrieval program exists: NewsNation exclusive," January 16, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/uap-whistleblower-ufo-retrieval-program/ [^10]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 209 to 217 and 238 (Dana White at p. 210; Sherwood at p. 217; deletion at p. 212; Space Force statement at p. 238); photograph captions on the email released in May 2024.
[^11]: NewsNation, "Whistleblower reveals UAP retrieval program; object caught on video," January 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/hfr-uap-recovery-video-egg-shaped-object-exclusive/ [^11]: NewsNation, "UAP whistleblower says UFO retrieval program exists: NewsNation exclusive," January 16, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/uap-whistleblower-ufo-retrieval-program/
[^12]: Alicia Sitz, "UAP whistleblower Luis Elizondo neither confirms nor denies he was part of government secrecy efforts," NewsNation, updated June 30, 2026. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/luis-elizondo-denies-uap-secrecy-efforts/ [^12]: NewsNation, "Whistleblower reveals UAP retrieval program; object caught on video," January 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/hfr-uap-recovery-video-egg-shaped-object-exclusive/
[^13]: Steph Whiteside and Alicia Sitz, "Elizondo responds to researcher's 'controlled narrative' role rumors," NewsNation, updated July 29, 2026. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/elizondo-uap-role-controlled-narrative/ [^13]: Alicia Sitz, "UAP whistleblower Luis Elizondo neither confirms nor denies he was part of government secrecy efforts," NewsNation, updated June 30, 2026. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/luis-elizondo-denies-uap-secrecy-efforts/
[^14]: Kloor, Keith. "UFOs Won't Go Away." *Issues in Science and Technology,* March 1, 2019. https://issues.org/ufos-wont-go-away/ [^14]: Steph Whiteside and Alicia Sitz, "Elizondo responds to researcher's 'controlled narrative' role rumors," NewsNation, updated July 29, 2026. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/elizondo-uap-role-controlled-narrative/
[^15]: Kloor, Keith. *The Intercept,* June 1, 2019. https://theintercept.com/2019/06/01/ufo-unidentified-history-channel-luis-elizondo-pentagon/ [^15]: Kloor, Keith. "UFOs Won't Go Away." *Issues in Science and Technology,* March 1, 2019. https://issues.org/ufos-wont-go-away/
[^16]: Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. *The New Yorker,* May 10, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/10/how-the-pentagon-started-taking-ufos-seriously [^16]: Kloor, Keith. *The Intercept,* June 1, 2019. https://theintercept.com/2019/06/01/ufo-unidentified-history-channel-luis-elizondo-pentagon/
[^17]: Bender, Bryan. "The Pentagon's Secret Search for UFOs." *Politico Magazine,* December 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/2018id_/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/16/pentagon-ufo-search-harry-reid-216111 ; Cooper, Helene, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean. *The New York Times,* December 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/2023id_/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html [^17]: Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. *The New Yorker,* May 10, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/10/how-the-pentagon-started-taking-ufos-seriously
[^18]: Greenewald, John, Jr. The Black Vault, June 14, 2019. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/pentagon-reinforces-mr-luis-elizondo-had-no-responsibilities-on-aatip-senator-harry-reids-2009-memo-changes-nothing [^18]: Bender, Bryan. "The Pentagon's Secret Search for UFOs." *Politico Magazine,* December 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/2018id_/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/16/pentagon-ufo-search-harry-reid-216111 ; Cooper, Helene, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean. *The New York Times,* December 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/2023id_/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html
[^19]: The Galileo Project, October 30, 2021. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/galileo/files/mellon-elizondo_announcement_final_2.pdf (Internet Archive copy). [^19]: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, information memoranda, "Response to Your Questions on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and Actions of Former DoD Employee Luis Elizondo," from Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence, and "Update on Media Reporting Related to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program," both undated, with Elizondo's resignation letter of October 3, 2017 at Tab B. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/18-F-0324_Docs.pdf
[^20]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 202 to 217 (resignation at p. 202; Garry Reid indexed at pp. 143 to 144, 202 to 203, 209, 212, 215 to 217, 238 to 239) and pp. 205 to 207, 218 and 219 (offer from Tom DeLonge, salary cut and end of the arrangement). [^20]: Greenewald, John, Jr. The Black Vault, June 14, 2019. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/pentagon-reinforces-mr-luis-elizondo-had-no-responsibilities-on-aatip-senator-harry-reids-2009-memo-changes-nothing
[^21]: The Galileo Project, October 30, 2021. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/galileo/files/mellon-elizondo_announcement_final_2.pdf (Internet Archive copy).

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10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Marcos Aguado.md
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@ -2,39 +2,170 @@
title: Marcos Aguado title: Marcos Aguado
aliases: aliases:
- Marcos Aguado - Marcos Aguado
- Marco Aguado
- Marco Antonio Aguado Arguello
- Marcus Aguado
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Organized Crime" category: "Military"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
- Intelligence - Military
- CIA - Contras
- DrugTrafficker - ARDE
- Nicaragua - Nicaragua
- CostaRica - CostaRica
- 1980s - ElSalvador
- ContraWar - Ilopango
- CIADrugTrafficking
- KerrySubcommittee
- DarkAllianceInvestigation - DarkAllianceInvestigation
summary: "CIA-trained Nicaraguan pilot who managed drug trafficking logistics for Norwin Meneses and Eden Pastora, later became a colonel in the Salvadoran Air Force at Ilopango." - 1980s
- 1990s
summary: "Nicaraguan pilot who ran air operations for Eden Pastora's ARDE forces, named in CIA and Senate records of Contra drug allegations, later based at Ilopango in El Salvador."
location: "Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Eden Pastora]]"
start: 1984-09
role: "personal pilot, per the CIA inspector general's Volume II account"
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[ARDE]]"
start: 1984-09
role: "Chief of Air Operations, FRS/ARDE, per the CIA inspector general's Volume II account"
fn: 1
- type: relative_of
with: "[[Eden Pastora]]"
role: "son-in-law, according to Pastora as recorded by the CIA inspector general"
fn: 1
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Norwin Meneses]]"
start: 1986-05
role: "C-47 sale and business association, per Webb's account of Aguado's statements"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Contras]]"
start: 1983
end: 1986-05
role: "Southern Front air operations; quit in May 1986 according to Webb"
fn: 1
- type: investigated
with: "[[Kerry Committee]]"
reverse: true
start: 1986-04
end: 1988-12
role: "Senate subcommittee deposition and hearing testimony on Contra drug links"
fn: 4
- type: investigated
with: "[[Fred Hitz]]"
reverse: true
start: 1998-10
role: "CIA inspector general, Volume II review of Contra drug allegations"
fn: 1
--- ---
Marcos Aguado was a [[Central Intelligence Agency]]-trained Nicaraguan pilot and business associate of [[Norwin Meneses]] who managed drug trafficking logistics for the Contra forces, first in [[Costa Rica]] and later at [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]] in [[El Salvador]]. He was identified in 1987 congressional testimony as a CIA agent.[^1]
### Costa Rican Operations Marcos Aguado, recorded in the official files as Marco Antonio Aguado Arguello and in the Justice Department glossary as Marcus Aguado, was a Nicaraguan pilot who served as air operations chief of [[Eden Pastora]]'s [[ARDE]] forces in [[Costa Rica]] from 1984. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] cables, Senate subcommittee hearings and a [[Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General|Justice Department Inspector General]] review recorded allegations that he was involved in drug trafficking, and the reporter [[Gary Webb]] named him in the [[Dark Alliance]] series. He later worked at [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]] in [[El Salvador]].
Aguado was the chief pilot for [[Eden Pastora]]'s ARDE Contra forces in Costa Rica. He was instrumental in arranging the Contras' 1984 arms-and-drugs deals with Colombian trafficker [[George Morales]]. Aguado moved between the Contra war zones and Colombian drug operations, flying weapons and cocaine as part of the covert supply network. He was formally accused of cocaine trafficking in Costa Rica and became unwelcome in the country.[^1] ### Early service
### Ilopango and the Drug Pipeline The CIA inspector general's account of Aguado's background states that he was a [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] Air Force pilot from 1979 to 1980 and then a commercial pilot for [[Aeronica]] until he defected in 1983 and joined the [[Contras]].[^1] Webb's cast of characters calls him a "CIA-trained pilot" and a business associate of [[Norwin Meneses]].[^2] In his October 31, 1987 videotaped deposition, played at the April 1988 hearing, Aguado said that he became head of the southern air force and then second in command to Pastora.[^3]
After [[Oliver North]] set up his resupply operation at Ilopango, Aguado moved there permanently, working as an aide to a high-ranking Salvadoran air force commander. [[Enrique Miranda]] testified that Aguado "became a colonel in the Salvadoran Air Force, sharing all the privileges of a high-ranking military officer in El Salvador and was accepted by subordinate ranks as Deputy Commander of the Salvadoran Air Force." Miranda said Aguado directed flights that "went as far as [[Colombia]], where they were loaded with cocaine and then redirected to the United States, to a U.S. Air Force base located in the state of Texas."[^1] In an April 1983 cable the agency recorded that Aguado had been offered a job flying an aircraft for the Southern Front. By September 1984 it recorded him as Chief of Air Operations for the [[Sandino Revolutionary Front]] (FRS) and ARDE and as Pastora's personal pilot. According to Pastora, Aguado was also his son-in-law.[^1]
Miranda and former Nicaraguan antidrug czar Roger Mayorga identified the base as near Fort Worth - likely the now-closed Carswell Air Force Base, home of a Strategic Air Command bomber squadron. The U.S. Air Force told FOIA requesters that all flight records that may have shown arrivals and departures of Salvadoran military aircraft during the mid-1980s were destroyed years ago.[^1] ### Air operations for ARDE, 1984 to 1986
Miranda testified that at Ilopango, Aguado and Norwin Meneses supervised the loading of cocaine onto U.S.-bound aircraft owned by the Salvadoran Air Force and, on occasion, the Miami-based CIA contractor [[Southern Air Transport]]. Miranda met Aguado for dinner at Meneses's mansion in [[Managua]] in 1991, where Aguado boasted of flying for the Colombian cartels - including once taking a Salvadoran Air Force bomber to level a warehouse full of [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín cartel]] cocaine on behalf of the rival Cali cartel, and making plans to bomb the prison where Medellín cartel chief Pablo Escobar was briefly imprisoned. Aguado also boasted of flying weapons from the Salvadoran military to the Colombian cartels, a story Miranda said he doubted until a Salvadoran Air Force colonel and associates were arrested in 1992 for selling bombs and high explosives to Colombian drug dealers.[^1] A December 1984 cable reported that Pastora had designated Aguado "one of his 18 commandantes, to be in charge of air operations and logistics at Ilopango." The same cable said that Aguado had not flown any missions inside [[Nicaragua]] since September 1983, that he "is closely associated with" Pastora, [[Adolfo Chamorro]] and [[Gerardo Duran]], and that "as such he may very well be actively participating in alleged narcotics activities . . . or at least aware of such activities."[^1]
### Role in the Meneses Network The [[Kerry Committee|Senate subcommittee]] described Aguado in its December 1988 report as "Eden Pastora's air force chief." In his deposition Aguado said that traffickers "took advantage of the anti-Communist sentiment which existed in Central America" and "undoubtedly used it for drug trafficking," and that "They fooled people."[^3][^4] Referring to the Contra resupply operations, he said the traffickers used "the same connections, the same air strips, the same people," and that the drugs "would later on go to the U.S."[^4]
Aguado was a key operative in Norwin Meneses's drug organization, identified as a business associate and logistics coordinator. Miranda testified that "Norwin was selling drugs and tunneled the benefits to the Contras with help of high-ranking military officials of the Salvadoran Army, especially with the help of the head of the Salvadoran Air Force and a Nicaraguan pilot named Marcos Aguado."[^1] ### The Morales aircraft
The subcommittee report reproduces a notarized purchase order dated October 1, 1984, under which a McDonnell-Douglas DC-3, the civilian designation for a C-47, was transferred to Aguado for one dollar, signed by [[George Morales]] as seller and by Aguado as purchaser.[^4] The subcommittee found that $10,000 had been given to Chamorro to cover the cost of moving the aircraft from [[Haiti]] to Ilopango.[^4] The CIA inspector general records a C-47 flown from Haiti to El Salvador by Aguado on October 16, 1984, under an agreement that Chamorro reached in Miami with an unidentified Cuban trafficker.[^1] The subcommittee identifies the trafficker as Morales.[^4]
Between October 18, 1984 and February 12, 1986, the subcommittee reported, some 156,000 pounds of material were moved from Ilopango to airfields in Costa Rica on 24 flights, eleven of them to [[La Penca]] on the Nicaraguan side of the San Juan River.[^4] A [[U.S. Customs Service|Customs]] document furnished to the subcommittee showed that Morales entered the United States from the [[Bahamas]] on October 13, 1984 with Aguado, [[Octaviano Cesar]] and Chamorro, and that the three declared $400,000 in cash and checks. They said the money had been returned to Morales after clearing Customs.[^4]
Webb quotes [[Jonathan Kwitny]]'s 1987 reporting in [[The Nation]] that the C-47 was "repeatedly piloted into and out of Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador by Marcos Aguado."[^2] Webb also reports that when Aguado quit the war in May 1986 he sold the aircraft for $30,000, to Meneses, and that in 1997 Aguado said the plane was still being used by Meneses in [[Venezuela]].[^2]
### Where Morales met the Contra leaders
The subcommittee report says that [[Marta Healey]] introduced Morales to Chamorro, Aguado and Cesar at a meeting in [[Miami]], and that Morales was then under indictment for marijuana smuggling. According to the report, each of the three Contra leaders denied knowing of the indictment when they first met Morales at Healey's house in Miami.[^4] Webb places a March 1984 meeting at Morales's offices in [[Fort Lauderdale]].[^2] The Justice Department Inspector General records Morales as saying that after Healey's May 1984 approach he met with Cesar, Chamarro and Aguado in Miami.[^5] [[Celerino Castillo]] writes that Healey, the former wife of Chamorro, approached Morales in 1984 after his second arrest and arranged a meeting with Chamorro, "Southern group air force chief Marcos Aguado" and Cesar, and that Aguado and Cesar told Morales they were CIA agents and asked for financial and military assistance.[^6] Morales told the subcommittee that he agreed to help the Contras "with their needs," and that "they in exchange would help me with my objective, which was solving my indictment."[^4]
The same debriefing places a June 1983 meeting at [[Opa Locka]] airport, attended by members of the [[Medellin Cartel]], which Morales said Aguado and Gerardo Duran had flown a group into. Morales said that Aguado refused to fly the cocaine shipments because of his "CIA connections."[^5]
[[Alan Fiers]], then chief of the agency's Contra program, told the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] on July 31, 1987 that Morales had seen [[John Hull]] in Morales's office with Aguado in 1983, but that Morales had not met Hull.[^7]
### Morales's testimony that they were CIA agents
In the July 15, 1987 hearing Morales testified that the Contra leaders "represent themselves as CIA agents," and that he "heard about they being CIA agents," naming Cesar and Aguado.[^8] At the April 7, 1988 hearing he gave the fuller account that "they told me that they were CIA agents. Two of them said they were," followed by the names of Cesar and Aguado.[^3]
### Cables from 1985 to 1988
A May 1985 cable stated that Aguado, then an FRS/ARDE pilot, could "easily" provide concrete evidence linking [[Karol Prado]], Pastora and other Southern Front Contras to drug trafficking.[^1] A January 1986 cable said that Aguado "should have knowledge of the recent arrest" of Gerardo Duran, which the cable tied to a 600-kilogram shipment of cocaine from Morales.[^1]
In April 1986, Adolfo Chamorro planned to denounce Carol Prado, Eden Pastora and Marco Aguado as being the ones involved in drug trafficking, and said he had the evidence to prove it. A DEA debriefing of Chamorro on April 25, 1986 produced no narcotics information, and the cable reported that "all Chamorro wanted to talk about were politics and war."[^1]
In April 1987 a station reported that an embassy officer had been told that Aguado, Prado, [[David Mayorga]], Chamorro and Duran "are presently involved in shipping cocaine from Nicaragua via Costa Rica to the United States."[^1] In July 1987 a message from Octaviano Cesar said that Aguado wanted to contact the CIA to provide information tying Pastora to "past drug trafficking." The station declined to meet Aguado because of counterintelligence concerns and passed the information to the local DEA office.[^1]
On July 31, 1987, Fiers gave the Senate Intelligence Committee an account of the narcotics allegations concerning Aguado, Cesar, Mayorga, Adolfo and Roberto Chamorro and Duran.[^9]
In March 1988 a station cable reported that [[Reyner Veliz Cruz]], a Guatemalan described as a suspected drug trafficker, had been traveling with Aguado, and that the two had flown twin-engine aircraft into Ilopango in February 1988 and again in March 1988, after customs officers had left. The cable said that Aguado "has bragged that he still works for CIA," that customs personnel at Ilopango "assume that Aguado has connections with drug trafficking," and that Aguado could not obtain a United States visa.[^1][^9]
The agency's own assessment reads: "No information has been found to indicate that CIA ever attempted to develop additional independent information that would confirm or refute the allegations against Aguado."[^1]
### Iran-Contra testimony
[[Robert Owen]], a courier for [[Oliver North]], testified in his [[Iran-Contra Affair|Iran-Contra]] deposition that Aguado was Pastora's pilot: "He was Pastora's pilot. There was concern about him."[^10] The subcommittee report says that Owen told the Iran-Contra committees he had told North that Prado was involved in trafficking drugs out of [[Panama]], and that Pastora's pilot, Marco Aguado, "was also involved." The subcommittee was unable to validate Owen's claims. Prado denied the allegations and said he believed the drug trafficking allegations against Pastora were the result of a CIA effort to discredit him.[^4]
### Costa Rica and the Hull ranch
Webb says Aguado was "formally accused" of cocaine trafficking in Costa Rica and was no longer welcome there.[^2] The CIA inspector general reports that in a March 7, 1989 summary, a Costa Rican judge had charged Hull with "hostile acts" and "drug trafficking." Costa Rican court documents claimed that planes piloted by Duran and Aguado had landed at Hull's airstrips carrying military supplies and, with Hull's knowledge, left loaded with drugs.[^7] Hull has said that the allegations of [[Gary Wayne Betzner]] are "not true, not true!"[^7]
### Ilopango
The Mercury News reported in 1996 that Meneses described Aguado as one of his oldest friends and said he worked for the Salvadoran air force high command.[^11] Webb states that Aguado made arrangements for Pastora's planes to be hangared at Ilopango from 1983 under an agreement with the [[Salvadoran Air Force]].[^2] Soon after North set up his resupply operation at the base, Webb writes, Aguado moved there permanently as an aide to a high-ranking Salvadoran air force commander.[^2] The [[Christian Science Monitor]] reported in October 1986 that the Contras had used Ilopango "at least since 1984," and that General [[Juan Rafael Bustillo]] "has been a major contact person for aiding the contra shipments, according to diplomats and other informed sources."[^12]
The Justice Department Inspector General glossary lists "AGUADO, Marcus" as "Contra pilot at Ilopango Airport, alleged drug trafficker, and reportedly Eden Pastora's representative in El Salvador."[^13]
### Enrique Miranda's account
Webb describes [[Enrique Miranda]] as a former Sandinista intelligence officer who became a CIA double agent during the Contra war. Webb dates Miranda's testimony to a 1992 trial in Nicaragua and quotes it: "Norwin was selling drugs and tunneled the benefits to the Contras with help of high-ranking military officials of the Salvadoran Army, especially with the help of the head of the Salvadoran Air Force and a Nicaraguan pilot named Marcos Aguado."[^2] Webb's notes date the testimony to a Nicaraguan case against Meneses filed in 1991.[^14] The Justice Department Inspector General dates the Nicaraguan trial to 1991 and records Miranda's sentence of fourteen years in August 1992.[^15]
The CIA inspector general summarizes Miranda's allegation that Aguado flew weapons to Medellín, Colombia, during the 1980s and returned with cocaine that he stored at Ilopango.[^1] Miranda told the Justice Department Inspector General's investigators in 1997 that Aguado had said he flew Salvadoran military planes from Ilopango to a military airport in [[Texas]], that Aguado frequently described flying to [[Colombia]] with weapons and returning with cocaine stored at Ilopango, and that American planes then came to El Salvador with weapons and went back to the United States with drugs.[^15] Webb quotes Miranda as saying that Aguado "became a colonel in the Salvadoran Air Force, sharing all the privileges of a high-ranking military officer in El Salvador and was accepted by subordinate ranks as Deputy Commander of the Salvadoran Air Force," and that "The flights he directed went as far as Colombia, where they were loaded with cocaine and then redirected to the United States, to a U.S. Air Force base located in the state of Texas."[^2] Webb reports that Miranda said Aguado and Meneses supervised the loading of cocaine at Ilopango onto U.S.-bound aircraft owned by the Salvadoran Air Force and, on occasion, by [[Southern Air Transport]], a Miami-based CIA contractor.[^2]
Webb reports that Miranda testified he had dined with Aguado at Meneses's mansion in [[Managua]] in 1991, where Aguado described flying for the Colombian cartels. Aguado is quoted as saying that he once took a Salvadoran Air Force bomber and leveled a warehouse of Medellín cartel cocaine on behalf of the rival Cali cartel, and that he planned to bomb the prison where [[Pablo Escobar]] had been briefly held.[^2] Webb reports that Miranda doubted Aguado's boast about 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.[^2]
The inspector general's assessment is that "the failure to report such important information in 1996 makes it difficult to credit Miranda's account in 1997."[^15] The same chapter records that Miranda said Meneses had invited him to watch the Texas operation, but that when pressed he said he had not seen it occur, and that most of what he told the investigators came second-hand, mostly from Meneses.[^15] The CIA inspector general's summary states: "No information has been found to support Miranda's allegations."[^1]
Webb reports that Miranda and former Nicaraguan antidrug official [[Roger Mayorga]] placed the Texas base near [[Fort Worth]], without knowing its name. Webb says that the only air force base near Fort Worth at the time of the alleged flights was the now-closed [[Carswell Air Force Base]], home of a [[Strategic Air Command]] bomber squadron, and that the [[U.S. Air Force]] told a requester in a 1997 Freedom of Information Act case that the flight records for Salvadoran military aircraft in the mid-1980s had been destroyed years ago.[^2]
### The Meneses trailer and the 1991 seizure
The San Jose Mercury News reported on August 18, 1996 that during Meneses's 1991 trial in Nicaragua, Meneses testified that Aguado sold him an auto transport trailer that Meneses's men were stuffing with cocaine when Nicaraguan police arrived. Aguado was not charged, and the newspaper could not reach him for comment.[^11] Webb gives the price as $125,000, and writes that in an interview Aguado denied knowing how Meneses would use the trailer, although Miranda said he was present when Aguado and Meneses discussed drug trafficking one evening at Meneses's mansion.[^2] The Justice Department Inspector General records that Miranda and Meneses were arrested by Nicaraguan authorities in November 1991 in connection with the seizure of 764 kilograms of cocaine bound from Managua to the United States.[^15]
### The 1992 bomb case
In April 1992 [[Semana]] reported that Salvadoran authorities had uncovered a plan to kill Escobar in the [[Envigado]] prison. An immigration officer at San Salvador's airport noticed two Colombians who had changed their names to re-enter El Salvador, and detectives followed them to a February 22, 1992 meeting with [[Roberto Antonio Leiva Jacobo]], whom Semana identified as an army colonel. The Colombians were lost to surveillance on February 25. Semana reports that five 500-pound bombs were taken from a battalion at the San Salvador airport on February 26, that Leiva and his men were arrested on March 4 with one of the bombs, after a small aircraft they had used left with part of the cargo, and that Leiva and his associates confessed that they had been hired by members of the Cali cartel, which paid four million dollars for the bombs.[^16]
### Later record
Webb's cast of characters lists Aguado as "Currently in San Salvador," and describes John Hull as having worked closely with suspected drug traffickers Aguado and [[Dagoberto Nunez]] on Contra projects in Costa Rica.[^2] Webb also writes that Aguado was a close associate of Hull, and that Morales said in testimony that Cesar and Aguado made clear that if he assisted them they could make his legal problems disappear.[^2]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends" [^1]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), section on Marcos Antonio Aguado in the Southern Front chapter, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html
[^2]: 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 the Cast of Characters entry for Aguado. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^3]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: The Cartel, Haiti and Central America*, Part 3, hearing of April 7, 1988, testimony of Jorge Morales (pp. 297-300) and the videotaped deposition of Marcos Aguado taken October 31, 1987 (pp. 277-286 as cited in the subcommittee report), https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0005
[^4]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), pp. 37, 50-52 and notes 74-84, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter XI, section on the debriefing of George Morales, https://irp.fas.org/agency/doj/oig/c4rpt/ch11p1.htm
[^6]: Celerino Castillo III and Dave Harmon, *Powderburns: Cocaine, Contras and the Drug War* (1994), pp. 141 and 143 (p. 143 also reports that Aguado, Cesar and Karol Prado gave depositions to Senator Kerry in Costa Rica), archive.org lending copy powderburnscocai00cast_0.
[^7]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), chapter on other individuals (John Hull; March 7, 1989 reporting; July 31, 1987 SSCI briefing transcript), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/other.html
[^8]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: Hearings Before the Subcommittees ... May 27, July 15, and October 30, 1987*, Part 1 (1988), testimony of Jorge Morales, July 15, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0003 Gary Webb, in Dark Alliance (1998) and its chapter notes to Chapter 13, dates the "CIA agents" statement to "1986 congressional testimony" and gives the dates April 7, 1986 and March 27, 1987.
[^9]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), chapter on pilots, companies and other individuals (October 24, 1984 Nicaraguan Program Summary; July 31, 1987 Fiers briefing; March 23, 1988 cable on Reyner Veliz Cruz), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/pilots.html
[^10]: *Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair*, Appendix B, Volume 20, deposition of Robert Owen, pp. 849-850, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152840_0248
[^11]: San Jose Mercury News, August 18, 1996 (Gary Webb, "Testimony Links U.S. to Drugs-Guns Trade Dealers Got Their 'Own Little Arsenal,'" the Dark Alliance series; newspaper text as reproduced at the URL), https://people.duke.edu/~ldbaker/clippings/da1.html.
[^12]: "Salvador airport said to be transfer point for arms to contras," *Christian Science Monitor*, October 10, 1986, https://proof.csmonitor.com/1986/1010/omerc.html
[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Appendix F (glossary of names), https://irp.fas.org/agency/doj/oig/c4rpt/appf.htm
[^14]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion* (Seven Stories Press, 1998), chapter notes to Chapter 13 (notes on "they told me they were CIA agents" and the Morales hearing dates).
[^15]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter VII, "Enrique Miranda-Jaime," sections A-E, https://irp.fas.org/agency/doj/oig/c4rpt/ch07.htm
[^16]: "¿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 in this section; the Cali cartel link is Semana's report of an unnamed Salvadoran government source and of the arrested men's statements.

23
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Meir Amit.md
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@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
aliases: aliases:
- Meir Amit - Meir Amit
category: "Intelligence & Government" category: "Intelligence & Government"
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Mossad]]"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Six-Day War]]"
start: 1967-05-31
end: 1967-06-05
role: "Mossad chief; Washington visit and meeting with McNamara before the war"
fn: 2
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
summary: "Meir Amit was the former chief of the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency." summary: "Meir Amit was the former chief of the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency."
@ -12,5 +22,18 @@ location: "Tiberias, Mandatory Palestine"
Meir Amit was the former chief of the [[Mossad]], [[Israel]]'s national intelligence agency. He was one of the high-profile Israeli figures who met with [[Uri Geller]], with reports indicating that Geller bent a spoon for him[^1]. Meir Amit was the former chief of the [[Mossad]], [[Israel]]'s national intelligence agency. He was one of the high-profile Israeli figures who met with [[Uri Geller]], with reports indicating that Geller bent a spoon for him[^1].
### Washington visit, May 31 to June 2, 1967
Major General Amit, then head of the Mossad, visited Washington from May 31 to June 2, 1967. On the afternoon of June 1 he met Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]]. Vice Admiral [[Rufus Taylor]], the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, wrote the memorandum of the conversation, which carries the handling caption "Personal and Eyes Only for the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence."[^2] The memorandum records that Amit described the blockade of the [[Strait of Tiran]] as "window dressing" for a Soviet-backed grand design he called the "Domino Effect," said that time was against Israel, that Israel had mobilized 100,000 people and that a pre-emptive air attack by the United Arab Republic was a main worry, said "there were no differences between the U.S. and the Israelis on the military intelligence picture or its interpretation" and that the Russian story of a planned attack on Syria was "a sheer fabrication," and said his remarks were informal and not an official representation of the Israeli government. McNamara told him he would be seeing the President shortly and would convey his views. After the meeting Amit wondered aloud whether he should have tried to see the President and whether he should stay longer; Taylor told him to go back to Israel as soon as possible.[^2]
At a conference on the war in June 1992, Amit said his objectives had included "to tell the Americans, I, Meir Amit, am going to recommend that our government strike," and said that McNamara told him "it was all right, the president knows that you are here and I have a direct line to the president," and asked how long a war would last, to which Amit answered "Seven days."[^3] [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, writes that [[Richard Helms]] met a senior Israeli official on June 1 who hinted that Israel could no longer avoid a decision, that the official left the United States on June 2, and that Helms wrote an "Eyes Only" letter to Johnson that morning forewarning that Israel would probably start a war within days.[^4]
On June 5, 1967, Amit met Ambassador [[Walworth Barbour]] and the presidential special counsel Harry C. McPherson, Jr. in Tel Aviv. [[Walt Rostow]] told Johnson that Amit argued there had been artillery fire on three Israeli villages and air incursions, and that the Israelis had then "punched all the buttons," and added: "At least that's his story."[^5]
### Footnotes ### 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. [^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]: 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
[^3]: 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), with the editors' note quoting Amit at the conference of June 3 to 5, 1992, in Richard B. Parker, ed., The Six-Day War: A Retrospective (University Press of Florida, 1996), pp. 139-140. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d124
[^4]: 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 For the June 1 to 2 meeting Robarge relies on published accounts, among them Michael B. Oren's, which rest on Amit's interviews and writings.
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 158, editors' note on telegram 3937 from Tel Aviv, June 5, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d158

41
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Moshe Dayan.md
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@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ tags:
- Stargate - Stargate
- CIA - CIA
- Military - Military
summary: "Dayan's rise to prominence began when David Ben-Gurion appointed him as the new army chief of staff in late 1953, with the strategic aim of ensuring that Moshe Sharett's dovish views on the Arab question would not go unchallenged." summary: "Israeli chief of staff, Defense Minister during the 1967 and 1973 wars and Foreign Minister, associated with the nuclear weapons program and in office during the 1967 USS Liberty attack."
born: 1915-05-20 born: 1915-05-20
died: 1981-10-16 died: 1981-10-16
location: "Deganya Alef, Ottoman Palestine" location: "Deganya Alef, Ottoman Palestine"
--- ---
[[Moshe Dayan]] (1915–1981) was a highly prominent [[Israel|Israeli]] military leader and politician, famous for his signature black eye-patch and his pivotal role in shaping [[Israel]]'s military doctrine and nuclear policy. Throughout his career, he served in various high-level positions including army chief of staff, Defense Minister, and Foreign Minister, while also developing an unusual passion for archaeological treasure hunting.[^1][^2][^3] Moshe Dayan (1915 to 1981) was a highly prominent [[Israel|Israeli]] military leader and politician, famous for his signature black eye-patch and his pivotal role in shaping Israel's military doctrine and nuclear policy. Throughout his career, he served in various high-level positions including army chief of staff, Defense Minister, and Foreign Minister, while also developing an unusual passion for archaeological treasure hunting.[^1][^2][^3]
### Early Military Leadership ### Early Military Leadership
@ -18,35 +18,37 @@ Dayan's rise to prominence began when [[David Ben-Gurion]] appointed him as the
### Major Military Campaigns and Nuclear Policy ### Major Military Campaigns and Nuclear Policy
As Defense Minister, [[Moshe Dayan|Dayan]] emerged as a hero of the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]] campaign, establishing his reputation as a formidable military strategist. His influence continued to grow, and in 1967, he became Defense Minister as part of the reconstituted coalition government under [[Levi Eshkol]]. In this capacity, he oversaw the capture of [[East Jerusalem]] during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], cementing his status as one of [[Israel]]'s most celebrated military leaders.[^2] As Defense Minister, Dayan emerged as a hero of the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]] campaign, establishing his reputation as a formidable military strategist. His influence continued to grow, and in 1967, he became Defense Minister as part of the reconstituted coalition government under [[Levi Eshkol]]. In this capacity, he oversaw the capture of [[East Jerusalem]] during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], cementing his status as one of Israel's most celebrated military leaders.[^2]
Dayan's involvement in [[Israel]]'s nuclear program was extensive and controversial. He was Defense Minister when [[Israel]] agreed to show the [[Dimona]] to [[United States|American]] inspectors, and when [[Israel]] refused to sign a [[United Nations]] agreement not to test nuclear weapons. During the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], when [[Syria|Syrian]] forces penetrated the [[Golan Heights]], [[Moshe Dayan|Dayan]] made the dramatic decision to order the arming of all 13 [[Israel|Israeli]] nuclear bombs and put 24 [[B-52 bombers]] on standby, bringing the region perilously close to nuclear conflict.[^2] Dayan's involvement in Israel's nuclear program was extensive and controversial. He was Defense Minister when Israel agreed to show the [[Dimona]] to [[United States|American]] inspectors, and when Israel refused to sign a [[United Nations]] agreement not to test nuclear weapons. During the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], when [[Syria|Syrian]] forces penetrated the [[Golan Heights]], Dayan made the dramatic decision to order the arming of all 13 Israeli nuclear bombs and put 24 [[B-52 bombers]] on standby, bringing the region perilously close to nuclear conflict.[^2]
His tenure as Defense Minister also included oversight of controversial military actions, including when [[Israel]] bombed the [[USS Liberty]] in 1967. Additionally, he managed [[Israel|Israel's]] efforts to develop its nuclear capabilities with new international partners, particularly [[South Africa]], after [[France]] severed relations following the 1967 war.[^2] A telegram from the American embassy in Tel Aviv of June 27, 1967 reported that Dayan's popularity had increased in recent weeks and that he "has been associated with those favoring the nuclear weapons development," and that if his star, and that of his associates Peres and Ben-Gurion, "who made the decisions to build Dimona," continued to rise, Israel might be led closer to the nuclear route.[^4] Hersh reports, on the account of [[James H. Critchfield]], that after the war Dayan and [[Zvi Zamir]] joined Critchfield and [[James Jesus Angleton]] of the CIA in an attempt to open land-for-peace negotiations with King Hussein of Jordan, and that the effort was stopped at a White House meeting.[^5]
Dayan's drive for the bomb was heightened by his conviction that [[Israel]] could not depend on [[America]] to deter a Soviet attack. He believed that [[Moscow]] would be willing to come to the aid of the Arabs to protect its prestige and international interests, and that unless [[Israel]] armed itself fully, the superpowers would dictate events in the [[Middle East]]. In Dayan's view, [[Israel]]'s survival was dependent on its ability to mass-produce nuclear weapons and target them at the [[Soviet Union]], mirroring [[France]]'s *force de frappe*.[^4] His tenure as Defense Minister also included the June 8, 1967 attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]], in which jet aircraft strafed the ship and torpedo boats torpedoed it.[^6] A CIA memorandum of June 21, 1967 states that IDF Headquarters had identified the ship "probably more than four hours before the attack"; the Israeli court of inquiry's preliminary findings, as read to the American naval attache on June 17, called the attack an "innocent mistake."[^7][^8] Additionally, he managed Israel's efforts to develop its nuclear capabilities with new international partners, particularly [[South Africa]], after [[France]] severed relations following the 1967 war.[^2]
Dayan's mission in late 1967 and early 1968 was to convince his fellow cabinet members that a credible Israeli nuclear threat would deter the Soviets from supporting an all-out Arab attack on [[Israel]] or supplying an Arab nation with nuclear weapons. He envisioned a scenario where Israeli intelligence agents would secretly inform their Soviet counterparts once [[Dimona]]'s assembly line went into full production, and when [[Israel]] developed its first bomb in a suitcase. For the rest of the world, including the [[United States]], there would still be studied ambiguity on the question of whether [[Israel]] had the bomb, thus giving birth to the argument for an Israeli "bomb in the basement."[^4] Dayan's drive for the bomb was heightened by his conviction that Israel could not depend on [[America]] to deter a Soviet attack. He believed that [[Moscow]] would be willing to come to the aid of the Arabs to protect its prestige and international interests, and that unless Israel armed itself fully, the superpowers would dictate events in the [[Middle East]]. In Dayan's view, Israel's survival was dependent on its ability to mass-produce nuclear weapons and target them at the [[Soviet Union]], mirroring France's *force de frappe*.[^9]
During the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], Dayan's panic on Monday, October 8, was widely known among Israelis. He assessed the situation as desperate, stating, "Everything is lost. We must withdraw." This led to a dramatic meeting in [[Golda Meir]]'s office, where the Israeli leadership resolved to implement three critical decisions: rally its collapsing forces for a major counterattack; arm and target its nuclear arsenal in the event of total collapse and subsequent need for the [[Samson Option]]; and inform [[Washington, D.C.]] of its unprecedented nuclear action to demand an emergency airlift of replacement arms and ammunition.[^5] Dayan's mission in late 1967 and early 1968 was to convince his fellow cabinet members that a credible Israeli nuclear threat would deter the Soviets from supporting an all-out Arab attack on Israel or supplying an Arab nation with nuclear weapons. He envisioned a scenario where Israeli intelligence agents would secretly inform their Soviet counterparts once Dimona's assembly line went into full production, and when Israel developed its first bomb in a suitcase. For the rest of the world, including the United States, there would still be studied ambiguity on the question of whether Israel had the bomb, thus giving birth to the argument for an Israeli "bomb in the basement."[^9]
Dayan's standing among his peers in the military and the upper echelons of the Israeli government declined due to his incessant womanizing, financial dealings, and propensity to talk. He was considered a "loose cannon" at a time when [[Israel]] was in a precarious situation. While he lost no authority, it was eventually made clear to him that he was no longer welcome at [[Dimona]], as he no longer had a military need to know anything about the Israeli nuclear program, which was being managed out of the prime minister's office.[^5] During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Dayan's panic on Monday, October 8, was widely known among Israelis. He assessed the situation as desperate, stating, "Everything is lost. We must withdraw." This led to a dramatic meeting in [[Golda Meir]]'s office, where the Israeli leadership resolved to implement three critical decisions: rally its collapsing forces for a major counterattack; arm and target its nuclear arsenal in the event of total collapse and subsequent need for the [[Samson Option]]; and inform [[Washington, D.C.]] of its unprecedented nuclear action to demand an emergency airlift of replacement arms and ammunition.[^10]
His perspective on the Palestinian problem remained notably limited. Along with [[Golda Meir]], he believed the Palestinian issue would eventually resolve itself, a view that reflected the thinking of many [[Israel|Israeli]] leaders of his generation but would prove overly optimistic in the decades that followed.[^2] Dayan's standing among his peers in the military and the upper echelons of the Israeli government declined due to his incessant womanizing, financial dealings, and propensity to talk. He was considered a "loose cannon" at a time when Israel was in a precarious situation. While he lost no authority, it was eventually made clear to him that he was no longer welcome at Dimona, as he no longer had a military need to know anything about the Israeli nuclear program, which was being managed out of the prime minister's office.[^10]
His perspective on the Palestinian problem remained notably limited. Along with Golda Meir, he believed the Palestinian issue would eventually resolve itself, a view that reflected the thinking of many Israeli leaders of his generation but would prove overly optimistic in the decades that followed.[^2]
### Archaeological Pursuits and Psychic Collaborations ### Archaeological Pursuits and Psychic Collaborations
Beyond his official duties, Dayan developed an illicit pastime of digging up archaeological treasures across [[Israel]] and the [[Sinai Desert|Sinai]] without a license or scientific oversight. His unconventional method for finding ancient sites often involved "visions" he experienced early in the morning. He would then drive to these sites, comb through the earth, and bring home relics for display in his home. The dangers of this unauthorized archaeological work became evident in 1968, when he was badly injured by a landslide while looting artifacts from a cave.[^1] Beyond his official duties, Dayan developed an illicit pastime of digging up archaeological treasures across Israel and the [[Sinai Desert|Sinai]] without a license or scientific oversight. His unconventional method for finding ancient sites often involved "visions" he experienced early in the morning. He would then drive to these sites, comb through the earth, and bring home relics for display in his home. The dangers of this unauthorized archaeological work became evident in 1968, when he was badly injured by a landslide while looting artifacts from a cave.[^1]
In the summer of 1970, Dayan began an unusual collaboration with [[Uri Geller]], who was then becoming [[Israel|Israel's]] most famous psychic. Geller recalls spending hours over maps, using an ancient form of [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyance]] called [[Dowsing]] to help Dayan locate ancient artifacts and archaeological finds illegally. Reflecting on this period, Geller later stated, "I was young and naïve at the time. Here I was, talking to the Moshe Dayan."[^1] In the summer of 1970, Dayan began an unusual collaboration with [[Uri Geller]], who was then becoming Israel's most famous psychic. Geller recalls spending hours over maps, using an ancient form of [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyance]] called [[Dowsing]] to help Dayan locate ancient artifacts and archaeological finds illegally. Reflecting on this period, Geller later stated, "I was young and naïve at the time. Here I was, talking to the Moshe Dayan."[^1]
This controversial partnership came to an end in 1971 after a group of twenty [[Israel|Israeli]] archaeologists signed a petition urging Dayan to give up his "legally questionable hobby." While Dayan discussed his illegally acquired collection in his 1978 memoir, _Living with the Bible_, he notably did not mention using Geller as a map dowser, perhaps seeking to distance himself from the more eccentric aspects of his archaeological pursuits.[^1] This controversial partnership came to an end in 1971 after a group of twenty Israeli archaeologists signed a petition urging Dayan to give up his "legally questionable hobby." While Dayan discussed his illegally acquired collection in his 1978 memoir, _Living with the Bible_, he notably did not mention using Geller as a map dowser, perhaps seeking to distance himself from the more eccentric aspects of his archaeological pursuits.[^1]
### Diplomatic Career and Political Philosophy ### Diplomatic Career and Political Philosophy
In his later political career, [[Moshe Dayan|Dayan]] transitioned to diplomatic roles, serving as Foreign Minister and becoming a key figure who urged [[Menachem Begin]] to sign the [[Camp David summit|Camp David Accords]]. [[Menachem Begin|Begin]] reluctantly agreed to the accords under significant pressure from [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]], with Dayan's advocacy playing a crucial role in this historic peace agreement.[^2] In his later political career, Dayan transitioned to diplomatic roles, serving as Foreign Minister and becoming a key figure who urged [[Menachem Begin]] to sign the [[Camp David summit|Camp David Accords]]. Begin reluctantly agreed to the accords under significant pressure from [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]], with Dayan's advocacy playing a crucial role in this historic peace agreement.[^2]
Despite his military prowess and diplomatic involvement, Dayan's perspective on the Palestinian problem remained notably limited. Along with [[Golda Meir]], he believed the Palestinian issue would eventually resolve itself, a view that reflected the thinking of many [[Israel|Israeli]] leaders of his generatzion but would prove overly optimistic in the decades that followed.[^2] Despite his military prowess and diplomatic involvement, Dayan's perspective on the Palestinian problem remained notably limited. Along with Golda Meir, he believed the Palestinian issue would eventually resolve itself, a view that reflected the thinking of many Israeli leaders of his generatzion but would prove overly optimistic in the decades that followed.[^2]
### Publications ### Publications
@ -57,5 +59,10 @@ Despite his military prowess and diplomatic involvement, Dayan's perspective on
[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. _Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis_. Little, Brown and Company, 2017. [^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]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. _Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network_. TrineDay, 1992. [^2]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. _Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network_. TrineDay, 1992.
[^3]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3. [^3]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3.
[^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 13. [^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 326, Telegram 4311 from the Embassy in Israel (Barbour) to the Department of State, June 27, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d326
[^5]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17. [^5]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 14, p. 185, footnote. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^6]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 284, Intelligence Memorandum, "The Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty," June 13, 1967, with source note on Helms's notes of the June 12 meeting and Rostow's covering memorandum of June 13. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d284
[^7]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 317, Intelligence Memorandum, June 21, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d317
[^8]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 307, Telegram from the Defense Attache Office in Israel to the White House, June 18, 1967, "Israeli Court of Inquiry in USS Liberty incident." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d307
[^9]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 13.
[^10]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.

12
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Octaviano Cesar.md
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@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: Octaviano Cesar
aliases: aliases:
- Octaviano Cesar - Octaviano Cesar
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Organized Crime" category: "Organized Crime"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Octaviano Cesar was the former social director of [[Norwin Meneses]]'s VIP night
### Drug Deals for the Contras ### Drug Deals for the Contras
In March 1984, Cesar and two other Contra officials close to the CIA - ARDE logistics chief Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro and ARDE air force commander [[Marcos Aguado]] - met with Colombian drug trafficker [[George Morales]] at his offices in Fort Lauderdale and asked him to contribute to [[Eden Pastora|Eden Pastora's]] [[ARDE]] Contra army. "During our conversation they told me they were CIA agents. Two of them said they were, Octaviano Cesar and Marcos Aguado," Morales testified before Congress.[^1] In March 1984, Cesar and two other Contra officials close to the CIA, ARDE logistics chief [[Adolfo Chamorro|Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro]] and ARDE air force commander [[Marcos Aguado]], met with Colombian drug trafficker [[George Morales]] at his offices in Fort Lauderdale and asked him to contribute to [[Eden Pastora|Eden Pastora's]] [[ARDE]] Contra army. "During our conversation they told me they were CIA agents. Two of them said they were, Octaviano Cesar and Marcos Aguado," Morales testified before the Senate subcommittee, on July 15, 1987 and again on April 7, 1988.[^1][^2][^3]
Cesar assured Morales that if he assisted the Contras, his pending cocaine indictment would be resolved through CIA intervention. Cesar "told me he had plenty of friends, being him, the CIA, can advise the superiors about my financial support and airplane and training and therefore they will finally, eventually, will take care of my problem, which they did," Morales testified.[^1] Cesar assured Morales that if he assisted the Contras, his pending cocaine indictment would be resolved through CIA intervention. Cesar "told me he had plenty of friends, being him, the CIA, can advise the superiors about my financial support and airplane and training and therefore they will finally, eventually, will take care of my problem, which they did," Morales testified.[^1]
@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ In a 1996 interview with the Washington Post, Cesar said the CIA was fully aware
When money from drug sales was collected, Carrasco delivered it to Cesar and Chamorro, "sometimes in the United States, sometimes in Costa Rica. . .I paid a lot of money, maybe millions." After the exposure of Pastora's involvement with drug dealers, Cesar quickly joined forces with the CIA's new Contra army replacing Pastora.[^1] When money from drug sales was collected, Carrasco delivered it to Cesar and Chamorro, "sometimes in the United States, sometimes in Costa Rica. . .I paid a lot of money, maybe millions." After the exposure of Pastora's involvement with drug dealers, Cesar quickly joined forces with the CIA's new Contra army replacing Pastora.[^1]
### The 1984 Bahamas Trip
A Customs Service record given to the Senate subcommittee showed Morales entering the United States from the [[Bahamas]] on October 13, 1984 with Cesar, Aguado and Chamorro, and the three declared $400,000 in cash and checks, which they said had been returned to Morales after clearing customs. Cesar's videotaped deposition of October 31, 1987 in San José was played at the April 1988 hearing; the subcommittee reported that Cesar, Aguado and Karol Prado each denied receiving more than $10,000 from Morales personally and each confirmed elements of Morales's account.[^4] In April 1987 CIA Security interviewed Cesar about his association with Morales. Cesar said the purpose of the Bahamas trip was to test Aguado's flying skills, and that he knew of no other purpose until the return flight, when Morales asked Cesar and Chamorro to claim several checks as theirs when clearing U.S. Customs. He said he had suspected Morales was involved with drug money, but that his wish to help the Southern Front drove him to work with Morales.[^5]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction" [^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction"
[^2]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: Hearings ... May 27, July 15, and October 30, 1987*, Part 1 (1988), testimony of Jorge Morales, July 15, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0003
[^3]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: The Cartel, Haiti and Central America*, Part 3, hearing of April 7, 1988, testimony of Jorge Morales (pp. 297 to 300) and videotaped depositions of October 31, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0005. Gary Webb, in Dark Alliance (1998), dates the "CIA agents" statement to 1986 congressional testimony, and his chapter notes give April 7, 1986 and March 27, 1987.
[^4]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), pp. 37, 50 to 52, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^5]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), Octaviano Cesar section of the Southern Front chapter, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html

6
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Richard DeLauer.md
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@ -9,11 +9,17 @@ summary: "Richard DeLauer was the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Eng
born: 1918-09-26 born: 1918-09-26
died: 1990-04-22 died: 1990-04-22
location: "Oakland, California" location: "Oakland, California"
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Richard DeLauer was the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. He was an alumnus of [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]], the same institution where [[Qian Xuesen|H. S. Tsien]] had studied and co-founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory[^1]. Richard DeLauer was the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. He was an alumnus of [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]], the same institution where [[Qian Xuesen|H. S. Tsien]] had studied and co-founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory[^1].
DeLauer was aware of the power and influence wielded by Tsien, whom he called the "elder statesman" of Chinese scientific technology and development. After receiving [[Hal Puthoff]]'s sixty-page classified report, "Psychoenergetics Research in the People’s Republic of China (1982)," and a back-up briefing, DeLauer signed a memo allocating additional resources, Program Six funds, for the psychic research program [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] (later renamed Star Gate)[^1]. DeLauer was aware of the power and influence wielded by Tsien, whom he called the "elder statesman" of Chinese scientific technology and development. After receiving [[Hal Puthoff]]'s sixty-page classified report, "Psychoenergetics Research in the People’s Republic of China (1982)," and a back-up briefing, DeLauer signed a memo allocating additional resources, Program Six funds, for the psychic research program [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] (later renamed Star Gate)[^1].
An INSCOM information paper of February 21, 1983 states that "The Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) Memo dated 19 Jan 83, has lifted the prohibition on the use of P6 funds in support of Project GRILL FLAME," that the Director of the GDIP Program, Mr. Hurwitz, "wrote the Memo for the Under Secretary," and that one of Hurwitz's objectives was to "Keep the SRI team intact - Use the Dr DeLaurer Memo to get funds to SRI." The paper states that, based on the memorandum, Dr. [[Jack Vorona]] of the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] had obtained or received a commitment of $200,000 from [[DARPA]].[^2] A paper of February 28, 1983 asks the assistant chief of staff for intelligence to clarify the wording of the "Dr DeLauer Memo," quoting it as stating "... Program 6 resources may be used to maintain the current Army INSCOM capability...", and whether it limits INSCOM to the five people authorized by Congress in fiscal 1982.[^3]
### Footnotes ### 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. [^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]: 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
[^3]: INSCOM information paper IAOPS-H, "Information for ACSI-INSCOM Meeting," February 28, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030007-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030007-5.pdf

15
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Richard S. Cesaro.md
View file

@ -7,9 +7,18 @@ tags:
- Person - Person
- Researcher - Researcher
summary: "Under Cesaro's direction, scientists with Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory constructed an elaborate facility inside the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research." summary: "Under Cesaro's direction, scientists with Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory constructed an elaborate facility inside the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research."
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]]"
start: 1967
role: "Advanced Sensors office (acting director in September 1967)"
fn: 2
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Richard S. Cesaro was a scientist at the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA) and was in charge of [[Project Pandora]], a classified program initiated by the [[Pentagon]] to duplicate the effects of the [[Moscow Signal]]. The Moscow Signal was a series of microwave beams aimed at the [[U.S. Embassy in Moscow]] by the [[Soviet Union]], believed to be an [[Electromagnetic Weapons|electromagnetic weapon]] designed to adversely affect the behavior of embassy personnel[^1]. Richard S. Cesaro was a scientist at the [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA) and was in charge of [[Project Pandora]], a classified program initiated by the [[Pentagon]] to duplicate the effects of the [[Moscow Signal]]. The Moscow Signal was a series of microwave beams aimed at the [[U.S. Embassy in Moscow]] by the [[Soviet Union]], believed to be an [[Electromagnetic Weapons|electromagnetic weapon]] designed to adversely affect the behavior of embassy personnel[^1].
A declassified ARPA memorandum of September 27, 1967, ARPA-AS-TS-67-20, on Project BIZARRE, addressed to the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, is signed by Cesaro as acting director of Advanced Sensors. It refers to Top Secret memoranda of the Deputy Director, Advanced Sensors, of December 15, 1966 and June 28, 1967 on Projects PANDORA and BIZARRE, and to an Air Force Avionics Laboratory memorandum of August 15, 1967 addressed to "Mr. Cesaro." It reports that the latest embassy power levels "were always below 50 microwatts/cm2 (. 05 mw/cm2)," and states that "The ARPA test results have demonstrated the feasibility of causing adverse biological effects on the central nervous system of primates."[^2]
Under Cesaro's direction, scientists with [[Johns Hopkins University]]'s Applied Physics Laboratory constructed an elaborate facility inside the [[Walter Reed Army Institute of Research]]. There, in an anechoic chamber, primates were irradiated with microwave beams with a power density similar to that of the Moscow Signal[^1]. Under Cesaro's direction, scientists with [[Johns Hopkins University]]'s Applied Physics Laboratory constructed an elaborate facility inside the [[Walter Reed Army Institute of Research]]. There, in an anechoic chamber, primates were irradiated with microwave beams with a power density similar to that of the Moscow Signal[^1].
@ -20,4 +29,6 @@ Cesaro vehemently disagreed with those who insisted the Moscow Signal was harmle
In 1969, the [[Department of Defense]] quietly expanded ARPA's Project Pandora to include "the human," with highly classified studies code-named Big Boy and Project Bizarre projecting microwave beams at unwitting sailors stationed in the Philadelphia Naval Yard[^1]. In 1969, the [[Department of Defense]] quietly expanded ARPA's Project Pandora to include "the human," with highly classified studies code-named Big Boy and Project Bizarre projecting microwave beams at unwitting sailors stationed in the Philadelphia Naval Yard[^1].
### Footnotes ### 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.
[^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]: ARPA memorandum ARPA-AS-TS-67-20, "Project BIZARRE," September 27, 1967, signed Richard S. Cesaro, Acting Director, Advanced Sensors, declassified copy, National Security Archive. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/rhwvuj-tzy4b/08.pdf

124
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Stephen Deckoff.md
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@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
--- ---
aliases: aliases:
- Stephen H. Deckoff - Stephen H. Deckoff
- Stephen Henry Deckoff
- Steve Deckoff - Steve Deckoff
- Deckoff
category: "Business & Finance" category: "Business & Finance"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -9,52 +11,134 @@ tags:
- HedgeFund - HedgeFund
- VirginIslands - VirginIslands
- JeffreyEpstein - JeffreyEpstein
- EpsteinLibrary
- Property - Property
- EconomicDevelopmentCommission - EconomicDevelopmentCommission
summary: "Stephen Deckoff is the founder of Black Diamond Capital Management and a U.S. Virgin Islands resident since 2011 who bought Jeffrey Epstein's Little St. James and Great St. James from the estate in 2023." - CampaignFinance
summary: "Stephen H. Deckoff is the founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, a Virgin Islands resident since 2011, whose entity SD Investments bought Jeffrey Epstein's Little St. James and Great St. James in 2023."
location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands" location: "St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands"
relations: relations:
- type: founded - type: founded
with: "[[Black Diamond Capital Management]]" with: "[[Black Diamond Capital Management]]"
role: "founder and managing principal" role: "founder, 1995"
fn: 1 start: 1995
fn: 3
- type: head_of - type: head_of
with: "[[Black Diamond Capital Management]]"
role: "managing principal (Form ADV Schedule A)"
fn: 4
- type: owned
with: "[[SD Investments]]" with: "[[SD Investments]]"
fn: 1 role: "member, 75 percent or more (Form ADV Schedule B)"
start: 1997-02
fn: 4
- type: owned - type: owned
with: "[[Little St. James]]" with: "[[Little St. James]]"
start: 2023-05 start: 2023-05
role: "through SD Investments" role: "through SD Investments"
fn: 1 fn: 2
- type: owned - type: owned
with: "[[Great St. James]]" with: "[[Great St. James]]"
start: 2023-05 start: 2023-05
role: "through SD Investments" role: "through SD Investments"
fn: 1 fn: 2
- type: director_of
with: "[[KVH Industries]]"
start: 2026-08-20
role: "director (Form 4 dated August 20, 2026)"
fn: 20
- type: funded
with: "[[Emmer for Congress]]"
start: 2025-05-27
role: "two itemized contributions of 3,500 dollars each, 7,000 dollars total"
fn: 23
created: 2026-09-25 created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Stephen Deckoff is an American investor, founder and managing principal of the credit and distressed-investment firm [[Black Diamond Capital Management]], and a resident of the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] since 2011. In May 2023 his firm SD Investments bought [[Little St. James]] and [[Great St. James]], the two islands off [[St. Thomas]] owned by [[Jeffrey Epstein]], from Epstein's estate for 60 million dollars, less than half the 125 million dollar asking price set in March 2022, announcing a 25-room luxury resort to open in 2025. As of February 2026 no resort had been built and the only construction permit he had sought was for a warehouse. Companies affiliated with Black Diamond have held tax benefits from the territory's [[Economic Development Commission]] since 2012, and a 2014 email in the [[Epstein Files|Epstein files]] shows Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]] asking Epstein's pilot to look into the firm; Deckoff's name does not appear in the files, and it is unclear whether the two men had any association.[^1][^2][^3] Stephen H. Deckoff is an American investor, the founder and managing principal of the credit and distressed-investment firm [[Black Diamond Capital Management]], and a resident of the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] since 2011.[^1] In May 2023 his entity [[SD Investments]] bought [[Little St. James]] and [[Great St. James]], the two islands off [[St. Thomas]] that had belonged to [[Jeffrey Epstein]], from Epstein's estate for 60 million dollars, less than half of the initial asking price of 125 million dollars.[^1][^2]
### Black Diamond ### Early career
Deckoff founded Black Diamond Capital Management, and in the SD Investments announcement described his career as "crafting and executing plans to turn distressed situations into successful enterprises, across numerous companies and industries." Black Diamond has related companies including Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings, both of which have received Economic Development Commission tax-incentive benefits since 2012, the same program under which Epstein's [[Southern Trust Company]] received its certificate. SD Investments said Deckoff had supported the territory's economic development after the back-to-back hurricanes of 2017 closed several of its resorts.[^1][^2] Forbes described Deckoff as a native of New York City who moved to the Virgin Islands in 2011. Forbes reported that he built a fortune in private equity, working his way up at several firms, including [[Drexel Burnham|Drexel Burnham Lambert]], [[Bear Stearns]] and [[Kidder, Peabody & Co.]], before striking out on his own in 1995 with Black Diamond Capital. Forbes estimated his net worth at 3 billion dollars and said the firm managed some 9 billion dollars in assets.[^1] The firm's website as archived in 2020 stated that it was founded in 1995 by Deckoff and managed more than 8 billion dollars across credit, distressed-credit and private-equity platforms.[^3] The May 2023 release described his career as "crafting and executing plans to turn distressed situations into successful enterprises, across numerous companies and industries," and said that after the back-to-back hurricanes of 2017 closed several territorial resorts he had supported the area's economic development.[^2]
### Epstein's Staff and Black Diamond, 2014 ### Black Diamond Capital Management
On May 16, 2014, Kahn asked Epstein's pilot [[Larry Visoski]] to "poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading," having heard that the company was trying to buy the St. Thomas Jet Center. "They appear to be an nyc hedge fund" with "an office in stt as an EDC company as well," Kahn wrote. "who are principals? type of plane? tail? anything else relevant." Visoski replied, "Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive," supplied the tail number of the Black Diamond Learjet, said the aircraft would be arriving on St. Thomas soon, and asked, "can you ask if you want me to introduce myself?" Kahn forwarded the information to Epstein with links to Black Diamond Capital Management's website, told him that "Larry has obtained some good info on them," and asked whether Visoski should "meet the aircraft and poke around." Visoski was listed as sole manager of Plan D LLC, the Virgin Islands company that owned Epstein's Gulfstream, until a July 2019 filing named Epstein as its principal.[^2][^4] The principal office of the firm, as given in its Form ADV filed with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission|U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]], is 5330 Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas, with a mailing address in [[Stamford, Connecticut]]. Item 5.F of the filing reports total regulatory assets under management of 10,714,142,774 dollars. Schedule A lists Deckoff as managing principal and a control person with an ownership code of E, meaning 75 percent or more. Schedule B lists SD Investments, LLC, a domestic entity, as holding 75 percent or more of [[Black Diamond Capital Holdings]], and lists Deckoff as holding 75 percent or more of SD Investments. The firm's state notice filings are dated 2010 for Connecticut and April 1, 2013 for the Virgin Islands.[^4]
### The Islands
The Epstein estate listed the two islands in March 2022 at 125 million dollars. Under the estate's November 2022 settlement with the Virgin Islands government, half the proceeds of the Little St. James sale went to the territory, about 11 million dollars, and the estate was required to sell both islands to independent third parties and wind down its business in the territory. SD Investments announced the purchase on May 3, 2023. "I've been proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination befitting its natural grace and beauty," Deckoff said.[^1][^3][^5] ### Business card in the Epstein Library
Deckoff applied in December 2025 for a Coastal Zone Management major permit to replace a metal-framed warehouse on Little St. James with an 8,800 square foot semicircular concrete warehouse over a cistern. The territory's Coastal Zone Management director, Marlon Hibbert, said in February 2026 that the application remained incomplete because no environmental assessment had been submitted. Attempts to reach Deckoff for comment were unsuccessful.[^2] A business card for "Stephen H. Deckoff, Managing Principal" at Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C., with an office at One Sound Shore Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut, appears in the [[Epstein Files]] material released by the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] in Data Set 9 as document EFTA01204007, a single-page photograph of the card lying on a concrete surface, with the telephone and fax numbers redacted. The card is undated.[^5][^6] The document numbered immediately before it in the same data set, EFTA01204006, is a screenshot of the [[ForeFlight]] aviation application on an iPad on the AT&T network, with the device clock at 5:49 PM, a weather radar timestamp of 5:40 PM AST, and the route "TIST KEWR" (Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas, to [[Newark Liberty International Airport]]) entered in the search field and drawn on the map.[^7]
### Epstein's staff and Black Diamond, 2014
On May 16, 2014, at 5:15 PM, Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]] wrote to Epstein's pilot [[Larry Visoski]]: "Can you poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading as Danny says they are trying to buy Jet Center." Kahn added, "They appear to be an nyc hedge fund with an office in stt as an EDC company as well," and asked, "who are principals? type of plane? tail? anything else relevant.."[^8]
At 5:40 PM Visoski replied with a message reading "LearJet 60," "N114BD," and "Is Blackdiamond." At 6:08 PM he wrote, "Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive," and "They arrived this evening at 7 PM in the Learjet, can you ask if you want me to introduce myself?"[^8][^9]
At 6:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time, according to the quoted header in the reply, Kahn forwarded the exchange to Epstein. He wrote, "after speaking with Danny it appears these are the black diamond guys trying to buy aircraft," linked two pages of the firm's website, wrote that "larry has obtained some good info on them," and asked, "should larry meet the aircraft and poke around with them tonight at 7:30pm?" A reply from the account "jeffrey E." to Kahn reads "yes why not?" and carries a header time of Friday, May 16, 2014, 10:35 PM. Kahn's forward of the same chain to Visoski carries a header time of 10:18 PM on the same date.[^9]
Visoski was listed in the original Articles of Organization of Plan D, LLC, filed October 19, 2012, and in its annual reports as the company's sole manager and member. The territory's Second Amended Complaint in the Epstein estate case states that the July 31, 2019 annual report named Epstein as the principal behind the company, which owned or operated some of the aircraft that Epstein used.[^10]
### The aircraft and the tail number
The FAA's releasable aircraft database, downloaded October 8, 2026, lists the mark N114BD as a 2009 Dassault Falcon 7X (serial number 42) registered to Black Diamond Aviation Group LLC, 1 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 200, Greenwich, Connecticut, with a certificate issued November 4, 2023.[^11] The deregistered-aircraft file of the same database lists a 1999 [[Learjet]] 60 (serial number 166) under the mark N112BD, with the registration cancelled on July 1, 2025 under the status "sale reported."[^11] A listing of FAA registry records for Greenwich, Connecticut shows N114BD on a 1999 Learjet 60 (serial number 166, certificate issued December 9, 2004) registered to Black Diamond Aviation Group LLC, and on the 2009 Falcon 7X (serial number 42, certificate issued December 12, 2017) registered to Bdag 7x LLC.[^12]
### The islands
The two islands went on the market in March 2022 with an asking price of 125 million dollars.[^13] The estate's settlement with the Virgin Islands government, announced in December 2022, required the estate to pay the territory 105 million dollars in cash, plus one half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James. It also required the estate to sell Little St. James and Great St. James to independent third parties and to wind down its business in the territory.[^14] SD Investments announced the purchase on May 3, 2023.[^2] The release quoted Deckoff: "I've been proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination befitting its natural grace and beauty."[^2] Forbes reported that Deckoff said he had never met Epstein and had never set foot on the islands until they were marketed following Epstein's 2019 death.[^1] Forbes wrote that the settlement gives the government half the proceeds from the sale of the islands, which it put at about 30 million dollars, to be placed in a trust for counseling and other services for victims. Carlson reported that half the sale price of Little St. James came to about 11 million dollars.[^15]
The May 2023 release announced a five-star, 25-room luxury resort "anticipated to open in 2025," and Forbes reported that Deckoff said he planned to open it in about two years.[^1][^2] [[Suzanne Carlson]] of the [[Virgin Islands Daily News]] reported in February 2026 that no resort had been built and that the only construction permit Deckoff had requested was for an 8,800 square foot warehouse on Little St. James, and that the application for a Coastal Zone Management major permit was submitted in December 2025.[^15] Carlson wrote that the Daily News reviewed the application, which describes replacing an existing metal-framed warehouse with a single large semicircular concrete warehouse over a new concrete cistern. The [[Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources]] coastal zone management director, [[Marlon Hibbert]], said that the application was still incomplete because no environmental assessment had been submitted. Carlson wrote that attempts to reach Deckoff for comment were unsuccessful.[^15]
### Economic Development Commission benefits
Carlson reported that Black Diamond Advisors and Black Diamond Holdings had received tax-incentive benefits from the [[Economic Development Commission]] since 2012.[^15] The territory's suit against the Epstein estate alleged that [[Southern Trust Company]], an Epstein company, made fraudulent misrepresentations to the authority about its qualifications for those benefits, and the 2022 settlement returns more than 80 million dollars in such benefits.[^14] The annual reports of the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]] name the firm's affiliates. Its fiscal 2016 report lists [[Black Diamond Advisors, LLLP]] and [[Black Diamond Holding, LLLP]] among the site visits for beneficiaries.[^16] Its 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.[^17]
### Jet Center
The 2014 email chain says that Black Diamond Trading was "trying to buy Jet Center." In November 2018, [[Signature Flight Support]] agreed to buy the [[St. Thomas Jet Center]] and its affiliate [[Alliance Aviation]], according to Aviation International News. The report says that [[Michael Hancock]] and [[Susan Hancock]] had owned the St. Thomas fixed-base operator for more than two decades and would remain with the business.[^18]
### PTC Alliance Acquisition, 2009
In October 2009, [[PTC Alliance]], a steel-tubing maker, filed a Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company had signed an asset purchase agreement with funds managed by Black Diamond Capital Management, the pre-petition term lenders, to act as a "stalking horse" bidder for substantially all of its assets under Section 363. Deckoff, identified as managing principal of Black Diamond Capital Management LLC, said: "Our proposed transaction will establish a new corporation with a stronger balance sheet and lower cost structure that it will be well positioned now and in the future to provide PTC's customers with high-quality tubing products and precision components."[^19]
### Filings naming Deckoff
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lists Deckoff as a reporting person on Forms 3 and 4 for several issuers. A Form 3 with a reporting date of August 19, 2022, and a Form 4 dated August 20, 2026, record him as a 10 percent owner of [[KVH Industries]]. The 2026 Form 4 also marks him as a director.[^20] A Form 4 for [[Hawaiian Telcom Holdco]], with a reporting date of March 20, 2017, records him as a 10 percent owner. The EDGAR index also lists Forms 3 and 4 for [[Tropicana Entertainment]] (2010), [[Viasystems Group]] (2013 and 2015) and [[Consumer Portfolio Services]] (2021 and 2022).[^20]
### Schedule 13D and 13G filings
Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. (CIK 0001282197) and Deckoff are joint reporting persons on Schedule 13D statements for two issuers in 2022 and 2023. In Amendment No. 3 to its Schedule 13D for Consumer Portfolio Services (event date March 10, 2022, filed March 14, 2022), the two reported shared voting and dispositive power over 4,647,042 shares, 22.05 percent of the class, bought for approximately 21,156,734.98 dollars from the capital of Black Diamond investment vehicles. The filing states that on March 10, 2022 the reporting persons told the company's chief executive officer and chief financial officer that they wished to propose two nominees for the board, Deckoff and James E. Walker III, and that a nomination letter was submitted on March 14, 2022.[^21] In Amendment No. 1 to its Schedule 13D for KVH Industries (event date February 3, 2023), the two reported shared power over 3,298,597 shares, 17.20 percent of the class. The filing states that on February 3, 2023 they entered a cooperation agreement with the company under which the board agreed to nominate and support Deckoff as a Class III director at the 2023 annual meeting and to waive the company's stockholder rights plan so that the reporting persons could acquire up to 25 percent of the shares; the amendment refers to an original Schedule 13D filed August 26, 2022.[^21]
The EDGAR full-text index also lists Schedule 13D filings by Black Diamond Capital Management for Hawaiian Telcom Holdco (February 25, 2016 and July 10, 2018), Schedule 13G filings for Hawaiian Telcom Holdco (2012 to 2015), Viasystems Group (July 8, 2015), Saratoga Investment Corp (2014 to 2024) and Canterbury Park Holding Corp (2022 to 2024), and Form D notices for funds including BDCM Opportunity Fund III, L.P. (December 21, 2010) and Black Diamond Credit Strategies, L.P. (2017 to 2026).[^22]
### Political giving and philanthropy
The [[Federal Election Commission]] records two itemized contributions of 3,500 dollars each, both dated May 27, 2025, from a contributor named Stephen H. Deckoff of Stamford, Connecticut, to [[Emmer for Congress]].[^23] Forbes reported that Deckoff had given more than 1.2 million dollars to nonprofits in the Virgin Islands, mostly to private schools and nature-preservation organizations.[^1]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: "SD Investments Announces Acquisition of Great St. James and Little St. James Islands in the United States Virgin Islands." *PR Newswire,* May 3, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sd-investments-announces-acquisition-of-great-st-james-and-little-st-james-islands-in-the-united-states-virgin-islands-301815032.html [^1]: Chang, Richard J. "Exclusive: Billionaire Investor Buys Jeffrey Epstein's Private Islands For $60 Million." *Forbes,* May 2023. 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.), filed July 24, 2023; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02810216. 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. Sole source for the passages so cited (the statement that Deckoff never met Epstein, and the Forbes figure for the government share of sale proceeds). Suzanne Carlson of the Virgin Islands Daily News wrote on February 6, 2026 that Deckoff's name did not appear to be in the files and that it was unclear whether the two men had any association before Epstein's death.
[^2]: 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 (warehouse permit; Hibbert statement; Black Diamond Advisors and Holdings EDC benefits since 2012; May 16, 2014 Kahn and Visoski emails; Deckoff not named in the files). [^2]: "SD Investments Announces Acquisition of Great St. James and Little St. James Islands in the United States Virgin Islands." *PR Newswire,* May 3, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sd-investments-announces-acquisition-of-great-st-james-and-little-st-james-islands-in-the-united-states-virgin-islands-301815032.html
[^3]: "Billionaire Stephen Deckoff buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands." *CNBC,* May 3, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/jeffrey-epstein-private-islands-bought-by-billionaire.html ; "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james [^3]: Black Diamond Capital Management, "About," archived page, Wayback Machine snapshot dated 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/2020/http://www.bdcm.com/about.html
[^4]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 33 to 34, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 8 to 9. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/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)/001-01.pdf [^4]: 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 Form ADV Part 1A Items 1.F, 1.G, 5.F, Schedule A, Schedule B and Schedule D Section 1.F, and the state notice filing records. https://api.adviserinfo.sec.gov/search/firm/154495 and https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/154495/PDF/154495.pdf
[^5]: "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/ ; Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html (11 million dollars from the Little St. James sale). [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01204007, DataSet 9, photograph of a Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. business card. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204007.pdf
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library. The only other library document naming Deckoff is EFTA02810216, a copy of the Forbes article cited in note 1, filed as a court exhibit.
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01204006, DataSet 9, screenshot of an aviation application, undated. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204006.pdf
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02383246, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Jeffrey Epstein," May 16, 2014, including the message from Richard Kahn at 5:15 PM and the reply from Larry Visoski at 5:40 PM. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02383246.pdf
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02583238, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Re: Barn," May 16, 2014, including Richard Kahn's forward (quoted as sent at 6:17 PM), Visoski's message at 6:08 PM, and the reply headed "jeffrey E." (header time 10:35 PM, header times as printed in the release). EFTA02383246 is Kahn's forward of the chain to Visoski with the subject line "Jeffrey Epstein" (header time 10:18 PM), also cited in note 8. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02583238.pdf
[^10]: *Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein*, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 33 to 34, filed as Exhibit 1 to *Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.,* No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/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)/001-01.pdf
[^11]: Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database, MASTER.txt entry for N-number 114BD and DEREG.txt, downloaded October 8, 2026. https://registry.faa.gov/database/ReleasableAircraft.zip
[^12]: City-Data.com, "FAA Registered Aircraft, Dealers and Manufacturers in Greenwich, Connecticut" (listing derived from FAA registry data; undated snapshot, retrieved October 8, 2026). https://www.city-data.com/aircraft/air-Greenwich-Connecticut.html
[^13]: NPR, "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort," May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james
[^14]: U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice, "U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Settles Sex Trafficking Case Against Estate Of Jeffrey Epstein And Co-Defendants For Over $105 Million," 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/
[^15]: 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 ; Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026, reporting that half the sale price of Little St. James came to about 11 million dollars. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html.
[^16]: 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
[^17]: 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
[^18]: "Signature Acquires Virgin Islands Bases." *Aviation International News,* November 1, 2018. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-11-01/signature-acquires-virgin-islands-bases
[^19]: "PTC Alliance Files for Chapter 11 Protection." Association for Iron & Steel Technology, posted October 2, 2009, quoting the company's announcement and Deckoff's statement. https://www.aist.org/ptc-alliance-files-for-chapter-11-protection
[^20]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR filing index for reporting person Deckoff Stephen H (CIK 0001486844), including the Form 4 for KVH Industries Inc. (period August 20, 2026), the Form 3 for KVH Industries Inc. (period August 19, 2022), and the Form 4 for Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc. (period March 20, 2017). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001486844
[^21]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR, Schedule 13D/A Amendment No. 3, Consumer Portfolio Services Inc., accession 0001140361-22-009441; Schedule 13D/A Amendment No. 1, KVH Industries, Inc., accession 0001140361-23-004863. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/889609/000114036122009441/brhc10035210_sc13da.htm and https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1007587/000114036123004863/brhc10047604_sc13da.htm
[^22]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR full-text search, query "Black Diamond Capital Management," forms SC 13D, SC 13G and D, run October 8, 2026 (filer CIK 0001282197 for the adviser). https://efts.sec.gov/LATEST/search-index?q=%22Black%20Diamond%20Capital%20Management%22
[^23]: Federal Election Commission, Schedule A itemized individual contributions, contributor "DECKOFF, STEPHEN H.", recipient committee C00545749 (Emmer for Congress), two entries dated May 27, 2025, 3,500 dollars each. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=DECKOFF&committee_id=C00545749

36
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Thomas Gates.md
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@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ aliases:
- Special Agent Thomas Gates - Special Agent Thomas Gates
- Thomas Gates (FBI) - Thomas Gates (FBI)
created: 2026-10-05 created: 2026-10-05
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Law Enforcement & Legal" category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ relations:
start: 1992-03-25 start: 1992-03-25
end: 1992-03-26 end: 1992-03-26
role: "gave a sworn statement on Danny Casolaro and Nichols in the INSLAW investigation" role: "gave a sworn statement on Danny Casolaro and Nichols in the INSLAW investigation"
fn: 4 fn: 7
--- ---
Thomas Gates was a special agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] assigned to its [[Los Angeles]] Division, where in September 1987 he began leading the investigation of [[Robert Booth Nichols]], who was suspected, "acting through Meridian," of involvement in organized crime.[^1] The Ninth Circuit's opinion in the later civil suit records that Gates learned Nichols "had potential illegal contacts with individuals in both Japan and Australia" and pursued those leads through the Japanese and Australian legal attaches.[^1] He is not the same person as [[Thomas S. Gates]] (Thomas S. Gates Jr.), the Secretary of Defense under [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. Thomas Gates was a special agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] assigned to its [[Los Angeles]] Division, where in September 1987 he began leading the investigation of [[Robert Booth Nichols]], who was suspected, "acting through Meridian," of involvement in organized crime.[^1] The Ninth Circuit's opinion in the later civil suit records that Gates learned Nichols "had potential illegal contacts with individuals in both Japan and Australia" and pursued those leads through the Japanese and Australian legal attaches.[^1] He is not the same person as [[Thomas S. Gates]] (Thomas S. Gates Jr.), the Secretary of Defense under [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].
@ -49,34 +49,42 @@ On June 16, 1989, Nichols's company [[Meridian International Logistics]] sued Ga
On July 20, 1989, the [[United States Attorney]] certified that Gates had acted within the scope of his FBI employment, which removed the case to federal court and substituted the United States as sole defendant. The government filed declarations from Gates, his supervisor and a [[Department of Justice]] attorney, which the district court sealed on an ex parte application and reviewed in camera. Meridian filed a declaration from the former FBI special agent [[Ted Gunderson]], who stated that the types of foreign contacts Gates made "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 at all material times acted within the scope of his employment and dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act. On July 19, 1991, the [[Ninth Circuit]] (Judge Wiggins) reversed the dismissal and remanded.[^1] On July 20, 1989, the [[United States Attorney]] certified that Gates had acted within the scope of his FBI employment, which removed the case to federal court and substituted the United States as sole defendant. The government filed declarations from Gates, his supervisor and a [[Department of Justice]] attorney, which the district court sealed on an ex parte application and reviewed in camera. Meridian filed a declaration from the former FBI special agent [[Ted Gunderson]], who stated that the types of foreign contacts Gates made "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 at all material times acted within the scope of his employment and dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act. On July 19, 1991, the [[Ninth Circuit]] (Judge Wiggins) reversed the dismissal and remanded.[^1]
### The MCA wiretap, as described by Seymour The Ninth Circuit (No. 90-55281) held the sealed ex parte procedure proper, limiting its holding "to the precise facts of this case," but reversed because the FBI declarations "only assert generally that Gates' investigation was proper" and "do not address the specific factual allegations of Meridian's complaint with regards to the foreign contacts"; it directed the district court to take further documentary proof on remand.[^1] Meridian's brief states the case was removed as CV 89-4383 RG (Kx) before Judge Richard A. Gadbois, Jr., and quotes the alleged statements: a $500,000,000 "share fraud," a Sydney-based confidence scheme, and involvement with the Gambino family and the [[Yakuza]].[^3] [[Spy (magazine)|Spy]] reported in January 1993 that the case had recently been dismissed.[^4]
The writer [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that Gates conducted a wiretap of [[Music Corporation of America]] under the supervision of the Los Angeles Organized Crime Strike Force prosecutors [[Marvin Rudnick]] and later [[Richard Stavin]] (both Department of Justice attorneys, not United States Attorneys), and that the three believed on the basis of the recorded calls that MCA had been penetrated by organized crime. In Seymour's account the calls were between Nichols and [[Eugene Giaquinto]], then president of MCA's home entertainment division, and showed connections to [[La Cosa Nostra]], including the [[Gambino Crime Family]] and the [[Bufalino Crime Family]]. Seymour wrote that the Department of Justice sealed the wiretaps, that no prosecutions followed, that the Los Angeles Strike Force was disbanded, and that Gates closed the FBI investigation.[^3] Seymour is the sole source for the passages so cited. ### The MCA wiretap
Stavin gave the House Judiciary Committee a 72-page affidavit that Gates had submitted to a federal court, containing the results of an FBI wiretap on individuals in the entertainment industry suspected of ties to organized crime.[^4] The committee wrote that it "takes no position on any of Gates' assertions or suppositions vis-a-vis Nichols, except to note again that they were duly sworn statements."[^4] Gates's continuation affidavit states that he had been an FBI agent for 10 1/2 years and had worked organized-crime cases since 1981. It covers intercepts of [[Martin Bacow]], [[Eugene Giaquinto]], Angelo Commito, [[Edward Sciandra]], Michael Del Gaizo, [[Joseph Garofalo]] and Nichols through September 1, 1987, and incorporates his affidavits of March 27, May 20, June 25, July 15 and August 3, 1987 as exhibits. Its list of matters the intercepts of Giaquinto and Garofalo were to establish under the controlled-substance offenses includes "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 in the same paragraph name Nichols.[^5]
The writer [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that Gates conducted a wiretap of [[Music Corporation of America]] under the supervision of the Los Angeles Organized Crime Strike Force prosecutors [[Marvin Rudnick]] and later [[Richard Stavin]] (both Department of Justice attorneys, not United States Attorneys), and that the three believed on the basis of the recorded calls that MCA had been penetrated by organized crime. In Seymour's account the calls were between Nichols and Eugene Giaquinto, then president of MCA's home entertainment division, and showed connections to [[La Cosa Nostra]], including the [[Gambino Crime Family]] and the [[Bufalino Crime Family]]. Seymour wrote that the Department of Justice sealed the wiretaps, that no prosecutions followed, that the Los Angeles Strike Force was disbanded, and that Gates closed the FBI investigation.[^6]
Stavin gave the House Judiciary Committee a 72-page affidavit that Gates had submitted to a federal court, containing the results of an FBI wiretap on individuals in the entertainment industry suspected of ties to organized crime.[^7] The committee wrote that it "takes no position on any of Gates' assertions or suppositions vis-a-vis Nichols, except to note again that they were duly sworn statements."[^7]
### Danny Casolaro ### Danny Casolaro
[[Danny Casolaro]], the writer investigating what he called [[The Octopus]], was found dead in a Martinsburg, West Virginia hotel room on August 10, 1991, with his wrists cut numerous times. The Martinsburg Police investigation concluded in January 1992 that the death was a suicide.[^4] Three separate people (Riconosciuto's attorney, a private investigator and an FBI agent) told House Judiciary Committee investigators that Gates likely had information on Casolaro's efforts to investigate the INSLAW matter; Director [[William S. Sessions]] agreed to let Gates give a sworn statement, which the committee described as the first time it knew of that the FBI permitted a field agent to do so, after "initial resistance from the Bureau."[^4] [[Danny Casolaro]], the writer investigating what he called [[The Octopus]], was found dead in a Martinsburg, West Virginia hotel room on August 10, 1991, with his wrists cut numerous times. The Martinsburg Police investigation concluded in January 1992 that the death was a suicide.[^7] Three separate people (Riconosciuto's attorney, a private investigator and an FBI agent) told House Judiciary Committee investigators that Gates likely had information on Casolaro's efforts to investigate the INSLAW matter; Director [[William S. Sessions]] agreed to let Gates give a sworn statement, which the committee described as the first time it knew of that the FBI permitted a field agent to do so, after "initial resistance from the Bureau."[^7]
Gates gave the statement on March 25 and 26, 1992, after Rudnick and Stavin had given theirs on March 13 and 14. According to the committee's summary, Gates stated that Casolaro claimed to have found a link between the [[INSLAW]] matter, the activities at the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]], and the federal investigation of organized crime influence in the entertainment industry in which Gates had been involved; that Casolaro had several conversations with Nichols in the weeks preceding his death; and that Casolaro called Gates several times beginning approximately four weeks before his death. Gates said Casolaro sounded "upbeat" in conversations held even days before the death, that a phone book of Casolaro's containing Gates's number had not been located in the police investigation, that Martinsburg police told him the wounds were "hacking" wounds inconsistent in his view with a self-inflicted wrist cut, and that an open bottle of wine had been reported in the room but not tested when he spoke to the local authorities. He called the Martinsburg authorities and the local FBI office with his suspicions, and concluded under oath that "there is cause for suspicions to be raised."[^4] Gates gave the statement on March 25 and 26, 1992, after Rudnick and Stavin had given theirs on March 13 and 14. According to the committee's summary, Gates stated that Casolaro claimed to have found a link between the [[INSLAW]] matter, the activities at the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]], and the federal investigation of organized crime influence in the entertainment industry in which Gates had been involved; that Casolaro had several conversations with Nichols in the weeks preceding his death; and that Casolaro called Gates several times beginning approximately four weeks before his death. Gates said Casolaro sounded "upbeat" in conversations held even days before the death, that a phone book of Casolaro's containing Gates's number had not been located in the police investigation, that Martinsburg police told him the wounds were "hacking" wounds inconsistent in his view with a self-inflicted wrist cut, and that an open bottle of wine had been reported in the room but not tested when he spoke to the local authorities. He called the Martinsburg authorities and the local FBI office with his suspicions, and concluded under oath that "there is cause for suspicions to be raised."[^7]
Throughout the statement Gates tied several strands of his conversations with Casolaro to Nichols, and acknowledged that Nichols had sued him over another crime investigation centered in southern California; he maintained that important information on Nichols's past remained in sealed wiretap and confidential grand jury investigations that by law he could not disclose without a subpoena.[^4] Seymour wrote that Casolaro told Gates that Nichols had warned him to drop his investigation of the Octopus, and that Gates spoke with Casolaro until three days before his death.[^3] The House report places the start of the calls at about four weeks before the death.[^4] Throughout the statement Gates tied several strands of his conversations with Casolaro to Nichols, and acknowledged that Nichols had sued him over another crime investigation centered in southern California; he maintained that important information on Nichols's past remained in sealed wiretap and confidential grand jury investigations that by law he could not disclose without a subpoena.[^7] Seymour wrote that Casolaro told Gates that Nichols had warned him to drop his investigation of the Octopus, and that Gates spoke with Casolaro until three days before his death.[^6] The House report places the start of the calls at about four weeks before the death.[^7]
### Faith Burton and the Department's transcripts ### Faith Burton and the Department's transcripts
At the March 25 statement Gates and his attorney Richard Bauer said that Faith Burton of the Department of Justice's Office of Congressional Affairs had told them the committee routinely gave the Department copies of all depositions in the INSLAW investigation, and that "to date, the Department has reviewed all transcripts and no wrongdoing has been found." The committee wrote that the implication was that the Department would know everything Gates said, that this may have had a "chilling effect" on his testimony, and that its policy in fact barred giving the confidential statements to anyone but the witness or the witness's attorney. On March 26 Burton told committee investigators the allegation was "totally false" and that Gates and Bauer must have misunderstood her, which she attributed to their long flight; asked whether he could have misunderstood, Gates answered "It's always possible, but it was fairly clear to me, what she said." Bauer said there had been a clear indication of receipt and review of transcripts. The committee listed the episode under the heading "Department Official May Have Attempted to Influence a Key Witness."[^4] At the March 25 statement Gates and his attorney Richard Bauer said that Faith Burton of the Department of Justice's Office of Congressional Affairs had told them the committee routinely gave the Department copies of all depositions in the INSLAW investigation, and that "to date, the Department has reviewed all transcripts and no wrongdoing has been found." The committee wrote that the implication was that the Department would know everything Gates said, that this may have had a "chilling effect" on his testimony, and that its policy in fact barred giving the confidential statements to anyone but the witness or the witness's attorney. On March 26 Burton told committee investigators the allegation was "totally false" and that Gates and Bauer must have misunderstood her, which she attributed to their long flight; asked whether he could have misunderstood, Gates answered "It's always possible, but it was fairly clear to me, what she said." Bauer said there had been a clear indication of receipt and review of transcripts. The committee listed the episode under the heading "Department Official May Have Attempted to Influence a Key Witness."[^7]
### After the House report ### After the House report
Seymour wrote that in early 1992 [[John Cohen]] began communicating closely with Gates, and that in October 1992 Gates and Cohen learned of [[Michael Riconosciuto]]'s statement to the FBI implicating Nichols, [[Glenn Shockley]], [[Jose Santacruz Londono]], [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]] and [[Michael Abbell]] in illicit financial activities.[^3] Seymour is the sole source for the passages so cited. Seymour wrote that in early 1992 [[John Cohen]] began communicating closely with Gates, and that in October 1992 Gates and Cohen learned of [[Michael Riconosciuto]]'s statement to the FBI implicating Nichols, [[Glenn Shockley]], [[Jose Santacruz Londono]], [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela]] and [[Michael Abbell]] in illicit financial activities.[^6] Seymour reproduced reports she attributed to Cohen of conversations with Gates, in which Gates is recorded as saying that high-level Department of Justice officials had a close working relationship with the MCA board, that a wiretap showed Nichols warned by a Justice Department official of the FBI investigation, and that the FBI regarded Casolaro's death as an ITAR murder.[^8]
The Department of Justice's 1993 report by Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] concluded that Casolaro's death was a suicide, that the physical evidence in the hotel room supported that conclusion, and that there was no evidence of any Justice Department influence on the West Virginia authorities' investigation; the report does not name Gates.[^5] The House committee, for its part, wrote that "the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death have led some law enforcement professionals and others to believe that his death may not have been a suicide" and that further investigation was "imperative."[^4] The Department of Justice's 1993 report by Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] concluded that Casolaro's death was a suicide, that the physical evidence in the hotel room supported that conclusion, and that there was no evidence of any Justice Department influence on the West Virginia authorities' investigation; the report does not name Gates.[^9] The House committee, for its part, wrote that "the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death have led some law enforcement professionals and others to believe that his death may not have been a suicide" and that further investigation was "imperative."[^7]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. United States*, 939 F.2d 740 (9th Cir. July 19, 1991) (Wiggins, J.). https://static.case.law/f2d/939/cases/0740-01.json ; also https://openjurist.org/939/f2d/740 [^1]: *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. United States*, 939 F.2d 740 (9th Cir. July 19, 1991) (Wiggins, J.). https://static.case.law/f2d/939/cases/0740-01.json ; also https://openjurist.org/939/f2d/740
[^2]: Same, Facts and Procedural Background (complaint filed June 16, 1989; certification July 20, 1989). [^2]: Same, Facts and Procedural Background (complaint filed June 16, 1989; certification July 20, 1989).
[^3]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the passages so cited. [^3]: Appellant's Opening Brief, *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. Gates,* No. 90-55281 (9th Cir.), certificate dated June 27, 1990 (case removed as CV 89-4383 RG (Kx), C.D. Cal.). https://archive.org/details/MeridianV.Gates
[^4]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report*, H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, sections "Additional Questions," "Possible Connection Between Earl Brian, Michael Riconosciuto, Robert Booth Nichols and the Cabazon Indian Reservation," "Department Official May Have Attempted to Influence a Key Witness," and notes 214 to 217 and 323 (citing Gates's sworn statement of March 26, 1992, pp. 10, 56, 61). https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport [^4]: Connolly, John. "The Story That Killed Danny Casolaro." *Spy,* January 1993. https://archive.org/details/SpyMagazine
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, March 1993, section "The Death of Joseph Daniel Casolaro," pp. 246 to 248. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993 [^5]: Affidavit of Special Agent Thomas G. Gates in support of an application to continue interception of wire communications of Martin Bacow, Eugene Giaquinto, Joseph Garofalo, Robert Nichols and others, before Judge J. Spencer Letts, C.D. Cal. (continuation affidavit citing intercepts through September 1, 1987), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Gates." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks (file Gates.pdf), paragraphs 1-5. Seymour, *The Last Circle,* p. 356, paraphrases the narcotics-funding wording as describing Meridian International Logistics; the affidavit places it under the controlled-substance offenses of Giaquinto and Garofalo.
[^6]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^7]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report*, H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, sections "Additional Questions," "Possible Connection Between Earl Brian, Michael Riconosciuto, Robert Booth Nichols and the Cabazon Indian Reservation," "Department Official May Have Attempted to Influence a Key Witness," and notes 214 to 217 and 323 (citing Gates's sworn statement of March 26, 1992, pp. 10, 56, 61). https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^8]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, pp. 347-349 ("Report No. 5" and "Report No. 6"). Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, March 1993, section "The Death of Joseph Daniel Casolaro," pp. 246 to 248. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993

14
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Uri Geller.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2026-05-15 created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-09-21 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Uri Geller title: Uri Geller
aliases: aliases:
- Uri Geller - Uri Geller
@ -39,13 +39,21 @@ In the winter of 1975, Geller was tested by a group of nuclear physicists and en
On January 23, 1973, Russell Targ and Hal Puthoff showed a CIA audience a film of their experiments with "Uri Geller, an Israeli magician with claimed capabilities in ESP." The Office of Research and Development's memorandum of the next day recorded that "the SRI work with Geller has been supported by Edgar Mitchell's foundation, by something with a name like Mind Science Institute of Los Angeles, and by TSD," the [[Technical Services Division]]. The film showed Geller reproducing sealed drawings, calling dice, finding metal or water in one of twelve containers, "and bending spoons by touching them with apparently much less force than would be required normally." The writer added: "On the basis of meetings I have attended at ARPA, whose Drs. Austin Kibler and George Lawrence have been to SRI to observe Geller, Puthoff and Targ in action, there is serious doubt that Geller's accomplishment transcends the range of activities a skillful magician can perform and much concern that Puthoff's and Targ's own experimental bias in favor of successful outcomes is undermining their objectivity in designing properly controlled experimental procedures. Geller's connections with Dr. A. Puharich, with whom many unsavory reports have been linked, also is disturbing." He recommended asking TSD about "their plans for future research at SRI, both with Geller and with other subjects such as Ingo Swann," and noted that one manager in the science and technology directorate had said he was "humbled" by the film. A further file, "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," is in the same collection.[^3] On January 23, 1973, Russell Targ and Hal Puthoff showed a CIA audience a film of their experiments with "Uri Geller, an Israeli magician with claimed capabilities in ESP." The Office of Research and Development's memorandum of the next day recorded that "the SRI work with Geller has been supported by Edgar Mitchell's foundation, by something with a name like Mind Science Institute of Los Angeles, and by TSD," the [[Technical Services Division]]. The film showed Geller reproducing sealed drawings, calling dice, finding metal or water in one of twelve containers, "and bending spoons by touching them with apparently much less force than would be required normally." The writer added: "On the basis of meetings I have attended at ARPA, whose Drs. Austin Kibler and George Lawrence have been to SRI to observe Geller, Puthoff and Targ in action, there is serious doubt that Geller's accomplishment transcends the range of activities a skillful magician can perform and much concern that Puthoff's and Targ's own experimental bias in favor of successful outcomes is undermining their objectivity in designing properly controlled experimental procedures. Geller's connections with Dr. A. Puharich, with whom many unsavory reports have been linked, also is disturbing." He recommended asking TSD about "their plans for future research at SRI, both with Geller and with other subjects such as Ingo Swann," and noted that one manager in the science and technology directorate had said he was "humbled" by the film. A further file, "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," is in the same collection.[^3]
### The ARPA team, 1972 to 1973
[[Ray Hyman]] wrote that he visited SRI on December 8, 1972 with [[George Lawrence]] of [[DARPA|ARPA]], and that Geller sent everyone out of the room except Lawrence and Hyman.[^4] [[Roger A. Beaumont]] wrote that in 1972 the agency sent a team headed by Lawrence, including Hyman and [[Robert Van de Castle]], and that the team's report was totally negative.[^5] According to Schnabel, the agency's corporate stance was not to pursue Geller further, while Van de Castle was impressed by Geller's abilities.[^1] Time reported in 1974 that Hyman, accompanied by Lawrence, caught Geller in some outright deceptions, and quoted Hyman as calling the SRI tests conducted with "incredible sloppiness."[^6] [[David Suter]], in an undated Washington Post article, wrote that DARPA consultants concluded that SRI's work with Geller was conducted with "incredible sloppiness," and quoted Van de Castle, "a member of the DARPA team that investigated Geller," on two CIA men who visited him: "One thing they wanted to know was if Geller could jam computers."[^7]
### August 1973 ### August 1973
Targ's log of the sessions of August 4 to 11, 1973, in an "electrically shielded room" once used for EEG research, records that on August 5 for the target word "fuse" (a firecracker) Geller "saw 'a cylinder with noise coming out of it'" and drew a drum; for "bunch" (grapes) he drew grapes, and "both the target picture and Geller's rendition had 24 grapes in the bunch"; that evening he could not draw a devil with a trident, producing "Moses' Tablets" and an apple with a snake, Targ noting "the inability on Geller's part to draw the devil may be culturally induced." On August 6, with a target drawn "by a scientist of whom Geller is not fond," he "got no clear impression and passed," but named the artist. On August 7, with EEG electrodes, he passed twice; on August 8 he passed on a camel and the Golden Gate Bridge and drew a flying gull correctly. "Good results were obtained on the four days when there was no openly skeptical observer (except the experimenters whom Geller has learned to accept)." On August 9, 150 feet from a kite drawn on a computer terminal, "his first drawing was a good representation of the actual target picture"; on August 10 he passed on a church stored in computer memory and drew "an arrow inside a suitcase" for an arrow through a heart, Targ allowing either "clairvoyant perception of information stored in the computer, or telepathy since there were several people in the computer room who knew the nature of the target." Of two long-distance trials with East Coast scientists, Targ called the first "suggestive of communication but not conclusive" and left the second unjudged. "In our detailed examination of the shielded room and the protocol used in these experiments no sensory leakage has been found."[^4] Targ's log of the sessions of August 4 to 11, 1973, in an "electrically shielded room" once used for EEG research, records that on August 5 for the target word "fuse" (a firecracker) Geller "saw 'a cylinder with noise coming out of it'" and drew a drum; for "bunch" (grapes) he drew grapes, and "both the target picture and Geller's rendition had 24 grapes in the bunch"; that evening he could not draw a devil with a trident, producing "Moses' Tablets" and an apple with a snake, Targ noting "the inability on Geller's part to draw the devil may be culturally induced." On August 6, with a target drawn "by a scientist of whom Geller is not fond," he "got no clear impression and passed," but named the artist. On August 7, with EEG electrodes, he passed twice; on August 8 he passed on a camel and the Golden Gate Bridge and drew a flying gull correctly. "Good results were obtained on the four days when there was no openly skeptical observer (except the experimenters whom Geller has learned to accept)." On August 9, 150 feet from a kite drawn on a computer terminal, "his first drawing was a good representation of the actual target picture"; on August 10 he passed on a church stored in computer memory and drew "an arrow inside a suitcase" for an arrow through a heart, Targ allowing either "clairvoyant perception of information stored in the computer, or telepathy since there were several people in the computer room who knew the nature of the target." Of two long-distance trials with East Coast scientists, Targ called the first "suggestive of communication but not conclusive" and left the second unjudged. "In our detailed examination of the shielded room and the protocol used in these experiments no sensory leakage has been found."[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997. [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown and Company, 2017. [^2]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Research and Development, memorandum ORD-413-73, "Briefing by Stanford Research Institute," January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2. [^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Research and Development, memorandum ORD-413-73, "Briefing by Stanford Research Institute," January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2.
[^4]: Targ, Russell. "Experiments: Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," memorandum of August 13, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^4]: 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 Jim Schnabel, *Remote Viewers* (Dell, 1997), p. 138, dates the visit of the agency's three-man team to early 1973.
[^5]: Roger A. Beaumont, "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," clipping reproduced in the 1983 Center Lane staff study, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
[^6]: "Boom Times on the Psychic Frontier," *Time*, March 4, 1974, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8.pdf
[^7]: David Suter, article for *The Washington Post*, undated clipping reproduced in CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
[^8]: Targ, Russell. "Experiments: Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," memorandum of August 13, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.

21
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Walworth Barbour.md
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@ -10,20 +10,27 @@ died: 1982-07-21
location: "Cambridge, Massachusetts" location: "Cambridge, Massachusetts"
--- ---
Walworth Barbour was the American ambassador to [[Israel]] from 1961 to 1973, serving longer in one post than all but three other American ambassadors. He was a compelling presence, described as a tall, shy, hugely overweight diplomat with a gluttonous appetite and acute emphysema. He constantly sprayed his throat with a vaporizer, wore yellowing white suits with brown-and-white shoes, and walked with a shambling gait. Barbour spoke no Hebrew and rarely attended educational, cultural, or social events, yet he was beloved by [[Israel]]'s leadership.[^1] Walworth Barbour was the American ambassador to [[Israel]] from 1961 to 1973, serving longer in one post than all but three other American ambassadors. He was a compelling presence, described as a tall, shy, hugely overweight diplomat with a gluttonous appetite and acute emphysema. He constantly sprayed his throat with a vaporizer, wore yellowing white suits with brown-and-white shoes, and walked with a shambling gait. Barbour spoke no Hebrew and rarely attended educational, cultural, or social events, yet he was beloved by Israel's leadership.[^1]
Barbour's long assignment was a testament to his understanding of when and when not to accept every Israeli assertion at face value, and his willingness to operate the American embassy as a subsidiary, if necessary, of the Israeli foreign ministry. He often reminded his questioning subordinates that he was a President's man with a personal mandate, not a servant of the [[State Department]].[^1] Barbour's long assignment was a testament to his understanding of when and when not to accept every Israeli assertion at face value, and his willingness to operate the American embassy as a subsidiary, if necessary, of the Israeli foreign ministry. He often reminded his questioning subordinates that he was a President's man with a personal mandate, not a servant of the [[State Department]].[^1]
In his first six years as ambassador, Barbour rarely interfered with the job of those working in his embassy, and some of the most accurate reporting on [[Dimona]] was forwarded to [[Washington, D.C.]]. However, these reports had no impact and disappeared into the bureaucratic maze. After the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], he ordered his staff to stop reporting on nuclear weapons in [[Israel]], over the objection of one key aide. His primary assignment was to insulate President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and his men from facts that would compel action regarding [[Israel]]'s nuclear program.[^1] In his first six years as ambassador, Barbour rarely interfered with the job of those working in his embassy, and some of the most accurate reporting on [[Dimona]] was forwarded to [[Washington, D.C.]]. However, these reports had no impact and disappeared into the bureaucratic maze. After the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], he ordered his staff to stop reporting on nuclear weapons in Israel, over the objection of one key aide. His primary assignment was to insulate President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and his men from facts that would compel action regarding Israel's nuclear program.[^1]
Barbour's closest associates were senior officials of the Israeli government, including [[Golda Meir]] and Major General [[Aharon Yariv]]. He shared the taboo of not discussing nuclear weapons with outsiders. However, it was Barbour's men who reported before the June 1967 war that [[Israel]] had completed its basic weapons design and was capable of manufacturing warheads for deployment on missiles.[^1] On June 5, 1967, Barbour and the presidential special counsel Harry C. McPherson, Jr. met Major General [[Meir Amit]] in Tel Aviv; [[Walt Rostow]]'s covering note to Johnson reported Amit's argument that there had been artillery fire on three Israeli villages and air incursions and that the Israelis had then "punched all the buttons," and added: "At least that's his story."[^2] Hersh writes that Barbour spent much of the war in the Israeli war room, and quotes a cable he sent hours after the attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]]: "Urge strongly that we too avoid publicity."[^3]
In 1970, Barbour made a rare public appearance, sharing a podium with Prime Minister [[Golda Meir]] at the opening of an American school in [[Tel Aviv]]. After his retirement in 1973, he became a board member of the American branch of Bank Leumi, the Israeli state bank, a move that confounded and distressed many of his former colleagues in the Foreign Service who saw it as a conflict of interest.[^1] On June 27, 1967, Barbour sent telegram 4311 from Tel Aviv, answering a State Department request of June 24 for an estimate of the war's effect on Israeli nuclear and missile policy. He wrote that the embassy had not discussed the subject with Israelis since the crisis began, that Israeli officials had not raised it in his many talks with them, and that there had been no press speculation. He wrote that Israelis "who have technical capability to build bomb, would, it may be argued, be foolish not to produce extra-conventional weapons against enemies whose total conventional military capabilities conceivably could outstrip Israel's within another decade," that if Israel achieved a durable peace "any reason for, and indeed any rationale for, going nuclear would be undermined," and that he did not believe there was "any compelling reason at present time for change in" the government's policy of abstinence from nuclear weapons and missile production.[^4]
Upon the inauguration of President [[Richard Nixon]] in January 1969, Barbour became even less interested in [[Dimona]], effectively exorcising the issue. He famously told a senior American intelligence officer who briefed him on [[Israel]]'s nuclear weapons program, "Gentlemen, I don't believe a word of it," explaining that if he acknowledged it, he would have to go to the President, and the President did not want bad news.[^1] Barbour's closest associates were senior officials of the Israeli government, including [[Golda Meir]] and Major General [[Aharon Yariv]]. He shared the taboo of not discussing nuclear weapons with outsiders. However, it was Barbour's men who reported before the June 1967 war that Israel had completed its basic weapons design and was capable of manufacturing warheads for deployment on missiles.[^1]
Barbour's support for [[Israel]] was profound and heartfelt. He remained on the board of Bank Leumi until his death, seemingly unconcerned with his peers' opinions.[^1] In 1970, Barbour made a rare public appearance, sharing a podium with Prime Minister Golda Meir at the opening of an American school in [[Tel Aviv]]. After his retirement in 1973, he became a board member of the American branch of Bank Leumi, the Israeli state bank, a move that confounded and distressed many of his former colleagues in the Foreign Service who saw it as a conflict of interest.[^1]
Upon the inauguration of President [[Richard Nixon]] in January 1969, Barbour became even less interested in Dimona, effectively exorcising the issue. He famously told a senior American intelligence officer who briefed him on Israel's nuclear weapons program, "Gentlemen, I don't believe a word of it," explaining that if he acknowledged it, he would have to go to the President, and the President did not want bad news.[^1]
Barbour's support for Israel was profound and heartfelt. He remained on the board of Bank Leumi until his death, seemingly unconcerned with his peers' opinions.[^1]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12.
[^2]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 158, editors' note on telegram 3937 from Tel Aviv, June 5, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d158
[^3]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12, pp. 167-168, quoting a declassified cable in the LBJ Library. Sole source for the cable text.
[^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 326, Telegram 4311 from the Embassy in Israel (Barbour) to the Department of State, June 27, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d326

20
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Enrique Miranda.md
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
- Enrique Miranda - Enrique Miranda
- Enrique Miranda Jaime - Enrique Miranda Jaime
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Intelligence & Government" category: "Intelligence & Government"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -21,25 +21,31 @@ Enrique Miranda Jaime was a former [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] intelligence offic
### Testimony on the Ilopango Drug Pipeline ### Testimony on the Ilopango Drug Pipeline
Miranda testified in a 1992 trial in [[Nicaragua]] that "Norwin was selling drugs and tunneled the benefits to the Contras with help of high-ranking military officials of the Salvadoran Army, especially with the help of the head of the Salvadoran Air Force and a Nicaraguan pilot named [[Marcos Aguado]]." Miranda said the cocaine brought from Colombia by [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín cartel]] pilots arrived in [[Costa Rica]] in square twenty-five-kilo packages, was unloaded at various airstrips including one on CIA operative [[John Hull]]'s farm, and was placed aboard Contra planes flown into [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]].[^1] Miranda testified at the 1991 trial in [[Nicaragua]] that "Norwin was selling drugs and tunneled the benefits to the Contras with help of high-ranking military officials of the Salvadoran Army, especially with the help of the head of the Salvadoran Air Force and a Nicaraguan pilot named [[Marcos Aguado]]." Miranda said the cocaine brought from Colombia by [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín cartel]] pilots arrived in [[Costa Rica]] in square twenty-five-kilo packages, was unloaded at various airstrips including one on CIA operative [[John Hull]]'s farm, and was placed aboard Contra planes flown into [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]].[^1]
Once at Ilopango, Miranda said, Aguado and Meneses supervised loading the cocaine onto U.S.-bound aircraft owned by the Salvadoran Air Force and the Miami-based CIA contractor [[Southern Air Transport]]. Miranda said Meneses told him U.S. military hardware stockpiled at Ilopango was loaded onto Salvadoran transport planes and flown south, where guns were traded for cocaine and flown back.[^1] Once at Ilopango, Miranda said, Aguado and Meneses supervised loading the cocaine onto U.S.-bound aircraft owned by the Salvadoran Air Force and the Miami-based CIA contractor [[Southern Air Transport]]. Miranda said Meneses told him U.S. military hardware stockpiled at Ilopango was loaded onto Salvadoran transport planes and flown south, where guns were traded for cocaine and flown back.[^1]
### Aguado's Cartel Operations ### Aguado's Cartel Operations
Miranda met CIA pilot Marcos Aguado for dinner at Meneses's mansion in [[Managua]] in 1991, where Aguado described flying for the Colombian cartels. Aguado claimed he once took a Salvadoran Air Force bomber and leveled a warehouse full of Medellín cartel cocaine on behalf of the rival Cali cartel. He also made plans to bomb the prison where Medellín cartel chief Pablo Escobar was briefly imprisoned. Aguado boasted of flying weapons from the Salvadoran military to the Colombian cartels - claims Miranda said he doubted until a Salvadoran Air Force colonel and associates were arrested in 1992 for selling bombs and high explosives to Colombian drug dealers.[^1] Miranda met CIA pilot Marcos Aguado for dinner at Meneses's mansion in [[Managua]] in 1991, where Aguado described flying for the Colombian cartels. Aguado claimed he once took a Salvadoran Air Force bomber and leveled a warehouse full of Medellín cartel cocaine on behalf of the rival Cali cartel. He also made plans to bomb the prison where Medellín cartel chief Pablo Escobar was briefly imprisoned. Aguado boasted of flying weapons from the Salvadoran military to the Colombian cartels, claims Miranda said he doubted until a Salvadoran Air Force colonel and associates were arrested in 1992 for selling bombs and high explosives to Colombian drug dealers.[^1]
### Background ### Background
Miranda was arrested by former Nicaraguan antidrug czar Roger Mayorga. He and Mayorga told interviewers the U.S. air base where drugs from Ilopango were flown was near Fort Worth, Texas - likely the now-closed Carswell Air Force Base, home of a Strategic Air Command bomber squadron.[^1] Miranda was arrested by former Nicaraguan antidrug czar Roger Mayorga. Miranda and Mayorga told Gary Webb that the U.S. air base where drugs from Ilopango were flown was near Fort Worth, Texas. Webb identified it as the now-closed Carswell Air Force Base, home of a Strategic Air Command bomber squadron, the only air force base near Fort Worth at the time, and reported that the Air Force told a 1997 Freedom of Information Act requester that flight records for Salvadoran military aircraft in the mid-1980s had been destroyed.[^1]
### Justice Department Review of His Account
Miranda told DEA agent Jose Delgado about cocaine smuggling for the Sandinistas during debriefings as a confidential source in 1996, and did not raise Contra trafficking then. Interviewed by the Justice Department Inspector General's investigators in 1997, he described Contra trafficking through Ilopango and said he had heard it from Aguado, who claimed to fly Salvadoran military planes from Ilopango to a military airport in Texas. He said Meneses had invited him to watch the Texas operation and, when pressed, said he had not seen it occur. The Inspector General wrote: "The failure to report such important information in 1996 makes it difficult to credit Miranda's account in 1997." The same review records that the Sandinista government jailed him for treason in September 1985, that he was released in 1989 for health reasons, that he was arrested with Meneses in November 1991 in connection with the seizure of 764 kilograms of cocaine bound from Managua to the United States, and that he was sentenced to fourteen years in August 1992.[^2] The CIA Inspector General's Volume II summarizes Miranda's claim that Aguado flew weapons to Medellín and returned with cocaine stored at Ilopango, and states: "No information has been found to support Miranda's allegations."[^3]
### Escape from Prison and DEA Recruitment ### Escape from Prison and DEA Recruitment
In early 1996, journalist [[Georg Hodel]] requested permission from the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior to interview Miranda, who had been moved to a prison in the city of Granada after Meneses allegedly hired someone to kill him. Miranda "escaped" the same day Hodel made his request, leaving on a weekend furlough and never returning. Prison officials called it "extremely out of character" for a model inmate nearing the end of his sentence. The police had not been notified of the escape, and Hodel's discovery became front-page news in Managua.[^2] In early 1996, journalist [[Georg Hodel]] requested permission from the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior to interview Miranda, who had been moved to a prison in the city of Granada after Meneses allegedly hired someone to kill him. Miranda "escaped" the same day Hodel made his request, leaving on a weekend furlough and never returning. Prison officials called it "extremely out of character" for a model inmate nearing the end of his sentence. The police had not been notified of the escape, and Hodel's discovery became front-page news in Managua.[^4]
Miranda was captured in [[Miami]] in December 1996, where he was living with his wife. He had entered the [[United States]] with a visa the U.S. Embassy in Managua issued him the day he escaped. Despite being listed in the State Department's computers as a convicted drug trafficker and therefore ineligible for a visa, the State Department claimed two simultaneous computer failures resulted in him "erroneously" receiving one. The DEA denied involvement but admitted Miranda was placed on the DEA payroll as an informant "soon after he came to Miami" and was sent to Central and South America to work drug cases. The DEA never informed Nicaraguan authorities it was harboring one of their fugitives.[^2] Miranda was captured in [[Miami]] in December 1996, where he was living with his wife. He had entered the [[United States]] with a visa the U.S. Embassy in Managua issued him the day he escaped. Despite being listed in the State Department's computers as a convicted drug trafficker and therefore ineligible for a visa, the State Department claimed two simultaneous computer failures resulted in him "erroneously" receiving one. The DEA denied involvement but admitted Miranda was placed on the DEA payroll as an informant "soon after he came to Miami" and was sent to Central and South America to work drug cases. The DEA never informed Nicaraguan authorities it was harboring one of their fugitives.[^4]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends" [^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends"
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 25: "Things are moving all around us" [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter VII, "Enrique Miranda-Jaime," sections A to E, https://irp.fas.org/agency/doj/oig/c4rpt/ch07.htm
[^3]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), Marcos Antonio Aguado section of the Southern Front chapter, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html
[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 25: "Things are moving all around us"

12
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/George Lawrence.md
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ tags:
summary: "ARPA projects manager who joined Ray Hyman and Robert Van de Castle at SRI's Uri Geller experiments on December 8, 1972, and later monitored the NRC's 1988 performance-techniques study for the Army Research Institute." summary: "ARPA projects manager who joined Ray Hyman and Robert Van de Castle at SRI's Uri Geller experiments on December 8, 1972, and later monitored the NRC's 1988 performance-techniques study for the Army Research Institute."
relations: relations:
- type: employed_by - type: employed_by
with: "[[Advanced Research Projects Agency]]" with: "[[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]]"
start: 1972 start: 1972
role: "projects manager; arranged the visit to SRI on December 8, 1972 with consultants Hyman and Van de Castle" role: "projects manager; arranged the visit to SRI on December 8, 1972 with consultants Hyman and Van de Castle"
fn: 1 fn: 1
@ -42,10 +42,10 @@ relations:
role: "Army Research Institute project monitor" role: "Army Research Institute project monitor"
fn: 4 fn: 4
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
George H. Lawrence was a psychologist and a projects manager at the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA) of the [[Department of Defense]] in the early 1970s. He visited the [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) on December 8, 1972, with his consultants [[Ray Hyman]] and [[Robert Van de Castle]], to see the work of [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] with [[Uri Geller]],[^1] and *[[Time]]* of March 12, 1973 reported that neither he nor Hyman was impressed.[^2] According to a CIA note of February 28, 1973, the magazine's science editor named him as the source of a skeptical article, which Lawrence denied.[^3] By 1984 he was a staff member of the [[U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences]], and from 1985 to 1988 he served as its project monitor for the [[National Research Council]] committee whose report on techniques for enhancing human performance included a chapter on parapsychology.[^4] George H. Lawrence was a psychologist and a projects manager at the [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA) of the [[Department of Defense]] in the early 1970s. He visited the [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) on December 8, 1972, with his consultants [[Ray Hyman]] and [[Robert Van de Castle]], to see the work of [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] with [[Uri Geller]],[^1] and *[[Time]]* of March 12, 1973 reported that neither he nor Hyman was impressed.[^2] According to a CIA note of February 28, 1973, the magazine's science editor named him as the source of a skeptical article, which Lawrence denied.[^3] By 1984 he was a staff member of the [[U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences]], and from 1985 to 1988 he served as its project monitor for the [[National Research Council]] committee whose report on techniques for enhancing human performance included a chapter on parapsychology.[^4]
### The visit of December 8, 1972 ### The visit of December 8, 1972
@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ A note of February 28, 1973, "More Geller Business," records that the science ed
### Later accounts ### Later accounts
A staff study prepared for the Army's [[Center Lane]] program in 1983 includes an article by Dr. [[Roger A. Beaumont]], "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," which says that "in 1972, the [[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] sent a team to evaluate Stanford Research Institute's claimed results with spoon-bender Geller. The team was headed by Dr. George Lawrence, a psychologist who is open-minded on the subject of parapsychology," and that "the team's report was totally negative."[^11] A [[Defense Intelligence College]] thesis of 1992 by Captain [[Michael Zarbo]], citing [[Ronald McRae]]'s *[[Mind Wars]]* (1984), states that "DARPA's director, Dr. George Lawrence, was ordered by his superiors to find something to satisfy Congressional demands to match purported Soviet efforts in the field."[^11] A staff study prepared for the Army's [[Center Lane]] program in 1983 includes an article by Dr. [[Roger A. Beaumont]], "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," which says that "in 1972, the [[Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] sent a team to evaluate Stanford Research Institute's claimed results with spoon-bender Geller. The team was headed by Dr. George Lawrence, a psychologist who is open-minded on the subject of parapsychology," and that "the team's report was totally negative."[^11] A [[Defense Intelligence College]] thesis of 1992 by Captain [[Michael Zarbo]], citing [[Ronald McRae]]'s *[[Mind Wars]]* (1984), states that Lawrence "was ordered by his superiors to find something to satisfy Congressional demands to match purported Soviet efforts in the field."[^11]
### The Army Research Institute ### The Army Research Institute
@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ A memorandum of January 31, 1995, ORD-0143-95, from the CIA's Director of Resear
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hyman, Ray. "Psychics and Scientists: 'Mind-Reach' and Remote Viewing." *The Humanist,* May/June 1977, pp. 16-20 and following (visit of December 8, 1972), CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080037-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^1]: Hyman, Ray. "Psychics and Scientists: 'Mind-Reach' and Remote Viewing." *The Humanist,* May/June 1977, pp. 16-20 and following (visit of December 8, 1972), CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080037-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Jim Schnabel, *Remote Viewers* (Dell, 1997), p. 138, dates the visit of the agency's three-man team to early 1973.
[^2]: "The Magician and the Think Tank," *Time,* March 12, 1973, as held in CIA-RDP96-00787R000400100023-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^2]: "The Magician and the Think Tank," *Time,* March 12, 1973, as held in CIA-RDP96-00787R000400100023-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: Note for the record, "More Geller Business," February 28, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070022-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^3]: Note for the record, "More Geller Business," February 28, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070022-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: Druckman, Daniel, and John A. Swets, eds. *Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques.* Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988, preface and references (Lawrence, G. H., *Biofeedback and Performance: An Update,* Technical Report 658, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Alexandria, Virginia, 1984; Lawrence and Johnson, 1977), read in ERIC document ED296127, archive.org, and in the CIA Reading Room copy CIA-RDP96-00791R000200320001-1. [^4]: Druckman, Daniel, and John A. Swets, eds. *Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques.* Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988, preface and references (Lawrence, G. H., *Biofeedback and Performance: An Update,* Technical Report 658, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Alexandria, Virginia, 1984; Lawrence and Johnson, 1977), read in ERIC document ED296127, archive.org, and in the CIA Reading Room copy CIA-RDP96-00791R000200320001-1.
@ -87,6 +87,6 @@ A memorandum of January 31, 1995, ORD-0143-95, from the CIA's Director of Resear
[^8]: Memorandum for the record, "Paranormal Phenomena: Further Developments / Reflections / Suggestions," February 2, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070025-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^8]: Memorandum for the record, "Paranormal Phenomena: Further Developments / Reflections / Suggestions," February 2, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070025-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^9]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown and Company, 2017. [^9]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^10]: "Boom Times on the Psychic Frontier," *Time,* cover story, March 4, 1974, as held in CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^10]: "Boom Times on the Psychic Frontier," *Time,* cover story, March 4, 1974, as held in CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^11]: Beaumont, Roger A. "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," in the 1983 Center Lane staff study, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. Zarbo, Michael E. *Remote Viewing: Parapsychological Potential for Intelligence Collection?,* master's thesis, Defense Intelligence College, November 1992, CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^11]: Beaumont, Roger A. "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," in the 1983 Center Lane staff study, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. Zarbo, Michael E. *Remote Viewing: Parapsychological Potential for Intelligence Collection?,* master's thesis, Defense Intelligence College, November 1992, CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. The thesis introduces the sentence as "DARPA's director, Dr. George Lawrence" and cites McRae, *Mind Wars,* p. 107 (thesis note 71); the Institute for Defense Analyses history of the agency (Richard H. Van Atta, Seymour J. Deitchman and Sidney G. Reed, *DARPA Technical Accomplishments,* vol. III, IDA Paper P-2538, 1991, DTIC ADA241680) lists Stephen Lukasik, from 1971, and George Heilmeier as its directors in the period.
[^12]: Memorandum, Director of Research and Development to the Associate Deputy Director for Military Affairs, "Request for Military Liaison Support," ORD-0143-95, January 31, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100140001-2 and CIA-RDP96-00791R000100140004-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^12]: Memorandum, Director of Research and Development to the Associate Deputy Director for Military Affairs, "Request for Military Liaison Support," ORD-0143-95, January 31, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100140001-2 and CIA-RDP96-00791R000100140004-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^13]: May, Edwin C. "The American Institutes for Research Review of the Department of Defense's STAR GATE Program: A Commentary," *Journal of Parapsychology,* vol. 60, no. 1, 1996, pp. 3-23. [^13]: May, Edwin C. "The American Institutes for Research Review of the Department of Defense's STAR GATE Program: A Commentary," *Journal of Parapsychology,* vol. 60, no. 1, 1996, pp. 3-23.

17
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/George Morales.md
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@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
--- ---
title: George Morales title: George Morales
aliases: aliases:
- Jorge Morales
- George Morales - George Morales
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Organized Crime" category: "Organized Crime"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -19,7 +20,9 @@ George Morales was a major Colombian cocaine trafficker who operated during the
### Support to the Contras ### Support to the Contras
In March 1984, three Contra officials with close CIA ties ([[Octaviano Cesar]], ARDE logistics chief [[Adolfo Chamorro|Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro]], and ARDE air force commander [[Marcos Aguado]]) met with Morales at his offices in [[Fort Lauderdale]] and asked him to contribute to Pastora's army. "During our conversation they told me they were CIA agents. Two of them said they were, Octaviano Cesar and Marcos Aguado," Morales testified before Congress in 1986. Cesar assured Morales that if he assisted the Contras, his legal problems from the pending cocaine indictment would disappear: "He told me he had plenty of friends, being him, the CIA, can advise the superiors about my financial support and airplane and training and therefore they will finally, eventually, will take care of my problem, which they did." During the entire time Morales worked with the Contras on drug deals, no action was taken on his pending indictment. When he started talking to U.S. Senate investigators about his Contra dealings two years later, the case moved quickly to trial and conviction.[^1] In March 1984, three Contra officials with close CIA ties ([[Octaviano Cesar]], ARDE logistics chief [[Adolfo Chamorro|Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro]], and ARDE air force commander [[Marcos Aguado]]) met with Morales at his offices in [[Fort Lauderdale]] and asked him to contribute to Pastora's army. Morales testified before the Senate subcommittee on July 15, 1987 that the Contra leaders "represent themselves as CIA agents," and on April 7, 1988 that "they told me that they were CIA agents. Two of them said they were," naming Cesar and Aguado.[^2][^3] Cesar assured Morales that if he assisted the Contras, his legal problems from the pending cocaine indictment would disappear: "He told me he had plenty of friends, being him, the CIA, can advise the superiors about my financial support and airplane and training and therefore they will finally, eventually, will take care of my problem, which they did." During the entire time Morales worked with the Contras on drug deals, no action was taken on his pending indictment. When he started talking to U.S. Senate investigators about his Contra dealings two years later, the case moved quickly to trial and conviction.[^1]
The subcommittee report instead says that [[Marta Healey]] introduced Morales to Chamorro, Aguado and Cesar at a meeting in [[Miami]], when Morales was under indictment for marijuana smuggling, and that each of the three denied knowing of the indictment when they first met him at Healey's house.[^4] The Justice Department Inspector General records Morales saying that after Healey's May 1984 approach he met Cesar, Chamorro and Aguado in Miami.[^5]
Morales later passed a DEA-administered lie detector test about his drug dealings with the Contras. Two pilots who flew the Contra drug missions for him - [[Fabio Ernesto Carrasco]] and [[Gary Betzner|Gary Wayne Betzner]] - confirmed his story under oath as U.S. government witnesses.[^1] Morales later passed a DEA-administered lie detector test about his drug dealings with the Contras. Two pilots who flew the Contra drug missions for him - [[Fabio Ernesto Carrasco]] and [[Gary Betzner|Gary Wayne Betzner]] - confirmed his story under oath as U.S. government witnesses.[^1]
@ -29,10 +32,18 @@ Morales and his pilots flew planeloads of weapons to a ranch in northern Costa R
### Aircraft Donations ### Aircraft Donations
Morales gave the Contras an aged C-47 cargo plane stored in [[Haiti]], plus $10,000 for operating costs. The airplane was officially transferred from Morales to Marcos Aguado for $1 on October 1, 1984. Between October 18, 1984 and February 12, 1986, the C-47 moved 156,000 pounds of material from [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]] in [[El Salvador]] to airfields in Costa Rica. Investigative reporter Jonathan Kwitny obtained the refueling receipts and confirmed the plane "was repeatedly piloted into and out of Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador by Marcos Aguado." Morales contended the C-47 continued from Ilopango to Colombia, where it was reloaded with drugs before flying back to Florida.[^1] Morales gave the Contras an aged C-47 cargo plane stored in [[Haiti]], and the Senate subcommittee found that $10,000 was given to Chamorro to cover the cost of flying it to Ilopango.[^4] The airplane was officially transferred from Morales to Marcos Aguado for $1 on October 1, 1984. Between October 18, 1984 and February 12, 1986, the C-47 moved 156,000 pounds of material from [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]] in [[El Salvador]] to airfields in Costa Rica. Investigative reporter Jonathan Kwitny obtained the refueling receipts and confirmed the plane "was repeatedly piloted into and out of Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador by Marcos Aguado." Morales contended the C-47 continued from Ilopango to Colombia, where it was reloaded with drugs before flying back to Florida.[^1]
When Aguado quit the war in May 1986, he sold the airplane to [[Norwin Meneses]] for $30,000. In 1997, Aguado said the C-47 was still being used by Meneses in Venezuela.[^1] When Aguado quit the war in May 1986, he sold the airplane to [[Norwin Meneses]] for $30,000. In 1997, Aguado said the C-47 was still being used by Meneses in Venezuela.[^1]
### Aguado and the Cocaine Flights
The Justice Department Inspector General's account of the Morales debriefing records that in June 1983 Contra pilots Aguado and [[Gerardo Duran]] flew a group that included members of the [[Medellin Cartel]] into Opa Locka airport, and that John Hull accompanied the group without taking part in the meeting. Morales said that Aguado refused to fly the cocaine shipments because of his "CIA connections."[^5] A Customs Service record given to the subcommittee showed Morales entering the United States from the [[Bahamas]] on October 13, 1984 with Aguado, Cesar and Chamorro, carrying $400,000 in cash and checks, which the three declared and said were returned to Morales after clearing customs.[^4]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction" [^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction"
[^2]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: Hearings ... May 27, July 15, and October 30, 1987*, Part 1 (1988), testimony of Jorge Morales, July 15, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0003
[^3]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: The Cartel, Haiti and Central America*, Part 3, hearing of April 7, 1988, testimony of Jorge Morales (pp. 297 to 300) and videotaped depositions of October 31, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0005. Gary Webb, in Dark Alliance (1998), dates the "CIA agents" statement to 1986 congressional testimony, and his chapter notes give April 7, 1986 and March 27, 1987.
[^4]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), pp. 37, 50 to 52, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter XI, section on the debriefing of George Morales, https://irp.fas.org/agency/doj/oig/c4rpt/ch11p1.htm

24
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Gerard Messadie.md
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@ -3,14 +3,32 @@ category: "Authors & Journalists"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
summary: "Gérald Messadié was the editor of *Science et Vie*, a top French science journal." summary: "Gérald Messadié was the editor of *Science et Vie*, a top French science journal."
born: 1931
died: 2018
aliases:
- Gérald Messadié
- Gerald Messadie
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]"
start: 1960
role: "author of the Science et Vie article of February 1960"
fn: 1
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Gérald Messadié was the editor of *Science et Vie*, a top French science journal. In February 1960, his journal published an expanded version of [[Jacques Bergier]]'s story about a secret government [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] program, which Martin Ebon, Jim Schnabel and the Parapsychology Foundation title "The Secret of the Nautilus"; the 1972 DIA report and Ostrander and Schroeder cite it as "Du Nautilus," and I. V. Tsykunov as "Une étrange expérience à bord du «Nautilus»," issue no. 509, pages 30 to 35.[^1]
Gérald Messadié was the editor of *Science et Vie*, a top French science journal. In February 1960, his journal published an expanded version of [[Jacques Bergier]]'s story about a secret government [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] program, titled "The Secret of the Nautilus"[^1]. [[Martin Ebon]] visited Messadié in his Paris office in the summer of 1980. He wrote that Messadié's view was then that the whole thing was probably a hoax, that he regretted having published it, and that he had assumed his source was beyond question. According to Ebon, Messadié named Jacques Bergier, editorial adviser to the magazine, as that source, and recalled that when Bergier said "in a most affirmative tone that the U.S. Navy had engaged in telepathic research aboard the Nautilus," he and the editor-in-chief of the time, Daniel Vincendon, "did not resist his authority." Messadié is quoted as saying that Bergier "was sometimes prone to elaborations that verged on pranks, not to say hoaxes."[^2] The Parapsychology Foundation reported in 1963 that Science et Vie had received no report of the experiment from its regular New York correspondent or from Science Service and that its editors had not disclosed their source.[^3] [[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that Messadié "would admit that he had probably been fooled."[^4] I. V. Tsykunov gives his years as 1931 to 2018 and writes that he edited the magazine for 25 years.[^5]
Messadié stated in an interview that his information for the article came from Bergier and "other sources," who confirmed the story on condition of anonymity. The article identified [[J. B. Rhine]] of the [[Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory]] as the civilian scientist assigned to the project, reporting a high success rate for telepathic communication[^1]. According to Annie Jacobsen, Messadié stated in an interview that his information for the article came from Bergier and "other sources," who confirmed the story on condition of anonymity. The article identified [[J. B. Rhine]] of the [[Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory]] as the civilian scientist assigned to the project, reporting a high success rate for telepathic communication[^1].
Despite the [[U.S. Navy]]'s denial of the story as a hoax, Messadié's publication contributed to the widespread attention given to the alleged ESP experiments aboard the [[USS Nautilus]]. This, in turn, had significant real-world consequences, as the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] used the news to stimulate their own [[Parapsychology|parapsychology]] research. [[Leonid Vasiliev|Leonid L. Vasilev]], Russia's leading ESP researcher, claimed that Soviet parapsychology research was stimulated by the *Nautilus* reports[^1]. The [[U.S. Navy]] denied the reports. Messadié's publication drew wide attention to the reported ESP experiments aboard the [[The Nautilus|USS Nautilus]], and the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] used the news to stimulate their own [[Parapsychology|parapsychology]] research. [[Leonid Vasiliev|Leonid L. Vasilev]], Russia's leading ESP researcher, claimed that Soviet parapsychology research was stimulated by the *Nautilus* reports[^1].
### Footnotes ### 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. [^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]: Ebon, Martin. *Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion?* McGraw-Hill, 1983, chapter 3, pp. 29-31.
[^3]: 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.
[^4]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies*. Dell, 1997, pp. 90-93. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^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.

12
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/John Hull.md
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ summary: John Hull was a CIA operative whose ranch in northern Costa Rica served
--- ---
John Hull was an American [[Central Intelligence Agency]] operative who lived on a ranch in northern [[Costa Rica]] during the [[Contras|Contra]] war, posing as a midwestern farmer managing plantations for wealthy investors. In reality, Hull's ranch served as a training area and hiding place for Contra soldiers; it was where the [[Legion of September 15]] gathered before its bungled raid on the Argentine radio station in 1980.[^1] John Hull was an American [[Central Intelligence Agency]] operative who lived on a ranch in northern [[Costa Rica]] during the [[Contras|Contra]] war, posing as a midwestern farmer managing plantations for wealthy investors. In reality, Hull's ranch served as a training area and hiding place for Contra soldiers; it was where the [[Legion of September 15]] gathered before its bungled raid on the Argentine radio station in 1980.[^1]
Hull was the CIA's unofficial liaison to the Contras in northern Costa Rica and a close associate of [[Marcos Aguado]], a CIA-trained pilot and business associate of [[Norwin Meneses]]. Colombian trafficker [[George Morales]] and his pilots flew planeloads of weapons to Hull's ranch, where after dropping off arms, large green duffel bags full of cocaine belonging to the Contras were loaded aboard for return flights to the United States, usually to [[Opa Locka]], Florida.[^1] Hull was the CIA's unofficial liaison to the Contras in northern Costa Rica and according to Gary Webb a close associate of [[Marcos Aguado]], whom Webb calls a CIA-trained pilot and business associate of [[Norwin Meneses]].[^2] Colombian trafficker [[George Morales]] and his pilots flew planeloads of weapons to Hull's ranch, where after dropping off arms, large green duffel bags full of cocaine belonging to the Contras were loaded aboard for return flights to the United States, usually to [[Opa Locka]], Florida.[^1]
### Drug Flight Evidence ### Drug Flight Evidence
@ -19,13 +19,17 @@ Former CIA official [[Alan Fiers|Alan Fiers Jr.]], who oversaw the Contra progra
Pilot [[Fabio Ernesto Carrasco|"Tito" Carrasco]], who flew drug missions for Morales in and out of Hull's ranch, testified that one of [[Eden Pastora|Pastora's]] commanders assured him the CIA was protecting the flights from Costa Rica all the way into Florida.[^1] Pilot [[Fabio Ernesto Carrasco|"Tito" Carrasco]], who flew drug missions for Morales in and out of Hull's ranch, testified that one of [[Eden Pastora|Pastora's]] commanders assured him the CIA was protecting the flights from Costa Rica all the way into Florida.[^1]
On July 31, 1987, Fiers briefed the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] on Hull's alleged relationship with Morales. According to the committee transcript as quoted by the CIA Inspector General, Fiers said that Morales "saw John Hull in his, Morales' office, with [Marcos] Aguado in 1983. However, Morales didn't meet him. He didn't want to." The Inspector General also reports that on March 7, 1989 a Costa Rican judge charged Hull with "hostile acts" and "drug trafficking," and that Costa Rican court documents claimed Hull and Contra pilot [[Gerardo Duran]] had met Morales in Miami to discuss the sale of drugs and weapons, and that planes piloted by Duran and Aguado had landed at Hull's airstrips carrying military supplies and, with Hull's knowledge, left loaded with drugs. The Inspector General quotes Hull's reply to the allegations of [[Gary Betzner|Gary Wayne Betzner]]: "not true, not true! He made it up. He was coached."[^3]
### The Kelso Visit ### The Kelso Visit
In August 1986, [[Joseph Kelso]], a CIA and [[U.S. Customs]] informant fleeing [[DEA]] agents in Costa Rica, arrived at Hull's ranch seeking refuge. Kelso told Hull and [[Robert Owen|Rob Owen]] that DEA agents had maps of cocaine lab locations but were protecting them, including "one large lab located in southern Nicoya. And another in Talamanca region." Hull wrote a detailed report and gave it to Owen to deliver to [[Oliver North]], noting: "If the DEA people are in the drug business it should be stopped." Hull eventually concluded Kelso was telling the truth: "He was giving me locations of cocaine labs in Costa Rica and who they belonged to and then a week later one of them was busted and it was right where he said it was."[^2] In August 1986, [[Joseph Kelso]], a CIA and [[U.S. Customs]] informant fleeing [[DEA]] agents in Costa Rica, arrived at Hull's ranch seeking refuge. Kelso told Hull and [[Robert Owen|Rob Owen]] that DEA agents had maps of cocaine lab locations but were protecting them, including "one large lab located in southern Nicoya. And another in Talamanca region." Hull wrote a detailed report and gave it to Owen to deliver to [[Oliver North]], noting: "If the DEA people are in the drug business it should be stopped." Hull eventually concluded Kelso was telling the truth: "He was giving me locations of cocaine labs in Costa Rica and who they belonged to and then a week later one of them was busted and it was right where he said it was."[^4]
The next morning, Costa Rican Rural Guards awakened Kelso with automatic rifle fire and beat him with rifle butts. A colonel told Hull the embassy said Kelso "should be shot if he resisted arrest." Hull's Contras surrounded the guards with 12-gauge riot guns. Hull broke up the standoff but permitted the guards to take Kelso away.[^2] The next morning, Costa Rican Rural Guards awakened Kelso with automatic rifle fire and beat him with rifle butts. A colonel told Hull the embassy said Kelso "should be shot if he resisted arrest." Hull's Contras surrounded the guards with 12-gauge riot guns. Hull broke up the standoff but permitted the guards to take Kelso away.[^4]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction" [^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction"
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 17: "We're going to blow your fucking head off" [^2]: 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.
[^3]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), chapter on other individuals (John Hull; March 7, 1989 reporting; July 31, 1987 SSCI briefing transcript), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/other.html
[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 17: "We're going to blow your fucking head off"

3
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Kenneth A. Kress.md
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@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ tags:
- CIA - CIA
- SRI - SRI
summary: "Kress was the lead analyst assigned to the operation involving Pat Price's Remote Viewing of URDF-3, a highly classified Soviet research and development facility in Kazakhstan." summary: "Kress was the lead analyst assigned to the operation involving Pat Price's Remote Viewing of URDF-3, a highly classified Soviet research and development facility in Kazakhstan."
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Kenneth A. Kress was a physicist, engineer, and analyst with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. He is considered by some to be the "father of America's remote-viewing program" as he was responsible for giving [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] its first [[Psi]] research contract in 1972[^1]. Kress, then a young, dark-haired engineer, was instrumental in bringing [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Ingo Swann]] into the Central Intelligence Agency's orbit for psychic research[^1]. Kenneth A. Kress was a physicist, engineer, and analyst with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. He is considered by some to be the "father of America's remote-viewing program" as he was responsible for giving [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] its first [[Psi]] research contract in 1972[^1]. Kress, then a young, dark-haired engineer, was instrumental in bringing [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Ingo Swann]] into the Central Intelligence Agency's orbit for psychic research[^1].
@ -39,6 +40,8 @@ The office had spent 874 dollars on a few days' work in August 1972 and 2,500 mo
His review, "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," appeared in the classified *Studies in Intelligence* in the winter of 1977 and was declassified in 1996. It recorded the briefing of Director [[George H.W. Bush|George Bush]] in 1976, [[Stansfield Turner]]'s public acknowledgment of 1977, and the state of interest at DIA, DARPA, the Navy, and the Air Force, and ended: "This is not to say that parapsychology is a proven intelligence tool; it is to say that the evaluation is not yet complete and more research is needed." In a postscript of January 1999 for its reprinting he mentioned a later "secure line call from a person who identified himself as an FBI agent" and wrote: "Me, I remain a skeptical agnostic." Representative [[Charles Rose]] was briefed at OTS by its chief, [[David Brandwein]], on February 9, 1978.[^2][^3] His review, "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," appeared in the classified *Studies in Intelligence* in the winter of 1977 and was declassified in 1996. It recorded the briefing of Director [[George H.W. Bush|George Bush]] in 1976, [[Stansfield Turner]]'s public acknowledgment of 1977, and the state of interest at DIA, DARPA, the Navy, and the Air Force, and ended: "This is not to say that parapsychology is a proven intelligence tool; it is to say that the evaluation is not yet complete and more research is needed." In a postscript of January 1999 for its reprinting he mentioned a later "secure line call from a person who identified himself as an FBI agent" and wrote: "Me, I remain a skeptical agnostic." Representative [[Charles Rose]] was briefed at OTS by its chief, [[David Brandwein]], on February 9, 1978.[^2][^3]
In the review Kress wrote that the [[DARPA|Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] "reported that they had not only a showing of interest but a hostile response as well," and that "The SRI contractors and I went to a briefing where we had a several-hour confrontation with an assemblage of hostile DARPA people who had been convened especially to debunk our results." He wrote that after "a long, inconclusive, emotional discussion" they left and that "Contacts with DARPA stopped for several years." He wrote that the Navy reviewed part of the work, that minor funding was provided to SRI by the Navy to replicate one of SRI's earlier experiments under more controlled conditions, and that the Navy then became very concerned about the research being "mind warfare"-related and stopped funding.[^2]
### Footnotes ### 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. [^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.

19
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Lyndon B. Johnson.md
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@ -20,13 +20,26 @@ Johnson's ties to [[Israel]] were strong, influenced by his close advisers like
Johnson's strong emotional ties to Israel and his belief that Soviet arms were altering the balance of power in the [[Middle East]] drove him to become the first American President to supply Israel with offensive weapons and the first publicly to commit America to its defense. In the early years of his presidency, he echoed Kennedy's policy by urging Israel to submit [[Dimona]] to [[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]] inspection, motivated by his belief that a nuclear Israel could lead to a nuclear [[Egypt]], increased Soviet involvement, and potentially war.[^1] Johnson's strong emotional ties to Israel and his belief that Soviet arms were altering the balance of power in the [[Middle East]] drove him to become the first American President to supply Israel with offensive weapons and the first publicly to commit America to its defense. In the early years of his presidency, he echoed Kennedy's policy by urging Israel to submit [[Dimona]] to [[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]] inspection, motivated by his belief that a nuclear Israel could lead to a nuclear [[Egypt]], increased Soviet involvement, and potentially war.[^1]
### Intelligence during the June 1967 crisis and war
On the morning of May 23, 1967, Johnson summoned [[Richard Helms]] from a congressional briefing and asked for an assessment of the Middle East situation. [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, writes that Johnson declined to airlift special military supplies to Israel or to support it publicly, and quotes Johnson's later recollection of telling the Israeli foreign minister [[Abba Eban]] on May 26: "All of our intelligence people are unanimous that if the UAR attacks, you will whip hell out of them."[^2] On May 25 [[Walt Rostow]] sent Johnson an Israeli intelligence estimate with a CIA appraisal attached that, in Rostow's words, "throws a great deal of cold water on the Israeli estimate"; a handwritten "L" on the memorandum indicates that the President saw it.[^3]
On June 5, 1967, Johnson told congressional leaders that he had been expecting Israel's move, which Robarge attributes to CIA analyses and a tip from Helms. Helms recalled that "in the midst of one meeting" during the war Johnson asked how accurate his intelligence was on the progress of the war, and that he answered it was accurate "just as long as the Israelis are winning."[^2]
Notes of the [[National Security Council]] Special Committee meeting of June 9 record [[Clark Clifford]] saying that the attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]] should be handled "as if Arabs or USSR had done it" and calling it "Inconceivable that it was accident"; the note-taker's marginal notation next to the remarks reads: "President subscribed 100%."[^4] On June 12 Johnson requested a special study on the strafing and torpedoing of the ship, covering pilot conversations and "everything we can get" from the [[NSA|National Security Agency]]; Rostow sent a preliminary CIA report on June 13 as the "CIA's first cut at the problem," noting "They do not find evidence of U.S. identification before the attack."[^5] On June 26 Rostow sent Johnson the proposed public release of the Navy Court of Inquiry summary, noting that the Israelis had asked for 24 hours of lead time and that Deputy Secretary of Defense [[Cyrus Vance]] was inclined to give 12; the 12-hour option is the one checked.[^6]
### Bobby Baker ### Bobby Baker
Lyndon B. Johnson served as the 36th President of the United States. His rise to power emanated directly from his friends in Texas oil, including the [[Clint Murchison, Sr.|Murchison family]].[^2] Lyndon B. Johnson served as the 36th President of the United States. His rise to power emanated directly from his friends in Texas oil, including the [[Clint Murchison, Sr.|Murchison family]].[^7]
As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson made [[Bobby Baker]] his secretary of the Senate Democrats in 1955, referring to Baker as "my strong right arm, the last man I see at night, the first I see in the morning." A major scandal brewed around Baker in the autumn of 1963, involving numerous questionable deals that were tightly interwoven with the Murchison family and organized crime figures.[^2] As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson made [[Bobby Baker]] his secretary of the Senate Democrats in 1955, referring to Baker as "my strong right arm, the last man I see at night, the first I see in the morning." A major scandal brewed around Baker in the autumn of 1963, involving numerous questionable deals that were tightly interwoven with the Murchison family and organized crime figures.[^7]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 9. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 9.
[^2]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010. [^2]: 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 Robarge quotes Helms's memoir and Johnson's The Vantage Point.
[^3]: 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
[^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 236, Notes of a Meeting of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 9, 1967 (Saunders's handwritten notes). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d236
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 284, Intelligence Memorandum, "The Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty," June 13, 1967, with source note on Helms's notes of the June 12 meeting and Rostow's covering memorandum of June 13. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d284
[^6]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 324, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, June 26, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d324
[^7]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.

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10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Norwin Meneses.md
View file

@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ aliases:
- El Perico - El Perico
- El Maestro - El Maestro
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Organized Crime" category: "Organized Crime"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ relations:
role: "San Francisco historical conspiracy case and 1989 fugitive file" role: "San Francisco historical conspiracy case and 1989 fugitive file"
fn: 19 fn: 19
--- ---
Norwin Meneses Cantarero, born June 21, 1943, and known in Nicaragua as "El Rey de la Droga" and "El Perico," was a [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] cocaine trafficker who moved between [[Managua]], the [[San Francisco]] Bay Area and [[Costa Rica]].[^1] From 1980 the [[DEA]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] opened a series of cases on his family's organization, in which his nephews and associates were convicted and he was not; from July 1986 the DEA's Costa Rica office used him as a source and then as an informant while the FBI in San Francisco was assembling a case against him; a sealed federal indictment followed in 1989; and Nicaraguan police arrested him on November 3, 1991 with 764 kilograms of cocaine.[^1][^2] [[Gary Webb]] wrote that he was the [[Cali Drug Cartel|Cali cartel's]] representative in Nicaragua and a recruiter, arms supplier and benefactor of the [[Contras]]; the Justice Department's Inspector General found he gave the Contras little, dealt with all sides, and had no CIA connection.[^3][^1] Norwin Meneses Cantarero, born June 21, 1943, and known in Nicaragua as "El Rey de la Droga" and "El Perico," was a [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] cocaine trafficker who moved between [[Managua]], the [[San Francisco]] Bay Area and [[Costa Rica]].[^1] From 1980 the [[DEA]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] opened a series of cases on his family's organization, in which his nephews and associates were convicted and he was not; from July 1986 the DEA's Costa Rica office used him as a source and then as an informant while the FBI in San Francisco was assembling a case against him; a sealed federal indictment followed in 1989; and Nicaraguan police arrested him on November 3, 1991 with 764 kilograms of cocaine.[^1][^2] [[Gary Webb]] wrote that he was the [[Cali Drug Cartel|Cali cartel's]] representative in Nicaragua and a recruiter, arms supplier and benefactor of the [[Contras]]; the Justice Department's Inspector General found he gave the Contras little, dealt with all sides, and had no CIA connection.[^1][^3]
### Family and early record ### Family and early record
@ -89,9 +89,9 @@ Jairo Meneses's lawyer told the DEA's Office of Professional Responsibility in J
### The Contras ### The Contras
The records agree that Meneses attended Contra meetings in San Francisco and gave some money; they disagree on how much and why. Meneses told the CIA's Inspector General that between 1983 and 1984 his main role was recruiting Nicaraguans for the [[FDN]] at the request of [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]], that he sat on a fundraising committee without leading it, that he gave at most about $3,000 between 1982 and 1984, and that Bermúdez "was very strict and did not want anyone involved in drugs." He told the Justice Department he gave about $3,000 between 1982 and 1985 and denied that he or anyone sold drugs for the Contras.[^8][^5] Webb quoted Meneses as saying he became Bermúdez's "intelligence and security adviser in California," that Bermúdez was a friend since he was a lieutenant, that Edmundo had known Bermúdez since childhood, and that "nobody would join the Contra forces down there without my knowledge and approval." Webb cited [[Dennis Ainsworth]], a San Francisco Contra supporter, telling the FBI in 1987 that Meneses and Bermúdez dealt arms and drugs, and later telling Webb that Meneses "was national. And he was totally protected."[^4] The records agree that Meneses attended Contra meetings in San Francisco and gave some money; they disagree on how much and why. Meneses told the CIA's Inspector General that between 1983 and 1984 his main role was recruiting Nicaraguans for the [[FDN]] at the request of [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]], that he sat on a fundraising committee without leading it, that he gave at most about $3,000 between 1982 and 1984, and that Bermúdez "was very strict and did not want anyone involved in drugs." He told the Justice Department he gave about $3,000 between 1982 and 1985 and denied that he or anyone sold drugs for the Contras.[^5][^8] Webb quoted Meneses as saying he became Bermúdez's "intelligence and security adviser in California," that Bermúdez was a friend since he was a lieutenant, that Edmundo had known Bermúdez since childhood, and that "nobody would join the Contra forces down there without my knowledge and approval." Webb cited [[Dennis Ainsworth]], a San Francisco Contra supporter, telling the FBI in 1987 that Meneses and Bermúdez dealt arms and drugs, and later telling Webb that Meneses "was national. And he was totally protected."[^4]
[[Adolfo Calero]] told the Inspector General he met Meneses at Contra social events in San Francisco, that Meneses never held an FDN position, that Bermúdez told him Meneses had visited the Contras' first Honduran camp and given the troops a crossbow, and that he would have remembered receiving $500. The Examiner reported on June 23, 1986 that Calero said he had met Meneses as many as four times.[^5] [[Edgar Chamorro]] told the Examiner that he and [[Frank Arana]] flew to San Francisco in October 1982 to name local FDN leaders, that Meneses stood in the back of the meeting, helped arrange a Los Angeles meeting the next day, and was "one of the main contacts in L.A."; Renato Pena, the self-styled FDN representative in northern California from late 1982 to mid-1984, told federal investigators in 1997 that he heard Meneses telephone Bermúdez in Honduras and relay requests for silencers, crossbows and military equipment.[^9][^5] The FDN representative who replaced Pena, Tony Navarro, said Meneses came to a couple of meetings, was never a member and, as far as he knew, gave nothing; the Contra supporter Carlos Rocha put Meneses's gifts at perhaps $5,000; "David Morrison" recalled hearing of a $40,000 donation in 1981 and that Meneses traded weapons for cocaine paste with the Sandinistas.[^5][^6] The Inspector General found Navarro, Rocha and LA CI-1 substantially credible and found no concrete evidence, "such as bank records or drug ledgers," that money from Blandón or Meneses reached the Contras; it concluded that Meneses's reputation preceded him in the exile community, so that people dealing with him "knew or should have known" his money was probably illicit.[^5] The Inspector General also reported that several people familiar with him said he "lacked any political allegiance and would deal with anyone who would provide cocaine at the lowest price," and that Jairo Meneses told prosecutors in 1986 he dealt with leaders of both the Contras and the Sandinistas, getting cocaine from Sandinista officials through Margarita Castana, a niece of the Sandinista commander Bayardo Arce.[^1][^5] [[Adolfo Calero]] told the Inspector General he met Meneses at Contra social events in San Francisco, that Meneses never held an FDN position, that Bermúdez told him Meneses had visited the Contras' first Honduran camp and given the troops a crossbow, and that he would have remembered receiving $500. The Examiner reported on June 23, 1986 that Calero said he had met Meneses as many as four times.[^5] [[Edgar Chamorro]] told the Examiner that he and [[Frank Arana]] flew to San Francisco in October 1982 to name local FDN leaders, that Meneses stood in the back of the meeting, helped arrange a Los Angeles meeting the next day, and was "one of the main contacts in L.A."; Renato Pena, the self-styled FDN representative in northern California from late 1982 to mid-1984, told federal investigators in 1997 that he heard Meneses telephone Bermúdez in Honduras and relay requests for silencers, crossbows and military equipment.[^5][^9] The FDN representative who replaced Pena, Tony Navarro, said Meneses came to a couple of meetings, was never a member and, as far as he knew, gave nothing; the Contra supporter Carlos Rocha put Meneses's gifts at perhaps $5,000; "David Morrison" recalled hearing of a $40,000 donation in 1981 and that Meneses traded weapons for cocaine paste with the Sandinistas.[^5][^6] The Inspector General found Navarro, Rocha and LA CI-1 substantially credible and found no concrete evidence, "such as bank records or drug ledgers," that money from Blandón or Meneses reached the Contras; it concluded that Meneses's reputation preceded him in the exile community, so that people dealing with him "knew or should have known" his money was probably illicit.[^5] The Inspector General also reported that several people familiar with him said he "lacked any political allegiance and would deal with anyone who would provide cocaine at the lowest price," and that Jairo Meneses told prosecutors in 1986 he dealt with leaders of both the Contras and the Sandinistas, getting cocaine from Sandinista officials through Margarita Castana, a niece of the Sandinista commander Bayardo Arce.[^1][^5]
In April 1986 a DEA analyst interviewed an informant the Inspector General calls SR3, who had worked on the Meneses investigation for three years and was considered extremely reliable; SR3 said Meneses was trafficking both for himself and to raise money for the Contras, that some proceeds bought weapons in Colombia, and that Meneses boasted that "United States agents would assist him." SR3 had no first-hand knowledge beyond what Meneses told him.[^5] Pena told the DEA in the early 1980s that the CIA allowed the Contras to fly drugs into the United States; the Inspector General records he did not repeat it, and told the inspectors he made six to eight trips carrying $600,000 to nearly $1 million from San Francisco to a Colombian called "Carlos" in Los Angeles and returned with six to eight kilograms of cocaine each time, and that "Carlos" said "we are helping your cause with this drug thing."[^5] A CIA domestic station cable of October 22, 1982, relaying an INS informant, reported links between a religious organization and two Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary groups involving "an exchange in the US of narcotics for arms" and a planned meeting in Costa Rica; the November 3 follow-up named Pena as one of four FDN representatives; headquarters instructed the station on November 13 not to pursue it because of the involvement of United States persons and said on November 17 that the informant had probably been misinformed.[^5][^8] In April 1986 a DEA analyst interviewed an informant the Inspector General calls SR3, who had worked on the Meneses investigation for three years and was considered extremely reliable; SR3 said Meneses was trafficking both for himself and to raise money for the Contras, that some proceeds bought weapons in Colombia, and that Meneses boasted that "United States agents would assist him." SR3 had no first-hand knowledge beyond what Meneses told him.[^5] Pena told the DEA in the early 1980s that the CIA allowed the Contras to fly drugs into the United States; the Inspector General records he did not repeat it, and told the inspectors he made six to eight trips carrying $600,000 to nearly $1 million from San Francisco to a Colombian called "Carlos" in Los Angeles and returned with six to eight kilograms of cocaine each time, and that "Carlos" said "we are helping your cause with this drug thing."[^5] A CIA domestic station cable of October 22, 1982, relaying an INS informant, reported links between a religious organization and two Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary groups involving "an exchange in the US of narcotics for arms" and a planned meeting in Costa Rica; the November 3 follow-up named Pena as one of four FDN representatives; headquarters instructed the station on November 13 not to pursue it because of the involvement of United States persons and said on November 17 that the informant had probably been misinformed.[^5][^8]
@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Webb described Meneses's FDN role as public, with Contra functions at his homes,
### The Frogman network ### The Frogman network
Webb wrote that Meneses's Costa Rican pipeline ran through [[Horacio Pereira]] and [[Troilo Sanchez|Troilo Sánchez]], who supplied Peruvian cocaine hidden in woven baskets to Julio Zavala and Carlos Cabezas in San Francisco, with profits carried back to Costa Rica and Honduras.[^7] Cabezas told the Inspector General in 1997 that Meneses had no connection to the Zavala organization and was not affiliated with any Contra group; Troilo Sánchez said Pereira and Meneses had trafficked together since before Somoza fell; the FBI's November 8, 1982 teletype named Pereira "the major source of cocaine smuggling from Costa Rica to the United States."[^11][^12] The Senate's Kerry subcommittee reported that Pereira was convicted in Costa Rica in 1985 and sentenced to 12 years; the Justice Department's inspectors were told he was dead.[^13][^12] Webb wrote that Meneses's Costa Rican pipeline ran through [[Horacio Pereira]] and [[Troilo Sanchez|Troilo Sánchez]], who supplied Peruvian cocaine hidden in woven baskets to Julio Zavala and Carlos Cabezas in San Francisco, with profits carried back to Costa Rica and Honduras.[^7] Cabezas told the Inspector General in 1997 that Meneses had no connection to the Zavala organization and was not affiliated with any Contra group; Troilo Sánchez said Pereira and Meneses had trafficked together since before Somoza fell; the FBI's November 8, 1982 teletype named Pereira "the major source of cocaine smuggling from Costa Rica to the United States."[^11][^12] The Senate's Kerry subcommittee reported that Pereira was convicted in Costa Rica in 1985 and sentenced to 12 years; the Justice Department's inspectors were told he was dead.[^12][^13]
### Costa Rica ### Costa Rica
@ -111,21 +111,23 @@ In July 1986 Meneses went to the DEA's Costa Rica office and told agent [[Sandal
On October 9, 1986 Gonzalez opened a DEA case on Blandón on Meneses's information. On December 21, 1986 Meneses and DEA CI-1, an experienced informant who claimed to have worked for the CIA years before in Europe and the Soviet Union, left Costa Rica for Los Angeles in a plan Gonzalez filed as "Operation Perico." They met Blandón and [[Ivan Torres]] on January 7 and 15, 1987, and DEA CI-1 recorded that the traffickers called Meneses "El Maestro" and treated him as retired from the business two or three years before. The Los Angeles DEA had agreed to the plan on December 23, after the departure; the DEA offices in Riverside and San Francisco and the FBI were not coordinated, and Aukland did not learn of it until January. Gonzalez's later reports quoted Torres on CIA tolerance of Contra trafficking and recorded that Pastora wished to enter cocaine trafficking to funnel money to the Contras and had asked Meneses to find a buyer for a DC-3 at Ilopango.[^17] Webb wrote that the informant was a CIA operative known as "Roberto," that the FBI in San Francisco issued warrants for both men and they fled, and that Meneses then said he would never return or testify; the Inspector General records DEA CI-1's claim of a warning from DEA agent Eddie Hill, which Hill denied, and found no FBI warrant in January 1987. The Mexican "Roberto" whom Troilo Sánchez said Meneses introduced to him in 1987 did not resemble the CIA contractor who used the alias Ivan Gómez.[^16][^17][^18] On October 9, 1986 Gonzalez opened a DEA case on Blandón on Meneses's information. On December 21, 1986 Meneses and DEA CI-1, an experienced informant who claimed to have worked for the CIA years before in Europe and the Soviet Union, left Costa Rica for Los Angeles in a plan Gonzalez filed as "Operation Perico." They met Blandón and [[Ivan Torres]] on January 7 and 15, 1987, and DEA CI-1 recorded that the traffickers called Meneses "El Maestro" and treated him as retired from the business two or three years before. The Los Angeles DEA had agreed to the plan on December 23, after the departure; the DEA offices in Riverside and San Francisco and the FBI were not coordinated, and Aukland did not learn of it until January. Gonzalez's later reports quoted Torres on CIA tolerance of Contra trafficking and recorded that Pastora wished to enter cocaine trafficking to funnel money to the Contras and had asked Meneses to find a buyer for a DC-3 at Ilopango.[^17] Webb wrote that the informant was a CIA operative known as "Roberto," that the FBI in San Francisco issued warrants for both men and they fled, and that Meneses then said he would never return or testify; the Inspector General records DEA CI-1's claim of a warning from DEA agent Eddie Hill, which Hill denied, and found no FBI warrant in January 1987. The Mexican "Roberto" whom Troilo Sánchez said Meneses introduced to him in 1987 did not resemble the CIA contractor who used the alias Ivan Gómez.[^16][^17][^18]
On January 29, 1987 the DEA's San Francisco office cabled that the FBI had "an indictable case against the CI" and asked whether an indictment "will result in national security problems with other agencies"; the Inspector General noted that the San Francisco FBI had source information that Meneses might have worked for the CIA and that the Iran-Contra independent counsel's inquiry was just beginning. On February 27, 1987 the San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office wrote that, on assurances from Assistant U.S. Attorney Crossan Andersen in Los Angeles, it would defer prosecution because Meneses would "be required to plead guilty to a cocaine-related charge as part of his cooperation agreement"; no written agreement was found and Andersen and Swenson did not recall one, and the FBI placed its case in inactive status.[^17] Webb wrote that recently released Justice Department records show no such cooperation agreement existed.[^16] Meneses's conditions for returning, in June 1987, were anonymity, no testimony, contact only with named DEA personnel and restoration of resident status; headquarters refused on June 26 to guarantee that his identity would never come out in court, the Los Angeles case was declined on July 17, and Gonzalez nevertheless registered him as an informant on July 24, 1987, with a form that listed "no pending charges known at this time."[^17][^6] On January 29, 1987 the DEA's San Francisco office cabled that the FBI had "an indictable case against the CI" and asked whether an indictment "will result in national security problems with other agencies"; the Inspector General noted that the San Francisco FBI had source information that Meneses might have worked for the CIA and that the Iran-Contra independent counsel's inquiry was just beginning. On February 27, 1987 the San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office wrote that, on assurances from Assistant U.S. Attorney Crossan Andersen in Los Angeles, it would defer prosecution because Meneses would "be required to plead guilty to a cocaine-related charge as part of his cooperation agreement"; no written agreement was found and Andersen and Swenson did not recall one, and the FBI placed its case in inactive status.[^17] Webb wrote that recently released Justice Department records show no such cooperation agreement existed.[^16] Meneses's conditions for returning, in June 1987, were anonymity, no testimony, contact only with named DEA personnel and restoration of resident status; headquarters refused on June 26 to guarantee that his identity would never come out in court, the Los Angeles case was declined on July 17, and Gonzalez nevertheless registered him as an informant on July 24, 1987, with a form that listed "no pending charges known at this time."[^6][^17]
In September 1987, on a visa waiver the DEA requested over State Department and CIA information that he was a narcotics kingpin, Meneses went with DEA CI-1 to Miami, where he met Blandón, and to San Francisco, where an FBI informant said he was telling associates he worked for the CIA; they returned in November and December 1987, producing a case against Aparicio Moreno. An INS stop in Miami in September 1988, when the DEA said it had not expected him, ended with his agreeing to leave. Gonzalez moved to Mexico City in January 1988 and agent James Rivera took over, working cases on cocaine from Panama through Costa Rica. Meneses traveled for the DEA to Miami, Los Angeles and Colombia in 1989, and the DEA deactivated him on December 23, 1989 because none of his cases "appears to have any chance of fruition." He was reactivated on May 10, 1990 after reporting that Blandón wanted help moving cocaine from Central America to Florida, paid $500, and closed on August 16, 1990. The DEA's payments totaled $7,377.50 in thirteen payments.[^6][^19][^2] In September 1987, on a visa waiver the DEA requested over State Department and CIA information that he was a narcotics kingpin, Meneses went with DEA CI-1 to Miami, where he met Blandón, and to San Francisco, where an FBI informant said he was telling associates he worked for the CIA; they returned in November and December 1987, producing a case against Aparicio Moreno. An INS stop in Miami in September 1988, when the DEA said it had not expected him, ended with his agreeing to leave. Gonzalez moved to Mexico City in January 1988 and agent James Rivera took over, working cases on cocaine from Panama through Costa Rica. Meneses traveled for the DEA to Miami, Los Angeles and Colombia in 1989, and the DEA deactivated him on December 23, 1989 because none of his cases "appears to have any chance of fruition." He was reactivated on May 10, 1990 after reporting that Blandón wanted help moving cocaine from Central America to Florida, paid $500, and closed on August 16, 1990. The DEA's payments totaled $7,377.50 in thirteen payments.[^2][^6][^19]
Meanwhile the San Francisco FBI's Donald Hale wrote to headquarters in January 1988 that "it became apparent to the FBI that Norwin Meneses was, and may still be, an informant of DEA" and "an informant for the Central Intelligence Agency," on the word of a source who said Meneses was bragging that this was why he was not prosecuted. On April 15, 1988 headquarters relayed the CIA general counsel's reply, dated March 31, 1988, that a search found no information that Meneses was ever employed by or an informant for the CIA and that the CIA had no objection to prosecution.[^19][^8] A grand jury in San Francisco indicted Meneses on February 8, 1989 on two counts, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, from a 1984 sale to an undercover agent in which he was the source, and possession with intent to distribute, from a 1985 informant's report; the indictment was sealed and a no-bail warrant issued. Swenson wrote that the reason was "upcoming Statute of Limitations problems," and told Agent Stephen Tse in 1991 that the case was "old and very weak." The warrant was entered in the FBI's NCIC database on April 12, 1989; the indictment was unsealed on August 4, 1997.[^19][^2] Rivera said he did not know of the warrant when he requested a visa for Meneses that year. On January 22, 1990 the DEA's country attaché Ron Lard told an FBI legal attaché that Meneses was "a very valuable and current active DEA source," though he had been deactivated the previous month; the San Francisco FBI replied on February 12 that it would not have sought the indictment had it known. No extradition request was ever made, and a treaty with Costa Rica did not cover drug offenses.[^19] Meanwhile the San Francisco FBI's Donald Hale wrote to headquarters in January 1988 that "it became apparent to the FBI that Norwin Meneses was, and may still be, an informant of DEA" and "an informant for the Central Intelligence Agency," on the word of a source who said Meneses was bragging that this was why he was not prosecuted. On April 15, 1988 headquarters relayed the CIA general counsel's reply, dated March 31, 1988, that a search found no information that Meneses was ever employed by or an informant for the CIA and that the CIA had no objection to prosecution.[^8][^19] A grand jury in San Francisco indicted Meneses on February 8, 1989 on two counts, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, from a 1984 sale to an undercover agent in which he was the source, and possession with intent to distribute, from a 1985 informant's report; the indictment was sealed and a no-bail warrant issued. Swenson wrote that the reason was "upcoming Statute of Limitations problems," and told Agent Stephen Tse in 1991 that the case was "old and very weak." The warrant was entered in the FBI's NCIC database on April 12, 1989; the indictment was unsealed on August 4, 1997.[^2][^19] Rivera said he did not know of the warrant when he requested a visa for Meneses that year. On January 22, 1990 the DEA's country attaché Ron Lard told an FBI legal attaché that Meneses was "a very valuable and current active DEA source," though he had been deactivated the previous month; the San Francisco FBI replied on February 12 that it would not have sought the indictment had it known. No extradition request was ever made, and a treaty with Costa Rica did not cover drug offenses.[^19]
### Nicaragua, 1990 to 1997 ### Nicaragua, 1990 to 1997
After the Sandinistas lost the 1990 election Meneses returned to Nicaragua, where, Webb wrote, he sought $12 million in confiscated holdings and recruited the former Sandinista intelligence officer [[Enrique Miranda]] to reopen his routes through concealed airstrips, including one near Rosita.[^20] In September 1991 a DEA informant told the Guatemala office he was driving a car loaded with cocaine from Managua to Houston for Meneses and Miranda, and DEA cases opened in Guatemala, Houston and Los Angeles; on September 23 Lard told the FBI that Meneses had contacted the DEA again, and agent Federico Villarreal met him two or three times in Managua, without a record of reactivation or payment.[^19] On November 3, 1991 the Nicaraguan National Police arrested Meneses, his half-brother Luis Enrique Meneses, Miranda, an engineer who concealed the cocaine, Carmelo Lacayo Briceño, and Carlos Francisco Merlo Bermúdez, seizing about 764 kilograms of cocaine and a kilogram of heroin being loaded into vehicles for the United States; a CIA station reported the arrest on November 4 and a DO update called him "the top Cali Cartel trafficker in Nicaragua."[^2][^8] Webb wrote that police chief Rene Vivas said Meneses told him "he had the backing of a higher power, a superpower" and was working for the United States to get Sandinista officials on drug charges, that Roger Mayorga complained that Villarreal had been meeting him secretly, and that the State Department pressed the Chamorro government to dismiss Vivas.[^20] Webb gave the seizure as 725 kilograms; the Inspector General and the CIA give 764. Villarreal told the Inspector General he did not send Meneses against the Sandinistas and that Meneses may have wanted to be able to say he was still working for the DEA.[^2] After the Sandinistas lost the 1990 election Meneses returned to Nicaragua, where, Webb wrote, he sought $12 million in confiscated holdings and recruited the former Sandinista intelligence officer [[Enrique Miranda]] to reopen his routes through concealed airstrips, including one near Rosita.[^20] In September 1991 a DEA informant told the Guatemala office he was driving a car loaded with cocaine from Managua to Houston for Meneses and Miranda, and DEA cases opened in Guatemala, Houston and Los Angeles; on September 23 Lard told the FBI that Meneses had contacted the DEA again, and agent Federico Villarreal met him two or three times in Managua, without a record of reactivation or payment.[^19] On November 3, 1991 the Nicaraguan National Police arrested Meneses, his half-brother Luis Enrique Meneses, Miranda, an engineer who concealed the cocaine, Carmelo Lacayo Briceño, and Carlos Francisco Merlo Bermúdez, seizing about 764 kilograms of cocaine and a kilogram of heroin being loaded into vehicles for the United States; a CIA station reported the arrest on November 4 and a DO update called him "the top Cali Cartel trafficker in Nicaragua."[^2][^8] Webb wrote that police chief Rene Vivas said Meneses told him "he had the backing of a higher power, a superpower" and was working for the United States to get Sandinista officials on drug charges, that Roger Mayorga complained that Villarreal had been meeting him secretly, and that the State Department pressed the Chamorro government to dismiss Vivas.[^20] Webb gave the seizure as 725 kilograms; the Inspector General and the CIA give 764. Villarreal told the Inspector General he did not send Meneses against the Sandinistas and that Meneses may have wanted to be able to say he was still working for the DEA.[^2]
Meneses was convicted on August 16, 1992 and sentenced to 300 months; Miranda received 168 months. The term was later reduced to twelve and a half years, and the U.S. Embassy reported his release on November 14, 1997.[^2] Webb and the journalist [[Georg Hodel]] interviewed him at Tipitapa prison in January 1996, where Webb wrote the guards murmured "Señor"; Meneses told the Justice Department's inspectors in April 1997 that he had never dealt drugs, that the Sandinistas set him up and that he never cooperated with any United States agency, and told the CIA's inspectors he never dealt with the CIA.[^21][^1][^8] Meneses was convicted on August 16, 1992 and sentenced to 300 months; Miranda received 168 months. The term was later reduced to twelve and a half years, and the U.S. Embassy reported his release on November 14, 1997.[^2] Webb and the journalist [[Georg Hodel]] interviewed him at Tipitapa prison in January 1996, where Webb wrote the guards murmured "Señor"; Meneses told the Justice Department's inspectors in April 1997 that he had never dealt drugs, that the Sandinistas set him up and that he never cooperated with any United States agency, and told the CIA's inspectors he never dealt with the CIA.[^1][^8][^21]
### Miranda and Ilopango ### Miranda and Ilopango
Miranda testified at the 1991 trial that Meneses financed the Contras with cocaine and that the Salvadoran Air Force landed his shipments at a Texas base. Webb relayed more: that cocaine from Colombia reached Costa Rican strips including the farm of the CIA-linked [[John Hull]], that [[Marcos Aguado]] and Meneses supervised loading at [[Ilopango Airbase]] onto aircraft of the Salvadoran Air Force and of [[Southern Air Transport]], and that guns went south and drugs north.[^22] Miranda told the Inspector General that his knowledge was all from Meneses and Aguado; that he said he had witnessed a shipment in Texas and, pressed, said he had not; that he had been paid about $3,500 a month by the CIA for eight months in 1985 and was accused of being a double agent; and that he had never raised Contra trafficking when the DEA debriefed him in 1996. The Inspector General concluded his allegations "lack substantial force"; the CIA's inspectors said he could provide nothing to corroborate them. Miranda also said the Sandinistas asked him in 1981 to recruit Meneses for their drug operation and that Meneses declined, telling him he was already selling for the Contras with CIA support and that he stopped in September 1985.[^23][^8] Miranda testified at the 1991 trial that Meneses financed the Contras with cocaine and that the Salvadoran Air Force landed his shipments at a Texas base. Webb relayed more: that cocaine from Colombia reached Costa Rican strips including the farm of the CIA-linked [[John Hull]], that [[Marcos Aguado]] and Meneses supervised loading at [[Ilopango Airbase]] onto aircraft of the Salvadoran Air Force and of [[Southern Air Transport]], and that guns went south and drugs north.[^22] Miranda told the Inspector General that his knowledge was all from Meneses and Aguado; that he said he had witnessed a shipment in Texas and, pressed, said he had not; that he had been paid about $3,500 a month by the CIA for eight months in 1985 and was accused of being a double agent; and that he had never raised Contra trafficking when the DEA debriefed him in 1996. The Inspector General concluded his allegations "lack substantial force"; the CIA's inspectors said he could provide nothing to corroborate them. Miranda also said the Sandinistas asked him in 1981 to recruit Meneses for their drug operation and that Meneses declined, telling him he was already selling for the Contras with CIA support and that he stopped in September 1985.[^8][^23]
The San Jose Mercury News reported on August 18, 1996 that at his 1991 trial Meneses testified that Aguado had sold him an auto transport trailer, which Meneses's men were stuffing with cocaine when Nicaraguan police arrived; Aguado was not charged, and the newspaper could not reach him. The newspaper also reported Meneses describing Aguado as one of his oldest friends, a Nicaraguan who worked for the Salvadoran air force high command.[^24] Webb put the trailer's price at $125,000 and wrote that Aguado, interviewed, denied knowing how Meneses would use it.[^25]
### CIA records and the arrangement of the claims ### CIA records and the arrangement of the claims
@ -135,7 +137,7 @@ The San Francisco DEA agent accused in 1985 told the Inspector General that Mene
### Family ### Family
Webb listed the nephews Guillermo, Jaime and Jairo Meneses as Bay Area traffickers, Jairo as the son of Edmundo and Blandón's partner in Nicaraguan hotels and casinos; the Justice Department's inspectors could not locate Jairo and received an unconfirmed report that he was killed in Nicaragua in 1991 or 1992.[^15][^5] Webb described Rafael Cornejo as a Bay Area distributor for Meneses since the mid-1970s, convicted of tax evasion in 1985 and indicted for cocaine trafficking in 1992, against whom Blandón later cooperated.[^3][^24] Webb listed [[Marcos Aguado]] as a CIA-trained pilot and business associate; the CIA's Inspector General recorded that Miranda's allegations about Aguado could not be supported.[^15][^14] Webb listed the nephews Guillermo, Jaime and Jairo Meneses as Bay Area traffickers, Jairo as the son of Edmundo and Blandón's partner in Nicaraguan hotels and casinos; the Justice Department's inspectors could not locate Jairo and received an unconfirmed report that he was killed in Nicaragua in 1991 or 1992.[^5][^15] Webb described Rafael Cornejo as a Bay Area distributor for Meneses since the mid-1970s, convicted of tax evasion in 1985 and indicted for cocaine trafficking in 1992, against whom Blandón later cooperated.[^3][^26] Webb listed Marcos Aguado as a CIA-trained pilot and business associate; the CIA's Inspector General recorded that Miranda's allegations about Aguado could not be supported.[^14][^15]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
@ -162,4 +164,6 @@ Webb listed the nephews Guillermo, Jaime and Jairo Meneses as Bay Area trafficke
[^21]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Prologue: "It was like they didn't want to know." Sole source for the passages so cited. [^21]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Prologue: "It was like they didn't want to know." Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^22]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends." Sole source for the passages so cited. [^22]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends." Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^23]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter VII (Enrique Miranda-Jaime), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch07.htm [^23]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter VII (Enrique Miranda-Jaime), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch07.htm
[^24]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter II, section K (the 1992 San Diego prosecution of Blandon), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p6.htm [^24]: San Jose Mercury News, August 18, 1996 (Gary Webb, "Testimony Links U.S. to Drugs-Guns Trade Dealers Got Their 'Own Little Arsenal,'" Dark Alliance series), https://people.duke.edu/~ldbaker/clippings/da1.html
[^25]: 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.
[^26]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter II, section K (the 1992 San Diego prosecution of Blandon), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p6.htm

21
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Richard Helms.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2026-05-15 created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-09-21 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Richard Helms title: Richard Helms
aliases: aliases:
- Richard McGarrah Helms - Richard McGarrah Helms
@ -63,11 +63,21 @@ The CIA subsequently funded opposition media, political parties, and military fa
In February 1973, when Helms testified before the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] regarding CIA activities in Chile, he stated under oath that the CIA had not "tried to overthrow the government of Chile" and had not "passed money to the opponents of Allende." Both statements were false. The 1974 Pinochet coup and subsequent Church Committee investigation produced documentary evidence of both activities. In 1977, Helms was charged with two misdemeanor counts of making false and misleading statements to Congress. He pleaded no contest (nolo contendere) and was fined $2,000 with a two-year suspended sentence - the minimum possible consequence for what amounted to perjury before Congress. CIA veterans gave him a standing ovation in the courthouse corridor after sentencing.[^1] In February 1973, when Helms testified before the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] regarding CIA activities in Chile, he stated under oath that the CIA had not "tried to overthrow the government of Chile" and had not "passed money to the opponents of Allende." Both statements were false. The 1974 Pinochet coup and subsequent Church Committee investigation produced documentary evidence of both activities. In 1977, Helms was charged with two misdemeanor counts of making false and misleading statements to Congress. He pleaded no contest (nolo contendere) and was fined $2,000 with a two-year suspended sentence - the minimum possible consequence for what amounted to perjury before Congress. CIA veterans gave him a standing ovation in the courthouse corridor after sentencing.[^1]
### The Israeli estimate and the June 1967 warning
On May 25, 1967, Helms had the [[Office of National Estimates]] appraise an Israeli intelligence estimate within five hours. The appraisal stated: "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." [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, describes the Israeli paper as a [[Mossad]] estimate and writes that the Israelis may have been exploiting their special relationship with James Jesus Angleton.[^4][^5]
On June 1, 1967, Helms's deputy, Vice Admiral [[Rufus Taylor]], wrote the memorandum of the conversation between Major General [[Meir Amit]] and Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]], captioned "Personal and Eyes Only for the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence."[^6] Robarge writes that Helms met a senior Israeli official on June 1 who hinted that Israel could no longer avoid a decision, that the official left the United States on June 2, and that that morning Helms wrote an "Eyes Only" letter to President Johnson forewarning that Israel probably would start a war within a few days.[^7] Helms was awakened at 3:00 a.m. on June 5 by a call from the CIA Operations Center. He recalled that "in the midst of one meeting" during the war Johnson asked how accurate his intelligence on the progress of the war was, and that he answered: "It's accurate just as long as the Israelis are winning."[^5]
### NUMEC letter, April 1968
On April 2, 1968, Helms wrote to Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] asking that the FBI "initiate a discreet intelligence investigation of an all source nature of Dr. Shapiro in order to establish the nature and extent of his relationship with the Government of Israel," and asked that the letter be returned to him once the Attorney General had acted, because the subject matter was "so sensitive for obvious reasons." A twelve-line passage before the request remains redacted.[^8] The subject was [[Zalman Mordecai Shapiro]] of the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]].
### Israel: The "Open Pipeline" Assessment ### Israel: The "Open Pipeline" Assessment
Helms developed a personal conviction, disclosed to his deputies, that Israel was providing American satellite intelligence to the [[Soviet Union]] as part of an undisclosed intelligence exchange - characterizing Israel as "an open pipeline for pumping intelligence to Moscow." He never officially reported this assessment or commissioned a formal investigation, and he took no documented action on it. His reluctance reflected both the sensitivity of accusing an ally and the particular weight of any assessment that ran against the interests managed by Angleton's [[KK MOUNTAIN]] Israeli liaison program. Helms developed a personal conviction, disclosed to his deputies, that Israel was providing American satellite intelligence to the [[Soviet Union]] as part of an undisclosed intelligence exchange - characterizing Israel as "an open pipeline for pumping intelligence to Moscow." He never officially reported this assessment or commissioned a formal investigation, and he took no documented action on it. His reluctance reflected both the sensitivity of accusing an ally and the particular weight of any assessment that ran against the interests managed by Angleton's [[KK MOUNTAIN]] Israeli liaison program.
When President Johnson sought an intelligence assessment of whether Israel had manufactured nuclear weapons, Helms provided the estimate (four warheads) and then obeyed Johnson's instruction that the finding be buried rather than formally reported. Johnson did not want intelligence conclusions that would require him to act on them politically. Helms's willingness to suppress an accurate intelligence product at presidential direction exemplified the institutional failure the Church Committee later documented.[^4] When President Johnson sought an intelligence assessment of whether Israel had manufactured nuclear weapons, Helms provided the estimate (four warheads) and then obeyed Johnson's instruction that the finding be buried rather than formally reported. Johnson did not want intelligence conclusions that would require him to act on them politically. Helms's willingness to suppress an accurate intelligence product at presidential direction exemplified the institutional failure the Church Committee later documented.[^9]
### Iran, Retirement, and Memoirs ### Iran, Retirement, and Memoirs
@ -80,4 +90,9 @@ He published his memoirs, *A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intell
[^1]: Powers, Thomas. *The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA.* Knopf, 1979 (the essential biography, based on extensive interviews). Church Committee (Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). Final Report, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976. [^1]: Powers, Thomas. *The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA.* Knopf, 1979 (the essential biography, based on extensive interviews). Church Committee (Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). Final Report, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976.
[^2]: Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975 (documents ZR/RIFLE and the failure to disclose to Warren Commission). Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown, 2017. [^2]: Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975 (documents ZR/RIFLE and the failure to disclose to Warren Commission). Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown, 2017.
[^3]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapters 1, 4, 12. [^3]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapters 1, 4, 12.
[^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapters 11, 14, 16. [^4]: 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
[^5]: 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
[^6]: 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
[^7]: 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 For the June 1 to 2 meeting Robarge relies on published accounts, among them Michael B. Oren's, which rest on Amit's interviews and writings.
[^8]: National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (November 2, 2016), Document 8, Letter from Richard Helms to Ramsey Clark, April 2, 1968 (ISCAP Appeal No. 2013-062). https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-11-02/numec-affair-did-highly-enriched-uranium-us-aid-israels-nuclear-weapons-program
[^9]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapters 11, 14, 16.

12
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Richard Kahn.md
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@ -46,9 +46,9 @@ relations:
with: "[[Gordon Rhea]]" with: "[[Gordon Rhea]]"
reverse: true reverse: true
role: "counsel in the territory's estate litigation" role: "counsel in the territory's estate litigation"
fn: 14 fn: 16
created: 2026-09-25 created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Richard D. Kahn is an accountant who was [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s longtime in-house accountant, treasurer and director of [[Southern Trust Company]] and of the Virgin Islands corporations that held Epstein's real estate, and, with the lawyer [[Darren Indyke]], co-executor of Epstein's estate and co-trustee of the 1953 Trust. The trust names Kahn to receive 25 million dollars, third in order of payment. The [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] government sued him personally in 2020, victims sued him and Indyke in a class action the estate agreed in February 2026 to settle for up to 35 million dollars, and in September 2026 federal prosecutors in Manhattan were reported to be investigating both men. Kahn and Indyke deny knowing of Epstein's sex trafficking or knowingly helping him.[^1][^2][^3][^4] Richard D. Kahn is an accountant who was [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s longtime in-house accountant, treasurer and director of [[Southern Trust Company]] and of the Virgin Islands corporations that held Epstein's real estate, and, with the lawyer [[Darren Indyke]], co-executor of Epstein's estate and co-trustee of the 1953 Trust. The trust names Kahn to receive 25 million dollars, third in order of payment. The [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] government sued him personally in 2020, victims sued him and Indyke in a class action the estate agreed in February 2026 to settle for up to 35 million dollars, and in September 2026 federal prosecutors in Manhattan were reported to be investigating both men. Kahn and Indyke deny knowing of Epstein's sex trafficking or knowingly helping him.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
@ -77,11 +77,13 @@ In March 2019 Kahn took part in the exercise of warrants in the Israeli company
*[[The Daily Beast]]* reported in August 2020 that on the day after Epstein's death Kahn was photographed leaving the Manhattan townhouse with a bag that, according to a source close to him, contained Epstein's funeral clothes.[^13] *[[The Daily Beast]]* reported in August 2020 that on the day after Epstein's death Kahn was photographed leaving the Manhattan townhouse with a bag that, according to a source close to him, contained Epstein's funeral clothes.[^13]
On May 16, 2014, Kahn wrote to [[Larry Visoski]]: "Can you poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading as Danny says they are trying to buy Jet Center." He added, "They appear to be an nyc hedge fund with an office in stt as an EDC company as well," and asked, "who are principals? type of plane? tail? anything else relevant.."[^14] Kahn then forwarded the exchange to Epstein, writing that "these are the black diamond guys trying to buy aircraft," linking two pages of the website of [[Black Diamond Capital Management]], the firm of [[Stephen Deckoff]], and saying that "larry has obtained some good info on them." A reply from the account "jeffrey E." reads "yes why not?"[^15]
### Co-Executor ### Co-Executor
Kahn and Indyke filed Epstein's will for probate on August 15, 2019, valuing his Virgin Islands property at 577,672,654 dollars, and filed a Certificate of Trust for the 1953 Trust on August 26, 2019. Testifying to the [[House Oversight Committee]] on March 11, 2026, Kahn said: "I believe that Epstein envisioned me taking this role as co-executor and co-agent trustee ... would be many, many years of working. So if I was not in Epstein's Trust and I was a corporate trustee, I probably would have received an executor fee of $12 million for serving as co-executor and serving as co-trustee. So that could be the only reason why he left me such a large bequest." He testified that the estate spends 10 to 15 million dollars a year on legal and other fees and pays the co-executors' legal bills. The estate's assets fell from 655.1 million dollars at the end of 2019 to 107.6 million dollars by September 2026.[^1][^2] Kahn and Indyke filed Epstein's will for probate on August 15, 2019, valuing his Virgin Islands property at 577,672,654 dollars, and filed a Certificate of Trust for the 1953 Trust on August 26, 2019. Testifying to the [[House Oversight Committee]] on March 11, 2026, Kahn said: "I believe that Epstein envisioned me taking this role as co-executor and co-agent trustee ... would be many, many years of working. So if I was not in Epstein's Trust and I was a corporate trustee, I probably would have received an executor fee of $12 million for serving as co-executor and serving as co-trustee. So that could be the only reason why he left me such a large bequest." He testified that the estate spends 10 to 15 million dollars a year on legal and other fees and pays the co-executors' legal bills. The estate's assets fell from 655.1 million dollars at the end of 2019 to 107.6 million dollars by September 2026.[^1][^2]
The territory's action against the estate, Kahn, Indyke and the Epstein companies settled on December 1, 2022 for more than 105 million dollars in cash, half the proceeds of the sale of [[Little St. James]] and the return of more than 80 million dollars in tax benefits.[^5] In 2024 Governor Bryan appointed as attorney general [[Gordon Rhea]], who had represented Kahn in that litigation; Rhea said he would recuse himself from Epstein matters.[^14] The territory's action against the estate, Kahn, Indyke and the Epstein companies settled on December 1, 2022 for more than 105 million dollars in cash, half the proceeds of the sale of [[Little St. James]] and the return of more than 80 million dollars in tax benefits.[^5] In 2024 Governor Bryan appointed as attorney general [[Gordon Rhea]], who had represented Kahn in that litigation; Rhea said he would recuse himself from Epstein matters.[^16]
### Victim Suits and Federal Investigation ### Victim Suits and Federal Investigation
@ -104,4 +106,6 @@ On September 23, 2026 the [[Washington Examiner]], citing a source familiar with
[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02634615, DataSet 11, email chain "Carbyne warrants" among Tomer Toor, NJF Capital, Darren Indyke and Jeffrey Epstein, February 28 to March 14, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02634615.pdf [^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02634615, DataSet 11, email chain "Carbyne warrants" among Tomer Toor, NJF Capital, Darren Indyke and Jeffrey Epstein, February 28 to March 14, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02634615.pdf
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01035810, DataSet 9, email from Richard Kahn to Jeffrey Epstein, "Fwd: Carbyne," March 15, 2019; EFTA02636176, DataSet 11, email from Jeffrey Epstein to Richard Kahn, "Re: CARBYNE," March 27, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01035810.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02636176.pdf [^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01035810, DataSet 9, email from Richard Kahn to Jeffrey Epstein, "Fwd: Carbyne," March 15, 2019; EFTA02636176, DataSet 11, email from Jeffrey Epstein to Richard Kahn, "Re: CARBYNE," March 27, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01035810.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02636176.pdf
[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00163119, DataSet 9, press printout: Kate Briquelet and William Bredderman, "Jeffrey Epstein's Right-Hand Mystery Men: The Lawyer and the Accountant," *The Daily Beast,* August 30, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00163119.pdf [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00163119, DataSet 9, press printout: Kate Briquelet and William Bredderman, "Jeffrey Epstein's Right-Hand Mystery Men: The Lawyer and the Accountant," *The Daily Beast,* August 30, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00163119.pdf
[^14]: Suzanne Carlson, "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026, https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html ; Suzanne Carlson, "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html [^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02383246, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Jeffrey Epstein," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02383246.pdf
[^15]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02583238, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Re: Barn," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02583238.pdf
[^16]: Suzanne Carlson, "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026, https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html ; Suzanne Carlson, "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing," *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html

6
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Ronald Moultrie.md
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@ -9,7 +9,11 @@ summary: "In his testimony, Moultrie acknowledged the reality of UAP and the pot
### Congressional Testimony on UAP ### Congressional Testimony on UAP
In his testimony, Moultrie acknowledged the reality of UAP and the potential threat they pose to national security. However, he also stated that the [[Pentagon]] was unaware of UAP incursions near sensitive nuclear facilities, a statement that was contradicted by historical records. He also claimed that, other than the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and [[Project Blue Book]], there had been no other government programs to investigate UAP, a statement that has been challenged by whistleblowers who allege the existence of a long-standing "Legacy Program."[^1] In his testimony, Moultrie acknowledged the reality of UAP and the potential threat they pose to national security. Asked about a reported incident at [[Malmstrom Air Force Base]], Moultrie passed the question to [[Scott Bray]], Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, who said: "That data is not within the holdings of the UAP Task Force." Bray said: "I have heard stories. I have not seen the official data on that," and "We have not looked at that incident."[^2] Asked about any initiatives between [[Project Blue Book]] and the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP), Moultrie said: "Not aware of anything that is official that was done in between those two," and "I haven't seen other documented studies that have been done by DOD in that regard." He said he was "not aware of any contractual programs that are focused on" UAP apart from "what we are doing in the Navy task force."[^2] Whistleblowers have alleged the existence of a long-standing "Legacy Program."[^1]
On the new office, Moultrie said: "The NDAA for fiscal year 2022 has helped us to establish a dedicated office to oversee processes and procedures for the timely collection, processing, analysis, and reporting of UAP-related data." He added that "we have, as of this week, picked the Director for that effort," and said the office's name "will likely change."[^2]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: 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, and question period. https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114761/documents/HHRG-117-IG05-Transcript-20220517.pdf

2
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Samuel Koslov.md
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@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ summary: "Samuel Koslov was a top scientist for the U.S."
Samuel Koslov was a top scientist for the [[U.S. Navy]] and the scientific assistant to the Secretary of the Navy. He became a central figure in the debate surrounding the [[Moscow Signal]] and its potential health effects, often publicly downplaying its dangers despite his involvement in classified research related to it[^1]. Samuel Koslov was a top scientist for the [[U.S. Navy]] and the scientific assistant to the Secretary of the Navy. He became a central figure in the debate surrounding the [[Moscow Signal]] and its potential health effects, often publicly downplaying its dangers despite his involvement in classified research related to it[^1].
Koslov led the charge of those who insisted that the Moscow Signal was harmless, arguing that any reported issues were psychological trauma rather than physical effects. He stated, "The actual physical results were nonexistent, but the real psychological trauma (in this case in a group of well-educated and dedicated people) was sad and startling"[^1]. This view was in direct opposition to [[Richard S. Cesaro]] of [[Advanced Research Projects Agency|ARPA]], who believed the beams were harmful and could penetrate the human nervous system[^1]. Koslov led the charge of those who insisted that the Moscow Signal was harmless, arguing that any reported issues were psychological trauma rather than physical effects. He stated, "The actual physical results were nonexistent, but the real psychological trauma (in this case in a group of well-educated and dedicated people) was sad and startling"[^1]. This view was in direct opposition to [[Richard S. Cesaro]] of [[DARPA|ARPA]], who believed the beams were harmful and could penetrate the human nervous system[^1].
As a lead scientist on [[Project Pandora]], a classified, multiservice effort to duplicate the electromagnetic weapon of the Moscow Signal, Koslov was deeply engaged in research involving microwave beams. This project involved exposing primates and later unwitting sailors to microwave radiation[^1]. As a lead scientist on [[Project Pandora]], a classified, multiservice effort to duplicate the electromagnetic weapon of the Moscow Signal, Koslov was deeply engaged in research involving microwave beams. This project involved exposing primates and later unwitting sailors to microwave radiation[^1].

13
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Dean Rusk.md
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@ -9,12 +9,12 @@ tags:
- ColdWar - ColdWar
- Brazil - Brazil
- Vietnam - Vietnam
summary: "Rockefeller Foundation president from 1952 to 1960 who became Secretary of State under Kennedy and Johnson, sealing the Foundation's pipeline into the State Department and overseeing the diplomatic side of the 1964 Brazil coup and the 1967 Bolivia operation against Che Guevara." summary: "Rockefeller Foundation president from 1952 to 1960 and Secretary of State under Kennedy and Johnson, in office during the 1964 Brazil coup, the 1967 Bolivia operation and the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war."
born: 1909-02-09 born: 1909-02-09
died: 1994-12-20 died: 1994-12-20
location: Cherokee County, Georgia location: Cherokee County, Georgia
created: 2026-06-12 created: 2026-06-12
updated: 2026-06-12 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
David Dean Rusk (1909-1994) was [[Secretary of State]] under Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] from 1961 to 1969, and before that the president of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] for most of the 1950s. His career embodied the revolving door between the Foundation's board and the upper reaches of US foreign policy, and as Secretary of State he handled the diplomacy of the Cold War interventions that run through the Rockefeller network's history in [[Latin America]], including the 1964 overthrow of Brazil's [[Joao Goulart]] and the 1967 hunt for [[Che Guevara]] in Bolivia.[^1] David Dean Rusk (1909-1994) was [[Secretary of State]] under Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] from 1961 to 1969, and before that the president of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] for most of the 1950s. His career embodied the revolving door between the Foundation's board and the upper reaches of US foreign policy, and as Secretary of State he handled the diplomacy of the Cold War interventions that run through the Rockefeller network's history in [[Latin America]], including the 1964 overthrow of Brazil's [[Joao Goulart]] and the 1967 hunt for [[Che Guevara]] in Bolivia.[^1]
@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ During the April 1961 [[Bay of Pigs invasion]], Rusk counseled caution. After th
In April 1967 Rusk convened a secret strategy session at the Pentagon on Bolivia with [[Walt Rostow]], William Bowdler, CIA Director [[Richard Helms]], and Southern Command chief General Robert Porter; that September, at the Punta del Este conference, he denounced Guevara's presence in Bolivia as a foreign invasion. A veteran of the [[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]]'s Special Studies Project, Rusk was a consistent advocate of counterinsurgency and of escalation in the [[Vietnam War]], a stance that drew him into a televised 1966 confrontation with Senator [[William Fulbright]] at the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]].[^5] In April 1967 Rusk convened a secret strategy session at the Pentagon on Bolivia with [[Walt Rostow]], William Bowdler, CIA Director [[Richard Helms]], and Southern Command chief General Robert Porter; that September, at the Punta del Este conference, he denounced Guevara's presence in Bolivia as a foreign invasion. A veteran of the [[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]]'s Special Studies Project, Rusk was a consistent advocate of counterinsurgency and of escalation in the [[Vietnam War]], a stance that drew him into a televised 1966 confrontation with Senator [[William Fulbright]] at the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]].[^5]
### The June 1967 crisis
In an appraisal of May 25, 1967, the CIA's [[Office of National Estimates]] stated: "We believe the Soviet aim is still to avoid military involvement and to give the US a black eye among the Arabs by identifying it with Israel." [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, writes that this judgment, which ran contrary to Tel Aviv's suspicions, caused Rusk to remark to Helms, "if this is a mistake, it's a beaut."[^6][^7]
Notes of the [[National Security Council]] Special Committee meeting of June 9, 1967, which list Rusk first among those present, record on the attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]], under the initials "DR": "Do what is normal. 1) Reparation. 2) Punish. 3) No repetition." The entry follows remarks by [[Clark Clifford]] that the attack should be handled "as if Arabs or USSR had done it," next to which the note-taker wrote: "President subscribed 100%."[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, "David Dean Rusk (1909-1994)," Biographies of the Secretaries of State. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/rusk-david-dean [^1]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, "David Dean Rusk (1909-1994)," Biographies of the Secretaries of State. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/rusk-david-dean
@ -40,3 +46,6 @@ In April 1967 Rusk convened a secret strategy session at the Pentagon on Bolivia
[^3]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 23; Ch. 24. [^3]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 23; Ch. 24.
[^4]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 24; Ch. 29. [^4]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 24; Ch. 29.
[^5]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 33. [^5]: Colby and Dennett, Ch. 33.
[^6]: 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, paragraph 8. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d61
[^7]: 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
[^8]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 236, Notes of a Meeting of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 9, 1967 (Saunders's handwritten notes). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d236

33
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Eden Pastora.md
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@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ aliases:
- Comandante Cero - Comandante Cero
- Commander Zero - Commander Zero
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Military" category: "Military"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ relations:
start: 1983 start: 1983
end: 1987 end: 1987
role: "rent-free house in Costa Rica, two pickup trucks, cash" role: "rent-free house in Costa Rica, two pickup trucks, cash"
fn: 7 fn: 10
- type: funded - type: funded
with: "[[George Morales]]" with: "[[George Morales]]"
reverse: true reverse: true
@ -64,19 +64,21 @@ Pastora joined the [[Sandinistas]] in the early 1970s and became famous when he
Pastora formed the Sandino Revolutionary Front (FRS) in early 1982 and allied it with other groups to form ARDE in September 1982; [[Fernando Chamorro|Fernando "El Negro" Chamorro]]'s [[UDN-FARN]] left the [[FDN]] to join him, Webb wrote, and Pastora publicly called the FDN "criminal mummies and gorillas."[^1][^5] [[Gary Webb]] wrote that the CIA officer [[Dewey Clarridge]] recruited him in 1981 to command the Southern Front.[^6] The CIA's Inspector General recorded that from early 1982 to mid-1984 Pastora was the main recipient of the funds the CIA channeled to Southern Front forces, that the appropriation ran out in August 1984, and that it replaced him as ARDE's military leader in July 1984; ARDE's spokesman attributed that to injuries from the May 1984 bomb attack and the CIA said his refusal to join forces with the Northern Front also undermined him. The Senate's Kerry subcommittee wrote that on May 30, 1984 he was wounded by a bomb at La Penca, Nicaragua, that according to ARDE officer Karol Prado aid from the United States was cut off that day, and that the CIA regarded him as "disruptive and unpredictable"; the bomb killed seven people, three of them journalists.[^1][^2][^4] The Inspector General listed the CIA's other reasons for ending the relationship: the poor performance of his fighters, counterintelligence concerns about his contacts with the Sandinistas in Managua, and the congressional restrictions that took effect in October 1984.[^1] Pastora formed the Sandino Revolutionary Front (FRS) in early 1982 and allied it with other groups to form ARDE in September 1982; [[Fernando Chamorro|Fernando "El Negro" Chamorro]]'s [[UDN-FARN]] left the [[FDN]] to join him, Webb wrote, and Pastora publicly called the FDN "criminal mummies and gorillas."[^1][^5] [[Gary Webb]] wrote that the CIA officer [[Dewey Clarridge]] recruited him in 1981 to command the Southern Front.[^6] The CIA's Inspector General recorded that from early 1982 to mid-1984 Pastora was the main recipient of the funds the CIA channeled to Southern Front forces, that the appropriation ran out in August 1984, and that it replaced him as ARDE's military leader in July 1984; ARDE's spokesman attributed that to injuries from the May 1984 bomb attack and the CIA said his refusal to join forces with the Northern Front also undermined him. The Senate's Kerry subcommittee wrote that on May 30, 1984 he was wounded by a bomb at La Penca, Nicaragua, that according to ARDE officer Karol Prado aid from the United States was cut off that day, and that the CIA regarded him as "disruptive and unpredictable"; the bomb killed seven people, three of them journalists.[^1][^2][^4] The Inspector General listed the CIA's other reasons for ending the relationship: the poor performance of his fighters, counterintelligence concerns about his contacts with the Sandinistas in Managua, and the congressional restrictions that took effect in October 1984.[^1]
By September 1984 the CIA recorded [[Marcos Aguado]] as Chief of Air Operations for the FRS and ARDE and as Pastora's personal pilot. A December 1984 cable reported that Pastora had designated Aguado "one of his 18 commandantes, to be in charge of air operations and logistics at Ilopango," and said that Aguado "may very well be actively participating in alleged narcotics activities . . . or at least aware of such activities." In July 1987 Aguado asked, through [[Octaviano Cesar]], to give the CIA information tying Pastora to "past drug trafficking"; the station declined to meet him on counterintelligence grounds and passed the matter to the local DEA office.[^7] The Senate subcommittee called Aguado "Eden Pastora's air force chief." In an October 31, 1987 deposition in San José, Aguado said that traffickers "took advantage of the anti-Communist sentiment which existed in Central America" and "undoubtedly used it for drug trafficking."[^8][^9]
### Morales ### Morales
In October 1984 the CIA began receiving reports that Pastora's associates had agreed to help the Miami-based trafficker Jorge Morales bring drugs into the United States in return for material and financial help. The State Department's July 1986 report to Congress said a senior member of the FRS agreed late in 1984 that FRS pilots would fly narcotics from South America to sites in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; Morales gave the FRS a C-47 and two crated helicopters and about $100,000.[^2] A November 1984 cable reported that Pastora, Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro and Roberto Chamorro were traveling to Miami to meet Morales, that Morales had transferred about $30,000 to an ARDE account, and that two ARDE pilots, including Gerardo Duran, were there for a flight for Morales. A December 1984 cable said Pastora met Morales and did not like his "pressuring him to immediately meet [Pastora's] end of their arrangement, which is providing pilots and operational facilities in Costa Rica for Morales' drug operations." The CIA disseminated this to thirteen senior government officials in a December 1984 sensitive memorandum and briefed the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami on December 6; its representatives told the House intelligence committee in January 1985 that members of Pastora's organization had agreed, "either with Pastora's direct knowledge or tacit approval," to supply pilots and landing strips to a Miami-based Colombian drug dealer.[^1] Pastora told the Inspector General that he did not know Morales was a trafficker until October 1984, ended the arrangement in January 1985 when he realized the political cost, and returned the planes; Popo Chamorro said Pastora learned of it only after the October meetings and his own December meeting with Morales; Pastora said Morales also gave him about $40,000, and he listed about $20,000 from a Cuban, about $40,000 and two helicopters from Leo Fernandez, and about $25,000 from [[Manuel Noriega]].[^1][^7] Morales testified to the Kerry subcommittee that he hoped helping the Contras would get his indictment dropped because of their CIA contacts.[^2] In October 1984 the CIA began receiving reports that Pastora's associates had agreed to help the Miami-based trafficker Jorge Morales bring drugs into the United States in return for material and financial help. The State Department's July 1986 report to Congress said a senior member of the FRS agreed late in 1984 that FRS pilots would fly narcotics from South America to sites in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; Morales gave the FRS a C-47 and two crated helicopters and about $100,000.[^2] A November 1984 cable reported that Pastora, Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro and Roberto Chamorro were traveling to Miami to meet Morales, that Morales had transferred about $30,000 to an ARDE account, and that two ARDE pilots, including Gerardo Duran, were there for a flight for Morales. A December 1984 cable said Pastora met Morales and did not like his "pressuring him to immediately meet [Pastora's] end of their arrangement, which is providing pilots and operational facilities in Costa Rica for Morales' drug operations." The CIA disseminated this to thirteen senior government officials in a December 1984 sensitive memorandum and briefed the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami on December 6; its representatives told the House intelligence committee in January 1985 that members of Pastora's organization had agreed, "either with Pastora's direct knowledge or tacit approval," to supply pilots and landing strips to a Miami-based Colombian drug dealer.[^1] Pastora told the Inspector General that he did not know Morales was a trafficker until October 1984, ended the arrangement in January 1985 when he realized the political cost, and returned the planes; Popo Chamorro said Pastora learned of it only after the October meetings and his own December meeting with Morales; Pastora said Morales also gave him about $40,000, and he listed about $20,000 from a Cuban, about $40,000 and two helicopters from Leo Fernandez, and about $25,000 from [[Manuel Noriega]].[^1][^10] Morales testified to the Kerry subcommittee that he hoped helping the Contras would get his indictment dropped because of their CIA contacts.[^2]
Further reports followed. A Sandinista radio broadcast in February 1985 said Pastora's associates were building landing strips in Guanacaste for drug flights; an April 1985 cable named Duran and David Mayorga as owners of an air company said to hide cocaine in yucca shipments, with a plane belonging to Pastora and ARDE; a December 1985 cable said a Panamanian with business ties to Noriega, Cesar Rodriguez, was gathering money for Pastora, and in June 1986 the CIA was told Pastora accepted $10,000 from Rodriguez during a trip to Panama; and a January 1986 cable reported that a Costa Rican associate had 200 kilograms of cocaine he wished to use to help finance Pastora's activities. A February 1986 cable asked for an interagency review of the evidence on David Mayorga, one of Pastora's closest advisers, and noted that it "needs to be made available to those still bent on seeing that [Pastora] is given . . . funding"; the Inspector General found no record that the review took place. In March 1986 a CIA station chief wrote that the Southern Front structure was "too badly penetrated by Sandinistas and too many of the players have been associated with narcotics smuggling."[^1] [[Marcos Aguado]], Pastora's pilot and, in Pastora's words, his son-in-law, was among those named by [[Robert Owen]] as involved in trafficking, and Prado told the Kerry subcommittee that the allegations against Pastora's group were a CIA effort to discredit him; the subcommittee could not validate Owen's claims.[^2][^1] Further reports followed. A Sandinista radio broadcast in February 1985 said Pastora's associates were building landing strips in Guanacaste for drug flights; an April 1985 cable named Duran and David Mayorga as owners of an air company said to hide cocaine in yucca shipments, with a plane belonging to Pastora and ARDE; a December 1985 cable said a Panamanian with business ties to Noriega, Cesar Rodriguez, was gathering money for Pastora, and in June 1986 the CIA was told Pastora accepted $10,000 from Rodriguez during a trip to Panama; and a January 1986 cable reported that a Costa Rican associate had 200 kilograms of cocaine he wished to use to help finance Pastora's activities. A February 1986 cable asked for an interagency review of the evidence on David Mayorga, one of Pastora's closest advisers, and noted that it "needs to be made available to those still bent on seeing that [Pastora] is given . . . funding"; the Inspector General found no record that the review took place. In March 1986 a CIA station chief wrote that the Southern Front structure was "too badly penetrated by Sandinistas and too many of the players have been associated with narcotics smuggling."[^1] Marcos Aguado, Pastora's pilot and, in Pastora's words, his son-in-law, was among those named by [[Robert Owen]] as involved in trafficking, and Prado told the Kerry subcommittee that the allegations against Pastora's group were a CIA effort to discredit him; the subcommittee could not validate Owen's claims.[^1][^2]
The CIA's Central American Task Force chief, [[Alan Fiers]], testified to the Iran-Contra committees on August 5, 1987 that "we knew that everybody around Pastora was involved in cocaine. His staff and friends . . . they were drug smugglers or involved in drug smuggling." He told the Senate intelligence committee on July 31, 1987 that the CIA had no knowledge that Pastora was directly involved in the Morales deal but had "a significant body of evidence" that Pastora's people were directly involved in cocaine trafficking to the United States, and said on October 14, 1987, as Pastora planned to return to Nicaragua, "This guy is a cocaine runner. Period. He ran cocaine." In January 1988 he told Senator Bill Bradley that "Pastora had been involved with a Colombian trafficker, but the FDN was clean."[^8][^1] Webb wrote that the CIA station chief [[Joseph Fernandez]] disputed Pastora's claim of a CIA plot, that CIA files showed the agency passed the drug reporting about Pastora to a wide range of officials in contrast to its silence about the FDN and UDN-FARN, and that after an Associated Press story in late 1985 Pastora quit within months.[^3] The CIA's Inspector General recorded that he left ARDE in 1986 and withdrew from the war; the Associated Press reported that he then ran a fishing cooperative in Costa Rica.[^1][^4] The CIA's Central American Task Force chief, [[Alan Fiers]], testified to the Iran-Contra committees on August 5, 1987 that "we knew that everybody around Pastora was involved in cocaine. His staff and friends . . . they were drug smugglers or involved in drug smuggling." He told the Senate intelligence committee on July 31, 1987 that the CIA had no knowledge that Pastora was directly involved in the Morales deal but had "a significant body of evidence" that Pastora's people were directly involved in cocaine trafficking to the United States, and said on October 14, 1987, as Pastora planned to return to Nicaragua, "This guy is a cocaine runner. Period. He ran cocaine." In January 1988 he told Senator Bill Bradley that "Pastora had been involved with a Colombian trafficker, but the FDN was clean."[^1][^11] Webb wrote that the CIA station chief [[Joseph Fernandez]] disputed Pastora's claim of a CIA plot, that CIA files showed the agency passed the drug reporting about Pastora to a wide range of officials in contrast to its silence about the FDN and UDN-FARN, and that after an Associated Press story in late 1985 Pastora quit within months.[^3] The CIA's Inspector General recorded that he left ARDE in 1986 and withdrew from the war; the Associated Press reported that he then ran a fishing cooperative in Costa Rica.[^1][^4]
### Blandon, Meneses and the California circle ### Blandon, Meneses and the California circle
The Justice Department and CIA inspectors recorded the money [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] gave him and disagree about its source and meaning. Blandón said he let Pastora live rent-free in a house he owned in Costa Rica from about 1983 or 1984 to 1987, gave him about $9,000 in 1985 or 1986 "for personal use," from his legitimate businesses, and gave him two cars; he told the Justice Department's inspectors that Pastora "didn't want to know" about the source and that he never told him he dealt drugs. Pastora told the Senate intelligence committee on November 26, 1996 that Blandón gave him $3,000 twice between 1985 and 1987 and two pickup trucks, that he met Blandón three or four times, and that he knew nothing of the trafficking until Blandón's 1992 arrest; he told the CIA's inspectors Blandón gave about $6,000 and the housing and that the trucks were worth about $1,500 each. Blandón estimated the total at about $30,000, including the housing. The DEA informant DEA CI-1 told the Inspectors General that Pastora and Adolfo Calero "lied" in congressional hearings in denying they knew Meneses, Blandón and Torres; Pastora testified that he met [[Norwin Meneses]] in 1979 and by chance in Costa Rica around 1988.[^9][^7] An informant told the FBI that Pastora met Blandón in Miami in January 1985 seeking cocaine funds for Contra operations; LA CI-1 told the Inspector General he meant the funds were cocaine money, not that Pastora knew it, and that Blandón, drunk at a Miami party, produced no money. The Rolodex from Blandón's car lot listed a number for Pastora in Costa Rica.[^10][^11][^9] In the January 1987 Operation Perico reports, DEA CI-1 recorded that Blandón's organization had given Pastora weapons until two years earlier, that Pastora lived in a Blandón house, and, separately, that Pastora lived in Meneses's house in Costa Rica and told Meneses he wanted to enter cocaine trafficking to funnel money to the Contras and asked Meneses to find a buyer for a DC-3 at Ilopango, with Aguado as his representative in El Salvador.[^12] Webb wrote that Pastora got money and trucks from Blandón and that the physician Felix Saborio, a Blandón friend, became his Cuban-community liaison in Miami and an ARDE fundraiser; Pastora said of both, "Blandón and Saborio . . . both vanished from my ranks when it became clear that I was not willing to march to the tune of the CIA."[^3] The Justice Department and CIA inspectors recorded the money [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] gave him and disagree about its source and meaning. Blandón said he let Pastora live rent-free in a house he owned in Costa Rica from about 1983 or 1984 to 1987, gave him about $9,000 in 1985 or 1986 "for personal use," from his legitimate businesses, and gave him two cars; he told the Justice Department's inspectors that Pastora "didn't want to know" about the source and that he never told him he dealt drugs. Pastora told the Senate intelligence committee on November 26, 1996 that Blandón gave him $3,000 twice between 1985 and 1987 and two pickup trucks, that he met Blandón three or four times, and that he knew nothing of the trafficking until Blandón's 1992 arrest; he told the CIA's inspectors Blandón gave about $6,000 and the housing and that the trucks were worth about $1,500 each. Blandón estimated the total at about $30,000, including the housing. The DEA informant DEA CI-1 told the Inspectors General that Pastora and Adolfo Calero "lied" in congressional hearings in denying they knew Meneses, Blandón and Torres; Pastora testified that he met [[Norwin Meneses]] in 1979 and by chance in Costa Rica around 1988.[^10][^12] An informant told the FBI that Pastora met Blandón in Miami in January 1985 seeking cocaine funds for Contra operations; LA CI-1 told the Inspector General he meant the funds were cocaine money, not that Pastora knew it, and that Blandón, drunk at a Miami party, produced no money. The Rolodex from Blandón's car lot listed a number for Pastora in Costa Rica.[^12][^13][^14] In the January 1987 Operation Perico reports, DEA CI-1 recorded that Blandón's organization had given Pastora weapons until two years earlier, that Pastora lived in a Blandón house, and, separately, that Pastora lived in Meneses's house in Costa Rica and told Meneses he wanted to enter cocaine trafficking to funnel money to the Contras and asked Meneses to find a buyer for a DC-3 at Ilopango, with Aguado as his representative in El Salvador.[^15] Webb wrote that Pastora got money and trucks from Blandón and that the physician Felix Saborio, a Blandón friend, became his Cuban-community liaison in Miami and an ARDE fundraiser; Pastora said of both, "Blandón and Saborio . . . both vanished from my ranks when it became clear that I was not willing to march to the tune of the CIA."[^3]
Webb also relayed that Pastora visited Blandón's silk-screen shop in Los Angeles in 1982, where T-shirts with his likeness were printed, and a *San Francisco Chronicle* report in 1994 that he attended a weapons demonstration at a firing range near the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] in 1981, a claim Webb wrote Pastora both confirmed and denied.[^13] Blandón said he arranged a presentation by [[Ronald Lister]] of weapons for Contra leaders including Pastora and Adolfo Chamorro, who showed no interest; a handwritten note seized from Lister's home in 1986 listed the names of several CIA officers working with Pastora's ARDE, Webb wrote.[^7][^3] Webb also relayed that Pastora visited Blandón's silk-screen shop in Los Angeles in 1982, where T-shirts with his likeness were printed, and a *San Francisco Chronicle* report in 1994 that he attended a weapons demonstration at a firing range near the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] in 1981, a claim Webb wrote Pastora both confirmed and denied.[^16] Blandón said he arranged a presentation by [[Ronald Lister]] of weapons for Contra leaders including Pastora and Adolfo Chamorro, who showed no interest; a handwritten note seized from Lister's home in 1986 listed the names of several CIA officers working with Pastora's ARDE, Webb wrote.[^3][^10]
### Later years ### Later years
@ -90,10 +92,13 @@ Webb wrote that Pastora said the CIA had targeted him after he refused to merge
[^4]: Associated Press, "Eden Pastora, Nicaraguan revolutionary, dead at 83," June 16, 2020, https://www.news4jax.com/news/2020/06/16/eden-pastora-nicarguan-revolutionary-dead-at-83/ [^4]: Associated Press, "Eden Pastora, Nicaraguan revolutionary, dead at 83," June 16, 2020, https://www.news4jax.com/news/2020/06/16/eden-pastora-nicarguan-revolutionary-dead-at-83/
[^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom." Sole source for the passages so cited. [^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom." 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. 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. Cast of Characters. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^7]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, *Report of Investigation: Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States (96-0143-IG)*, Volume I: The California Story, January 29, 1998, Findings (Ross, Blandon, Meneses), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine/findings1.html [^7]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), Marcos Antonio Aguado section of the Southern Front chapter, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html
[^8]: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy* (the Kerry report), December 1988, p. 38, quoting the August 5, 1987 testimony of the CIA Central American Task Force chief before the Iran-Contra Committees, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras [^8]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), pp. 37, 50 to 52, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section B (OIG investigation regarding support of the Contras by Blandon and Meneses), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p2.htm [^9]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: The Cartel, Haiti and Central America*, Part 3, hearing of April 7, 1988, testimony of Jorge Morales (pp. 297 to 300) and videotaped depositions of October 31, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0005. Gary Webb, in Dark Alliance (1998), dates the "CIA agents" statement to 1986 congressional testimony, and his chapter notes give April 7, 1986 and March 27, 1987.
[^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions* (December 1997, released July 1998), Chapter II (Oscar Danilo Blandon), sections A-D, https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p1.htm [^10]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, *Report of Investigation: Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States (96-0143-IG)*, Volume I: The California Story, January 29, 1998, Findings (Ross, Blandon, Meneses), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine/findings1.html
[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section A (sources of the allegations), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p1.htm [^11]: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy* (the Kerry report), December 1988, p. 38, quoting the August 5, 1987 testimony of the CIA Central American Task Force chief before the Iran-Contra Committees, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter II, section G (the 1987 Los Angeles OCDETF investigation), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p4.htm [^12]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section B (OIG investigation regarding support of the Contras by Blandon and Meneses), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p2.htm
[^13]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty." Sole source for the passages so cited. [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions* (December 1997, released July 1998), Chapter II (Oscar Danilo Blandon), sections A-D, https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p1.htm
[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section A (sources of the allegations), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p1.htm
[^15]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter II, section G (the 1987 Los Angeles OCDETF investigation), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p4.htm
[^16]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty." Sole source for the passages so cited.

10
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Garry Reid.md
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@ -13,9 +13,17 @@ According to Elizondo, Garry Reid was part of a hostile leadership environment w
Following Elizondo's public disclosure of AATIP, Elizondo wrote that Reid launched a "scorched-earth" campaign against him. This included seizing his computers and files, questioning his former employees, and launching a criminal inquiry with the Air Force [[Office of Special Investigations]] (AFOSI) into the release of the three UAP videos. This investigation ultimately found no wrongdoing on Elizondo's part. Reid was also allegedly responsible for the Pentagon's public statements that falsely denied Elizondo's involvement with AATIP.[^1] Following Elizondo's public disclosure of AATIP, Elizondo wrote that Reid launched a "scorched-earth" campaign against him. This included seizing his computers and files, questioning his former employees, and launching a criminal inquiry with the Air Force [[Office of Special Investigations]] (AFOSI) into the release of the three UAP videos. This investigation ultimately found no wrongdoing on Elizondo's part. Reid was also allegedly responsible for the Pentagon's public statements that falsely denied Elizondo's involvement with AATIP.[^1]
### Information memoranda on Elizondo and AATIP
An information memorandum headed "FROM: Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence" answers six questions from the Secretary of Defense about Luis Elizondo and the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). It states that Elizondo "has provided three different explanations for his sudden resignation," and: "To the best of my knowledge, he had no job responsibilities related to the AATIP. The AATIP was terminated in 2012."[^2]
The memorandum gives Elizondo's assignment to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence as September 28, 2008 to October 4, 2017, and records that he submitted a resignation letter on October 3, 2017 requesting immediate termination of his employment. It states that the Office of Special Investigations was conducting an inquiry to determine whether Elizondo mishandled classified information, and that its informal assessment "did not find any wrongdoing by Mr. Elizondo."[^2] A second memorandum, "Update on Media Reporting Related to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program," refers to events of December 2017 and states that Elizondo "affirms his alleged role in leading the AATIP program" in a television interview.[^2]
### Inspector General Investigation ### Inspector General Investigation
Garry Reid was the subject of a [[Department of Defense]] Inspector General (IG) investigation into numerous allegations, including maintaining an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, sexual harassment, and fostering a hostile work environment. The IG eventually concluded that Reid had violated Joint Ethics Regulations. He was later reassigned from the OUSD(I) to the DIA as a "special advisor."[^1] Garry Reid was the subject of a Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) investigation into numerous allegations, including maintaining an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, sexual harassment, and fostering a hostile work environment. The IG eventually concluded that Reid had violated Joint Ethics Regulations. He was later reassigned from the OUSD(I) to the DIA as a "special advisor."[^1]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, information memoranda, "Response to Your Questions on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) and Actions of Former DoD Employee Luis Elizondo," from Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence, and "Update on Media Reporting Related to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program," both undated, with Elizondo's resignation letter of October 3, 2017 at Tab B. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/18-F-0324_Docs.pdf

33
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Harold Okimoto.md
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@ -1,16 +1,37 @@
--- ---
aliases:
- Harold Tadao Okimoto
category: "Organized Crime" category: "Organized Crime"
tags: tags:
- Person - Person
- OrganizedCrime - OrganizedCrime
summary: "Okimoto's company, Island Tobacco, was said to sell cigarettes at the Casino du Liban, which was controlled by the Syrian mob and used as a front by narcotics people.[1]" - Yakuza
- Hawaii
- TheOctopus
summary: "Honolulu businessman whom Robert Booth Nichols listed as a former employer, whose address an FBI wiretap affidavit tied to Nichols in 1987, and whom Spy's sources called a high-ranking Yakuza figure."
relations:
- type: director_of
with: "[[Meridian International Logistics]]"
role: "director of the subsidiary Meridian Arms, per Seymour 1992 (sole source)"
fn: 5
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
[[Harold Okimoto]] is a figure linked to [[Robert Booth Nichols]] and alleged organized crime activities, particularly the [[Yakuza]]. He is described as a 67-year-old car dealer in Hawaii and believed by some sources to be a top Japanese organized crime figure based in Hawaii, acting as a top agent in the [[Yakuza]] overseas.[1] Harold Okimoto is a figure linked to [[Robert Booth Nichols]] and alleged organized crime activities, particularly the [[Yakuza]]. He is described as a 67-year-old car dealer in Hawaii and believed by some sources to be a top Japanese organized crime figure based in Hawaii, acting as a top agent in the Yakuza overseas.[^1]
[[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed that [[Robert Booth Nichols]] was under Okimoto's influence and referred to Nichols as Okimoto's "god-son." Okimoto was also represented as an intelligence person who had worked under [[Frank Carlucci]] for years, and reportedly performed services for the [[United States|U.S. government]] during [[World War II]], for which he was rewarded.[1] [[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed that Nichols was under Okimoto's influence and referred to Nichols as Okimoto's "god-son." Okimoto was also represented as an intelligence person who had worked under [[Frank Carlucci]] for years, and reportedly performed services for the [[United States|U.S. government]] during [[World War II]], for which he was rewarded.[^1]
The writer Cheri Seymour wrote that Okimoto's company, [[Island Tobacco]], sold cigarettes at the Casino du Liban, which was controlled by the [[Syria|Syrian]] mob and used as a front by narcotics people.[1] The writer Cheri Seymour wrote that Okimoto's company, [[Island Tobacco]], sold cigarettes at the Casino du Liban, which was controlled by the [[Syria|Syrian]] mob and used as a front by narcotics people.[^1]
### FBI Affidavit and Hawaii Registrations
The 1987 continuation wiretap affidavit of the FBI agent [[Thomas Gates]] states that a Hawaii-plated car seen after [[Eugene Giaquinto]]'s July 15, 1987 meeting was registered to [[Wells Fargo]] at a Honolulu residential address where a Harold Tadao Okimoto lived, which was also the address Nichols gave at his 1985 arrest; that Honolulu police records showed Okimoto arrested for gambling in 1977; and that Hawaii motor-vehicle records showed more than fifty vehicles registered to Wells Fargo Bank at different residences, while the bank had no auto-leasing business or banking facilities in Hawaii under that name. Gates wrote that the registration method led him to believe "some type of covert activity may be involved."[^2] On July 27, 1987 Nichols gave Giaquinto the same Hawaii telephone number he had given at his 1985 arrest, saying "Harold (possibly Okimoto)" would have a tape put on the answering machine.[^2]
[[Peter Zokosky]] told Seymour and [[Kelly O'Meara]] in 2001 that Nichols had once been caught stealing from Okimoto in Hawaii, after which Okimoto brought him into his business. Seymour summarized a December 2, 1982 FBI Los Angeles report as stating that Okimoto took Nichols "under his wing" in Honolulu and had reportedly been involved in racketeering since 1962.[^3] John Connolly reported in [[Spy (magazine)|Spy]] in January 1993 that Nichols listed Okimoto as a former employer on a weapons-permit application and that intelligence sources believed Okimoto a high-ranking member of the Yakuza.[^4] Seymour's 1992 VORTEX account lists Okimoto among the directors of Meridian Arms, the subsidiary of [[Meridian International Logistics]].[^5]
---
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^2]: Affidavit of Special Agent Thomas G. Gates in support of an application to continue interception of wire communications of Martin Bacow, Eugene Giaquinto, Joseph Garofalo, Robert Nichols and others, before Judge J. Spencer Letts, C.D. Cal. (continuation affidavit citing intercepts through September 1, 1987), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Gates." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks (file Gates.pdf), paragraphs 46 and 84.
[^3]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, chapter 22. Sole source.
[^4]: Connolly, John. "The Story That Killed Danny Casolaro." *Spy,* January 1993. https://archive.org/details/SpyMagazine
[^5]: Seymour, Cheri. "VORTEX," diary dated February 24, 1992, p. 11. https://archive.org/details/VORTEXDocument

2
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Igor Smirnov.md
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@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Weinberger reported in 2007 that the movement of Smirnov's technology toward the
### March 1993: Virginia and Waco ### March 1993: Virginia and Waco
*Defense Electronics* reported in July 1993 that "in a series of closed meetings beginning March 17 in suburban Northern Virginia with Dr. Igor Smirnov of the Moscow Medical Academy, FBI officials were briefed" on his decade of research, "a few weeks before" the April 19 fire at Waco. An unnamed participant said "it was suggested to us [by other federal officials] that they bring in the FBI, which was looking for a viable option to deal with Koresh." The account, which the article said was confirmed by an executive summary memorandum of [[Psychotechnologies Corp.]], a Richmond, Virginia firm owning the American rights to the technology, described the siege as "an ongoing domestic hostage situation." After several meetings the FBI officials, who "repeatedly expressed fears" that [[David Koresh]] and his followers were suicidal, asked for a proposal describing requirements and procedures for use at Waco. "They wanted the Russians to promise zero risk," the participant said, "but the Russians wouldn't do that"; and Smirnov had brought only "entry-level equipment," with more sophisticated hardware to be "rushed over from Russia." Officials of the CIA, the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] were also present, according to the source; spokesmen for those agencies did not return calls.[^2] *Defense Electronics* reported in July 1993 that "in a series of closed meetings beginning March 17 in suburban Northern Virginia with Dr. Igor Smirnov of the Moscow Medical Academy, FBI officials were briefed" on his decade of research, "a few weeks before" the April 19 fire at Waco. An unnamed participant said "it was suggested to us [by other federal officials] that they bring in the FBI, which was looking for a viable option to deal with Koresh." The account, which the article said was confirmed by an executive summary memorandum of [[Psychotechnologies Corp.]], a Richmond, Virginia firm owning the American rights to the technology, described the siege as "an ongoing domestic hostage situation." After several meetings the FBI officials, who "repeatedly expressed fears" that [[David Koresh]] and his followers were suicidal, asked for a proposal describing requirements and procedures for use at Waco. "They wanted the Russians to promise zero risk," the participant said, "but the Russians wouldn't do that"; and Smirnov had brought only "entry-level equipment," with more sophisticated hardware to be "rushed over from Russia." Officials of the CIA, the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and the [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] were also present, according to the source; spokesmen for those agencies did not return calls.[^2]
Non-military attendees at the Virginia meetings and at a series of later briefings by "the two Russians" at the [[University of Kansas Medical Center]] in [[Topeka]] included [[Richard Nakamura]] of the [[National Institute of Mental Health]] and "Dr. Christopher Green, director of General Motors Corp. (GM) biomedical research department in [[Detroit]]." A GM spokesman said Green attended in his capacity as a member of a National Academy of Sciences panel on 21st-century Army technologies and that "this has no connection to anything being done by GM." Dr. [[Fowler Jones]] of the University of Kansas Medical Center's psychology division said the session was "really more of a presentation than an actual demonstration because, unfortunately, a lot of the software we couldn't get going," and that he and colleagues were seeking funding to test the technology in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions.[^2] The Green named in the article is identified in the page for [[Kit Green]]. Non-military attendees at the Virginia meetings and at a series of later briefings by "the two Russians" at the [[University of Kansas Medical Center]] in [[Topeka]] included [[Richard Nakamura]] of the [[National Institute of Mental Health]] and "Dr. Christopher Green, director of General Motors Corp. (GM) biomedical research department in [[Detroit]]." A GM spokesman said Green attended in his capacity as a member of a National Academy of Sciences panel on 21st-century Army technologies and that "this has no connection to anything being done by GM." Dr. [[Fowler Jones]] of the University of Kansas Medical Center's psychology division said the session was "really more of a presentation than an actual demonstration because, unfortunately, a lot of the software we couldn't get going," and that he and colleagues were seeking funding to test the technology in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions.[^2] The Green named in the article is identified in the page for [[Kit Green]].

47
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Jay Stratton.md
View file

@ -8,24 +8,24 @@ relations:
with: "[[Defense Intelligence Agency]]" with: "[[Defense Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 2009 start: 2009
role: "AAWSAP and AATIP investigator and recruiter of Elizondo; in Elizondo's account helped create AAWSAP, wrote the report on the 2004 Nimitz encounter and the OPLAN Interloper proposal" role: "AAWSAP and AATIP investigator and recruiter of Elizondo; in Elizondo's account helped create AAWSAP, wrote the report on the 2004 Nimitz encounter and the OPLAN Interloper proposal"
fn: 2 fn: 5
- type: director_of - type: director_of
with: "[[UAP Task Force]]" with: "[[UAP Task Force]]"
role: "first director, per Elizondo, after the Secretary of Defense announced the task force" role: "first director, per Elizondo, after the Secretary of Defense announced the task force"
fn: 5 fn: 8
- type: employed_by - type: employed_by
with: "[[Radiance Technologies]]" with: "[[Radiance Technologies]]"
start: 2022-05-12 start: 2022-05-12
role: "subject matter expert for intelligence strategy, member of the chief executive's strategy team, per the company release of May 12, 2022" role: "subject matter expert for intelligence strategy, member of the chief executive's strategy team, per the company release of May 12, 2022"
fn: 6 fn: 9
updated: 2026-10-03 updated: 2026-10-08
summary: "In early 2009, Jay Stratton, along with a colleague, approached Luis Elizondo to recruit him for a highly classified program at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)." summary: "In early 2009, Jay Stratton, along with a colleague, approached Luis Elizondo to recruit him for a highly classified program at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)."
--- ---
[[Jay Stratton]] is a former US Navy intelligence officer who played a crucial role in the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and later became the first director of the [[UAP Task Force]]. He was instrumental in recruiting [[Luis Elizondo]] into the UAP investigation effort and was a key investigator and strategist throughout the process.[^1] [[Jay Stratton]] is a former US Navy intelligence officer who played a crucial role in the [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program]] (AATIP) and later became the first director of the [[UAP Task Force]]. He was instrumental in recruiting [[Luis Elizondo]] into the UAP investigation effort and was a key investigator and strategist throughout the process.[^1]
### Recruitment of Luis Elizondo ### Recruitment of Luis Elizondo
In early 2009, Jay Stratton, along with a colleague, approached [[Luis Elizondo]] to recruit him for a highly classified program at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA). Stratton, who Elizondo pegged as a fellow special operator, explained that the program, initially known as [[AAWSAP]], was focused on "unconventional technologies" and required a senior intelligence officer to handle counterintelligence and security.[^1] In early 2009, Jay Stratton, along with a colleague, approached Luis Elizondo to recruit him for a highly classified program at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA). Stratton, who Elizondo pegged as a fellow special operator, explained that the program, initially known as [[AAWSAP]], was focused on "unconventional technologies" and required a senior intelligence officer to handle counterintelligence and security.[^1]
### Role in AATIP ### Role in AATIP
@ -35,26 +35,39 @@ When AATIP faced internal opposition and lost its funding, Stratton worked with
### UAP Task Force ### UAP Task Force
After Elizondo's resignation from the Pentagon, Stratton remained in the government and was tasked by Navy intelligence leadership to build a whole-of-government interagency task force to continue the UAP investigation. This effort, which he built from the ground up, became the Pentagon's [[UAP Task Force]], and Stratton was named its first director. In this role, he continued to push the UAP issue forward within the government, briefing members of Congress and the [[White House]] [[National Security Council]], and laying the groundwork for future legislative action.[^1] After Elizondo's resignation from the Pentagon, Stratton remained in the government and was tasked by Navy intelligence leadership to build a whole-of-government interagency task force to continue the UAP investigation. This effort, which he built from the ground up, became the Pentagon's UAP Task Force, and Stratton was named its first director. In this role, he continued to push the UAP issue forward within the government, briefing members of Congress and the [[White House]] [[National Security Council]], and laying the groundwork for future legislative action.[^1]
### Charter and the 2021 briefing title
The charter of the task force, dated September 1, 2020 and issued by the [[Naval Intelligence Activity]], states that "Leadership of the Task Force will be designated by the Director of the Naval Intelligence Activity."[^2] The title slide of a briefing for the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] dated May 17, 2021 carries the title Director, UAP Task Force, Naval Intelligence Activity, without printing a name.[^3]
### The triangular photograph
In December 2020 [[The Debrief]] reported a photograph of a triangular object rising from the ocean, attributed to an F/A-18 pilot. 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."[^4]
In a statement to [[The Black Vault]], Stratton said: "At the time of this email exchange, the story in The Debrief, and the claim that an F/A-18 pilot had provided a photograph of a triangle emerging from the ocean, I was handling multiple cases." He added: "We had photographs from F/A-18 pilots, instances of UAP that appeared triangular/pyramidal, and other unrelated cases." The Black Vault reported that no such photograph "was ever received by the UAPTF." Asked why he did not correct the record, Stratton said: "Keep in mind that's an email on an unclassified system. I don't recall if I corrected it on a separate system at the time, but generally, there was no formal process for publicly addressing inaccuracies related to potentially classified reporting."[^4]
### Stratton in Elizondo's account ### Stratton in Elizondo's account
Elizondo described Stratton in early 2009 as "a serious male in his midthirties," who "helped create something called the AAWSAP," and who with a colleague he calls "[[Rosemary Caine]]" arrived at his Arlington office wearing blue credentials identifying them as government intelligence officials.[^2] He wrote that Stratton "investigated the incident before I joined the team" and "had written a detailed AAWSAP/AATIP report" on the Nimitz encounter of November 2004, and that pilots later told Stratton they had been debriefed by intelligence officers and saw no follow-up.[^3] He wrote that Stratton drafted the operation plan "Interloper," "a classic 'honey pot,'" with dates, call signs, ship names and radar data, which the Joint Staff declined to give a compartment designation in late 2016, and that Stratton proposed the term unidentified aerial phenomena in place of UFO.[^4] After the resignation, Elizondo wrote, Stratton fielded briefing requests from members of Congress, Navy intelligence leadership tasked him with building a whole-of-government task force with members from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], the [[National Reconnaissance Office]], [[NASA]] and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Secretary of Defense announced the UAP Task Force "after a couple of years" and named Stratton its first director, and the [[Legacy Program]] then "started quietly pushing back on Jay."[^5] Elizondo described Stratton in early 2009 as "a serious male in his midthirties," who "helped create something called the AAWSAP," and who with a colleague he calls "[[Rosemary Caine]]" arrived at his Arlington office wearing blue credentials identifying them as government intelligence officials.[^5] He wrote that Stratton "investigated the incident before I joined the team" and "had written a detailed AAWSAP/AATIP report" on the Nimitz encounter of November 2004, and that pilots later told Stratton they had been debriefed by intelligence officers and saw no follow-up.[^6] He wrote that Stratton drafted the operation plan "Interloper," "a classic 'honey pot,'" with dates, call signs, ship names and radar data, which the Joint Staff declined to give a compartment designation in late 2016, and that Stratton proposed the term unidentified aerial phenomena in place of UFO.[^7] After the resignation, Elizondo wrote, Stratton fielded briefing requests from members of Congress, Navy intelligence leadership tasked him with building a whole-of-government task force with members from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], the [[National Reconnaissance Office]], [[NASA]] and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Secretary of Defense announced the UAP Task Force "after a couple of years" and named Stratton its first director, and the [[Legacy Program]] then "started quietly pushing back on Jay."[^8]
### Radiance Technologies ### Radiance Technologies
[[Radiance Technologies]] announced on May 12, 2022 the hiring of Stratton, as "John F. Stratton Jr.," for the position of subject matter expert for intelligence strategy. The release states that he was "recently retired" from his role as Defense Intelligence Senior Executive with the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], with more than 32 years in the national intelligence community, that as a member of the chief executive's strategy team he would lead and develop efforts in scientific and technical intelligence, and that "Most recently, he was the first Director of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF)." It quotes Radiance president [[Tim Tinsley]] and quotes Stratton: "I am very excited to join Radiance Technologies."[^6] [[Radiance Technologies]] announced on May 12, 2022 the hiring of Stratton, as "John F. Stratton Jr.," for the position of subject matter expert for intelligence strategy. The release states that he was "recently retired" from his role as Defense Intelligence Senior Executive with the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], with more than 32 years in the national intelligence community, that as a member of the chief executive's strategy team he would lead and develop efforts in scientific and technical intelligence, and that "Most recently, he was the first Director of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF)." It quotes Radiance president [[Tim Tinsley]] and quotes Stratton: "I am very excited to join Radiance Technologies."[^9]
[[George Knapp]] of [[KLAS-TV]] reported on May 24, 2022 that "In January 2021 ... Stratton was surprisingly transferred out of the job" at the Task Force, and that Stratton "has never spoken publicly about his work and is not commenting now."[^7] In a report posted October 13, 2022, Knapp wrote that Stratton urged Radiance to hire [[Travis Taylor]], and quoted Taylor: "Jay and I are working on growing the capabilities, doing reverse engineering of foreign materials."[^8] [[Liberation Times]] reported on December 3, 2023, in an article in which the attorney [[Daniel Sheehan]] alleged that the CIA supplies Radiance with non-human materials, that "multiple sources" had told it the allegation was untrue and that Stratton and Taylor "are long-time advocates for more transparency on this topic and are in no way involved in any coverup." Details are on [[Radiance Technologies]].[^9] [[George Knapp]] of [[KLAS-TV]] reported on May 24, 2022 that "In January 2021 ... Stratton was surprisingly transferred out of the job" at the Task Force, and that Stratton "has never spoken publicly about his work and is not commenting now."[^10] In a report posted October 13, 2022, Knapp wrote that Stratton urged Radiance to hire [[Travis Taylor]], and quoted Taylor: "Jay and I are working on growing the capabilities, doing reverse engineering of foreign materials."[^11] [[Liberation Times]] reported on December 3, 2023, in an article in which the attorney [[Daniel Sheehan]] alleged that the CIA supplies Radiance with non-human materials, that "multiple sources" had told it the allegation was untrue and that Stratton and Taylor "are long-time advocates for more transparency on this topic and are in no way involved in any coverup." Details are on Radiance Technologies.[^12]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 5 to 14. [^2]: 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
[^3]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 71 to 73. [^3]: Naval Intelligence Activity, "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" briefing for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, May 17, 2021, title slide. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UAPTFHPSCIBriefRedacted.pdf
[^4]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 143, 147 and 186 (Interloper at pp. 143 and 186; the term UAP at p. 186). [^4]: The Black Vault, "FOIA-Released Emails Mention Alleged Triangular UAP Photo; Former UAP Task Force Director Speaks Out," FOIA case 21-F-0299. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-released-emails-mention-alleged-triangular-uap-photo-former-uap-task-force-director-speaks-out/
[^5]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 211 and 223 (task force and first director at p. 223). [^5]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 5 to 14.
[^6]: "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 [^6]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 71 to 73.
[^7]: 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 [^7]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 143, 147 and 186 (Interloper at pp. 143 and 186; the term UAP at p. 186).
[^8]: George Knapp, "Is this company working with alien technology in Nevada?" KLAS 8 News Now, posted October 13, 2022 (Pacific time). https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/is-this-company-working-with-alien-technology-in-nevada/ [^8]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs* (New York: William Morrow, 2024), pp. 211 and 223 (task force and first director at p. 223).
[^9]: Christopher Sharp, "Daniel Sheehan Exposes Five Powerful Republicans Blocking UFO Disclosure Act, As The Clock Ticks Down," Liberation Times, December 3, 2023. Sole source for the Sheehan allegation and the denial so cited. https://www.liberationtimes.com/home/daniel-sheehan-exposes-five-powerful-republicans-blocking-ufo-disclosure-act-as-the-clock-ticks-down [^9]: "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
[^10]: 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
[^11]: George Knapp, "Is this company working with alien technology in Nevada?" KLAS 8 News Now, posted October 13, 2022 (Pacific time). https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/is-this-company-working-with-alien-technology-in-nevada/
[^12]: Christopher Sharp, "Daniel Sheehan Exposes Five Powerful Republicans Blocking UFO Disclosure Act, As The Clock Ticks Down," Liberation Times, December 3, 2023. Sole source for the Sheehan allegation and the denial so cited. https://www.liberationtimes.com/home/daniel-sheehan-exposes-five-powerful-republicans-blocking-ufo-disclosure-act-as-the-clock-ticks-down

19
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/John Poindexter.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
title: John Poindexter title: John Poindexter
aliases: aliases:
- John Poindexter - John Poindexter
@ -16,9 +16,16 @@ tags:
- 1980s - 1980s
- 1990s - 1990s
- 2000s - 2000s
summary: "Vice Admiral John Poindexter served as Reagan's National Security Adviser from December 1985 to November 1986, authorized the Iran-Contra diversion without informing the president, was convicted on five counts before reversal on immunized-testimony grounds, and later directed DARPA's Total Information Awareness program until Congress terminated it in 2003." summary: "Vice Admiral John Poindexter was Reagan's National Security Adviser in 1985 and 1986, authorized the Iran-Contra diversion, had his convictions reversed, and directed DARPA's Information Awareness Office from 2002 to 2003."
born: 1936-08-12 born: 1936-08-12
location: "Washington, D.C." location: "Washington, D.C."
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[DARPA]]"
start: 2002-01
end: 2003-08-29
role: "director, Information Awareness Office"
fn: 3
--- ---
John Marlan Poindexter was born August 12, 1936. He graduated first in his class from the [[U.S. Naval Academy]] in 1958 and earned a PhD in nuclear physics from the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1964. He pursued a naval career that included service in the Pentagon's [[National Security Council]] staff, rising to military assistant to President Reagan's National Security Advisers before assuming the position himself.[^1] John Marlan Poindexter was born August 12, 1936. He graduated first in his class from the [[U.S. Naval Academy]] in 1958 and earned a PhD in nuclear physics from the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1964. He pursued a naval career that included service in the Pentagon's [[National Security Council]] staff, rising to military assistant to President Reagan's National Security Advisers before assuming the position himself.[^1]
@ -39,11 +46,15 @@ The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Poindexter's conviction in November 1
### Total Information Awareness ### Total Information Awareness
In 2002, the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration appointed Poindexter to direct the Information Awareness Office at [[DARPA]], a research program focused on mining large-scale databases for intelligence indicators. The office developed the Total Information Awareness (TIA) system, which proposed aggregating commercial, government, and intelligence databases to identify patterns predictive of terrorist activity. [[DARPA]] created the [[Information Awareness Office]] in mid-January 2002, under the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration, and Poindexter directed it.[^3] The office, a research program focused on mining large-scale databases for intelligence indicators, developed the Total Information Awareness (TIA) system, which proposed aggregating commercial, government, and intelligence databases to identify patterns predictive of terrorist activity.
When TIA became publicly known in late 2002, it generated intense opposition from civil liberties organizations and members of Congress, who argued that the system constituted a mass domestic surveillance infrastructure. Poindexter's own Iran-Contra history - including his conviction and its reversal - was cited repeatedly in the congressional debate over TIA. Poindexter resigned from DARPA in August 2003, and Congress terminated TIA funding.[^1] When TIA became publicly known in late 2002, it generated intense opposition from civil liberties organizations and members of Congress, who argued that the system constituted a mass domestic surveillance infrastructure. Poindexter's own Iran-Contra history (including his conviction and its reversal) was cited repeatedly in the congressional debate over TIA. On August 12, 2003 Poindexter submitted a five-page letter of resignation to DARPA director [[Anthony Tether]], effective August 29.[^3] The conference report on the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations act provided in Section 8131 that none of the funds may be obligated "for the Terrorism Information Awareness Program," excepting processing, analysis and collaboration tools for counterterrorism foreign intelligence funded in the National Foreign Intelligence Program, and its joint explanatory statement states that the conferees "direct that the Office be terminated immediately."[^4]
The joint explanatory statement lists 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.[^4]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Tower Commission Report (President's Special Review Board). *The Tower Commission Report*. Bantam Books/Times Books, 1987. U.S. Congress, Joint Committees on Iran-Contra. *Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair*. 100th Congress, 1st Session, 1987. [^1]: Tower Commission Report (President's Special Review Board). *The Tower Commission Report*. Bantam Books/Times Books, 1987. U.S. Congress, Joint Committees on Iran-Contra. *Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair*. 100th Congress, 1st Session, 1987.
[^2]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up*. W.W. Norton, 1997. Walsh, Lawrence E. *Iran-Contra: The Final Report*. Random House, 1994. [^2]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up*. W.W. Norton, 1997. Walsh, Lawrence E. *Iran-Contra: The Final Report*. Random House, 1994.
[^3]: Dan Caterinicchia, "Poindexter leaving DARPA," *Nextgov/FCW*, August 13, 2003. https://www.nextgov.com/people/2003/08/poindexter-leaving-darpa/201670/
[^4]: Congressional Record, House, September 24, 2003, 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

8
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Lynn Schroeder.md
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@ -5,11 +5,15 @@ tags:
- Stargate - Stargate
- Soviet - Soviet
summary: "Schroeder and Ostrander's work, which included accounts from figures like Eduard Naumov, contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S." summary: "Schroeder and Ostrander's work, which included accounts from figures like Eduard Naumov, contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S."
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
[[Lynn Schroeder]] is an American author who, along with [[Sheila Ostrander]], co-authored the 1970 book *Psychic Discoveries Behind the [[Iron Curtain]]*. This book played a significant role in popularizing Soviet and Eastern European [[Parapsychology|psi]] research in the West. The book portrayed a "veritable frenzy of psychic research" going on in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], with investigators uncovering powerful natural clairvoyants, psychokinetic prodigies, and dowsers whose talents could potentially be employed against the West.[^1] [[Lynn Schroeder]] is an American author who, along with [[Sheila Ostrander]], co-authored the 1970 book *Psychic Discoveries Behind the [[Iron Curtain]]*. This book played a significant role in popularizing Soviet and Eastern European [[Parapsychology|psi]] research in the West. The book portrayed a "veritable frenzy of psychic research" going on in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], with investigators uncovering powerful natural clairvoyants, psychokinetic prodigies, and dowsers whose talents could potentially be employed against the West.[^1]
The book's account of the [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|Nautilus]] reports, on pages 6 to 8, quotes [[Leonid Vasiliev]]'s April 1960 statement that "Today the American Navy is testing telepathy on their atomic submarines," and records that the Navy "denied the Nautilus story in tones of demi-horror."[^2]
Schroeder and Ostrander's work, which included accounts from figures like [[Eduard Naumov]], contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S. intelligence community about a potential "psi gap" with the Soviet Union, ultimately influencing the decision to fund and initiate programs like the [[Stargate Project|Stargate Project]].[^1] Schroeder and Ostrander's work, which included accounts from figures like [[Eduard Naumov]], contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S. intelligence community about a potential "psi gap" with the Soviet Union, ultimately influencing the decision to fund and initiate programs like the [[Stargate Project|Stargate Project]].[^1]
--- ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain*. Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 6-7. Sole source for the passages so cited.

8
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Marco Rubio.md
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ tags:
- Person - Person
- UFO - UFO
- Politician - Politician
summary: "Senator Rubio was the chief sponsor of the bill that mandated the Director of National Intelligence to produce an unclassified report on UAP, which led to the landmark June 2021 'Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.' He has been a vocal advocate for taking the UAP issue seriously," summary: "Florida senator who submitted the Senate Intelligence Committee report of June 2020 that directed the 2021 ODNI assessment of unidentified aerial phenomena, and an advocate of UAP transparency legislation."
born: 1971-05-28 born: 1971-05-28
location: "Miami, Florida" location: "Miami, Florida"
--- ---
@ -12,9 +12,13 @@ location: "Miami, Florida"
### Support for UAP Legislation ### Support for UAP Legislation
Senator Rubio was the chief sponsor of the bill that mandated the [[Director of National Intelligence]] to produce an unclassified report on UAP, which led to the landmark June 2021 "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena." He has been a vocal advocate for taking the UAP issue seriously, stating that "There is a lot we still don’t know about these UAP and that is a big problem. We’ve taken some important steps over the last few years to increase transparency and reduce stigmas, but more needs to be done."[^1] On June 17, 2020 Rubio submitted, from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the committee's report accompanying S. 3905, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The report directs the [[Director of National Intelligence]], in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to submit within 180 days a report on unidentified aerial phenomena, which the [[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] issued on June 25, 2021 as its "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena."[^2][^3] On December 21, 2020 Rubio had the joint explanatory statement for the act printed in the Congressional Record; the statement provides that it "incorporates by reference, and the Executive Branch shall comply with, all direction contained in" S. Rept. 116-233.[^4] Luis Elizondo described Rubio as the chief sponsor of the bill.[^1] He has been a vocal advocate for taking the UAP issue seriously, stating that "There is a lot we still don’t know about these UAP and that is a big problem. We’ve taken some important steps over the last few years to increase transparency and reduce stigmas, but more needs to be done."[^1]
He has worked closely with a bipartisan group of senators, including [[Kirsten Gillibrand]] and [[Chuck Schumer]], as well as with [[Christopher Mellon]] and [[Luis Elizondo]], to draft and pass legislation that has established a permanent UAP office ([[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office|AARO]]) and created a secure process for whistleblowers to report UAP-related information to Congress. His leadership on this issue has been a critical factor in the recent progress of the UAP disclosure movement.[^1] He has worked closely with a bipartisan group of senators, including [[Kirsten Gillibrand]] and [[Chuck Schumer]], as well as with [[Christopher Mellon]] and [[Luis Elizondo]], to draft and pass legislation that has established a permanent UAP office ([[All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office|AARO]]) and created a secure process for whistleblowers to report UAP-related information to Congress. His leadership on this issue has been a critical factor in the recent progress of the UAP disclosure movement.[^1]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: 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
[^3]: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," June 25, 2021, p. 2. https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf
[^4]: 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. https://irp.fas.org/congress/2020_cr/fy2021-exp.html

7
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Pavel Naumov.md
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@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ relations:
role: "named in the Army-prepared study DST-1810S-387-75 as the conductor of a submarine and rabbit experiment around 1956" role: "named in the Army-prepared study DST-1810S-387-75 as the conductor of a submarine and rabbit experiment around 1956"
fn: 1 fn: 1
created: 2025-08-05 created: 2025-08-05
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Pavel Naumov was a [[Moscow]] psychologist, described by the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] in 1975 as bearing "no relation to the now imprisoned Edward Naumov" ([[Eduard Naumov]]).[^1] [[Sheila Ostrander]] and [[Lynn Schroeder]] wrote that he conducted studies in the noisy atmosphere of a Moscow gynecological clinic, where mothers were housed in a section distant from their babies and "cannot possibly hear them." A mother, he said, showed nervousness when her baby cried, and anxiety when an infant was in pain as a doctor took a blood specimen; "we found communication in 65 percent of our cases," he concluded in a paper at the Congress on Scientific Problems of Telepathy at the [[Popov Society|A. S. Popov Radio-Technology Institute]] in Moscow on February 22, 1968, titled "Methods of Training Telepathic Abilities." He also reported that girls dating boys with telepathic aptitudes correctly received up to 40 percent of the images the boys sent. Ostrander and Schroeder list a second paper, "On the Question of Wordless Transmission of Information," among his publications.[^2] Pavel Naumov was a [[Moscow]] psychologist, described by the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] in 1975 as bearing "no relation to the now imprisoned Edward Naumov" ([[Eduard Naumov]]).[^1] [[Sheila Ostrander]] and [[Lynn Schroeder]] wrote that he conducted studies in the noisy atmosphere of a Moscow gynecological clinic, where mothers were housed in a section distant from their babies and "cannot possibly hear them." A mother, he said, showed nervousness when her baby cried, and anxiety when an infant was in pain as a doctor took a blood specimen; "we found communication in 65 percent of our cases," he concluded in a paper at the Congress on Scientific Problems of Telepathy at the [[Popov Society|A. S. Popov Radio-Technology Institute]] in Moscow on February 22, 1968, titled "Methods of Training Telepathic Abilities." He also reported that girls dating boys with telepathic aptitudes correctly received up to 40 percent of the images the boys sent. Ostrander and Schroeder list a second paper, "On the Question of Wordless Transmission of Information," among his publications.[^2]
@ -37,8 +37,13 @@ The DIA's 1975 study, prepared by the [[U.S. Army Medical Intelligence and Infor
In Ostrander and Schroeder's book the rabbit experiment appears in a chapter that also quotes Pavel Naumov on mothers and infants, but the authors introduce it with "The first day we met Naumov he brought up an extremely interesting 'telepathy' test," in a conversation about the American Nautilus reports, and the Naumov they met on arrival in Moscow was Edward. In that account he put the test "about three years previously," that is, about 1965 rather than 1956, and said the reports "are, I'm sorry to say, not public."[^2] [[Igor Tsykunov]]'s 2023 article records that the submarine-and-rabbit method was repeated in the foreword to [[Lyall Watson]]'s *Supernature* (London, 1976), and that a department under [[Vitaly Perov]] at the [[Institute of Automation and Electrometry]] in [[Novosibirsk]]'s [[Akademgorodok]] sponsored by naval officers ran rabbit telepathy experiments from October 5 to November 16, 1967, after more than two years of preliminary work.[^4] The 1975 DIA study's personnel appendix lists "Naumov, P." among Soviet researchers whose affiliation is unknown.[^1] In Ostrander and Schroeder's book the rabbit experiment appears in a chapter that also quotes Pavel Naumov on mothers and infants, but the authors introduce it with "The first day we met Naumov he brought up an extremely interesting 'telepathy' test," in a conversation about the American Nautilus reports, and the Naumov they met on arrival in Moscow was Edward. In that account he put the test "about three years previously," that is, about 1965 rather than 1956, and said the reports "are, I'm sorry to say, not public."[^2] [[Igor Tsykunov]]'s 2023 article records that the submarine-and-rabbit method was repeated in the foreword to [[Lyall Watson]]'s *Supernature* (London, 1976), and that a department under [[Vitaly Perov]] at the [[Institute of Automation and Electrometry]] in [[Novosibirsk]]'s [[Akademgorodok]] sponsored by naval officers ran rabbit telepathy experiments from October 5 to November 16, 1967, after more than two years of preliminary work.[^4] The 1975 DIA study's personnel appendix lists "Naumov, P." among Soviet researchers whose affiliation is unknown.[^1]
When the British delegate [[John Cutten]] asked whether the work implied close cooperation with the government and the military, Naumov answered that Cutten's remark "speaks for itself."[^5] [[Jim Schnabel]] attributes the announcement at the 1968 Moscow conference that the Red Navy had replicated the entire Nautilus experiment to Eduard Naumov.[^6]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research (U)," DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, prepared by U.S. Army Medical Intelligence and Information Agency, Part I Section II and appendix, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500420001-2. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp96-00787r000500420001-2 [^1]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research (U)," DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, prepared by U.S. Army Medical Intelligence and Information Agency, Part I Section II and appendix, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500420001-2. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp96-00787r000500420001-2
[^2]: Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder, *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain* (Prentice-Hall, 1970), chapters 1 and 3 ("Mind-Link, Body-Link") and Partial Bibliography, read in the archive.org copy of the 1984 printing. https://archive.org/details/shelia-ostrander-psychic-discoveries-behind-the-iron-curtain-1984 [^2]: Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder, *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain* (Prentice-Hall, 1970), chapters 1 and 3 ("Mind-Link, Body-Link") and Partial Bibliography, read in the archive.org copy of the 1984 printing. https://archive.org/details/shelia-ostrander-psychic-discoveries-behind-the-iron-curtain-1984
[^3]: Annie Jacobsen, *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis* (Little, Brown and Company, 2017). [^3]: Annie Jacobsen, *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis* (Little, Brown and Company, 2017).
[^4]: I. V. Tsykunov, "Ot fantazii k realnosti: kak istoriya Nautilusa otkryla gonku sverkhestestvennykh vooruzheniy mezhdu SSSR i SShA," *Aliter* (2023). https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ot-fantazii-k-realnosti-kak-istoriya-nautilusa-otkryla-gonku-sverhestestvennyh-vooruzheniy-mezhdu-sssr-i-ssha [^4]: I. V. Tsykunov, "Ot fantazii k realnosti: kak istoriya Nautilusa otkryla gonku sverkhestestvennykh vooruzheniy mezhdu SSSR i SShA," *Aliter* (2023). https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ot-fantazii-k-realnosti-kak-istoriya-nautilusa-otkryla-gonku-sverhestestvennyh-vooruzheniy-mezhdu-sssr-i-ssha
[^5]: Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain*. Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 32-33. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^6]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies*. Dell, 1997, pp. 90-93. Sole source for the passages so cited.

39
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Robert Booth Nichols.md
View file

@ -30,47 +30,56 @@ relations:
with: "[[Samuel Israel III]]" with: "[[Samuel Israel III]]"
start: 2004-07-11 start: 2004-07-11
role: "Financial and Security Consultancy Agreement; ten-million-dollar fee" role: "Financial and Security Consultancy Agreement; ten-million-dollar fee"
fn: 5 fn: 1
- type: spouse_of - type: spouse_of
with: "[[Ellen M. Nichols]]" with: "[[Ellen M. Nichols]]"
fn: 5 fn: 1
- type: director_of - type: director_of
with: "[[First Intercontinental Development Corporation]]" with: "[[First Intercontinental Development Corporation]]"
role: "director, senior vice president, chairman of the investment committee (sole source: Seymour)" role: "director, senior vice president, chairman of the investment committee (sole source: Seymour)"
fn: 1 fn: 4
created: 2024-04-25 created: 2024-04-25
updated: 2026-09-22 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Robert Booth Nichols was born in the [[United States]] on March 3, 1943.[^5] He was a principal source for the journalist [[Danny Casolaro]] in the investigation Casolaro called [[The Octopus]], and the subject of a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] organized-crime investigation from 1987.[^2][^3] Robert Booth Nichols was born in the [[United States]] on March 3, 1943.[^1] He was a principal source for the journalist [[Danny Casolaro]] in the investigation Casolaro called [[The Octopus]], and the subject of a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] organized-crime investigation from 1987.[^2][^3]
### Meridian and the FBI ### Meridian and the FBI
In September 1987 the FBI's [[Los Angeles]] division opened an investigation of Nichols, who, "acting through Meridian, was suspected of being involved in organized crime"; it was led by Special Agent [[Thomas Gates]], who learned that Nichols "had potential illegal contacts with individuals in both Japan and Australia" and pursued them through the FBI's legal attachés there. On June 16, 1989, Nichols's company, [[Meridian International Logistics]], sued Gates in California state court for eleven million dollars for libel, slander and interference with contracts, alleging that he had told the Australian Federal Police and others that Meridian was involved in organized crime and fraud; the former FBI agent [[Ted Gunderson]] filed a declaration that such foreign contacts "would never, under FBI policies, be initiated by an agent assigned to the Los Angeles field office." The government substituted itself for Gates, and on July 19, 1991, the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of the suit.[^2] In September 1987 the FBI's [[Los Angeles]] division opened an investigation of Nichols, who, "acting through Meridian, was suspected of being involved in organized crime"; it was led by Special Agent [[Thomas Gates]], who learned that Nichols "had potential illegal contacts with individuals in both Japan and Australia" and pursued them through the FBI's legal attachés there. On June 16, 1989, Nichols's company, [[Meridian International Logistics]], sued Gates in California state court for eleven million dollars for libel, slander and interference with contracts, alleging that he had told the Australian Federal Police and others that Meridian was involved in organized crime and fraud; the former FBI agent [[Ted Gunderson]] filed a declaration that such foreign contacts "would never, under FBI policies, be initiated by an agent assigned to the Los Angeles field office." The government substituted itself for Gates, and on July 19, 1991, the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of the suit.[^2]
According to [[Cheri Seymour]], the FBI investigated Meridian as "a source of funding for the purchasing of narcotics/controlled substances"; [[Eugene Giaquinto]], president of the home entertainment division of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]], sat on its board, and FBI wiretaps on MCA recorded his calls with Nichols.[^1] Gates swore in a 72-page affidavit to a federal court on an FBI wiretap of figures in the entertainment industry suspected of organized-crime ties; the [[House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]], which heard from Gates that the threads of Casolaro's inquiry led to "a single individual, Robert Booth Nichols," took "no position on any of Gates' assertions or suppositions vis-a-vis Nichols, except to note again that they were duly sworn statements."[^3] According to [[Cheri Seymour]], [[Eugene Giaquinto]], president of the home entertainment division of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]], sat on Meridian's board.[^4] Gates's 1987 continuation wiretap affidavit named Nichols, with Giaquinto, [[Joseph Garofalo]] and [[Martin Bacow]], under its stock-fraud offenses, and placed "The source of funding for the purchasing of narcotics/controlled substances" among the matters the intercepts of Giaquinto and Garofalo were to establish under its controlled-substance offenses.[^5] Gates swore in a 72-page affidavit to a federal court on an FBI wiretap of figures in the entertainment industry suspected of organized-crime ties; the [[House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]], which heard from Gates that the threads of Casolaro's inquiry led to "a single individual, Robert Booth Nichols," took "no position on any of Gates' assertions or suppositions vis-a-vis Nichols, except to note again that they were duly sworn statements."[^3]
Gates's sworn affidavits to Judge J. Spencer Letts of the Central District of California (March 27, May 20, June 25, July 15 and August 3, 1987, and a continuation affidavit) listed Nichols among the persons whose calls were to be intercepted. The continuation affidavit gives his employment as Meridian International Logistics, states that California Department of Justice records showed several permits to possess and sell firearms, including machine guns, and states that FBI files showed that in 1978 he "was allegedly an international money launderer for money generated through narcotics trafficking and organized crime (LCN) activities" and "may have been associated with the Gambino LCN family in New York City." It records his 1985 Honolulu arrest for driving under the influence, and FBI surveillance on July 15, 1987 at Le Dome restaurant in which a man Gates compared with Nichols's booking photograph took a box from Giaquinto's trunk.[^5] On July 23, 1987 Gates recorded Giaquinto asking Nichols what to do if Nichols's name came up in connection with [[ZZZZ Best]], and Nichols answering to tell the truth, that he had written a treatment 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.[^5]
### Allegations ### Allegations
Seymour's book, largely on the word of [[Michael Riconosciuto]], describes Nichols as a director, senior vice president and chairman of the investment committee of the [[First Intercontinental Development Corporation]], a company alleged to have served the [[National Security Council]] in Lebanon; as chief executive of R.B.N. Companies, International; as a contract operative for the NSC; as the man who helped [[Ignacio Paz]] of the Philippine government move money through Swiss accounts; and as a participant in a heroin operation run through Euramae Trading in Nicosia, [[Cyprus]]. In the same account he laundered money and gold for [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela|Gilberto Rodríguez]] and [[Jose Santacruz Londono|José Santacruz Londoño]] of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]], was linked to the [[Gambino Crime Family]], the [[Bufalino Crime Family]] and the [[Yakuza]], was called the "godson" of [[Harold Okimoto]] of Hawaii, and was the subject of investigations that the [[Department of Justice]] shut down.[^1] Neither the House report nor the special counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] mentions the First Intercontinental Development Corporation.[^3][^4] Seymour's book, largely on the word of [[Michael Riconosciuto]], describes Nichols as a director, senior vice president and chairman of the investment committee of the [[First Intercontinental Development Corporation]], a company alleged to have served the [[National Security Council]] in Lebanon; as chief executive of R.B.N. Companies, International; as a contract operative for the NSC; as the man who helped [[Ignacio Paz]] of the Philippine government move money through Swiss accounts; and as a participant in a heroin operation run through Euramae Trading in Nicosia, [[Cyprus]]. In the same account he laundered money and gold for [[Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela|Gilberto Rodríguez]] and [[Jose Santacruz Londono|José Santacruz Londoño]] of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]], was linked to the [[Gambino Crime Family]], the [[Bufalino Crime Family]] and the [[Yakuza]], was called the "godson" of [[Harold Okimoto]] of Hawaii, and was the subject of investigations that the [[Department of Justice]] shut down.[^4] Nevada charter C417-1961, amended under the name First Intercontinental Development Corporation on August 7, 1984, is recorded under the name Meridian International Logistics, Inc.[^6] The employment address the 1987 affidavit gives for Nichols, 834 Rose Blossom Drive in Cupertino, is the registered address of Meridian Arms Corporation.[^5][^7]
Riconosciuto swore to the House committee that [[Earl Brian]] and [[Peter Videnieks]] had delivered [[PROMIS]] to the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] for "refitting," and Seymour describes Nichols's company Meridian Arms as a partner of Riconosciuto in the proposed weapons work of the [[Wackenhut Corporation]] joint venture there. The committee called the material linking Nichols, Meridian Arms and Riconosciuto to the Cabazon-Wackenhut venture "speculative reports and fragmentary records," and the "continuing intersection" of those names "certainly intriguing and curious associations but without the requisite degree of causation and factual convergence necessary to draw conclusions."[^1][^3] Bua found Riconosciuto "totally unreliable."[^4] Riconosciuto swore to the House committee that [[Earl Brian]] and [[Peter Videnieks]] had delivered [[PROMIS]] to the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] for "refitting," and Seymour describes Nichols's company Meridian Arms as a partner of Riconosciuto in the proposed weapons work of the [[Wackenhut Corporation]] joint venture there. The committee called the material linking Nichols, Meridian Arms and Riconosciuto to the Cabazon-Wackenhut venture "speculative reports and fragmentary records," and the "continuing intersection" of those names "certainly intriguing and curious associations but without the requisite degree of causation and factual convergence necessary to draw conclusions."[^3][^4] The special counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] found Riconosciuto "totally unreliable."[^8]
Nichols testified in 1993, in his suit against the Los Angeles Police Department, that he had been a member of the American intelligence community for many years. The Justice Department's review of 1994 reported that "No evidence supports that claim. In fact, the [[Central Intelligence Agency|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," and that documents showed Howard Hughes's Summa Corporation had rejected the bid for its assets that Nichols testified he had been "instructed" to make in the late 1970s.[^4] Nichols testified in 1993, in his suit against the Los Angeles Police Department, that he had been a member of the American intelligence community for many years. Bua's report of March 1993 stated: "No evidence supports that claim. In fact, the [[Central Intelligence Agency|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," and that documents showed Howard Hughes's Summa Corporation had rejected the bid for its assets that Nichols testified he had been "instructed" to make in the late 1970s.[^8]
[[Peter Zokosky]] told Seymour and [[Kelly O'Meara]] on February 14, 2001 that it was his understanding that Nichols worked for the NSC ("everything revolves around the NSC"), doing contract work for the NSA and NSC and occasionally other agencies, and showed them a three-page FBI Los Angeles report dated December 2, 1982 that, in Seymour's summary, recorded a confidential source's March 16, 1978 allegation that Nichols was "an international money launderer," a reference to a G-77 submachine-gun permit, and the conclusion that he "should be considered armed and dangerous."[^9] John Connolly reported in [[Spy (magazine)|Spy]] in January 1993 that Nichols obtained his California machine-gun permits with a recommendation from a CIA official named Larry Curran and listed Okimoto as a former employer on his concealed-weapon application; [[Jack Valenti]] told Spy, of a proposal by Giaquinto that the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] hire Nichols for Asian anti-piracy work, "I didn't feel comfortable with Nichols."[^10]
### Casolaro ### Casolaro
Telephone records show that Casolaro and Nichols "spoke regularly and at length" in the last months of Casolaro's life, and the two had dinner at a restaurant in Virginia in the early summer of 1991. Nichols told committee investigators he had been "a sounding board" for Casolaro and would not give a sworn statement.[^3] On September 30, 1991, he told Detective Sergeant Swartwood of the Martinsburg police that he thought Casolaro had been murdered and that Riconosciuto "was probably involved in some way." The review noted a January 1993 *[[Spy (magazine)|Spy]]* article suggesting that Nichols had Casolaro killed for fear of being exposed as a would-be FBI informant against the Mafia, and found "no evidence that he had anything to do with Mr. Casolaro's death. Furthermore, he was in London on the day that Mr. Casolaro died."[^4] According to Seymour, Nichols had warned Casolaro to drop the investigation and went to Martinsburg to press him in person, Casolaro had confronted him shortly before his death about [[Michael Abbell]] and the Cali cartel, and Nichols later wrote a manuscript, "Danny Casolaro's Octopus."[^1] Telephone records show that Casolaro and Nichols "spoke regularly and at length" in the last months of Casolaro's life, and the two had dinner at a restaurant in Virginia in the early summer of 1991. Nichols told committee investigators he had been "a sounding board" for Casolaro and would not give a sworn statement.[^3] On September 30, 1991, he told Detective Sergeant Swartwood of the Martinsburg police that he thought Casolaro had been murdered and that Riconosciuto "was probably involved in some way." Bua's report noted a January 1993 *Spy* article suggesting that Nichols had Casolaro killed for fear of being exposed as a would-be FBI informant against the Mafia, and found "no evidence that he had anything to do with Mr. Casolaro's death. Furthermore, he was in London on the day that Mr. Casolaro died."[^8] According to Seymour, Nichols had warned Casolaro to drop the investigation and went to Martinsburg to press him in person, Casolaro had confronted him shortly before his death about [[Michael Abbell]] and the Cali cartel, and Nichols later wrote a manuscript, "Danny Casolaro's Octopus."[^4]
### The Bayou Fee ### The Bayou Fee
In the spring of 2004 Nichols offered [[Samuel Israel III]], manager of the Bayou hedge funds, access to what British investigators later described as programs with "all of the hallmarks of fraudulent prime bank note programs." After more than 150 million dollars of Bayou money passed through a London account of the "Humanitarian Coalition Aid Foundation" and back in April 2004, Nichols and Israel signed a "Financial and Security Consultancy Agreement" on July 11, 2004, and on July 19 Israel wired ten million dollars to accounts in Germany, Liechtenstein, Singapore and the [[United Kingdom]] in the name of or controlled by Nichols, about eight million of which ended in a London account in the names of Nichols and his wife, Ellen. The Bayou funds' liquidating entity sued the couple in 2008 to recover the fee as a fraudulent transfer; they answered that he had received it "for value, in good faith and without knowledge of the alleged voidability of the transfer." Nichols was deposed on video at the [[U.S. Attorney's office]] in Manhattan on December 16, 2008, and the case was closed on April 28, 2010.[^5][^6] At the time his address was in Honolulu.[^5] In the spring of 2004 Nichols offered [[Samuel Israel III]], manager of the Bayou hedge funds, access to what British investigators later described as programs with "all of the hallmarks of fraudulent prime bank note programs." After more than 150 million dollars of Bayou money passed through a London account of the "Humanitarian Coalition Aid Foundation" and back in April 2004, Nichols and Israel signed a "Financial and Security Consultancy Agreement" on July 11, 2004, and on July 19 Israel wired ten million dollars to accounts in Germany, Liechtenstein, Singapore and the [[United Kingdom]] in the name of or controlled by Nichols, about eight million of which ended in a London account in the names of Nichols and his wife, Ellen. The Bayou funds' liquidating entity sued the couple in 2008 to recover the fee as a fraudulent transfer; they answered that he had received it "for value, in good faith and without knowledge of the alleged voidability of the transfer." Nichols was deposed on video at the [[U.S. Attorney's office]] in Manhattan on December 16, 2008, and the case was closed on April 28, 2010.[^1][^11] At the time his address was in Honolulu.[^1]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the claims so attributed, many of them from Michael Riconosciuto. [^1]: Annis, Stephen Robert, Assets Recovery Agency. Witness statement in support of an application for a restraint order, *In the Matter of Robert Booth Nichols,* Crown Court at Blackfriars, PCA 2007/0003; Financial and Security Consultancy Agreement, July 11, 2004; Answer of Robert B. Nichols and Ellen M. Nichols, June 12, 2008; all filed in *Bayou Management, LLC v. Nichols,* No. 08-cv-06036 (S.D.N.Y.). https://archive.org/details/SamIsraelIII-BayouManagement-RobertBoothNicholsCourtFilings
[^2]: *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. United States,* 939 F.2d 740 (9th Cir. 1991). https://openjurist.org/939/f2d/740 [^2]: *Meridian International Logistics, Inc. v. United States,* 939 F.2d 740 (9th Cir. 1991). https://openjurist.org/939/f2d/740
[^3]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair,* H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, section on Earl Brian, Michael Riconosciuto, Robert Booth Nichols and the Cabazon Indian Reservation, and memorandum of interview with Nichols, January 21, 1992. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport [^3]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair,* H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, section on Earl Brian, Michael Riconosciuto, Robert Booth Nichols and the Cabazon Indian Reservation, and memorandum of interview with Nichols, January 21, 1992. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua,* March 1993 (Riconosciuto's credibility), and *Report on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report,* September 27, 1994, section on the death of Danny Casolaro, citing *Booth Nichols v. City of Los Angeles,* No. NCC 31322B, trial transcript, March 11, 1993. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993 [^4]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the claims so attributed, many of them from Michael Riconosciuto.
[^5]: Annis, Stephen Robert, Assets Recovery Agency. Witness statement in support of an application for a restraint order, *In the Matter of Robert Booth Nichols,* Crown Court at Blackfriars, PCA 2007/0003; Financial and Security Consultancy Agreement, July 11, 2004; Answer of Robert B. Nichols and Ellen M. Nichols, June 12, 2008; all filed in *Bayou Management, LLC v. Nichols,* No. 08-cv-06036 (S.D.N.Y.). https://archive.org/details/SamIsraelIII-BayouManagement-RobertBoothNicholsCourtFilings [^5]: Affidavit of Special Agent Thomas G. Gates in support of an application to continue interception of wire communications of Martin Bacow, Eugene Giaquinto, Joseph Garofalo, Robert Nichols and others, before Judge J. Spencer Letts, C.D. Cal. (continuation affidavit citing intercepts through September 1, 1987), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Gates." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks (file Gates.pdf), paragraphs 3, 5, 9-13, 46, 79 and 84. Seymour, *The Last Circle,* p. 356, paraphrases the narcotics-funding wording as describing Meridian International Logistics; the affidavit places it under the controlled-substance offenses of Giaquinto and Garofalo.
[^6]: Nichols, Robert Booth. Videotaped deposition, December 16, 2008, *United States v. Samuel Israel III,* 05 Cr. 1039 (S.D.N.Y.), and *Bayou Management, LLC v. Nichols.* https://archive.org/details/robert-booth-nichols ; docket, *Bayou Management, LLC v. Nichols,* 1:08-cv-06036 (S.D.N.Y.), filed July 2, 2008, terminated April 28, 2010, CourtListener. [^6]: 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
[^7]: OpenCorporates, record for Meridian Arms Corporation, California company 0853005 (retrieved October 8, 2026). https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/0853005
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua,* March 1993 (Riconosciuto's credibility), and section "Involvement of Robert Booth Nichols," pp. 157-159 and note 58 (p. 159), citing *Booth Nichols v. City of Los Angeles,* No. NCC 31322B, trial transcript, March 11, 1993. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^9]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010, chapter 22. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^10]: Connolly, John. "The Story That Killed Danny Casolaro." *Spy,* January 1993. https://archive.org/details/SpyMagazine
[^11]: Nichols, Robert Booth. Videotaped deposition, December 16, 2008, *United States v. Samuel Israel III,* 05 Cr. 1039 (S.D.N.Y.), and *Bayou Management, LLC v. Nichols.* https://archive.org/details/robert-booth-nichols ; docket, *Bayou Management, LLC v. Nichols,* 1:08-cv-06036 (S.D.N.Y.), filed July 2, 2008, terminated April 28, 2010, CourtListener.

8
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Sheila Ostrander.md
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@ -5,11 +5,15 @@ tags:
- Stargate - Stargate
- Soviet - Soviet
summary: "Ostrander and Schroeder's work, which included accounts from figures like Eduard Naumov, contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S." summary: "Ostrander and Schroeder's work, which included accounts from figures like Eduard Naumov, contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S."
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
[[Sheila Ostrander]] is an American author who, along with [[Lynn Schroeder]], co-authored the 1970 book *Psychic Discoveries Behind the [[Iron Curtain]]*. This book played a significant role in popularizing Soviet and Eastern European [[Parapsychology|psi]] research in the West. The book portrayed a "veritable frenzy of psychic research" going on in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], with investigators uncovering powerful natural clairvoyants, psychokinetic prodigies, and dowsers whose talents could potentially be employed against the West.[^1] [[Sheila Ostrander]] is an American author who, along with [[Lynn Schroeder]], co-authored the 1970 book *Psychic Discoveries Behind the [[Iron Curtain]]*. This book played a significant role in popularizing Soviet and Eastern European [[Parapsychology|psi]] research in the West. The book portrayed a "veritable frenzy of psychic research" going on in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], with investigators uncovering powerful natural clairvoyants, psychokinetic prodigies, and dowsers whose talents could potentially be employed against the West.[^1]
The book's account of the [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|Nautilus]] reports appears in its first chapter, pages 6 to 8, and a Russian's account of a submarine test with rabbits on pages 32 and 33. Of the first the authors write: "Whether the American Nautilus tests happened or not, the reports of them were enough to set the Soviets going on some ESP tests with their own submarines."[^2]
Ostrander and Schroeder's work, which included accounts from figures like [[Eduard Naumov]], contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S. intelligence community about a potential "psi gap" with the Soviet Union, ultimately influencing the decision to fund and initiate programs like the [[Stargate Project|Stargate Project]].[^1] Ostrander and Schroeder's work, which included accounts from figures like [[Eduard Naumov]], contributed to the growing awareness and concern within the U.S. intelligence community about a potential "psi gap" with the Soviet Union, ultimately influencing the decision to fund and initiate programs like the [[Stargate Project|Stargate Project]].[^1]
--- ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain*. Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 6-8 and 32-33. Sole source for the passages so cited.

21
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Zalman Mordecai Shapiro.md
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@ -9,16 +9,25 @@ born: 1920-05-12
died: 2016-07-16 died: 2016-07-16
location: "Canton, Ohio" location: "Canton, Ohio"
--- ---
Zalman Mordecai Shapiro was an American Jew and owner of the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]] (NUMEC), a privately owned nuclear enriching plant in [[Apollo]], [[Pennsylvania]]. He was suspected by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and others of having smuggled more than two hundred pounds of weapons-grade uranium to [[Israel]], enough for four bombs. This alleged diversion was a major factor in [[Carl E. Duckett]]'s [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] estimates of [[Israel]]'s nuclear arsenal.[^1] Zalman Mordecai Shapiro was an American Jew and owner of the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]] (NUMEC), a privately owned nuclear enriching plant in [[Apollo]], [[Pennsylvania]]. He was suspected by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and others of having smuggled more than two hundred pounds of weapons-grade uranium to [[Israel]], enough for four bombs. This alleged diversion was a major factor in [[Carl E. Duckett]]'s CIA estimates of Israel's nuclear arsenal.[^1]
Shapiro was hounded by these suspicions for twenty-five years, despite no significant evidence proving the diversion was ever found. The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and [[Atomic Energy Commission|AEC]] never learned that Shapiro did have a secret life, meeting and befriending many of [[Israel]]'s senior nuclear scientists, including [[Ernst David Bergmann]], and conducting sensitive, legitimate missions for [[Israel]]. He was asked by [[Israel]] to devise a rapid and accurate method of determining whether water had been contaminated with toxic materials, and also advised on how to prevent water loss in the National Water Carrier.[^1] Hersh writes that Shapiro was hounded by these suspicions for twenty-five years, that no significant evidence of a diversion was found, and that the CIA and [[Atomic Energy Commission|AEC]] never learned that Shapiro had a secret life, meeting and befriending many of Israel's senior nuclear scientists, including [[Ernst David Bergmann]], and conducting sensitive, legitimate missions for Israel. He was asked by Israel to devise a rapid and accurate method of determining whether water had been contaminated with toxic materials, and also advised on how to prevent water loss in the National Water Carrier.[^1]
Shapiro's business involved the chemical isolation and recovery of enriched uranium from dirt and scrap, a process that inherently generated some loss, known as MUF (material unaccounted for). The AEC eventually determined that over two hundred pounds of enriched uranium could not be accounted for from NUMEC, leading to suspicions of diversion. Despite intensive FBI surveillance and investigations, no significant evidence proving that Shapiro had diverted any uranium was ever found. Instead, the missing uranium was found to have ended up in the air and water of [[Apollo]], as well as in the plant's ducts, tubes, and floors.[^1] Shapiro's business involved the chemical isolation and recovery of enriched uranium from dirt and scrap, a process that inherently generated some loss, known as MUF (material unaccounted for). The AEC eventually determined that over two hundred pounds of enriched uranium could not be accounted for from NUMEC, leading to suspicions of diversion. Hersh concludes that intensive FBI surveillance and investigation found no significant evidence that Shapiro diverted uranium, and that the missing uranium ended up in the air and water of Apollo and in the plant's ducts, tubes and floors.[^1]
In 1967, Shapiro and his partners were forced to merge their interest in NUMEC into the [[Atlantic Richfield Company]] (ARCO) due to the continuing controversy. Shapiro continued to run the plant. He convened meetings of American and Israeli scientists to discuss protecting [[Israel]]'s National Water Carrier from terrorists, and his company provided specialized small power sources for the security of waterways, all approved for export by the Commerce Department.[^1] In 1967, Shapiro and his partners were forced to merge their interest in NUMEC into the [[Atlantic Richfield Company]] (ARCO) due to the continuing controversy. Shapiro continued to run the plant. He convened meetings of American and Israeli scientists to discuss protecting Israel's National Water Carrier from terrorists, and his company provided specialized small power sources for the security of waterways, all approved for export by the Commerce Department.[^1]
In 1977, [[Jody Powell]], President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s press secretary, publicly announced that investigations had "failed to reveal" a diversion of uranium to [[Israel]]. However, [[Carl E. Duckett]] and [[John L. Hadden]] continued to push their suspicions, leading to further investigations. By the early 1990s, Duckett essentially recanted many of his previous assertions, stating he knew of nothing to indicate Shapiro was guilty. Despite this, many journalists continued to believe Shapiro diverted uranium for the Israeli bomb.[^1] ### Records of 1965 to 1968
An August 10, 1965 meeting of Atomic Energy Commission commissioners with Shapiro and others from NUMEC concerned inventory differences in highly enriched uranium detected earlier that year by the AEC's Oak Ridge office; Shapiro "admitted that some waste was generated by work on Navy fuels" and noted that in earlier years NUMEC had paid the AEC up to $1 million for material losses. A letter of February 14, 1966 from the AEC General Manager, R. L. Hollingsworth, to the [[Joint Committee on Atomic Energy]] stated that an audit of November 1965 found 178 kilograms of U-235 unaccounted for since the start of operations at Apollo, of which 93.8 kilograms could not be ascribed to any known loss mechanism. Minutes of an AEC briefing of the same date record the staff view that "if collusion between a shipper and a foreign government were assumed it would be theoretically possible to ship material abroad in excess of the amounts indicated in the company's records," and that the Commission could not say unequivocally that the material had not been diverted.[^2]
An FBI report of June 21, 1966 summarized an interview of Shapiro by the Pittsburgh office on June 15, 1966, made at the AEC's request, on whether he should have registered as an agent of a foreign government; Shapiro described the formation of ISORAD, a joint venture of NUMEC and the [[Israel Atomic Energy Commission|Israeli Atomic Energy Commission]], and meetings with the American ambassador to Israel and with Joseph Eyal, science attache of the Israeli embassy. A General Accounting Office report to the Joint Committee of June 20, 1967 stated that cumulative losses of U-235 through December 31, 1966 totaled about 260 kilograms, or about 1.2 percent of receipts.[^2]
On April 2, 1968, [[Richard Helms]] wrote to Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] asking for a "discreet intelligence investigation of an all source nature of Dr. Shapiro in order to establish the nature and extent of his relationship with the Government of Israel." An FBI memorandum of May 6, 1968 from [[Cartha DeLoach]] to [[Clyde Tolson]] expressed misgivings, and [[J. Edgar Hoover]] wrote on it: "OK, but I doubt advisability of getting into this."[^2] On September 6, 1968 the AEC's New York security office reported that NUMEC had asked for a visit by four Israelis to Apollo on September 10: Avraham Hermoni, scientific counselor at the Israeli embassy in Washington; Ephraim Biegun and Abraham Bendor of the Israeli Department of Electronics; and [[Rafael Eitan|Raphael Eitan]] of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The National Security Archive identifies Hermoni as the [[LAKAM]] station chief in Washington, Biegun and Bendor as Shin Bet officers, and Eitan as deputy chief of operations of the [[Mossad]], who organized the 1968 Plumbat operation that diverted natural uranium oxide from Europe to Israel.[^2]
In 1977, [[Jody Powell]], President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s press secretary, publicly announced that investigations had "failed to reveal" a diversion of uranium to Israel. However, Carl E. Duckett and [[John L. Hadden]] continued to push their suspicions, leading to further investigations. By the early 1990s, Duckett essentially recanted many of his previous assertions, stating he knew of nothing to indicate Shapiro was guilty. Despite this, many journalists continued to believe Shapiro diverted uranium for the Israeli bomb.[^1]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 14, 18. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 14, 18.
[^2]: National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (November 2, 2016), Documents 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, drawing on U.S. Department of Energy archives (AEC Secretariat Collection), FBI FOIA file 117-2564, the Comptroller General's report in the Morris Udall Papers (University of Arizona) and ISCAP Appeal No. 2013-062. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-11-02/numec-affair-did-highly-enriched-uranium-us-aid-israels-nuclear-weapons-program The identifications of the four Israelis and of Eitan's role in Plumbat are the posting's commentary.

5
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Jack Vorona.md
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tags:
- Military - Military
- DIA - DIA
summary: "Jack Vorona was the Assistant Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and served as the overall manager of the Grill Flame program." summary: "Jack Vorona was the Assistant Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and served as the overall manager of the Grill Flame program."
updated: 2026-09-22 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Jack Vorona was the Assistant Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA) and served as the overall manager of the [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] program. He played a crucial role in the continuation and restructuring of the U.S. government's psychic research programs after the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] scaled back its involvement[^1][^2]. Jack Vorona was the Assistant Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA) and served as the overall manager of the [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]] program. He played a crucial role in the continuation and restructuring of the U.S. government's psychic research programs after the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] scaled back its involvement[^1][^2].
@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ A "Project Contacts" list of August 1, 1995, in the CIA's files, its author reda
On August 27, 1981, he met Brigadier General [[Garrison Rapmund]] of the Army Medical Research and Development Command, who "stated that as long as the Perry letter... remained as DoD policy, R&D funds could not be spent in the field of parapsychology," and "solicited BG Rapmund's assistance in getting the Perry letter rescinded." Visiting the Center Lane office on August 31, 1984, he "said that he would like to see psychoenergetics turn into a major discipline. He envisions expanding the current program in a manner similar to that of the disciplines of ELINT, SIGINT, COMINT, etc.," "would like to expand the current program to include PK and medical/psychological assessment," and reported that he and Rapmund "has signed an MOU" under which Rapmund "will provide one million dollars during FY85, two million during FY86, and four million during FY87," besides "TIARA funds and another $600K of P6 funds"; "he will be the central manager of the program under DIA and we will work for him." On March 11, 1985, four days after the DIA memorandum of agreement, "Dr. Vorona granted approval to continue with the training," an approval that fell to him "because of the human use implications" once the project was DIA's. The Sun Streak Oversight Panel met first in January 1986 with "Mr. D. Latham (Asst SecDef, C3I)" as chairman, "Lt Gen L. Perroots" of DIA as member, and "Dr. J. Vorona (DIA/DT), advisory member"; the unit's training reports and annual reports of 1985 to 1988 are addressed "TO: DT (Dr. Vorona)."[^7] On August 27, 1981, he met Brigadier General [[Garrison Rapmund]] of the Army Medical Research and Development Command, who "stated that as long as the Perry letter... remained as DoD policy, R&D funds could not be spent in the field of parapsychology," and "solicited BG Rapmund's assistance in getting the Perry letter rescinded." Visiting the Center Lane office on August 31, 1984, he "said that he would like to see psychoenergetics turn into a major discipline. He envisions expanding the current program in a manner similar to that of the disciplines of ELINT, SIGINT, COMINT, etc.," "would like to expand the current program to include PK and medical/psychological assessment," and reported that he and Rapmund "has signed an MOU" under which Rapmund "will provide one million dollars during FY85, two million during FY86, and four million during FY87," besides "TIARA funds and another $600K of P6 funds"; "he will be the central manager of the program under DIA and we will work for him." On March 11, 1985, four days after the DIA memorandum of agreement, "Dr. Vorona granted approval to continue with the training," an approval that fell to him "because of the human use implications" once the project was DIA's. The Sun Streak Oversight Panel met first in January 1986 with "Mr. D. Latham (Asst SecDef, C3I)" as chairman, "Lt Gen L. Perroots" of DIA as member, and "Dr. J. Vorona (DIA/DT), advisory member"; the unit's training reports and annual reports of 1985 to 1988 are addressed "TO: DT (Dr. Vorona)."[^7]
A DIA project report of October 19, 1983 totals the three-year Grill Flame project at $1,475.5K for fiscal years 1981 to 1983, of which $962K was DIA money, $313.5K Army INSCOM money and $200K money from [[DARPA]].[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
@ -54,3 +56,4 @@ On August 27, 1981, he met Brigadier General [[Garrison Rapmund]] of the Army Me
[^5]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 27 November 1979," S-1168/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130015-1, and "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 10 January 1980," S-1008/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100009-1, both signed Jack Vorona, chairman. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Stoner, William L., Major, GS, "Memorandum of Conversation, Subject: Gale Briefing to ZA, Science Evaluation Group Final Report on GRILL FLAME, 14 Jan 80," CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230017-7. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^5]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 27 November 1979," S-1168/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130015-1, and "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 10 January 1980," S-1008/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100009-1, both signed Jack Vorona, chairman. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Stoner, William L., Major, GS, "Memorandum of Conversation, Subject: Gale Briefing to ZA, Science Evaluation Group Final Report on GRILL FLAME, 14 Jan 80," CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230017-7. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^6]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the Meeting of the DoD Committee on Remote Viewing Activities," August 24, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140009-7; Vorona to the Army assistant chief of staff for intelligence, S-1862/DT-1, September 6, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410015-9; Commander, Naval Intelligence Command, to DIA, September 14, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410025-8; DIA to the 902d Military Intelligence Group, September 22, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140015-0; James L. Brown, Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, USAF, to Vorona, September 29, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410026-7; Army ACSI (DAMI-ISH) to Vorona, October 4, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410024-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^6]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the Meeting of the DoD Committee on Remote Viewing Activities," August 24, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140009-7; Vorona to the Army assistant chief of staff for intelligence, S-1862/DT-1, September 6, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410015-9; Commander, Naval Intelligence Command, to DIA, September 14, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410025-8; DIA to the 902d Military Intelligence Group, September 22, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140015-0; James L. Brown, Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, USAF, to Vorona, September 29, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410026-7; Army ACSI (DAMI-ISH) to Vorona, October 4, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410024-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^7]: "Project Contacts," August 1, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200190048-5; "Key Players," CIA-RDP96-00788R001200270002-9; "Scientific Oversight Committee," CIA-RDP96-00789R003200130001-2; bibliography citing Vorona's testimony to the House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee of April 12, 1983, in "RV Reliability Enhancement and Evaluation," 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001800150001-7; "OACSI Meeting About Grill Flame," April 13, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200060003-1; "Recent Actions Concerning Project Grill Flame," February 21, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100350001-2; "Center Lane Briefing 3-7 October 1983," CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270013-2; "Discussion with Dr. Jack Vorona," August 31, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001500090055-8; "Meeting With Dr. Vorona, 11 March 1985," CIA-RDP96-00788R001700290007-7; "Sun Streak Oversight Panel, Minutes of First Meeting," January 1986, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100200001-6; "Special Intelligence Support Relating to the Kidnapping of BG Dozier," December 22, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00789R002600180016-8; "Grill Flame Briefing for Director, NSA," June and July 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700230004-6; May, Edwin C., memorandum "Contacts," February 23, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200190073-7; Jachim, R. J., "Meeting Between BG Rapmund and Dr. Jack Vorona," September 1, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100440071-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^7]: "Project Contacts," August 1, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200190048-5; "Key Players," CIA-RDP96-00788R001200270002-9; "Scientific Oversight Committee," CIA-RDP96-00789R003200130001-2; bibliography citing Vorona's testimony to the House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee of April 12, 1983, in "RV Reliability Enhancement and Evaluation," 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001800150001-7; "OACSI Meeting About Grill Flame," April 13, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200060003-1; "Recent Actions Concerning Project Grill Flame," February 21, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100350001-2; "Center Lane Briefing 3-7 October 1983," CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270013-2; "Discussion with Dr. Jack Vorona," August 31, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001500090055-8; "Meeting With Dr. Vorona, 11 March 1985," CIA-RDP96-00788R001700290007-7; "Sun Streak Oversight Panel, Minutes of First Meeting," January 1986, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100200001-6; "Special Intelligence Support Relating to the Kidnapping of BG Dozier," December 22, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00789R002600180016-8; "Grill Flame Briefing for Director, NSA," June and July 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700230004-6; May, Edwin C., memorandum "Contacts," February 23, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200190073-7; Jachim, R. J., "Meeting Between BG Rapmund and Dr. Jack Vorona," September 1, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100440071-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^8]: 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

2
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/John L. Wilhelm.md
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@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ A memorandum for the record dated April 16, 1974, in the [[Central Intelligence
### The Search for Superman, 1976 ### The Search for Superman, 1976
Wilhelm's book *The Search for Superman: An Extraordinary Journey of Psychic Exploration* was published by Pocket Books in 1976.[^4] An outline of it kept in the CIA collection among SRI miscellaneous papers lists as its characters [[Uri Geller]], [[Andrija Puharich]], [[Hannah Shtrang]] and [[Shipi Shtrang]], [[Ingo Swann]], [[Pat Price]], [[J. B. Rhine]], [[Edgar Mitchell]] and Adrienne Puthoff (the "ring incident"), gives the purpose of the book as presenting "the facts as best they can be determined in the controversial psychic experiments carried out over the past several years by SRI," and notes that "assistance by SRI was given grudgingly, if at all" and that Wilhelm was "not allowed to witness any of their psychic tests." The same outline names [[George Lawrence]] of the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] and [[Robert Van de Castle]] on the "loose" Geller experiments.[^5] Wilhelm's book *The Search for Superman: An Extraordinary Journey of Psychic Exploration* was published by Pocket Books in 1976.[^4] An outline of it kept in the CIA collection among SRI miscellaneous papers lists as its characters [[Uri Geller]], [[Andrija Puharich]], [[Hannah Shtrang]] and [[Shipi Shtrang]], [[Ingo Swann]], [[Pat Price]], [[J. B. Rhine]], [[Edgar Mitchell]] and Adrienne Puthoff (the "ring incident"), gives the purpose of the book as presenting "the facts as best they can be determined in the controversial psychic experiments carried out over the past several years by SRI," and notes that "assistance by SRI was given grudgingly, if at all" and that Wilhelm was "not allowed to witness any of their psychic tests." The same outline names [[George Lawrence]] of the [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] and [[Robert Van de Castle]] on the "loose" Geller experiments.[^5]
The British weekly *[[New Scientist]]* reviewed the book's treatment of the 1974 *Nature* paper by Targ and Puthoff. [[Joseph Hanlon]] wrote that "in his book, Wilhelm comes close to accusing Targ and Puthoff of dishonesty": Wilhelm alleged that in three of the thirteen picture-drawing trials Geller passed but a drawing was nonetheless included, that in one of these, a horse drawn against a camel target, "apparently Targ and Puthoff themselves may have helped select one of Uri's many drawings that best fit the target," that Puthoff told Geller whether a target was a geometric picture or an object, and that Shipi Shtrang and Jean Mayo were present at sessions, so that Geller's "SRI experiments tended to be more like full-blown stage performances than private experiments."[^6] The British weekly *[[New Scientist]]* reviewed the book's treatment of the 1974 *Nature* paper by Targ and Puthoff. [[Joseph Hanlon]] wrote that "in his book, Wilhelm comes close to accusing Targ and Puthoff of dishonesty": Wilhelm alleged that in three of the thirteen picture-drawing trials Geller passed but a drawing was nonetheless included, that in one of these, a horse drawn against a camel target, "apparently Targ and Puthoff themselves may have helped select one of Uri's many drawings that best fit the target," that Puthoff told Geller whether a target was a geometric picture or an object, and that Shipi Shtrang and Jean Mayo were present at sessions, so that Geller's "SRI experiments tended to be more like full-blown stage performances than private experiments."[^6]

21
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Larry Visoski.md
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@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ relations:
end: 2021-11-30 end: 2021-11-30
fn: 2 fn: 2
created: 2026-09-25 created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr., known as Larry Visoski, is an American pilot who flew [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s aircraft from 1991 to 2019, including the Boeing 727 known as the [[Lolita Express]]. Federal Aviation Administration files and a [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]] complaint list him as manager or member of several of the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] companies that held Epstein's jets and helicopters. He was the government's first witness at the 2021 trial of [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] in the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]], where he testified that Epstein had paid for his two daughters' education and had given him land at [[Zorro Ranch]] in [[New Mexico]]. Bank records released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] in 2026 show checks from Epstein's [[JPMorgan Chase]] account totaling 106,654 dollars to [[Syracuse University]] for one of the daughters between 2009 and 2012.[^1][^2][^3] Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr., known as Larry Visoski, is an American pilot who flew [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s aircraft from 1991 to 2019, including the Boeing 727 known as the [[Lolita Express]]. Federal Aviation Administration files and a [[Government of the United States Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]] complaint list him as manager or member of several of the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] companies that held Epstein's jets and helicopters. He was the government's first witness at the 2021 trial of [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] in the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]], where he testified that Epstein had paid for his two daughters' education and had given him land at [[Zorro Ranch]] in [[New Mexico]]. Bank records released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] in 2026 show checks from Epstein's [[JPMorgan Chase]] account totaling 106,654 dollars to [[Syracuse University]] for one of the daughters between 2009 and 2012.[^1][^2][^3]
@ -64,7 +64,11 @@ A [[Deutsche Bank]] know-your-customer page headed "The 2013 Butterfly Trust," p
On May 16, 2014, Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]] asked Visoski to "poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading," a company he had heard was trying to buy the St. Thomas Jet Center. Visoski replied, "Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive," supplied the tail number of the Black Diamond Learjet, and asked, "can you ask if you want me to introduce myself?" Kahn forwarded the information to Epstein, noting that "Larry has obtained some good info on them." Black Diamond Capital Management's founder, [[Stephen Deckoff]], bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from Epstein's estate in May 2023 through his firm SD Investments.[^7] On May 16, 2014, Epstein's accountant [[Richard Kahn]] asked Visoski to "poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading," a company he had heard was trying to buy the St. Thomas Jet Center. Visoski replied, "Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive," supplied the tail number of the Black Diamond Learjet, and asked, "can you ask if you want me to introduce myself?" Kahn forwarded the information to Epstein, noting that "Larry has obtained some good info on them." Black Diamond Capital Management's founder, [[Stephen Deckoff]], bought Little St. James and [[Great St. James]] from Epstein's estate in May 2023 through his firm SD Investments.[^7]
On September 9, 2014, a charter booker emailed Kahn and Visoski that a JEGE LLC charter flight carrying the New Mexico attorney general and gubernatorial candidate [[Gary King]] and his running mate, [[Deb Haaland]], from Santa Fe was "on the ground at IAD."[^8] On July 25, 2016 the head of security at [[Bard College]] wrote that a helicopter landing for Epstein's visit to the campus would be coordinated with "Epstein's pilot, Larry Visoski, and the local fire company"; the college's president, [[Leon Botstein]], replied "Excellent."[^9] At 5:40 PM that day Visoski sent Kahn a message listing "LearJet 60," "N114BD," and "Is Blackdiamond."[^8] At 6:08 PM, under the subject line "Barn," he wrote, "Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive," and "They arrived this evening at 7 PM in the Learjet, can you ask if you want me to introduce myself?" Kahn forwarded the exchange to Epstein, asking, "should larry meet the aircraft and poke around with them tonight at 7:30pm?" A reply from the account "jeffrey E." reads "yes why not?"[^9] Data Set 9 of the Justice Department's release contains an undated photograph of Stephen Deckoff's Black Diamond business card (EFTA01204007) and, numbered immediately before it, a screenshot of an aviation application with a 5:40 PM AST radar timestamp and the route "TIST KEWR," St. Thomas to Newark (EFTA01204006).[^10]
The FAA's releasable aircraft database lists N114BD in 2026 as a 2009 Dassault Falcon 7X registered to Black Diamond Aviation Group LLC of Greenwich, Connecticut, and its deregistered-aircraft file lists a 1999 Learjet 60 (serial number 166) under the mark N112BD, cancelled on July 1, 2025.[^11] A listing of FAA registry records for Greenwich shows N114BD on that Learjet 60, serial number 166, with a certificate issued December 9, 2004 to Black Diamond Aviation Group LLC.[^12]
On September 9, 2014, a charter booker emailed Kahn and Visoski that a JEGE LLC charter flight carrying the New Mexico attorney general and gubernatorial candidate [[Gary King]] and his running mate, [[Deb Haaland]], from Santa Fe was "on the ground at IAD."[^13] On July 25, 2016 the head of security at [[Bard College]] wrote that a helicopter landing for Epstein's visit to the campus would be coordinated with "Epstein's pilot, Larry Visoski, and the local fire company"; the college's president, [[Leon Botstein]], replied "Excellent."[^14]
### Tuition and Favors ### Tuition and Favors
@ -76,7 +80,7 @@ On April 7, 2011, after his elder daughter was denied an interview for an [[NBC]
Visoski testified on November 29 and 30, 2021. He named passengers he had flown with Epstein, including [[Donald Trump]] ("There was more than once, I believe"), [[Bill Clinton]], [[Prince Andrew]], Senators [[John Glenn]] and [[George Mitchell]], the actors [[Kevin Spacey]] and [[Chris Tucker]], and the violinist [[Itzhak Perlman]]. He testified that he flew Epstein to [[Columbus, Ohio]] to see [[Leslie Wexner]], whom Epstein called his client, and that "Ms. Maxwell had nothing to do with the passenger manifests." Under cross-examination he said he "never saw any sexual activity" on the aircraft, and of the accuser known at trial as "Jane," "I didn't know her age. She didn't look young." He testified that Epstein kept the cockpit door closed during flights, and confirmed that Epstein had paid for both of his daughters' college education and given him acreage at Zorro Ranch.[^1][^2][^3] Visoski testified on November 29 and 30, 2021. He named passengers he had flown with Epstein, including [[Donald Trump]] ("There was more than once, I believe"), [[Bill Clinton]], [[Prince Andrew]], Senators [[John Glenn]] and [[George Mitchell]], the actors [[Kevin Spacey]] and [[Chris Tucker]], and the violinist [[Itzhak Perlman]]. He testified that he flew Epstein to [[Columbus, Ohio]] to see [[Leslie Wexner]], whom Epstein called his client, and that "Ms. Maxwell had nothing to do with the passenger manifests." Under cross-examination he said he "never saw any sexual activity" on the aircraft, and of the accuser known at trial as "Jane," "I didn't know her age. She didn't look young." He testified that Epstein kept the cockpit door closed during flights, and confirmed that Epstein had paid for both of his daughters' college education and given him acreage at Zorro Ranch.[^1][^2][^3]
Judge [[Alison Nathan]] relied at sentencing in part on the testimony of two of Epstein's pilots that [[Sarah Kellen]] had been Maxwell's assistant, one element of the four-level leadership enhancement that the [[Second Circuit]] upheld in September 2024.[^10] Judge [[Alison Nathan]] relied at sentencing in part on the testimony of two of Epstein's pilots that [[Sarah Kellen]] had been Maxwell's assistant, one element of the four-level leadership enhancement that the [[Second Circuit]] upheld in September 2024.[^15]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
@ -87,6 +91,11 @@ Judge [[Alison Nathan]] relied at sentencing in part on the testimony of two of
[^5]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 33 to 36, 137 to 139, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/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)/001-01.pdf [^5]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 33 to 36, 137 to 139, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/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)/001-01.pdf
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01364303, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank know-your-customer page "The 2013 Butterfly Trust" (DB-SDNY-0054829); EFTA01372887, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank "KYC Print," July 15, 2019 (DB-SDNY-0066790). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01364303.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01372887.pdf [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01364303, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank know-your-customer page "The 2013 Butterfly Trust" (DB-SDNY-0054829); EFTA01372887, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank "KYC Print," July 15, 2019 (DB-SDNY-0066790). https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01364303.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01372887.pdf
[^7]: 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]: 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
[^8]: Paras, Julian, and Pat Davis. "Records show Gary King, Deb Haaland used Epstein-linked jet during 2014 campaign." *New Mexico Political Report,* February 17, 2026. https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2026/02/17/records-show-gary-king-deb-haaland-used-epstein-linked-jet-during-2014-campaign/ [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02383246, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Jeffrey Epstein," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02383246.pdf
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02047292, DataSet 10, email chain "Re: Jeffrey Epstein visit to Bard," July 25, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02047292.pdf [^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02583238, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Re: Barn," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02583238.pdf
[^10]: United States v. Maxwell, No. 22-1426-cr (2d Cir. Sept. 17, 2024) (Cabranes, Wesley, Lohier, JJ.), reported at 118 F.4th 256. https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2024/09/17/united_states_v._maxwell.pdf [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01204007 (photograph of a business card) and EFTA01204006 (screenshot of an aviation application), DataSet 9, undated. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204007.pdf and https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204006.pdf
[^11]: Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database, MASTER.txt entry for N114BD and DEREG.txt entry for N112BD (serial 166), downloaded October 8, 2026. https://registry.faa.gov/database/ReleasableAircraft.zip
[^12]: City-Data.com, "FAA Registered Aircraft, Dealers and Manufacturers in Greenwich, Connecticut" (listing derived from FAA registry data, retrieved October 8, 2026). https://www.city-data.com/aircraft/air-Greenwich-Connecticut.html
[^13]: Paras, Julian, and Pat Davis. "Records show Gary King, Deb Haaland used Epstein-linked jet during 2014 campaign." *New Mexico Political Report,* February 17, 2026. https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2026/02/17/records-show-gary-king-deb-haaland-used-epstein-linked-jet-during-2014-campaign/
[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02047292, DataSet 10, email chain "Re: Jeffrey Epstein visit to Bard," July 25, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02047292.pdf
[^15]: United States v. Maxwell, No. 22-1426-cr (2d Cir. Sept. 17, 2024) (Cabranes, Wesley, Lohier, JJ.), reported at 118 F.4th 256. https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2024/09/17/united_states_v._maxwell.pdf

29
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Leonid Vasiliev.md
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@ -12,19 +12,38 @@ summary: "Leningrad physiologist who led the Soviet Union's telepathy research f
born: 1891-04-12 born: 1891-04-12
died: 1966-02-08 died: 1966-02-08
location: "Leningrad, Soviet Union" location: "Leningrad, Soviet Union"
updated: 2026-09-22 updated: 2026-10-08
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]"
start: 1960
role: "cited the accounts in a 1960 lecture and, per I. V. Tsykunov, in a March 1960 report to the Soviet defense minister"
fn: 5
--- ---
Leonid Vasiliev was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] parapsychologist and chairman of the physiology department at the University of Leningrad, a past winner of the Lenin Prize and a key figure in the resurgence of Soviet [[Parapsychology|psi]] research following the publication of [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|"The Secret of the Nautilus"]] article in 1960. He argued that "the discovery of the energy underlying ESP will be equivalent to the discovery of atomic energy."[^1] Leonid Vasiliev was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] parapsychologist and chairman of the physiology department at the University of Leningrad, a past winner of the Lenin Prize (as Ostrander and Schroeder and Schnabel give it; the 1975 DIA study gives the Order of Lenin) and a key figure in the resurgence of Soviet [[Parapsychology|psi]] research following the publication of [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|"The Secret of the Nautilus"]] article in 1960. He argued that "the discovery of the energy underlying ESP will be equivalent to the discovery of atomic energy."[^1]
He stated in April 1960 that Soviet scientists had conducted extensive, unreported investigations into telepathy under the Stalin regime, predating American efforts, and that they had successfully performed telepathy tests over a quarter-century before the alleged U.S. Nautilus tests. He held that the publication of articles like [[Jacques Bergier]]'s "Thought Transfer, Weapon of War" and "The Secret of the Nautilus" in French journals stimulated Soviet research, and used them to advocate for increased Soviet investment in the field: "Today the American Navy is testing telepathy on their atomic submarines. Soviet scientists conducted a great many successful telepathy tests over a quarter of a century ago. It's urgent that we throw off our prejudices. We must plunge into the exploration of this vital field."[^1][^2] He stated in April 1960 that Soviet scientists had conducted extensive, unreported investigations into telepathy under the Stalin regime, predating American efforts, and that they had successfully performed telepathy tests over a quarter-century before the alleged U.S. Nautilus tests. He held that the publication of articles like [[Jacques Bergier]]'s "Thought Transfer, Weapon of War" and "The Secret of the Nautilus" in French journals stimulated Soviet research, and used them to advocate for increased Soviet investment in the field: "Today the American Navy is testing telepathy on their atomic submarines. Soviet scientists conducted a great many successful telepathy tests over a quarter of a century ago. It's urgent that we throw off our prejudices. We must plunge into the exploration of this vital field."[^1][^2]
By the early 1960s Vasiliev was heading a well-funded parapsychology laboratory, and his work soon concentrated on "remote-influencing" experiments, such as attempting to telepathically induce sleep in a distant receiver. In a 1963 Kremlin edict, the Soviet minister of defense, R. J. Malinosky, declared [[Telepathy]] to be science- and technology-based, leading to the creation of the Special Laboratory for Biocommunications Phenomena at the University of Leningrad, with Vasiliev in charge; its goals included establishing "scientific proof of telepathic communications" and identifying the nature of the brain energy that produces it. His efforts, along with those of other Soviet researchers like [[I. M. Kogan]], contributed to the establishment of numerous other psi research centers in the Soviet Union, and to the Soviet nomenclature around ESP being rewritten to sound technical, severing ties with its occult past: mental telepathy became "long-distance biological signal transmission," and [[Psychokinesis|psychokinesis]] "non-ionizing, in particular electromagnetic, emissions from humans."[^1][^2] Ostrander and Schroeder date that address to April 1960, at a gathering to commemorate the discovery of radio; [[I. V. Tsykunov]] suggests May, when Soviet Radio Day fell, and the translated Znanie-Sila report of [[Gleb Anfilov]] places a Vasiliev lecture at the Leningrad Scientists Club on June 15, 1960 in which he mentioned the American attempts at telepathic communication with the Nautilus.[^3][^4][^5]
A [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] briefing on "Soviet Activities in Psychoenergetics," given to the Air Force in July 1987, opened its timeline with [[Vladimir Bekhterev|V. M. Bekhterev]] and "L. L. Vasil'yev (1919-)," under the headings "hypnosis," "automatic responses" and "long distance (1700 km)," and dated his "open publications" and "new lab, Leningrad Univ." to 1959-1965, with [[Genady Sergeyev|G. A. Sergeyev]] working in "Vasil'yev's lab" from 1965 to 1970.[^3] Tsykunov reports a seven-page memorandum of March 21, 1960 drawn up by Vasiliev, [[P. I. Gulyaev]] and [[Igor Poletaev|I. A. Poletaev]], attached to a report that Poletaev sent to Defense Minister Malinovsky on March 26, 1960. As Tsykunov quotes it, the report says Vasiliev had told Poletaev in March 1960 that the American armed forces had adopted telepathy for communication with submarines, that two French magazines had published brief reports, and that a test with the Nautilus submerged under polar ice about 2,000 kilometers from its base had produced 70 percent correct symbols; it says that without discussing the reliability of the reports the danger of a new psychological weapon was too great to leave them without attention, and it proposes that Vasiliev and Gulyaev continue telepathy research.[^4]
Raphael L. Khérumian of the Institut Métapsychique International sent Vasiliev clippings of the Science et Vie and Constellation articles in late 1959 and early 1960. In his 1962 book Vasiliev acknowledged receiving them and, in a footnote, said such reports must be treated with caution, having been denied in Washington and by other American sources; [[Martin Ebon]] quotes the book as calling the experiment a "totally unexpected foreign confirmation" of tests Vasiliev had conducted twenty-five years earlier.[^6][^7]
By the early 1960s Vasiliev was heading a well-funded parapsychology laboratory, and his work soon concentrated on "remote-influencing" experiments, such as attempting to telepathically induce sleep in a distant receiver. In a 1963 Kremlin edict, the Soviet minister of defense, [[Rodion Malinovsky]], declared [[Telepathy]] to be science- and technology-based, leading to the creation of the Special Laboratory for Biocommunications Phenomena at the University of Leningrad, with Vasiliev in charge; its goals included establishing "scientific proof of telepathic communications" and identifying the nature of the brain energy that produces it. His efforts, along with those of other Soviet researchers like [[I. M. Kogan]], contributed to the establishment of numerous other psi research centers in the Soviet Union, and to the Soviet nomenclature around ESP being rewritten to sound technical, severing ties with its occult past: mental telepathy became "long-distance biological signal transmission," and [[Psychokinesis|psychokinesis]] "non-ionizing, in particular electromagnetic, emissions from humans."[^1][^2]
Tsykunov writes that the laboratory was created at the physiology institute of Leningrad University in 1960 and that a "biotelecommunication" group in Vasiliev's laboratory of electromagnetic fields and aeroions included P. I. Gulyaev, V. K. Pavlenko, A. I. Pudovkin, V. P. Leutin, V. A. Doroshenko and A. S. Efremov.[^4]
A [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] briefing on "Soviet Activities in Psychoenergetics," given to the Air Force in July 1987, opened its timeline with [[Vladimir Bekhterev|V. M. Bekhterev]] and "L. L. Vasil'yev (1919-)," under the headings "hypnosis," "automatic responses" and "long distance (1700 km)," and dated his "open publications" and "new lab, Leningrad Univ." to 1959-1965, with [[Genady Sergeyev|G. A. Sergeyev]] working in "Vasil'yev's lab" from 1965 to 1970.[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017. [^2]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^3]: Henry E. Shinol, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Studies and Analyses, Headquarters USAF, to the Defense Intelligence Agency, "Soviet Parapsychology Research Briefing," June 12, 1987, and cover note of July 14, 1987, with paper briefing slides "Soviet Activities in Psychoenergetics," CIA-RDP96-00789R002600320001-8 to -004-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^3]: Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. *Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain*. Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 6-7.
[^4]: 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. Quoting Vinokurov and Gurtovoy, Психотронная война, pp. 147-149.
[^5]: Anfilov, Gleb. "Is Telepathy Possible?" *The Soviet Review*, vol. 2, no. 6 (June 1961), pp. 3-7, translated from Znanie-Sila, 1960, no. 12. https://archive.org/details/sim_russian-social-science-review_1961-06_2_6
[^6]: 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.
[^7]: Ebon, Martin. *Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion?* McGraw-Hill, 1983, chapter 3, pp. 26-27.
[^8]: Henry E. Shinol, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Studies and Analyses, Headquarters USAF, to the Defense Intelligence Agency, "Soviet Parapsychology Research Briefing," June 12, 1987, and cover note of July 14, 1987, with paper briefing slides "Soviet Activities in Psychoenergetics," CIA-RDP96-00789R002600320001-8 to -004-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.

18
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Peter Zokosky.md
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@ -5,13 +5,18 @@ tags:
- PROMIS - PROMIS
- CIA - CIA
summary: "Former president of Armtec Defense Products, the Army's sole combustible cartridge casing supplier, who advised the Cabazon-Wackenhut joint venture and was a witness in the Justice Department's INSLAW inquiry." summary: "Former president of Armtec Defense Products, the Army's sole combustible cartridge casing supplier, who advised the Cabazon-Wackenhut joint venture and was a witness in the Justice Department's INSLAW inquiry."
updated: 2026-09-22 relations:
- type: director_of
with: "[[Meridian International Logistics]]"
role: "board member; asked later to be taken off the board (Zokosky to Seymour, 2001)"
fn: 1
updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
[[Peter Zokosky]] was an arms manufacturer and a key figure in various covert operations and business ventures, often associated with [[Robert Booth Nichols]] and [[Michael Riconosciuto]]. He was a former president of [[Armtec]], a company that produced combustible cartridge cases for the Army, and was under a non-compete agreement with them until August 1981. Zokosky also served as a consultant to the [[Great Britain|British Government]] on shell casings.[^1] [[Peter Zokosky]] was an arms manufacturer and a key figure in various covert operations and business ventures, often associated with [[Robert Booth Nichols]] and [[Michael Riconosciuto]]. He was a former president of [[Armtec]], a company that produced combustible cartridge cases for the Army, and was under a non-compete agreement with them until August 1981. Zokosky also served as a consultant to the [[Great Britain|British Government]] on shell casings.[^1]
### The Justice Department Inquiry ### The Justice Department Inquiry
Zokosky told the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s special counsel, [[Nicholas Bua]], that he was the former president of Armtec Defense Products of Coachella, California, which in the early 1980s was the single-source supplier of combustible cartridge casings to the Army. He took people from the Cabazon-[[Wackenhut Corporation|Wackenhut]] joint venture to [[Picatinny Arsenal]] in Dover, [[New Jersey]], to meet [[Dr. Harry Fair]] and the Army project officer R. Scott Westley, whom he knew from Armtec, about establishing a second-source casing plant on the reservation. [[Robert Frye]] recalled first meeting Michael Riconosciuto on a trip to the arsenal in May 1981; Zokosky agreed there was a May trip but said Riconosciuto was not on it and that Frye met him on a second trip in October 1981.[^2] Zokosky told the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s special counsel, [[Nicholas J. Bua]], that he was the former president of Armtec Defense Products of Coachella, California, which in the early 1980s was the single-source supplier of combustible cartridge casings to the Army. He took people from the Cabazon-[[Wackenhut Corporation|Wackenhut]] joint venture to [[Picatinny Arsenal]] in Dover, [[New Jersey]], to meet [[Dr. Harry Fair]] and the Army project officer R. Scott Westley, whom he knew from Armtec, about establishing a second-source casing plant on the reservation. [[Robert Frye]] recalled first meeting Michael Riconosciuto on a trip to the arsenal in May 1981; Zokosky agreed there was a May trip but said Riconosciuto was not on it and that Frye met him on a second trip in October 1981.[^2]
Bua examined the "Special Operations Report" titled "Nicaraguans and Earl Brian at Lake Cahuilla, 9/10/81," which placed [[Earl Brian]] at the joint venture's weapons demonstration of September 10, 1981. He found it had been typed on October 10, 1991, by Gene Gilbert, an investigator for the Riverside County District Attorney, after a jailhouse interview with Riconosciuto, and that all its information except license plate numbers came from Riconosciuto; the former Indio officer Dave Baird, who had memorized the plates at the demonstration, did not identify Brian as Gilbert's later report said. Gilbert told Bua that had he known the stir it would cause he "would have left Earl Brian's name out."[^2] Bua examined the "Special Operations Report" titled "Nicaraguans and Earl Brian at Lake Cahuilla, 9/10/81," which placed [[Earl Brian]] at the joint venture's weapons demonstration of September 10, 1981. He found it had been typed on October 10, 1991, by Gene Gilbert, an investigator for the Riverside County District Attorney, after a jailhouse interview with Riconosciuto, and that all its information except license plate numbers came from Riconosciuto; the former Indio officer Dave Baird, who had memorized the plates at the demonstration, did not identify Brian as Gilbert's later report said. Gilbert told Bua that had he known the stir it would cause he "would have left Earl Brian's name out."[^2]
@ -21,13 +26,13 @@ The writer Cheri Seymour wrote that Zokosky was a key participant in the [[Cabaz
### Biological Warfare Technology ### Biological Warfare Technology
Seymour wrote that Zokosky took part in the proposed development of biological warfare "viruses" at [[Stormont Laboratories]], grown in cow uteri, and with Robert Booth Nichols presented a proposal for biological warfare technology and anti-toxin kits to the Army (Dr. Harry Fair at Picatinny Arsenal) and to [[FMC Corporation]]; she described the technology as capable of selectively wiping out segments of humanity with the appropriate genetic material. Zokosky spoke of incubating viruses in fish tanks at [[Hercules Research]], where, Seymour wrote, Michael Riconosciuto worked on the same technology.[^1] Seymour wrote that Zokosky took part in the proposed development of biological warfare "viruses" at [[Stormont Laboratories]], grown in cow uteri, and with Robert Booth Nichols presented a proposal for biological warfare technology and anti-toxin kits to the Army (Dr. Harry Fair at Picatinny Arsenal) and to [[FMC Corporation]]; she described the technology as capable of selectively wiping out segments of humanity with the appropriate genetic material. Zokosky spoke of incubating viruses in fish tanks at [[Hercules Research]], where, Seymour wrote, Michael Riconosciuto worked on the same technology.[^1] Seymour's 1992 VORTEX account separately says Zokosky had been involved in a proposal to sell biological warfare viruses to a Dr. Harry Fair in Arlington, Virginia.[^3]
### Connections to Robert Booth Nichols and Meridian International Logistics ### Connections to Robert Booth Nichols and Meridian International Logistics
Zokosky was a board member of [[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]], a holding company headed by Robert Booth Nichols. He stated that MIL was a "front company" used to funnel money to its board of directors, with funds, he said, coming from the [[NSA|NSA]], partly from drug profits. He believed that Robert Booth Nichols worked for the [[National Security Council|NSC]] and NSA, doing "contract work" for various government agencies, and that Nichols handled "corporate and government" transactions related to narcotics at a higher level.[^1] Zokosky was a board member of [[Meridian International Logistics|MIL]], a holding company headed by Robert Booth Nichols. He stated that MIL was a "front company" used to funnel money to its board of directors, with funds, he said, coming from the [[NSA|NSA]], partly from drug profits. He said Robert Booth Nichols worked "for the NSC" ([[National Security Council]]) and did "contract work for the NSA/NSC," and that Nichols handled "corporate and government" transactions related to narcotics at a higher level.[^1]
Zokosky and Nichols were involved in a proposed joint venture with FMC Corporation, where Michael Riconosciuto was Vice President of [[Meridian Arms]]. Zokosky also discussed Robert Booth Nichols and Michael Riconosciuto conducting business in [[Australia]], which he thought had something to do with the [[Nugan Hand Bank]].[^1] Seymour wrote in her 1992 VORTEX account that Michael Riconosciuto had once been vice president of Meridian Arms, the subsidiary of MIL.[^3] Zokosky also discussed Robert Booth Nichols and Michael Riconosciuto conducting business in [[Australia]], which he thought had something to do with the [[Nugan Hand Bank]].[^1]
### Role in "The Octopus" Investigation ### Role in "The Octopus" Investigation
@ -47,4 +52,5 @@ He was an investor in the Cabazon Indian Reservation and a skeet range, though h
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. The special counsel's report records the Picatinny meeting date as disputed and found no support for the presence of Contra leaders or Earl Brian at Lake Cahuilla. Sole source for the passages so cited. [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. The special counsel's report records the Picatinny meeting date as disputed and found no support for the presence of Contra leaders or Earl Brian at Lake Cahuilla. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.,* March 1993, pp. 56-64. [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.,* March 1993, pp. 56-64.
[^3]: Seymour, Cheri. "VORTEX," diary dated February 24, 1992, p. 11. https://archive.org/details/VORTEXDocument

15
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Russell Targ.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-09-22 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Russell Targ title: Russell Targ
aliases: aliases:
- Russell Targ - Russell Targ
@ -36,9 +36,15 @@ The Army's [[Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee]], which met Targ, Puth
The Snyders' evaluation of 1979 wrote of one SRI target that "Targ, who selected the coordinates, had also worked for Sylvania," that "Targ was an accomplished amateur magician," quoting his pages in Mind-Reach on "sleights" and "illusions," and of an airport drawing, "Was it drawn by Russell Targ?"; David Marks found in the fourth Price transcript Targ's remark to the subject, "Nothing like having three successes behind you," on a page missing from the copy SRI gave John Wilhelm.[^4] The Snyders' evaluation of 1979 wrote of one SRI target that "Targ, who selected the coordinates, had also worked for Sylvania," that "Targ was an accomplished amateur magician," quoting his pages in Mind-Reach on "sleights" and "illusions," and of an airport drawing, "Was it drawn by Russell Targ?"; David Marks found in the fourth Price transcript Targ's remark to the subject, "Nothing like having three successes behind you," on a page missing from the copy SRI gave John Wilhelm.[^4]
### The DARPA network experiments, 1976 to 1977
A 1977 SRI final report by Hal Puthoff, Targ and [[Edwin May]], "Advanced Threat Technique Assessment," lists in its section on long-distance remote-viewing experiments the "Use of the [[DARPA]] teleconferencing computer network to provide date and time records of experiments in progress," with experiments from New York to California, New York to Dayton, and New Orleans to California.[^5] Papers of the 1977 International Conference on Cybernetics and Society describe the conversational TALK mode of the DARPA net being used for post-experiment feedback between a subject in California and an experimenter in New York.[^6]
[[Michael Zarbo]], writing in 1992, describes a 1976 test, reported in The New York Times, in which Targ acted as a conduit in New York City while a viewer at SRI in California typed his impressions on a terminal linked to DARPA's computer network. He writes that the target, chosen only minutes before the test, was the central water fountain in Washington Square Park.[^7]
### The 1996 Memoir ### The 1996 Memoir
Targ requested his CIA files in May 1994, "moved from number 540 in line to number 474" in a year, and with "two Washington lawyers, two congressmen, and a senator" obtained them on August 11, 1995. His memoir of 1996 recounts Price telephoning Puthoff in June 1973 to say he had been "doing that kind of psychic thing for years, catching crooks when he was the police commissioner in Burbank"; the protocol of sixty target cards and a calculator with a random-number key, run by the laboratory director Bonnar Cox, with Targ and the viewer in a Faraday cage on the second floor of the Radio Physics building; Price's drawing of the Rinconada Park pools, "about a hundred feet in diameter (it was actually hundred and ten feet)," with water tanks that the city's centennial report showed had stood there in 1913; and the session of July 10, 1974, in which Price, given coordinates by "a physicist from the CIA," said: "I am lying on my back on the roof of a two or three story brick building. It's a sunny day. The sun feels good. There's the most amazing thing. There's a giant gantry crane moving back and forth over my head. As I drift up in the air and look down, it seems to be riding on a track with one rail on each side of the building." Targ added that Price described "a giant, 'sixty-foot diameter metal sphere'" being assembled from "thick metal gores" with welding difficulties, and that *Aviation Week* of May 2, 1977, reported satellite photographs of Soviet technicians manufacturing "huge extremely thick steel gores" for "a large sphere estimated to be about 18 meters (57.8 feet) in diameter." He quoted the *Chicago Tribune* of August 13, 1977, on Director [[Stansfield Turner]]'s disclosure that the agency "had found a man who could 'see' what was going on anywhere in the world through his psychic powers," dropped in 1975: "'He died,' Turner said, 'and we haven't heard from him since.'" Of the agency's position in 1995 he wrote: "It is as though the CIA discovered that there were indeed little men on Mars, but concluded that since they were pretty small and didn't have weapons, they weren't worth investigating any further."[^5] Targ requested his CIA files in May 1994, "moved from number 540 in line to number 474" in a year, and with "two Washington lawyers, two congressmen, and a senator" obtained them on August 11, 1995. His memoir of 1996 recounts Price telephoning Puthoff in June 1973 to say he had been "doing that kind of psychic thing for years, catching crooks when he was the police commissioner in Burbank"; the protocol of sixty target cards and a calculator with a random-number key, run by the laboratory director Bonnar Cox, with Targ and the viewer in a Faraday cage on the second floor of the Radio Physics building; Price's drawing of the Rinconada Park pools, "about a hundred feet in diameter (it was actually hundred and ten feet)," with water tanks that the city's centennial report showed had stood there in 1913; and the session of July 10, 1974, in which Price, given coordinates by "a physicist from the CIA," said: "I am lying on my back on the roof of a two or three story brick building. It's a sunny day. The sun feels good. There's the most amazing thing. There's a giant gantry crane moving back and forth over my head. As I drift up in the air and look down, it seems to be riding on a track with one rail on each side of the building." Targ added that Price described "a giant, 'sixty-foot diameter metal sphere'" being assembled from "thick metal gores" with welding difficulties, and that *Aviation Week* of May 2, 1977, reported satellite photographs of Soviet technicians manufacturing "huge extremely thick steel gores" for "a large sphere estimated to be about 18 meters (57.8 feet) in diameter." He quoted the *Chicago Tribune* of August 13, 1977, on Director [[Stansfield Turner]]'s disclosure that the agency "had found a man who could 'see' what was going on anywhere in the world through his psychic powers," dropped in 1975: "'He died,' Turner said, 'and we haven't heard from him since.'" Of the agency's position in 1995 he wrote: "It is as though the CIA discovered that there were indeed little men on Mars, but concluded that since they were pretty small and didn't have weapons, they weren't worth investigating any further."[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
@ -46,4 +52,7 @@ Targ requested his CIA files in May 1994, "moved from number 540 in line to numb
[^2]: Targ, Russell, and Harold Puthoff. "Information Transmission under Conditions of Sensory Shielding," *Nature,* vol. 251, October 18, 1974, pp. 602-607, read in the CIA Reading Room copy CIA-RDP96-00787R000100220001-8 on archive.org. Marks, David, and Richard Kammann. "Information Transmission in Remote Viewing Experiments," *Nature,* vol. 274, 1978, pp. 680-681; quoted from Puthoff, Targ, and Tart, "Information Transmission in Remote Viewing Experiments: II," with Tart, "Reanalysis of SRI Remote Viewing Experiments," submitted to *Nature,* January 1979, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090017-5, archive.org mirror. [^2]: Targ, Russell, and Harold Puthoff. "Information Transmission under Conditions of Sensory Shielding," *Nature,* vol. 251, October 18, 1974, pp. 602-607, read in the CIA Reading Room copy CIA-RDP96-00787R000100220001-8 on archive.org. Marks, David, and Richard Kammann. "Information Transmission in Remote Viewing Experiments," *Nature,* vol. 274, 1978, pp. 680-681; quoted from Puthoff, Targ, and Tart, "Information Transmission in Remote Viewing Experiments: II," with Tart, "Reanalysis of SRI Remote Viewing Experiments," submitted to *Nature,* January 1979, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090017-5, archive.org mirror.
[^3]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^3]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: Snyder, Harry L., and Arlene G. Snyder. *Summary and Critical Evaluation of Research in Remote Viewing,* Report RV-79-1, final technical report, contract 77F104420, Systemetrics, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia, June 1, 1979, parts 1 and 2, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100440001-9 and CIA-RDP96-00787R000100260003-2. The sponsor of the contract is not named in the report. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Marks, David F. "Remote Viewing Revisited." *Skeptical Inquirer,* vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1982, pp. 18-29. https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1982/07/22165420/p20.pdf [^4]: Snyder, Harry L., and Arlene G. Snyder. *Summary and Critical Evaluation of Research in Remote Viewing,* Report RV-79-1, final technical report, contract 77F104420, Systemetrics, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia, June 1, 1979, parts 1 and 2, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100440001-9 and CIA-RDP96-00787R000100260003-2. The sponsor of the contract is not named in the report. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Marks, David F. "Remote Viewing Revisited." *Skeptical Inquirer,* vol. 6, no. 4, Summer 1982, pp. 18-29. https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1982/07/22165420/p20.pdf
[^5]: Targ, Russell. "Remote Viewing at Stanford Research Institute in the 1970s: A Memoir," *Journal of Scientific Exploration,* vol. 10, no. 1, 1996, pp. 77-88, reprinted from Targ and Katra, *Mind-to-Mind* (1996); read in a Wayback Machine copy of the journal's PDF. [^5]: Harold E. Puthoff, Russell Targ and Edwin C. May, "Advanced Threat Technique Assessment," Stanford Research Institute, 1977, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200270001-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000200270001-7.pdf
[^6]: Proceedings, International Conference on Cybernetics and Society, IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, Washington, D.C., September 19 to 21, 1977, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080055-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080055-4.pdf
[^7]: Michael E. Zarbo, "Remote Viewing: Parapsychological Potential for Intelligence Collection?" master's thesis, Defense Intelligence College, November 1992, CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6, citing William J. Broad, "Pentagon is said to Focus on ESP for Wartime Use," *The New York Times,* January 10, 1984, section C. Sole source for the account of the 1976 test as carried here. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6.pdf
[^8]: Targ, Russell. "Remote Viewing at Stanford Research Institute in the 1970s: A Memoir," *Journal of Scientific Exploration,* vol. 10, no. 1, 1996, pp. 77-88, reprinted from Targ and Katra, *Mind-to-Mind* (1996); read in a Wayback Machine copy of the journal's PDF.

56
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/INTERNATIONAL/Mossad.md
View file

@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ aliases:
- Israeli Secret Intelligence Service - Israeli Secret Intelligence Service
- Israeli intelligence - Israeli intelligence
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Mossad title: Mossad
tags: tags:
- Organization - Organization
@ -86,17 +86,17 @@ relations:
start: 1982 start: 1982
end: 1982 end: 1982
role: "the Mossad was made responsible for the link with the Phalangist leadership" role: "the Mossad was made responsible for the link with the Phalangist leadership"
fn: 10 fn: 14
- type: subject_of - type: subject_of
with: "[[Kahan Commission]]" with: "[[Kahan Commission]]"
start: 1982-09 start: 1982-09
end: 1983-02-08 end: 1983-02-08
fn: 11 fn: 15
- type: participant_in - type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]]" with: "[[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]]"
start: 1980 start: 1980
role: "joint committee with military intelligence for arms supply to Iran, according to Ari Ben-Menashe" 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] 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] 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 [^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. [^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 [^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. [^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]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 1, pp. 9-11; chapter 21, p. 294 footnote (Hofi and Sharon). [^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]: 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). [^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]: Kahan Commission Report (note 2), recommendations on the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the head of the Mossad. [^11]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 13, "An Israeli Decision," pp. 180-181.
[^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 [^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]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, passage on Begin's order to Sagi and Admoni in the fall of 1980. [^13]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 1, pp. 9-11; chapter 21, p. 294 footnote (Hofi and Sharon).
[^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). [^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]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, chapter on PROMIS. [^15]: Kahan Commission Report (note 2), recommendations on the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the head of the Mossad.
[^16]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 15, "The Tunnel," pp. 197-198. [^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]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 22, "An Israeli Asset," pp. 311-315. [^17]: Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War*, passage on Begin's order to Sagi and Admoni in the fall of 1980.
[^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 [^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

31
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Advanced Research Projects Agency.md
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@ -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.

41
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.md
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@ -15,42 +15,57 @@ relations:
start: 2025-08-05 start: 2025-08-05
end: 2025-08-06 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)" 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 - type: partner_of
with: "[[Associated Universities, Inc.]]" with: "[[Associated Universities, Inc.]]"
start: 2025 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)'" 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 - type: partner_of
with: "[[Florida State University]]" with: "[[Florida State University]]"
start: 2025 start: 2025
role: "same collaboration; Gretchen Stahlman of the FSU School of Information signed the invitation letter on behalf of the organizing committee" role: "same collaboration; Gretchen Stahlman of the FSU School of Information signed the invitation letter on behalf of the organizing committee"
fn: 2 fn: 9
updated: 2026-10-04 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 ### 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] 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] 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 ### 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 ### Footnotes
[^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024. [^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). [^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]: 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. [^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]: "Making Sense of the Unknown," Beyond the Breakthrough (Associated Universities, Inc. podcast), April 29, 2026, https://beyondthebreakthrough.podbean.com/e/uap-data/. [^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/.

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/DARPA.md
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@ -1,23 +1,159 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2025-07-22 updated: 2026-10-08
title: DARPA title: DARPA
aliases:
- DARPA
- ARPA
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
tags: tags:
- Organization - Organization
- Government - Government
- Research - Research
- USA
- Defense - 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. 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" 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 start: 1958
location: "Arlington, Virginia" 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 ### 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

16
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Economic Development Commission.md
View file

@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ relations:
role: "program compliance officer" role: "program compliance officer"
fn: 2 fn: 2
created: 2026-09-25 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] 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] 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 ### 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] 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 ### 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 ### 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/ [^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). [^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). [^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/ [^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]: 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). [^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/

8
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Office of Naval Intelligence.md
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@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ summary: "United States Navy intelligence office created by a general order of M
start: 1882-03-23 start: 1882-03-23
location: "Washington, D.C." location: "Washington, D.C."
created: 2026-09-24 created: 2026-09-24
updated: 2026-09-24 updated: 2026-10-08
relations: relations:
- type: head_of - type: head_of
with: "[[Theodorus B. M. Mason]]" with: "[[Theodorus B. M. Mason]]"
@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ During [[World War II]] the office employed [[Karl Baarslag]], who afterward "wo
### Unidentified Aerial Phenomena ### 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 ### 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. [^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/ [^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. [^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

41
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Pentagon.md
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
- Pentagon Building - Pentagon Building
- Pentagon building - Pentagon building
created: 2026-10-07 created: 2026-10-07
updated: 2026-10-07 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Pentagon title: Pentagon
tags: tags:
- Organization - Organization
@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ relations:
with: "[[September 11 attacks]]" with: "[[September 11 attacks]]"
start: 2001-09-11 start: 2001-09-11
role: "struck by American Airlines Flight 77" 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] 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] 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 ### 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 ### 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 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 ### 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 ### 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/ [^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 [^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 [^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 [^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]: 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. [^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]: 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 [^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]: Boyd, Charles Graham, oral history interview, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, https://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Boyd.Charles.Graham.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]: "This Week in Universal News: The March on the Pentagon, 1967," National Archives, Unwritten Record blog, https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/?p=4211 [^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]: 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/ [^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]: 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 [^32]: Boyd, Charles Graham, oral history interview, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, https://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Boyd.Charles.Graham.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) [^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]: 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 [^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]: 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 [^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

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/U.S. Navy.md
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@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ aliases:
- "USN" - "USN"
title: U.S. Navy title: U.S. Navy
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2026-10-07 updated: 2026-10-08
tags: tags:
- Organization - Organization
- Military - 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 ### 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] 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). [^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 [^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/ [^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.

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/UAP Task Force.md
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@ -6,26 +6,123 @@ tags:
- Pentagon - Pentagon
- USGovernment - USGovernment
category: "U.S. Government" 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 start: 2020
end: 2022 end: 2022
location: "Washington, D.C." 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 ### 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

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@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ relations:
role: "assistant chief executive" role: "assistant chief executive"
fn: 2 fn: 2
created: 2026-09-25 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] 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] 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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/ [^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). [^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 [^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 [^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]: "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/ [^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]: 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). [^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).

10
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2026-05-15 created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research title: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
aliases: aliases:
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ tags:
- 1950s - 1950s
- 1960s - 1960s
category: "U.S. Government" 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 start: 1893-01-01
location: "Silver Spring, Maryland" 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]. 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 ### 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. [^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

72
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Black Diamond Capital Management.md Normal file
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@ -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

12
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Cali Drug Cartel.md
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
- Cali Drug Cartel - Cali Drug Cartel
- Cali Cartel - Cali Cartel
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-09-22 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Organized Crime" category: "Organized Crime"
tags: tags:
- Organization - 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] 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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. [^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" [^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 [^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
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/First Intercontinental Development Corporation.md
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@ -1,15 +1,19 @@
--- ---
aliases:
- FIDCO
- First Intercontinental Development Corp.
tags: tags:
- Organization - Organization
- Company - Company
- FrontCompany - FrontCompany
- NSC - NSC
- NSA
- PROMIS - PROMIS
category: "Private Organization" 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." 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 ### Board of Directors
@ -27,11 +31,19 @@ The Board of Directors of FIDCO consisted of individuals with significant backgr
### Activities and Allegations ### 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] [[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] 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 ### 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

2
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Lockheed Skunk Works.md
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@ -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 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). [[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).

134
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Meridian International Logistics.md
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@ -1,21 +1,129 @@
--- ---
tags: title: Meridian International Logistics
- Organization aliases:
- Company - Meridian International Logistics
- FBI - Meridian International Logistics, Inc.
- TheOctopus - MIL
- DrugTrafficking - MIL, Inc.
- Meridian Logistics
- Meridian Arms
- Meridian Arms Corporation
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Private Organization" 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 ### 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).

13
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Rand Corporation.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2026-06-12 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Rand Corporation title: Rand Corporation
tags: tags:
- Organization - Organization
@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ tags:
category: "Private Organization" category: "Private Organization"
start: 1946 start: 1946
location: "Santa Monica, California" 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] 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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). [^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. [^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.

23
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Stanford Research Institute.md
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@ -16,7 +16,12 @@ summary: "Stanford Research Institute is the Menlo Park research institute, foun
start: 1946 start: 1946
location: "Menlo Park, California" location: "Menlo Park, California"
created: 2025-07-22 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] 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 ### 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] 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] 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 ### 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/ [^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. [^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. [^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. [^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

27
30 - PROGRAMS & PROJECTS/HISTORICAL_PROGRAMS/Project Pandora.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-23 created: 2025-07-23
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Project Pandora title: Project Pandora
tags: tags:
- program - program
@ -9,16 +9,33 @@ tags:
- ColdWar - ColdWar
description: Project Pandora was a classified U.S. research program initiated by ARPA to duplicate the effects of the Moscow Signal and study the biological effects of microwave radiation. description: Project Pandora was a classified U.S. research program initiated by ARPA to duplicate the effects of the Moscow Signal and study the biological effects of microwave radiation.
category: "Intelligence Operation" category: "Intelligence Operation"
summary: "Project Pandora was a classified U.S. research program initiated by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (now DARPA) in response to the Moscow Signal, a microwave beam directed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow by the Soviet Union." summary: "Project Pandora was a classified program of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (now DARPA), run from 1965 to March 1970, that irradiated primates to duplicate the Soviet Moscow Signal aimed at the U.S. Embassy."
start: 1965 start: 1965
location: "Walter Reed Army Institute of Research" location: "Walter Reed Army Institute of Research"
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[DARPA]]"
reverse: true
end: 1970-03
role: "total cost $4,615,000; terminated March 1970 and assets transferred to WRAIR"
fn: 3
--- ---
[[Project Pandora]] was a classified U.S. research program initiated by the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency|ARPA]] (now [[DARPA]]) in response to the [[Moscow Signal]], a microwave beam directed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow by the [[Soviet Union]]. The project's primary goal was to duplicate the effects of the Moscow Signal and study the biological effects of microwave radiation.[^1] [[Project Pandora]] was a classified U.S. research program initiated by [[DARPA|ARPA]] (now DARPA) in response to the [[Moscow Signal]], a microwave beam directed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow by the [[Soviet Union]]. The project's primary goal was to duplicate the effects of the Moscow Signal and study the biological effects of microwave radiation.[^1]
Scientists with [[Johns Hopkins University]]'s Applied Physics Laboratory were assigned to oversee the research. Experiments were conducted inside an anechoic chamber at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where primates were irradiated with microwave beams similar to the Moscow Signal. [[Richard S. Cesaro]], in charge of Project Pandora, became convinced of the harmful nature of the signal, believing it adversely affected the internal organs of primates, including the brain, and could cause Alzheimer's disease.[^1] Scientists with [[Johns Hopkins University]]'s Applied Physics Laboratory were assigned to oversee the research. Experiments were conducted inside an anechoic chamber at the [[Walter Reed Army Institute of Research]], where primates were irradiated with microwave beams similar to the Moscow Signal. [[Richard S. Cesaro]], in charge of Project Pandora, became convinced of the harmful nature of the signal, believing it adversely affected the internal organs of primates, including the brain, and could cause Alzheimer's disease.[^1]
In 1969, Project Pandora was quietly expanded to include human subjects, with highly classified studies code-named Big Boy and Project Bizarre projecting microwave beams at unwitting sailors stationed in the Philadelphia Naval Yard. These experiments remained secret for seven years.[^1] In 1969, Project Pandora was quietly expanded to include human subjects, with highly classified studies code-named Big Boy and Project Bizarre projecting microwave beams at unwitting sailors stationed in the Philadelphia Naval Yard. These experiments remained secret for seven years.[^1]
--- ### The 1967 Bizarre memorandum
A memorandum of September 27, 1967, ARPA-AS-TS-67-20, "Project BIZARRE," from the agency's acting director of Advanced Sensors, Richard S. Cesaro, to the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, reports that the central nervous system of primates "was disrupted directly or indirectly" after exposure to low-level modulated S band microwave radiation for periods between 10 and 19 days, and that unmodulated radiation at the same level did not disrupt it for test periods up to 30 days. It states that "The ARPA BIZARRE program will establish methods which should permit us to relate the behavior of sub-human primates to man under conditions of microwave exposure. This may require direct testing with humans under controlled conditions." It concludes: "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."[^2]
### Classification, cost and termination
A DARPA letter of September 15, 1977 to Senator [[Warren G. Magnuson]], chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, answering his letter of August 12, states that Pandora was classified at the direction of the Department of State and the United States Intelligence Board "because of the sensitivity of the radiation problem of the United States Embassy in Moscow at that time." It gives the total cost as $4,615,000, and 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." It states that "classification of Project Pandora was a foreign relation rather than a national security matter," that DARPA is "not aware of any research projects, classified or unclassified, conducted under the auspices of the Defense Department" that probed microwave radiation as a form of "mind control," and that with the exception of Pandora the agency "has not sponsored any research projects, either classified or unclassified, on the biological or behavioral effects of non-ionizing radiation."[^3]
### 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. [^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]: ARPA memorandum ARPA-AS-TS-67-20, "Project BIZARRE," September 27, 1967, signed Richard S. Cesaro, Acting Director, Advanced Sensors, declassified copy, National Security Archive. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/rhwvuj-tzy4b/08.pdf
[^3]: 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

32
30 - PROGRAMS & PROJECTS/PSI_RESEARCH_PROGRAMS/Center Lane.md
View file

@ -12,23 +12,38 @@ tags:
- AlbertStubblebine - AlbertStubblebine
- FortMeade - FortMeade
- SpecialAccessProgram - SpecialAccessProgram
summary: "INSCOM's remote-viewing unit from October 1982 to March 1985, kept alive with security funds after Congress cut Grill Flame, run as a special access program under Stubblebine, and handed to the DIA as Sun Streak." summary: "INSCOM's remote-viewing unit from October 1982 to March 1985, kept alive with security and DARPA funds after Congress cut Grill Flame, and handed to the DIA as Sun Streak."
start: 1982-12-03 start: 1982-12-03
end: 1985-03-07 end: 1985-03-07
location: "Fort Meade, Maryland" location: "Fort Meade, Maryland"
created: 2026-09-21 created: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-09-21 updated: 2026-10-08
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[DARPA]]"
reverse: true
start: 1983
role: "source of funds moved through DCSRDA, per the DAMI-ISH memorandum"
fn: 5
--- ---
Center Lane was the name under which [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] kept its remote-viewing unit at [[Fort Meade]] after Congress cut the Army's part of [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]]. On October 1, 1982, "NFIP funding terminated for Army GRILL FLAME collection operations project by Congressional directive"; a year later the project manager identified Senator [[Malcolm Wallop]], chairman of the budget subcommittee of the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]], as "the individual who was responsible for the project being eliminated under the NFIP (GDIP) at the end of FY 82." On September 27, 1982, the commander of INSCOM, Major General [[Albert Stubblebine]], heard the full briefing at building 2561 and, before the project manager could finish the list of options, "selected SSD, 902D as the organization to which the project would go"; "as I tried to continue with other options, MG Stubblebine then indicated I must not have heard him for he had already made his decision." His guidance: "Get out of the briefing mode!" On December 3, 1982, INSCOM told the Army staff "that INSCOM will fund a psychoenergetics program out of hide by using S&IA funds," and "project name changed to CENTER LANE." On January 19, 1983, the under secretary of defense for research, [[Richard DeLauer]], signed a memorandum allowing Program 6 money "to maintain the current INSCOM CENTER LANE capability," and on March 1 a letter of instruction established the project as the Security Systems Planning Division of the Security Support Detachment, 902d Military Intelligence Group.[^1][^2][^3] Center Lane was the name under which [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] kept its remote-viewing unit at [[Fort Meade]] after Congress cut the Army's part of [[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]]. On October 1, 1982, "NFIP funding terminated for Army GRILL FLAME collection operations project by Congressional directive"; a year later the project manager identified Senator [[Malcolm Wallop]], chairman of the budget subcommittee of the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]], as "the individual who was responsible for the project being eliminated under the NFIP (GDIP) at the end of FY 82." On September 27, 1982, the commander of INSCOM, Major General [[Albert Stubblebine]], heard the full briefing at building 2561 and, before the project manager could finish the list of options, "selected SSD, 902D as the organization to which the project would go"; "as I tried to continue with other options, MG Stubblebine then indicated I must not have heard him for he had already made his decision." His guidance: "Get out of the briefing mode!" On December 3, 1982, INSCOM told the Army staff "that INSCOM will fund a psychoenergetics program out of hide by using S&IA funds," and "project name changed to CENTER LANE." On January 19, 1983, the under secretary of defense for research, [[Richard DeLauer]], signed a memorandum allowing Program 6 money "to maintain the current INSCOM CENTER LANE capability," and on March 1 a letter of instruction established the project as the Security Systems Planning Division of the Security Support Detachment, 902d Military Intelligence Group.[^1][^2][^3]
### Source of the money, 1983
An INSCOM information paper of February 21, 1983 states that Center Lane is the Army portion of the Department of Defense Grill Flame project, and that "the new Army name is for security purposes in light of the exposure generated during the BG Dozier project." The paper lists the objectives of Mr. Hurwitz, Director of the GDIP Program, as keeping the SRI team intact, keeping the Army INSCOM team intact and bringing INSCOM back under GDIP, and states that Hurwitz wrote the January 19, 1983 memorandum of the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) that lifted the prohibition on the use of P6 funds for Grill Flame.[^4]
An undated Army memorandum from the DAMI-ISH office, referring to the end of fiscal 1983, describes a funding initiative routed from [[DARPA]]. It states that DIA asked whether the Army would continue research efforts DIA had scheduled for fiscal 1984 and part of fiscal 1985, with funding anticipated from the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and 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 also records that the Congressional prohibition against use of National Foreign Intelligence Program or NFIP-derived funds "has been discussed with DARPA, but will be reiterated," and that the Under Secretary's office would be informed when contracting and transfer of the funds to SRI was complete.[^5]
An INSCOM information paper of February 28, 1983 records that INSCOM was preparing a request that the assistant chief of staff for intelligence establish Center Lane as a formal Special Access Program, and asks whether the Army's projects at SRI would receive the same priority, given that "DIA has either obtained or received commitment for $200K from DARPA."[^6]
### The Special Access Program ### The Special Access Program
The assistant chief of staff for intelligence wrote to Stubblebine in April 1983 that "OPSEC should again be of great concern and I applaud your efforts to establish a Special Access Program. Some linkage to your former, similar program will be inevitable, but must be minimized. I suggest that instead of being part of a joint DOD program INSCOM is now engaged in a similar, cooperative effort of its own initiative," adding that the director of DIA had written of "the need to preserve the fragile, painstakingly constructed experience factor." The Secretary of the Army, [[John Marsh]], approved the special access program on June 15, 1983, and continued participation on September 1; the compartment was called "Center Lane Level 4." The chronology records briefings in 1983 of the vice chief of staff, General [[John Wickham|Wickham]], the under secretary [[James Ambrose]], Marsh, the Army Science Board, and the Vice President, [[George H.W. Bush|George Bush]], "for thirty minutes concerning CENTER LANE related activities by Dr. [[Jack Vorona]], DIA." Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Jachim]] was project manager until Captain [[Frederick Atwater]] took over as acting manager in the summer of 1983 and Lieutenant Colonel [[Brian Buzby]] on August 15. On August 26 Buzby, Atwater, and Chief Warrant Officer [[Joe McMoneagle]] briefed Stubblebine on the project and the [[Monroe Institute]]; the general "directed me to expand the program with quality people, develop a screening program to identify qualified people for the project; and employ advance techniques for intelligence collection." The unit's mission statement now ran to "psychoenergetic communication and psychokinesis."[^1][^2][^4] The assistant chief of staff for intelligence wrote to Stubblebine in April 1983 that "OPSEC should again be of great concern and I applaud your efforts to establish a Special Access Program. Some linkage to your former, similar program will be inevitable, but must be minimized. I suggest that instead of being part of a joint DOD program INSCOM is now engaged in a similar, cooperative effort of its own initiative," adding that the director of DIA had written of "the need to preserve the fragile, painstakingly constructed experience factor." The Secretary of the Army, [[John Marsh]], approved the special access program on June 15, 1983, and continued participation on September 1; the compartment was called "Center Lane Level 4." The chronology records briefings in 1983 of the vice chief of staff, General [[John Wickham|Wickham]], the under secretary [[James Ambrose]], Marsh, the Army Science Board, and the Vice President, [[George H.W. Bush|George Bush]], "for thirty minutes concerning CENTER LANE related activities by Dr. [[Jack Vorona]], DIA." Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Jachim]] was project manager until Captain [[Frederick Atwater]] took over as acting manager in the summer of 1983 and Lieutenant Colonel [[Brian Buzby]] on August 15. On August 26 Buzby, Atwater, and Chief Warrant Officer [[Joe McMoneagle]] briefed Stubblebine on the project and the [[Monroe Institute]]; the general "directed me to expand the program with quality people, develop a screening program to identify qualified people for the project; and employ advance techniques for intelligence collection." The unit's mission statement now ran to "psychoenergetic communication and psychokinesis."[^1][^2][^7]
### Operations and Training ### Operations and Training
Between March 21 and April 20, 1984, the unit ran eleven sessions for the CIA on the kidnapped Beirut station chief [[William Buckley]]; the agency's memorandum of May 1 described itself as "a customer" with "no Agency people or funds assigned," and asked "to continue to call upon CENTER LANE." A contract "with Mr. [[Robert Monroe]] for 'One-on-One' training of CENTER LANE operative" was signed on July 19, 1983; "RAPT Training established" on November 10; a second group began coordinate remote viewing training at SRI on January 15, 1984. On March 13, 1984, the director of the Army staff, Lieutenant General Brown, "directs cancellation of RAPT as CENTER LANE personnel screening vehicle." An Army inspector general team was briefed on April 10, and on May 9 "dialogue initiated with [[McDonnell Douglas]] Astronautics Company, Huntington Beach, CA to comply with directive to obtain second contractor." Congressional staff heard Vorona's case for restoring the program to the National Foreign Intelligence Program on October 7, 1983, and answered "that there was no security in the NFIP, and since P-6 money is available, it could be dangerous to reintroduce the subject to the Congressional Committees."[^1][^5][^6] Between March 21 and April 20, 1984, the unit ran eleven sessions for the CIA on the kidnapped Beirut station chief [[William Buckley]]; the agency's memorandum of May 1 described itself as "a customer" with "no Agency people or funds assigned," and asked "to continue to call upon CENTER LANE." A contract "with Mr. [[Robert Monroe]] for 'One-on-One' training of CENTER LANE operative" was signed on July 19, 1983; "RAPT Training established" on November 10; a second group began coordinate remote viewing training at SRI on January 15, 1984. On March 13, 1984, the director of the Army staff, Lieutenant General Brown, "directs cancellation of RAPT as CENTER LANE personnel screening vehicle." An Army inspector general team was briefed on April 10, and on May 9 "dialogue initiated with [[McDonnell Douglas]] Astronautics Company, Huntington Beach, CA to comply with directive to obtain second contractor." Congressional staff heard Vorona's case for restoring the program to the National Foreign Intelligence Program on October 7, 1983, and answered "that there was no security in the NFIP, and since P-6 money is available, it could be dangerous to reintroduce the subject to the Congressional Committees."[^1][^8][^9]
### Transfer ### Transfer
@ -39,6 +54,9 @@ Brigadier General [[Harry Soyster]], the new commander of INSCOM, was briefed on
[^1]: US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8; the scan's table columns are reflowed by OCR and some dates are uncertain. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^1]: US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8; the scan's table columns are reflowed by OCR and some dates are uncertain. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^2]: Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Briefing for MG A.N. Stubblebine III," October 8, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220022-7; Buzby, Brian, memoranda "CENTER LANE Briefing for CG, USAINSCOM," August 29, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220011-9), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," December 6, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984," January 17, 1984 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2); letter of the ACSI to Stubblebine, "CENTER LANE," April 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220002-9). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^2]: Jachim, Robert J., memorandum "Briefing for MG A.N. Stubblebine III," October 8, 1982, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220022-7; Buzby, Brian, memoranda "CENTER LANE Briefing for CG, USAINSCOM," August 29, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220011-9), "Meeting With MG Stubblebine on 30 November 1983," December 6, 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220010-0), and "Meeting with MG Stubblebine on 6 January 1984," January 17, 1984 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220009-2); letter of the ACSI to Stubblebine, "CENTER LANE," April 1983 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220002-9). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: Buzby, Brian, memorandum "Briefing to Senator Wallop, 5 October 1983," October 14, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270015-0. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^3]: Buzby, Brian, memorandum "Briefing to Senator Wallop, 5 October 1983," October 14, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270015-0. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "Briefing - Project Center Lane," c. 1984, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100180002-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^4]: 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
[^5]: Buzby, Brian, "Purpose: To Provide an Overview of Center Lane," May 4, 1984, with the CIA memorandum "Comments on Recent CENTER LANE Experience," May 1, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220003-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, information paper "The Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences," January 5, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270004-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^5]: 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
[^6]: Buzby, Brian, memorandum on the briefing of Congressional intelligence committee staff of October 7, 1983, October 14, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270017-8; "ITAOPS Fact Sheet, Inputs for MG Stubblebine," April 10, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220021-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^6]: INSCOM information paper IAOPS-H, "Information for ACSI-INSCOM Meeting," February 28, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030007-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700030007-5.pdf
[^7]: US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "Briefing - Project Center Lane," c. 1984, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100180002-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^8]: Buzby, Brian, "Purpose: To Provide an Overview of Center Lane," May 4, 1984, with the CIA memorandum "Comments on Recent CENTER LANE Experience," May 1, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220003-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, information paper "The Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences," January 5, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270004-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^9]: Buzby, Brian, memorandum on the briefing of Congressional intelligence committee staff of October 7, 1983, October 14, 1983, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700270017-8; "ITAOPS Fact Sheet, Inputs for MG Stubblebine," April 10, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700220021-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.

7
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2026-09-21 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR title: Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR
tags: tags:
- report - report
@ -25,8 +25,13 @@ The report, ST-CS-01-169-72, was prepared by the Medical Intelligence Office of
LaMothe's second report with Louis F. Maire III, *Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research* of September 1975, described Vasilev's experiments of 1920 to 1943 in "telepathic mental suggestion," Serov and Troskin of Sverdlovsk raising and lowering white blood cell counts by suggestion, the Polish theorist Manczarski's prediction "that the field of telepathy will open new avenues for spreading propaganda," and Western concern "with the detrimental effects of subliminal perception techniques being targeted against US or allied personnel in nuclear missile silos." It concluded: "Control and manipulation of the human consciousness must be considered a primary goal." SRI's report to DIA of January 1983 added that in 1975 "a high-level commission was officially established in the USSR to review psychoenergetics research," under a vice president of the Academy of Sciences, whose recommendations after three years produced a coordinating group with Ministry of Defense representatives, "a member of SKB VYMPEL (the antiballistic missile design bureau), and at least one laboratory leader who is believed to be KGB affiliated," attached to a new Bioelectronics Laboratory that "serves a screening function for identifying people from the general population, throughout the USSR, who can perform well on psi tasks."[^3] LaMothe's second report with Louis F. Maire III, *Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research* of September 1975, described Vasilev's experiments of 1920 to 1943 in "telepathic mental suggestion," Serov and Troskin of Sverdlovsk raising and lowering white blood cell counts by suggestion, the Polish theorist Manczarski's prediction "that the field of telepathy will open new avenues for spreading propaganda," and Western concern "with the detrimental effects of subliminal perception techniques being targeted against US or allied personnel in nuclear missile silos." It concluded: "Control and manipulation of the human consciousness must be considered a primary goal." SRI's report to DIA of January 1983 added that in 1975 "a high-level commission was officially established in the USSR to review psychoenergetics research," under a vice president of the Academy of Sciences, whose recommendations after three years produced a coordinating group with Ministry of Defense representatives, "a member of SKB VYMPEL (the antiballistic missile design bureau), and at least one laboratory leader who is believed to be KGB affiliated," attached to a new Bioelectronics Laboratory that "serves a screening function for identifying people from the general population, throughout the USSR, who can perform well on psi tasks."[^3]
### The Nautilus reports
The report's second section states that "Soviet parapsychology research was actually stimulated by the 1960 French story (77) concerning the US atomic submarine Nautilus," and gives the French headline "US Navy Uses ESP on Atomic Sub!" It adds that "although the US Navy subsequently denied the reports of telepathic testing on atomic submarines, the Soviet hierarchy apparently heeded Doctor Vasilev's advice and gave support, both moral and financial."[^4]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: LaMothe, John D., Captain, Medical Service Corps. *Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR,* Defense Intelligence Agency, ST-CS-01-169-72, July 1972, prepared by the Medical Intelligence Office, Office of the Surgeon General, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300020001-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "The US Army's Interest in Psychoenergetics," undated, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100370005-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^2]: LaMothe, John D., Captain, Medical Service Corps. *Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR,* Defense Intelligence Agency, ST-CS-01-169-72, July 1972, prepared by the Medical Intelligence Office, Office of the Surgeon General, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300020001-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "The US Army's Interest in Psychoenergetics," undated, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100370005-6. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: Maire, Louis F., III, and J. D. LaMothe. *Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research,* Defense Intelligence Agency, DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, pp. 29-31, CIA-RDP96-00792R000600320004-3, read in a four-page excerpt. Puthoff, H. E., E. C. May, B. S. Humphrey, and L. A. Lavelle. *Project Grill Flame,* SRI International, Radio Physics Laboratory, for the Defense Intelligence Agency, January 1983, SRI/GF-0225, CIA-RDP96-00788R001800060001-7. [^3]: Maire, Louis F., III, and J. D. LaMothe. *Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research,* Defense Intelligence Agency, DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, pp. 29-31, CIA-RDP96-00792R000600320004-3, read in a four-page excerpt. Puthoff, H. E., E. C. May, B. S. Humphrey, and L. A. Lavelle. *Project Grill Flame,* SRI International, Radio Physics Laboratory, for the Defense Intelligence Agency, January 1983, SRI/GF-0225, CIA-RDP96-00788R001800060001-7.
[^4]: 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.

35
30 - PROGRAMS & PROJECTS/PSI_RESEARCH_PROGRAMS/Sun Streak.md
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@ -11,12 +11,12 @@ tags:
- FortMeade - FortMeade
- Counternarcotics - Counternarcotics
- SpecialAccessProgram - SpecialAccessProgram
summary: "The DIA's special access program for the Fort Meade remote-viewing unit from 1986 to 1990, twelve billets working 192 projects by 1989, judged by a 1990 counternarcotics test to give good data in about a third of cases." summary: "The DIA's special access program for the Fort Meade remote-viewing unit from 1986 to 1990, working 192 projects by 1989, judged by a 1990 counternarcotics test to give good data in a third of cases."
start: 1986 start: 1986
end: 1990-12-31 end: 1990-12-31
location: "Fort Meade, Maryland" location: "Fort Meade, Maryland"
created: 2026-09-21 created: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-09-22 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
Sun Streak was the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]]'s name for the remote-viewing unit at [[Fort Meade]] after it took the Army's [[Center Lane]] project. Operational control passed on March 7, 1985, and "this unit was transferred to DIA in 1986 when 12 billets were authorized in the GDIP budget for this activity. A Special Access Program (SAP), SUN STREAK, was established in order to protect identity of the individuals and due to the nature of some of the projects examined." It sat under the Directorate for Scientific and [[Technical Intelligence]], and its viewers appear in its records only by number: 003, 011, 018, 025, 032, 049, 052, 079, 095, 099. Lieutenant Colonel [[Brian Buzby]], the last Army project manager, filed his request for access to the DIA project on May 10, 1985. Its research contract stayed with [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]], on Army surgeon general's money, until 1990.[^1][^2] Sun Streak was the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]]'s name for the remote-viewing unit at [[Fort Meade]] after it took the Army's [[Center Lane]] project. Operational control passed on March 7, 1985, and "this unit was transferred to DIA in 1986 when 12 billets were authorized in the GDIP budget for this activity. A Special Access Program (SAP), SUN STREAK, was established in order to protect identity of the individuals and due to the nature of some of the projects examined." It sat under the Directorate for Scientific and [[Technical Intelligence]], and its viewers appear in its records only by number: 003, 011, 018, 025, 032, 049, 052, 079, 095, 099. Lieutenant Colonel [[Brian Buzby]], the last Army project manager, filed his request for access to the DIA project on May 10, 1985. Its research contract stayed with [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]], on Army surgeon general's money, until 1990.[^1][^2]
@ -25,42 +25,45 @@ Sun Streak was the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]]'s name for the remote-vie
The annual report for 1989 described "the SUN STREAK Prototype Operational Group" as "dedicated to the exploitation of the [[Remote Viewing]] (RV) process to determine its potential and effectiveness as a [[Human Intelligence (HUMINT)]] collection tool," a group "comprised mainly of professional intelligence officers," whose "results to date reveal the presence of satisfying results, disappointing shortfalls, and quantifiable limitations directly related to the nature of the tasks at hand." Viewers were "cross-trained in both CRV and ERV," [[Coordinate Remote Viewing|coordinate]] and [[Extended Remote Viewing|extended]] remote viewing, with written remote viewing "optional" and its protocol still being drafted; "individual and beacon training searches were conducted during the reporting period with an apparent success rate of about 30%. Efforts to provide predictive data resulted in an apparent success rate ranging from 8 to 12 percent." Members attended a three-day seminar by Discovery Engineering International "to recognize theta states of consciousness through tonal recognition." One experienced viewer was to retire from the Army in June 1990 and another to rotate out in August.[^3] The annual report for 1989 described "the SUN STREAK Prototype Operational Group" as "dedicated to the exploitation of the [[Remote Viewing]] (RV) process to determine its potential and effectiveness as a [[Human Intelligence (HUMINT)]] collection tool," a group "comprised mainly of professional intelligence officers," whose "results to date reveal the presence of satisfying results, disappointing shortfalls, and quantifiable limitations directly related to the nature of the tasks at hand." Viewers were "cross-trained in both CRV and ERV," [[Coordinate Remote Viewing|coordinate]] and [[Extended Remote Viewing|extended]] remote viewing, with written remote viewing "optional" and its protocol still being drafted; "individual and beacon training searches were conducted during the reporting period with an apparent success rate of about 30%. Efforts to provide predictive data resulted in an apparent success rate ranging from 8 to 12 percent." Members attended a three-day seminar by Discovery Engineering International "to recognize theta states of consciousness through tonal recognition." One experienced viewer was to retire from the Army in June 1990 and another to rotate out in August.[^3]
A DIA special access program document for Sun Streak lists as an objective an R/D link, funded through HQ SGRD and a [[DARPA]] military interdepartmental purchase request, "for supporting operational capability development," and states that "The R/D link, via SRI International, has yielded improved data evaluation procedures, has identified potential personnel selection techniques, and has contributed to training/development methods that are currently in project use."[^4]
### Operations ### Operations
A report of November 1987 on Project 8713, eighteen sessions by four viewers in October against a coordinate target, concluded that "the activity of intelligence interest appears to focus on a foreign-flagged submarine operating from a secretive northern cold weather base and is responsible for tracking the activity of ships and objects launched in space"; Viewer 011 had "perceived this apparatus as originating from a very northern base (like the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]), traveling through the Bering Straits, south into the [[Pacific Ocean]]." In Project 8804, fifteen sessions from August to October 1988 on a building, Viewer 079 placed the target "west southwest of Moscow in the vicinity of Bugulma and Blagoveschensk" and associated it with "the concept of the Blackjack's suitability as a low-level, strategic intelligence gathering platform"; other viewers reported "a turbine or compressor," "jet turbine engines and aircraft thrust," and "massive amounts of contained energy." Project 8808 of 1988 and 1989 was the search for Lieutenant Colonel [[William Richard Higgins]] in [[Lebanon]], described below. Project 8915, eight sessions in May and June 1989 on a site in overhead photography, produced "a compound of structures surrounded by leveled-off, flat, brown land in a foreign country" where "mobile military weapon structures are worked on" and "10-20 'vehicles' at a time are brought in by rail." In Project 8926, seventeen sessions in August and September 1989, one viewer described "cylindrical objects with rounded ends" with "the odor of an obnoxious chemical," one "a 'hydro-bomb,'" and Viewer 032 "a swirling, metallic energy mass rotating in a counter clockwise rotation," later "an information gathering UFO," which the operations officer noted "is considered as being probably incorrect; it was the cause of a viewing distraction which 032 was unable to overcome"; Viewer 018's "drug-related" reading "seems to be the result of interference caused from recent efforts directed against drug-related targets."[^4] A report of November 1987 on Project 8713, eighteen sessions by four viewers in October against a coordinate target, concluded that "the activity of intelligence interest appears to focus on a foreign-flagged submarine operating from a secretive northern cold weather base and is responsible for tracking the activity of ships and objects launched in space"; Viewer 011 had "perceived this apparatus as originating from a very northern base (like the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]), traveling through the Bering Straits, south into the [[Pacific Ocean]]." In Project 8804, fifteen sessions from August to October 1988 on a building, Viewer 079 placed the target "west southwest of Moscow in the vicinity of Bugulma and Blagoveschensk" and associated it with "the concept of the Blackjack's suitability as a low-level, strategic intelligence gathering platform"; other viewers reported "a turbine or compressor," "jet turbine engines and aircraft thrust," and "massive amounts of contained energy." Project 8808 of 1988 and 1989 was the search for Lieutenant Colonel [[William Richard Higgins]] in [[Lebanon]], described below. Project 8915, eight sessions in May and June 1989 on a site in overhead photography, produced "a compound of structures surrounded by leveled-off, flat, brown land in a foreign country" where "mobile military weapon structures are worked on" and "10-20 'vehicles' at a time are brought in by rail." In Project 8926, seventeen sessions in August and September 1989, one viewer described "cylindrical objects with rounded ends" with "the odor of an obnoxious chemical," one "a 'hydro-bomb,'" and Viewer 032 "a swirling, metallic energy mass rotating in a counter clockwise rotation," later "an information gathering UFO," which the operations officer noted "is considered as being probably incorrect; it was the cause of a viewing distraction which 032 was unable to overcome"; Viewer 018's "drug-related" reading "seems to be the result of interference caused from recent efforts directed against drug-related targets."[^5]
### Project 8718 ### Project 8718
On November 2 and 3, 1987, four viewers worked a target in [[Iran]] from "only the encrypted coordinates." The monitor of viewer 003 wrote that "003 acquired the target with uncanny speed and accuracy: first the percepts of a ship... directly followed by those for a missile," and of viewer 011 that "the monitor did not wish the viewer to perceive these things for fear that it would induce AOL drive of a Persian Gulf scenario. In short, 011 was kept as much in the dark as possible about the nature of the task/target; consequently, the viewing was 'pure.'" Told the next day that the objects "were on a ship," 011 described "a chain of custody": "A ship, carrying missiles, arrives in a port. A long row of trucks is parked opposite the pier. The missiles are off-loaded onto a flatbed truck... The rail cars proceed north a great distance, perhaps hundreds of kilometers... onto a spur which takes them near two large structures, like hangers, located within the security boundary of an airfield. The missiles are stored in one of these structures for a short time and then transported again, this time by air." Shown redacted material afterward, "these were immediately recognized/perceived as corresponding to the areas perceived in the session," and "the highest confidence must be ascribed to the data." Viewer 079, in an extended session, saw "a huge ship" whose "flag on this huge ship was white, green, and red and I reported that it either had a man or animal in the center. After the session, the interviewer showed me that I identified the Iranian flag." No operational report or customer appears in the released file.[^5] On November 2 and 3, 1987, four viewers worked a target in [[Iran]] from "only the encrypted coordinates." The monitor of viewer 003 wrote that "003 acquired the target with uncanny speed and accuracy: first the percepts of a ship... directly followed by those for a missile," and of viewer 011 that "the monitor did not wish the viewer to perceive these things for fear that it would induce AOL drive of a Persian Gulf scenario. In short, 011 was kept as much in the dark as possible about the nature of the task/target; consequently, the viewing was 'pure.'" Told the next day that the objects "were on a ship," 011 described "a chain of custody": "A ship, carrying missiles, arrives in a port. A long row of trucks is parked opposite the pier. The missiles are off-loaded onto a flatbed truck... The rail cars proceed north a great distance, perhaps hundreds of kilometers... onto a spur which takes them near two large structures, like hangers, located within the security boundary of an airfield. The missiles are stored in one of these structures for a short time and then transported again, this time by air." Shown redacted material afterward, "these were immediately recognized/perceived as corresponding to the areas perceived in the session," and "the highest confidence must be ascribed to the data." Viewer 079, in an extended session, saw "a huge ship" whose "flag on this huge ship was white, green, and red and I reported that it either had a man or animal in the center. After the session, the interviewer showed me that I identified the Iranian flag." No operational report or customer appears in the released file.[^6]
### Project 8806 ### Project 8806
On January 26, 1988, viewer 079 held a session on [[Terry Waite]] under a project numbered 276. The report recorded that 079 "was in fact utilizing a 'pen to write' in a form of channeling" and that "The source of the data was described and identified as 'George.'" The session placed Waite in a "rectangular concrete or stucco building" near "an airport not in use" and held that he would "be returned to neutral territory in August 1988 with two other hostages." A cover note to a [[Washington Post]] article of January 20, 1988, enclosed with the report, recorded that [[Terry Anderson]] "will be the last to be released in August" and that "Terry Waite is to be released in August."[^8] On January 26, 1988, viewer 079 held a session on [[Terry Waite]] under a project numbered 276. The report recorded that 079 "was in fact utilizing a 'pen to write' in a form of channeling" and that "The source of the data was described and identified as 'George.'" The session placed Waite in a "rectangular concrete or stucco building" near "an airport not in use" and held that he would "be returned to neutral territory in August 1988 with two other hostages." A cover note to a [[Washington Post]] article of January 20, 1988, enclosed with the report, recorded that [[Terry Anderson]] "will be the last to be released in August" and that "Terry Waite is to be released in August."[^7]
Project 8806 (target 5056) sought the building in [[Beirut]] where Waite was held. Its tasking sheet recorded that a "Previous search conducted via WRV revealed the viewer's perspective of the location of Terry Waite in Beirut, Lebanon," and asked the viewers to "Access and describe the location and structure where Terry Waite is currently being held captive," to name a recognizable landmark nearby, and to pinpoint the structure on a map of the city. Viewers 011 and 095 worked the target on February 5, 1988, and viewers 003, 011 and 095 each held a coordinate remote viewing session on February 16. Viewer 011, "Using the horse racing track (335245N/353045E) as a reference point," put the target east of the river, near a church, "in the vicinity of 335340N/353230E (in the BURJ HAMMUD district of the city)"; 095 put it "in the vicinity of the AD DAWRAH district," which the analyst found "very near to that determined by 011's data"; 003 put it "in the vicinity of 335230N/353020E," and the report noted that 003 and 011 both described the target person "sitting, with head in hands." A map of February 18 plotted the viewers' coordinates. On June 3, 1988, viewer 011 placed "a key structure (associated with the target person)" in the Burj Abi Haydar district, and on September 1, 1988, viewer 025 worked Waite as a written remote viewing training target: "When asked for the name, 025 tried phonetically and had a successful try but analytically disgarded information thinking it was not pertinent."[^9] Project 8806 (target 5056) sought the building in [[Beirut]] where Waite was held. Its tasking sheet recorded that a "Previous search conducted via WRV revealed the viewer's perspective of the location of Terry Waite in Beirut, Lebanon," and asked the viewers to "Access and describe the location and structure where Terry Waite is currently being held captive," to name a recognizable landmark nearby, and to pinpoint the structure on a map of the city. Viewers 011 and 095 worked the target on February 5, 1988, and viewers 003, 011 and 095 each held a coordinate remote viewing session on February 16. Viewer 011, "Using the horse racing track (335245N/353045E) as a reference point," put the target east of the river, near a church, "in the vicinity of 335340N/353230E (in the BURJ HAMMUD district of the city)"; 095 put it "in the vicinity of the AD DAWRAH district," which the analyst found "very near to that determined by 011's data"; 003 put it "in the vicinity of 335230N/353020E," and the report noted that 003 and 011 both described the target person "sitting, with head in hands." A map of February 18 plotted the viewers' coordinates. On June 3, 1988, viewer 011 placed "a key structure (associated with the target person)" in the Burj Abi Haydar district, and on September 1, 1988, viewer 025 worked Waite as a written remote viewing training target: "When asked for the name, 025 tried phonetically and had a successful try but analytically disgarded information thinking it was not pertinent."[^8]
### Project 8808 ### Project 8808
Lieutenant Colonel Higgins of the Marines was abducted on February 17, 1988, near Naqurah, "located 15 miles south of Tyre," on his way back to the UNIFIL headquarters, on a coastal track the tasking sheets describe as contested between Hezbollah and Amal. The unit's interim report of February 24 to the Deputy Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence covered three viewers' sessions "to determine the extent of" a redacted person's "involvement in the abduction," information "shielded from the remote viewers and maintained by the customer at the DIAC, Bolling AFB": viewer 079 "identified" him "as a 47 to 50 year-old Lebanese christian who served with the Amal forces in a capacity described as 'District Manager', with the rank of Major," who "was not directly involved in the planning or execution of the kidnapping," "has no connections with 'Hezbollah,'" and "considers the US as an exploiter of Lebanon and its people." Sessions ran from February 18, 1988, into June 1989, by viewers 003, 011, 018, 079, 095 and 099, by coordinate, written, solo and "dowsing" methods over map sheets; one was held "in unfamiliar surroundings, at DIA on Bolling AFB," where the viewer "expressed annoyance over sounds from National Airport." On February 19 a viewer placed Higgins "next to BEAUFORT CASTLE"; on February 25 another had him "moved to this present location within the last day or so... blind-folded, hands tied behind his back and placed in a canvas-covered cargo truck," "within an 80 km arc from the point of capture and in an easterly direction." A tasking sheet of May 17 stated that "the intelligence community reportedly has all but given up on the status of LTC Higgins," and, in a passage the scan partly garbles, that DIA's counterterrorism analysts had found the unit's reporting consistent with their own and asked for more; a companion sheet placed him, in the analysts' belief, somewhere in Beirut. On May 21 two viewers described a vessel: 095, tasked to "describe the vessel, aboard which LTC Higgins is held," whose largely illegible transcript begins "in a cramped shaped room" and whose cover sheet reads "Excellent work, high confidence"; 099, "the hold of a fishing vessel which looks something like a tug boat in form," positioned "to the northwest of a small port city (AOL-Tyre)," with "a motorboat/dinghy with four armed men inside" nearby, Higgins's "hands bound in front of him" and his emotions "akin to 'confused contentment.'" A task paper then asked for "additional operational data" on a vessel "located offshore of the coast of Lebanon" "in support of possible follow-up action."[^6] Lieutenant Colonel Higgins of the Marines was abducted on February 17, 1988, near Naqurah, "located 15 miles south of Tyre," on his way back to the UNIFIL headquarters, on a coastal track the tasking sheets describe as contested between Hezbollah and Amal. The unit's interim report of February 24 to the Deputy Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence covered three viewers' sessions "to determine the extent of" a redacted person's "involvement in the abduction," information "shielded from the remote viewers and maintained by the customer at the DIAC, Bolling AFB": viewer 079 "identified" him "as a 47 to 50 year-old Lebanese christian who served with the Amal forces in a capacity described as 'District Manager', with the rank of Major," who "was not directly involved in the planning or execution of the kidnapping," "has no connections with 'Hezbollah,'" and "considers the US as an exploiter of Lebanon and its people." Sessions ran from February 18, 1988, into June 1989, by viewers 003, 011, 018, 079, 095 and 099, by coordinate, written, solo and "dowsing" methods over map sheets; one was held "in unfamiliar surroundings, at DIA on Bolling AFB," where the viewer "expressed annoyance over sounds from National Airport." On February 19 a viewer placed Higgins "next to BEAUFORT CASTLE"; on February 25 another had him "moved to this present location within the last day or so... blind-folded, hands tied behind his back and placed in a canvas-covered cargo truck," "within an 80 km arc from the point of capture and in an easterly direction." A tasking sheet of May 17 stated that "the intelligence community reportedly has all but given up on the status of LTC Higgins," and, in a passage the scan partly garbles, that DIA's counterterrorism analysts had found the unit's reporting consistent with their own and asked for more; a companion sheet placed him, in the analysts' belief, somewhere in Beirut. On May 21 two viewers described a vessel: 095, tasked to "describe the vessel, aboard which LTC Higgins is held," whose largely illegible transcript begins "in a cramped shaped room" and whose cover sheet reads "Excellent work, high confidence"; 099, "the hold of a fishing vessel which looks something like a tug boat in form," positioned "to the northwest of a small port city (AOL-Tyre)," with "a motorboat/dinghy with four armed men inside" nearby, Higgins's "hands bound in front of him" and his emotions "akin to 'confused contentment.'" A task paper then asked for "additional operational data" on a vessel "located offshore of the coast of Lebanon" "in support of possible follow-up action."[^9]
Through the rest of 1988 and 1989 viewer 079's "summaries of information" gave positions for Higgins and for Waite, Anderson, Thomas Sutherland, Joseph Cicippio, Alann Steen, Edward Tracy, Frank Reed, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and "the Israeli hostages," village by village: on September 29, 1988, "the release of LTC Higgins remains a foregone conclusion. Iran and Iraq peace talks could favorably affect the release"; in later sessions Higgins "is alive, secluded," "continues to be secluded from the other hostages," "appeared to be continually on the move," and Waite "will come out alive based on his own lie." A session that discussed "the Obeid," then a prisoner of the Israelis and "a 'planner' in the kidnapping of LTC Higgins," reported "that the group who claim that LTC Higgins was executed is not the terrorist group who is currently holding him" and that "it could not be determined if LTC Higgins is dead or alive." An undated solo session by viewer 003 "to determine whether USMC LTC William Richard Higgins is dead or alive" reported an "image of a black, lumpy, soft, sticky container leaning against a slope of brown, rough, coarse, pitted rocks... either under water or adjacent/very near water," "an extremely rotten smell," and "LTC Higgins died between 8-10 months after he was captured."[^6] Through the rest of 1988 and 1989 viewer 079's "summaries of information" gave positions for Higgins and for Waite, Anderson, Thomas Sutherland, Joseph Cicippio, Alann Steen, Edward Tracy, Frank Reed, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and "the Israeli hostages," village by village: on September 29, 1988, "the release of LTC Higgins remains a foregone conclusion. Iran and Iraq peace talks could favorably affect the release"; in later sessions Higgins "is alive, secluded," "continues to be secluded from the other hostages," "appeared to be continually on the move," and Waite "will come out alive based on his own lie." A session that discussed "the Obeid," then a prisoner of the Israelis and "a 'planner' in the kidnapping of LTC Higgins," reported "that the group who claim that LTC Higgins was executed is not the terrorist group who is currently holding him" and that "it could not be determined if LTC Higgins is dead or alive." An undated solo session by viewer 003 "to determine whether USMC LTC William Richard Higgins is dead or alive" reported an "image of a black, lumpy, soft, sticky container leaning against a slope of brown, rough, coarse, pitted rocks... either under water or adjacent/very near water," "an extremely rotten smell," and "LTC Higgins died between 8-10 months after he was captured."[^9]
### Project 9028 ### Project 9028
On May 21, 1990, for "Requestor Task # JT4-0019-90," three viewers each did one solo session on "a suspected drug smuggling vessel," "a 40-50 foot 'lobster boat' with a white superstructure," which had "departed [[Barranquilla]], [[Colombia]]," for the Netherlands Antilles. Viewer 095 put it "north of Aruba at 1456N/70W" carrying "8-10 kilograms of cocaine" in "a 'metal bubble' welded in place on the port-side of the vessel, near the bow, several feet below the waterline," to be transferred "west of Haiti" on about May 29 for "South of Florida," with the phonetic "keye-yah"; viewer 003 had it "about 60 miles WNW of St. Lucia" with "a fish smell and a quantity of slimy crustaceans aboard," its cargo already unloaded and bound for "the Florida coast SE of Florida City"; viewer 018 had it at "1505N/62W" with "a white, acrid-tasting powder" already transferred "at sea to a much larger ship" for "Galveston or Houston." The project summary: "Three current locations were provided as possible exploitation leads. No action taken. Unable to correlate." The draft report of May 22 gives 095's heading as 238 degrees, the final of May 23 as 338.[^7] On May 21, 1990, for "Requestor Task # JT4-0019-90," three viewers each did one solo session on "a suspected drug smuggling vessel," "a 40-50 foot 'lobster boat' with a white superstructure," which had "departed [[Barranquilla]], [[Colombia]]," for the Netherlands Antilles. Viewer 095 put it "north of Aruba at 1456N/70W" carrying "8-10 kilograms of cocaine" in "a 'metal bubble' welded in place on the port-side of the vessel, near the bow, several feet below the waterline," to be transferred "west of Haiti" on about May 29 for "South of Florida," with the phonetic "keye-yah"; viewer 003 had it "about 60 miles WNW of St. Lucia" with "a fish smell and a quantity of slimy crustaceans aboard," its cargo already unloaded and bound for "the Florida coast SE of Florida City"; viewer 018 had it at "1505N/62W" with "a white, acrid-tasting powder" already transferred "at sea to a much larger ship" for "Galveston or Houston." The project summary: "Three current locations were provided as possible exploitation leads. No action taken. Unable to correlate." The draft report of May 22 gives 095's heading as 238 degrees, the final of May 23 as 338.[^10]
### Counternarcotics ### Counternarcotics
"In 1989 the Military Intelligence Board (MIB) agreed to examine the utility of the project under field conditions involving counternarcotics projects." A review of 192 projects from 1986 to 1989, briefed to the board that year, found that "potential applications exist for certain project types: counternarcotics, counterterrorism, counterintelligence," "limited potential exists for detailed data," and "low potential exists for predictive tasks." In July 1990, for the Army staff, Viewer 018 gave a day-by-day account of drug transfers between vessels with names heard as "Oro Negra," "Bindar," and "Burgon/Burgundy," and "perceived the intercept and seizure of vessel(s) at the transfer point on 7 July 1990"; the report added that "Viewer 018 recently reported the apparent experimental use of the equivalent of a 'psychic shield' to avoid detection. Viewer 018 was instructed not to discuss this finding with anyone," since 018 was Viewer 052's trainer. On September 6, 1990, in Project 90102, Viewer 095 described a cargo vessel whose name "starts with the sounds 'CA LEH,'" carrying "solid, rock-like cocaine" in "a sealed metal compartment in the absolute stern," at a given position off [[Central America]], to be met by a white motor vessel that would carry the drugs to a port near Guaymas, and Viewer 049, for a base station in Mexico, a walled compound whose head, "an older man with graying hair," "frail but ruthless," ran a family associated with "the words 'GARCIA' or 'de GARCIA'" and "the 'Guadalahara Cartel'" and calling itself "SPIDER WEB"; "time sensitive information was reported on 061500L SEP 90 to DAMI-PO via STU-III." The board reviewed the test in September 1990: "Overall, about one third of all projects were judged to have provided data of good quality. This was based on evaluation of 32 projects. Although 104 projects were conducted, weather/operational constraints prevented follow-up for ground truth on the majority of those projects." "The effort at SRI was discontinued in 1990," and under the defense authorization act for fiscal 1991 the program became [[Stargate Project|Star Gate]].[^1][^4] "In 1989 the Military Intelligence Board (MIB) agreed to examine the utility of the project under field conditions involving counternarcotics projects." A review of 192 projects from 1986 to 1989, briefed to the board that year, found that "potential applications exist for certain project types: counternarcotics, counterterrorism, counterintelligence," "limited potential exists for detailed data," and "low potential exists for predictive tasks." In July 1990, for the Army staff, Viewer 018 gave a day-by-day account of drug transfers between vessels with names heard as "Oro Negra," "Bindar," and "Burgon/Burgundy," and "perceived the intercept and seizure of vessel(s) at the transfer point on 7 July 1990"; the report added that "Viewer 018 recently reported the apparent experimental use of the equivalent of a 'psychic shield' to avoid detection. Viewer 018 was instructed not to discuss this finding with anyone," since 018 was Viewer 052's trainer. On September 6, 1990, in Project 90102, Viewer 095 described a cargo vessel whose name "starts with the sounds 'CA LEH,'" carrying "solid, rock-like cocaine" in "a sealed metal compartment in the absolute stern," at a given position off [[Central America]], to be met by a white motor vessel that would carry the drugs to a port near Guaymas, and Viewer 049, for a base station in Mexico, a walled compound whose head, "an older man with graying hair," "frail but ruthless," ran a family associated with "the words 'GARCIA' or 'de GARCIA'" and "the 'Guadalahara Cartel'" and calling itself "SPIDER WEB"; "time sensitive information was reported on 061500L SEP 90 to DAMI-PO via STU-III." The board reviewed the test in September 1990: "Overall, about one third of all projects were judged to have provided data of good quality. This was based on evaluation of 32 projects. Although 104 projects were conducted, weather/operational constraints prevented follow-up for ground truth on the majority of those projects." "The effort at SRI was discontinued in 1990," and under the defense authorization act for fiscal 1991 the program became [[Stargate Project|Star Gate]].[^1][^5]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Star Gate Project: An Overview," DTI-S-1056-SL, April 30, 1993, CIA-RDP96-00789R002800180001-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^1]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Star Gate Project: An Overview," DTI-S-1056-SL, April 30, 1993, CIA-RDP96-00789R002800180001-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^2]: Grill Flame volunteer security agreements, consent statements, and counseling statements for Joseph W. McMoneagle (February 8, 1979; October 26, 1979; February 19, 1980), Melvin C. Riley (February 8, 1979), and Robert C. Cowart (June 3 and October 2, 1981), and "Requirement for Access to DIA Sun Streak Project (Brian Buzby)," May 10, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00789R0021001500xx series. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^2]: Grill Flame volunteer security agreements, consent statements, and counseling statements for Joseph W. McMoneagle (February 8, 1979; October 26, 1979; February 19, 1980), Melvin C. Riley (February 8, 1979), and Robert C. Cowart (June 3 and October 2, 1981), and "Requirement for Access to DIA Sun Streak Project (Brian Buzby)," May 10, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00789R0021001500xx series. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^3]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "SUN STREAK - Annual Report 1989," January 17, 1990, CIA-RDP96-00789R001100020014-3. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^3]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "SUN STREAK - Annual Report 1989," January 17, 1990, CIA-RDP96-00789R001100020014-3. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak operational reports: Project 8713, November 19, 1987 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000200110001-7); Project 8804, October 24, 1988 (CIA-RDP96-00789R001800770001-8); Project 8915, June 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000500200002-3); Project 8926, September 20, 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R003500800001-5), with the session report of Viewer 032 of September 6-7, 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000700690001-9); Project 9044, July 1990 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000800340001-6); Project 90102, September 7, 1990 (CIA-RDP96-00789R003600150004-3). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^4]: 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
[^5]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak Project 8718, task paper (CIA-RDP96-00789R000200210002-5) and session procedures reports of November 2 and 3, 1987, viewers 003, 011, 018 and 079, CIA-RDP96-00789R000200220001-5 to -008-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^5]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak operational reports: Project 8713, November 19, 1987 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000200110001-7); Project 8804, October 24, 1988 (CIA-RDP96-00789R001800770001-8); Project 8915, June 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000500200002-3); Project 8926, September 20, 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R003500800001-5), with the session report of Viewer 032 of September 6-7, 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000700690001-9); Project 9044, July 1990 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000800340001-6); Project 90102, September 7, 1990 (CIA-RDP96-00789R003600150004-3). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^6]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "SUN STREAK Operational Report - 8808," February 24, 1988, CIA-RDP96-00789R003400980001-7; Project 8808 task papers and handwritten papers, CIA-RDP96-00789R003400940003-9, -006-6, -012-9, -013-8 and -014-7; session reports of February 19, 1988 (CIA-RDP96-00789R003400600001-8), February 25 (R003401100001-2), February 28 (R003401110001-1), May 21 (R003400590001-0 and R003401310001-9), September 29 (R000400080001-9, read from the page images), and the summaries of information of viewer 079 of 1988 and 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000400780001-2 to R000401000001-6 and R000400960001-2), and the undated solo session on Higgins's death (CIA-RDP96-00789R000401050001-1). Session dates and viewer numbers are as typed on the cover sheets; the handwritten transcripts are largely illegible in OCR. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^6]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak Project 8718, task paper (CIA-RDP96-00789R000200210002-5) and session procedures reports of November 2 and 3, 1987, viewers 003, 011, 018 and 079, CIA-RDP96-00789R000200220001-5 to -008-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^7]: Sun Streak Project 9028: tasker and session cover sheets of May 21, 1990 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160001-5, -004-2, -005-1); "Feedback on JT4-0019-90 (9028)" (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160003-3); "SUN STREAK Report - 9028," draft of May 22 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160007-9) and final of May 23, 1990, DCSINT-PO (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900190012-0); "Project Summary: Project # 9028" (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160015-0). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^7]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak project 276, session report of viewer 079, January 26, 1988, with enclosures: the Washington Post article of Nora Boustany and the cover note "Enclosure: to report of 079 re 8728 dtd 28 Jan 88," CIA-RDP96-00789R003400580001-1 to -4. The OCR of the session report is partly illegible. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^8]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak project 276, session report of viewer 079, January 26, 1988, with enclosures: the Washington Post article of Nora Boustany and the cover note "Enclosure: to report of 079 re 8728 dtd 28 Jan 88," CIA-RDP96-00789R003400580001-1 to -4. The OCR of the session report is partly illegible. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^8]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak Project 8806 session reports of February 16, 1988 (viewers 003, 011 and 095: CIA-RDP96-00789R003400090001-5, R003400100001-3, R003400120001-1), June 3, 1988 (viewer 011: R003400150001-8) and September 1, 1988 (viewer 025, training: R001401290001-4), and the location map of February 18, 1988 (R003400160001-7). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^9]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Sun Streak Project 8806 session reports of February 16, 1988 (viewers 003, 011 and 095: CIA-RDP96-00789R003400090001-5, R003400100001-3, R003400120001-1), June 3, 1988 (viewer 011: R003400150001-8) and September 1, 1988 (viewer 025, training: R001401290001-4), and the location map of February 18, 1988 (R003400160001-7). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. [^9]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "SUN STREAK Operational Report - 8808," February 24, 1988, CIA-RDP96-00789R003400980001-7; Project 8808 task papers and handwritten papers, CIA-RDP96-00789R003400940003-9, -006-6, -012-9, -013-8 and -014-7; session reports of February 19, 1988 (CIA-RDP96-00789R003400600001-8), February 25 (R003401100001-2), February 28 (R003401110001-1), May 21 (R003400590001-0 and R003401310001-9), September 29 (R000400080001-9, read from the page images), and the summaries of information of viewer 079 of 1988 and 1989 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000400780001-2 to R000401000001-6 and R000400960001-2), and the undated solo session on Higgins's death (CIA-RDP96-00789R000401050001-1). Session dates and viewer numbers are as typed on the cover sheets; the handwritten transcripts are largely illegible in OCR. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^10]: Sun Streak Project 9028: tasker and session cover sheets of May 21, 1990 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160001-5, -004-2, -005-1); "Feedback on JT4-0019-90 (9028)" (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160003-3); "SUN STREAK Report - 9028," draft of May 22 (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160007-9) and final of May 23, 1990, DCSINT-PO (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900190012-0); "Project Summary: Project # 9028" (CIA-RDP96-00789R000900160015-0). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.

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--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2025-07-22 updated: 2026-10-08
title: The Nautilus (Telepathy Project) title: The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)
aliases:
- The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)
- The Secret of the Nautilus
- Du Nautilus
- Une étrange expérience à bord du Nautilus
- La transmission de pensée, arme de guerre
- The Great Nautilus ESP Hoax
- Nautilus telepathy story
- Nautilus Story
tags: tags:
- project - project
- telepathy - Telepathy
- disinformation - Disinformation
- ColdWar - ColdWar
description: The Nautilus (Telepathy Project) refers to a sensational 1960 French magazine article claiming successful telepathic communication with the USS Nautilus submarine, which spurred Soviet psi research. - Submarine
- Psi
description: The Nautilus (Telepathy Project) is the name for French accounts of 1959 and 1960 describing telepathy tests with the USS Nautilus, which the U.S. Navy denied and which Soviet researchers cited.
category: "Psi Research Program" category: "Psi Research Program"
summary: "A 1960 French magazine report that the U.S. Navy ran telepathy experiments with the submarine USS Nautilus, which the Navy denied and which Soviet researchers cited in seeking parapsychology funding." summary: "French accounts of 1959 and 1960 described telepathy tests between a shore laboratory and the submarine USS Nautilus; the U.S. Navy denied them, and Soviet parapsychologists cited them to obtain support."
date: 1960 date: 1960
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Jacques Bergier]]"
reverse: true
start: 1959
role: "author of the Constellation article of December 1959 and co-author of Le Matin des magiciens"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Louis Pauwels]]"
reverse: true
start: 1960
role: "co-author of Le Matin des magiciens, which printed the account; interviewed by This Week in 1963"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Gerard Messadie]]"
reverse: true
start: 1960
role: "author of the Science et Vie article of February 1960"
fn: 6
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Leonid Vasiliev]]"
reverse: true
start: 1960
role: "cited the accounts in a 1960 lecture and, per Tsykunov (2023), in a March 1960 report to the Soviet defense minister"
fn: 10
- type: participant_in
with: "[[William H. Bowers]]"
reverse: true
start: 1959
role: "named in the account as the colonel overseeing the tests; stated in 1963 that the experiment never took place"
fn: 9
- type: participant_in
with: "[[William R. Anderson]]"
reverse: true
start: 1959
role: "named in the account as the captain of the Nautilus; stated in 1963 that the ship was in dock on the date given"
fn: 9
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Pavel Naumov]]"
reverse: true
start: 1956
role: "named in the 1975 DIA study as conducting a submarine rabbit experiment around 1956"
fn: 12
--- ---
The Nautilus (Telepathy Project) is the name given to accounts of telepathy between a shore laboratory and the [[The Nautilus|USS Nautilus]], the first nuclear-powered submarine, which appeared in the French press and in the book [[The Morning of the Magicians|Le Matin des magiciens]] in 1959 and 1960. The accounts described telepathic messages received aboard the submarine while it was submerged. The [[U.S. Navy]] denied them. [[Leonid Vasiliev]], a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] physiologist, cited them in 1960 when he argued for renewed research into [[Parapsychology|psi]] in Leningrad.[^1]
[[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]] refers to a sensational 1960 article in the French magazine *Science et Vie* titled "The Secret of the Nautilus." The article claimed that the [[United States|U.S. government]], in secret tests, had successfully employed telepathy to communicate with the crew of the USS Nautilus, its first nuclear submarine, while it was submerged beneath the Arctic ice cap. The story suggested the project had the special attention of President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] and involved the [[U.S. Navy|Navy]], [[U.S. Air Force|Air Force]], Westinghouse, General Electric, [[Bell Labs]], and the [[Rand Corporation]].[^1] ### The Rand report and the press of 1957 and 1958
The implications of such a breakthrough were enormous, as communicating with deeply submerged submarines was a critical research goal. Telepathy seemed an ideal solution, as it appeared unaffected by seawater or other earthly obstacles. However, the story quickly unraveled upon closer inspection, with denials from involved parties and suspicious inconsistencies in the reported accuracy rates. It was eventually suggested that the article was a fabrication, possibly a disinformation ploy designed to stir up data on American psi research or to encourage the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] to undertake wasteful psi research, or both.[^1] [[Jacques Bergier]] and [[Louis Pauwels]] wrote that the [[Rand Corporation]] laid a report before [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] at the beginning of 1957 proposing telepathy as a means of communicating with submarines, which could not use radio while submerged, particularly under the polar ice. They wrote that the report produced no effect for a year, until the signals of Sputnik I, after which leading American scientists decided to pursue directions the Russians had neglected. In the same passage they attribute to the [[Atomic Energy Commission|U.S. Atomic Energy Commission]] a 1958 proposal to use clairvoyants to find where Russian bombs would fall in a war; a footnote to that sentence cites a "Rapport de la Rand Corporation, 31 août 1958." They quote a [[Ansel E. Talbert]] article in the Sunday supplement of the [[New York Herald Tribune]] of July 13, 1958, as saying it was indispensable for the [[United States|American]] armed forces to know whether energy emitted by one human brain could influence another brain thousands of kilometers away.[^2]
Despite being declared a fake in the West, the Nautilus story had a profound impact in the East. The Soviets, seemingly swallowing the story whole, viewed official American denials as confirmation of its truth. This article provided the necessary stimulus for the resurgence and significant funding of Soviet [[Parapsychology|psi]] research, which had been nearly extinct during the Stalin years. Figures like Leonid Vasiliev and I. M. Kogan eagerly cited the story as justification for their work, leading to the establishment of numerous psi research centers in the USSR and Eastern Europe.[^1] The same pages list laboratories that they say were studying parapsychology: at the Rand Corporation, at [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] in Friendship, Maryland, at [[General Electric]] in Schenectady, at [[Bell Labs|Bell Telephone]] in Boston, and at the army research center at [[Redstone Arsenal]] in Alabama, where the thought-transmission laboratory is said to have stood less than 500 meters from the office of [[Wernher von Braun]].[^2]
--- [[Martin Ebon]], then on the staff of the [[Parapsychology Foundation]], recorded that the New York Herald Tribune reported on November 3, 1958 that Westinghouse Electric Corporation had begun to study extrasensory perception with specially designed apparatus. [[Peter A. Castruccio]], director of the company's newly organized Astronautic Institute, called such studies "very promising" and added that "a lot more work must be done before we can come up with anything practical." W. D. Crawford of the Air Arm Division of Westinghouse told Ebon that "while these studies have scientific value, any conclusions at this time would be premature and inconclusive." The Newsletter of the Parapsychology Foundation published these statements in January-February 1959, together with a report that Bell Telephone Laboratories had considered an ESP research project and abandoned it.[^3]
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. ### The December 1959 article in Constellation and Le Matin des magiciens
The first account appeared in the French magazine [[Constellation]] in December 1959 under the title "La transmission de pensée, arme de guerre" (thought transmission, a weapon of war). Its author was Bergier. [[I. V. Tsykunov]] summarized it in 2023 as stating that in 1958 Westinghouse, General Electric, Bell Telephone and a military research center at Redstone began telepathy work for the U.S. Navy.[^4] The account was repeated in Le Matin des magiciens (1960) by Pauwels and Bergier.[^2]
The protocol in that book is specific. A [[Duke University]] student, called "Smith," sat in a Westinghouse research center, where a clockwork device shuffled a thousand [[Zener cards]] and ejected a card at one-minute intervals. He drew the symbol on a sheet of five entries, sealed it, and passed it to [[William H. Bowers]], a colonel described as director of biological sciences at the research office of the [[U.S. Air Force]], who locked it in a safe.[^3][^4] A naval lieutenant, called "Jones," sat in a cabin aboard the Nautilus, which the book says embarked on July 25, 1959 and spent sixteen days under way, and recorded five symbols twice a day. He gave the sheets to the captain, [[William R. Anderson]], who added the time and date, sealed them in an envelope marked for destruction in case of capture, and stored them in a safe. When the submarine reached [[Groton, Connecticut]] on Monday, August 10, 1959, the envelopes were taken under escort to a military airfield and flown to Friendship, Maryland, where Bowers compared the sheets. The book gives the result as a precision of more than 70 percent and says that seven times out of ten Jones guessed correctly. It quotes Bowers as saying that human thought had for the first time been transmitted through space, under conditions excluding fraud, from one brain to another.[^2]
The 2023 study's summary of the Constellation text gives the result as three quarters of the symbols and attributes the method to [[J. B. Rhine]] of the [[Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory]].[^4] [[Annie Jacobsen]] places the start of the sixteen-day period on July 25, 1958.[^5]
### The February 1960 article in Science et Vie
In February 1960 the magazine [[Science et Vie]] published an article by [[Gerard Messadie|Gérald Messadié]]. It is cited as "Du Nautilus" in the 1972 DIA report and in the bibliography of [[Sheila Ostrander]] and [[Lynn Schroeder]], as "The Secret of the Nautilus" by Ebon, by [[Jim Schnabel]] and in the Parapsychology Foundation's Newsletter of 1963, and by Tsykunov as "Une étrange expérience à bord du «Nautilus»," issue no. 509, pages 30 to 35.[^6]
The 1972 DIA report quotes the French headlines as "US Navy Uses ESP on Atomic Sub!" and says that, according to the French, ship-to-shore telepathy "blipped along nicely even when the Nautilus was far under water."[^7] Schnabel wrote that the article reported tests conducted under the Arctic ice cap with the special attention of President Eisenhower and the involvement of the Navy, the Air Force, Westinghouse, General Electric, Bell Laboratories and the Rand Corporation.[^8]
The Newsletter of the Parapsychology Foundation reported in 1963 that Science et Vie had not received a report on the experiment from its regular New York correspondent or from the Science Service news syndicate to which it subscribed, that its editors had not disclosed their source, and that the author of a French reference work, Histoire de la Magie, had told the Foundation his source was the Science et Vie article.[^9]
### Soviet statements and the Vasiliev report
A prominent member of the Institut Métapsychique International in Paris, Raphael L. Khérumian, sent clippings of the Science et Vie article and of Bergier's Constellation article to Vasiliev, then professor of physiology at the University of Leningrad, in late 1959 and early 1960.[^9] In his 1962 book on experimental research in thought suggestion, according to the Newsletter, Vasiliev acknowledged receiving the clippings and summarized the experiments, with a footnote stating that such reports must be treated with caution, having been denied in Washington and by other American sources.[^9] Ebon quotes the same book as describing the Nautilus experiment as showing that telepathic information could pass through water and a submarine's metal hull, and as a "totally unexpected foreign confirmation" of tests Vasiliev had conducted twenty-five years earlier.[^3] Ebon also quotes the Ukrainian engineer [[Bernard Kazhinsky]], whose 1962 book on biological radio communication drew conclusions from the account.[^3]
The journal [[Znanie-Sila]] (Knowledge Is Power) published a report by [[Gleb Anfilov]] in 1960 (No. 12), which an English translation introduces as an investigation prompted by the Science et Vie article of whether the report had a scientific basis. Anfilov describes a discussion in June 1960 at Leningrad University, with Vasiliev in the chair, and a second meeting on June 15, 1960 at the Leningrad Scientists Club, where Vasiliev gave a lecture titled "Concerning the Electromagnetic Radiation of the Brain." Vasiliev began by mentioning the American attempts at telepathic communication with the Nautilus. He said that even if the articles on the subject were not completely trustworthy, the facts as described did not contradict earlier experiments, and that thought transference through water and a submarine's shell agreed with experiments conducted in the Soviet Union. In the same issue the physiologist [[E. A. Asratyan]] called the Nautilus case one of the few exceptions to the lack of sufficient facts to prove telepathy, said it was quite likely that not everything in the reports was accurate, and criticized the conditions the Nautilus experiment's endorsers set out. The translation was recommended by J. B. Rhine.[^10]
Ostrander and Schroeder describe a speech by Vasiliev at a gathering of influential scientists held to commemorate the discovery of radio, which they date to April 1960. They quote him: "We carried out extensive and, until now, completely unreported investigations on ESP under the Stalin regime!" and "Today the American Navy is testing telepathy on their atomic submarines."[^1] Tsykunov suggests the meeting was probably held in May, because Soviet Radio Day fell on May 7 in the new style.[^4]
Tsykunov reports a seven-page memorandum of March 21, 1960 drawn up by Vasiliev, [[P. I. Gulyaev]] and [[Igor Poletaev|I. A. Poletaev]], attached to a report that Poletaev sent to Defense Minister [[Rodion Malinovsky]] on March 26, 1960. As quoted by Tsykunov, the report says Vasiliev had told Poletaev in March 1960 that the American armed forces had adopted telepathy for communication with submarines at sea, that two French magazines had published brief reports (translations attached), that from the end of 1957 Rand Corporation, Westinghouse, Bell Telephone Company and others had been working intensively, and that a test with the Nautilus submerged under polar ice up to 2,000 kilometers from its base had produced 70 percent correct symbols in a five-symbol alphabet of Zener cards. It says no other channel could have carried such a message because radio could not be used with the boat submerged, and, without discussing the reliability of the reports, that the danger of a new psychological weapon used against the USSR was too great to leave them without attention. It proposed that Vasiliev and Gulyaev continue telepathy research. Poletaev's son [[Andrei Poletaev]] later wrote that a decision was taken to organize a laboratory at Leningrad University under Vasiliev.[^11]
Ostrander and Schroeder quote Vasiliev's statement that "The discovery of the energy underlying ESP will be equivalent to the discovery of atomic energy." They write that Vasiliev headed a special parapsychology laboratory at Leningrad University within the year, that the Soviet hierarchy "apparently bought Vasiliev's advice," and that the drive was "said to come from the Soviet Military and the Soviet Secret Police." They put the number of Soviet centers for the study of the paranormal at "some twenty or more," with a budget estimated in 1967 at over 12 million rubles.[^1] Schnabel wrote that whether they believed it or not, a number of Soviet researchers eagerly cited the story as confirmation of their own work, hinting that such work needed much greater attention and funding, and names Vasiliev; the passage then describes the telepathy experiments of the electrical engineer [[I. M. Kogan]].[^8]
The 1972 DIA report reads the same episode as follows: "Soviet parapsychology research was actually stimulated by the 1960 French story." It adds that "although the US Navy subsequently denied the reports of telepathic testing on atomic submarines, the Soviet hierarchy apparently heeded Doctor Vasilev's advice and gave support, both moral and financial."[^7]
Ostrander and Schroeder describe Vasiliev as the holder of the Lenin Prize, as does Schnabel; the DIA gives the Order of Lenin.[^1][^8][^12]
### The Navy, Captain Anderson and Colonel Bowers
Ebon wrote that when he sought confirmation, the U.S. Navy denied that such a test had ever taken place or that it was engaged in telepathy experiments.[^3] Ostrander and Schroeder write that the Navy "denied the Nautilus story in tones of demi-horror," quoting its position as "No one in the Navy has anything to do with telepathy," which they say the Navy had kept saying since 1959.[^1] The 1972 DIA report records the same denial.[^7] The Parapsychology Foundation wrote in 1963 that it had addressed inquiries to Westinghouse, General Electric, the Bell System, the Navy, the Air Force and other companies and researchers named in the article and the book.[^9]
The Newsletter of the Parapsychology Foundation prints a statement attributed to the Nautilus's first skipper, Captain Anderson, retired by then, given to This Week: "Although the Nautilus engaged in a very wide variety of activities, certainly these did not include experiments in mental telepathy." It quotes him as calling the report of Pauwels and Bergier "completely false" and as saying that on July 24, 1959, the date the authors alleged the Nautilus put to sea, she was "high and dry in dock at Portsmouth, N. H., undergoing her first major overhaul."[^9] Ebon quotes the same statements.[^3] A history of the ship published by the Navy's Submarine Force Museum states that in May 1959 the Nautilus entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, for her first complete overhaul and that the overhaul was completed in August 1960.[^13] Tsykunov places the dry-dock statement on July 25, 1959, the date it takes from the French account.[^4]
Bowers, quoted in the same This Week article, said: "the experiment in which I was alleged to have participated never took place." The Newsletter adds that This Week reported the Talbert "quotation" in the book "turned out not to be his words, but the authors' interpretation."[^9] Tsykunov reports that Bowers added that he did not work at the Westinghouse laboratory and that on July 25, 1959 he was at Air University in Alabama.[^4]
### The This Week article of September 8, 1963
The Sunday supplement [[This Week]] of September 8, 1963 printed excerpts of the Pauwels and Bergier book under the title "The Great Nautilus ESP Hoax" and described the story of a Navy land-to-submarine communication through extrasensory perception as having circulated with wider and wider acceptance at home and abroad. According to the Parapsychology Foundation, the magazine said it had checked with Pauwels and Bergier, who admitted that they "had elaborated on reports they had heard, but not verified," and had "given the submarine a name." The Newsletter quotes Pauwels in the magazine as writing "It couldn't be just an 'atomic submarine,' but the Nautilus, which is best known to the French public."[^9] The magazine called the Nautilus story "unfounded."[^9] Ebon wrote that the Nautilus story was eliminated when the book appeared in the United States, and Tsykunov dates the American reprint to 1963.[^3][^4] An abridged French-language edition for American students, published by Harper and Row in 1967, prints the Nautilus passage.[^2]
A CIA reading-room copy of an undated article on extrasensory perception gives the This Week date as September 6, 1963, says the Nautilus story was publicized by that supplement, and calls it "quite possible that this false report" caused the Russians to worry that the United States had a breakthrough. The author is identified only as a behavior scientist.[^14]
### Accounts by Messadié, Schnabel and Ebon
Ebon visited Messadié in his Paris office in the summer of 1980. He wrote that Messadié, by then editor-in-chief of the monthly, regarded the whole thing as probably a hoax and regretted having published it, having assumed that his source was beyond question. According to Ebon, Messadié named Bergier, then an editorial adviser to the magazine, as that source, and recalled that when Bergier said "in a most affirmative tone that the U.S. Navy had engaged in telepathic research aboard the Nautilus," he and the editor-in-chief at the time, Daniel Vincendon, "did not resist his authority." Ebon quotes Messadié saying that Bergier "was sometimes prone to elaborations that verged on pranks, not to say hoaxes" and that Bergier had claimed to have extracted the information from intelligence sources. Ebon concluded that Bergier had concocted the story.[^3]
Schnabel wrote that Bergier was a consulting editor of Science et Vie who "apparently had connections to French intelligence services," that Bergier answered skeptical queries by backpedaling, that it soon seemed the whole thing had been fabricated as Bergier's private fraud or as some kind of disinformation ploy designed to stir up valuable data about American psi research or to encourage Russia to undertake wasteful research, and that Messadié would eventually admit he had probably been fooled. Schnabel added that, in his account, an Air Force officer named in the story denied it, the skipper of the Nautilus insisted the ship had been in dry dock, and the stated accuracy rate was far higher than parapsychologists usually reported.[^8] Jacobsen reports that Messadié said his information came from Bergier and other sources who confirmed the story on condition of anonymity, and that the article named J. B. Rhine as the civilian scientist on the project, with about 75 percent of the tries said to have succeeded.[^5]
Ebon wrote that some Americans have entertained the hypothesis that the story was a "Soviet plant," a piece of "disinformation" launched in France to provide a reason for a start-up of Soviet psychic studies, and that Soviet participants at international conferences repeatedly asked their American counterparts for details of the Nautilus experiments and met American professions of ignorance with a mixture of disappointment and disbelief.[^3] Ebon quotes a New York Times obituary of Bergier of November 24, 1978 describing him as a part-time consultant for French intelligence after the war.[^3]
Tsykunov reports that American experts doubted a 70 percent hit rate, since standard parapsychology tests produced up to 20 percent, and that the Navy press service categorically denied the experiment.[^4]
### Official assessments
The DIA study of September 1975, prepared by [[Louis F. Maire III]] and [[John LaMothe|J. D. LaMothe]] for the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]], describes "rumors" that American researchers had disproved the "brain-radio" theory through ship-to-shore experiments with the Nautilus. It says: "The Nautilus 'experiments' probably were mythical, but the claims had one tangible consequence: the Soviet authorities permitted" Vasilev, identified as professor of physiology and holder of the Order of Lenin, to publish his earlier work.[^12]
### Later references
[[Roger A. Beaumont]] wrote in the January 1982 issue of [[Signal]] that in the early 1960s there were reports of telepathy between the submarine USS Nautilus and a shore-based command post, which were "denied forthwith by the Navy."[^15]
In April 1992 the Soviet defense newspaper [[Trud]] named Bergier as the author of the December 1959 French article, which it said had caused considerable commotion. It asked whether Corresponding Member [[Ye. Aleksandrov]] was right to call the psychotronic weapons work worthless, and cited spending of 23 million rubles on defense-ministry projects.[^16]
A Soviet video summarized by the [[Foreign Broadcast Information Service|FBIS]] in September 1992 has [[Igor Mogila]], a Trud journalist, talking about a Soviet hypnotist, and shows footage of an incident involving the Nautilus that the summary dates to July 25, 1959.[^17]
Schnabel describes a later experiment at SRI in which [[Harold Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] tried to augment telepathy with electroencephalograph devices as "a souped-up version of the Nautilus story," intended to interest the CIA or the Navy in a possible long-distance communication system for submerged submarine crews.[^8]
### Pavel Naumov and the rabbit account
Ostrander and Schroeder recorded in Moscow in 1968 an account of a submarine test with baby rabbits from a Russian they identify as Naumov, in a passage that follows a reference to "Dr. Pavel Naumov." The baby rabbits were placed aboard a submerged submarine, and their mother, in a shore laboratory with electrodes in her brain, registered each moment of death. He said the test took place about three years previously, that "our instruments clearly registered these moments of ESP," and, asked what the Soviets found, "They are, I'm sorry to say, not public." In the passage he said: "If your Navy didn't do the Nautilus experiment, then Soviet scientists were the first in the world to test ESP from a submarine!"[^18]
Schnabel wrote that at the Moscow conference of 1968 the Soviet parapsychologist [[Eduard Naumov|Eduard Naumov]] announced to Western researchers that the Red Navy had replicated the entire Nautilus experiment successfully with one of its own submarines.[^8]
The DIA's 1975 report names "Dr. Pavel Naumov, who bears no relation to the now imprisoned Edward Naumov," as the conductor of the test, and dates it to around 1956, three years before the Nautilus disclosure.[^12] Earlier in Ostrander and Schroeder's book, Edward Naumov asked the authors whether the Nautilus story was really untrue, and their reply was "Who knows?"[^1]
British delegate [[John Cutten]] asked the group whether the submarine work implied close cooperation with the government and the military. Naumov answered that Cutten's remark "speaks for itself."[^18]
### Other accounts
An undated CIA paper on Soviet parapsychology cites the 1959 French publication of "supposed american ship-to-shore telepathy attempts with the atomic submarine Nautilus," states that the attempts were officially denied, and cites Ostrander and Schroeder for Vasiliev's April 1960 statement.[^19]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain. Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 6-7 (French headlines, Vasiliev's speech, Navy denial, Lenin Prize, Soviet centers and budget, and the question from Edward Naumov), and p. 8 (the conversation that follows).
[^2]: 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 (Nautilus account, Rand report and footnote on p. 137, Talbert article, laboratories, Bowers quotation); the English synopsis pp. xxx-xxxi also mentions the transmission to the submarine. Ebon, Psychic Warfare (below), p. 23, gives Le Matin de Magicien as the book in which the tests were also reported.
[^3]: Ebon, Martin. Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion? McGraw-Hill, 1983, chapter 3, "The Great 'Nautilus' Hoax," pp. 22-31 (Navy denial and Westinghouse statements pp. 22-25; Anderson, This Week and Bowers pp. 25-26; Vasiliev and Kazhinsky pp. 26-28; Soviet curiosity, the "Soviet plant" hypothesis and the 1980 Messadié interview pp. 28-31; Bergier's obituary pp. 29-31). Ebon was a staff member of the Parapsychology Foundation in New York.
[^4]: 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, published by the Association of Researchers of Esotericism and Mysticism (e-ISSN 2225-6954). https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ot-fantazii-k-realnosti-kak-istoriya-nautilusa-otkryla-gonku-sverhestestvennyh-vooruzheniy-mezhdu-sssr-i-ssha. Cites the Constellation article from a 1988 Soviet compilation, Материалы о прикладном использовании необычных возможностей психики человека (по зарубежным публикациям периода 1947-1988 г.), issue 3, pp. 9-14. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^5]: Jacobsen, Annie. 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 passages so cited.
[^6]: Messadié, Gérald. Article in Science et Vie, no. 509, February 1960, pp. 30-35. Title "Du Nautilus": LaMothe, John D. "Controlled Offensive Behavior: USSR," ST-CS-01-169-72, July 1972, ref. 77, CIA-RDP96-00792R000600360001-2, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000600360001-2; Ostrander and Schroeder, bibliography, p. 427. Title "The Secret of the Nautilus": Ebon, Psychic Warfare, p. 23; Schnabel, Remote Viewers, p. 90; "Nautilus Hoax Exposed," Newsletter of the Parapsychology Foundation, November-December 1963. Title "Une étrange expérience à bord du «Nautilus»," pp. 30-35: Tsykunov (Aliter, 2023).
[^7]: LaMothe, John D. "Controlled Offensive Behavior: USSR," ST-CS-01-169-72, Medical Intelligence Office, Office of the Surgeon General, July 1972, Section II, para. 3, CIA-RDP96-00792R000600360001-2, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000600360001-2.
[^8]: Schnabel, Jim. Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies. Dell, 1997, pp. 90-93 (the Science et Vie article, Messadié and Bergier, the Navy and Air Force denials, Soviet reception, Vasiliev, Kogan, Naumov) and p. 154 (SRI electroencephalograph experiments). Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^9]: "Nautilus Hoax Exposed," Newsletter of the Parapsychology Foundation, 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.
[^10]: Anfilov, Gleb. "Is Telepathy Possible?" The Soviet Review, vol. 2, no. 6 (June 1961), pp. 3-7 (introduction and the meetings of June 1960) and Asratyan, E. A., "More Experiments Called For," same issue, p. 11, translated from Znanie-Sila, 1960, no. 12. https://archive.org/details/sim_russian-social-science-review_1961-06_2_6.
[^11]: Tsykunov (Aliter, 2023), quoting the report of March 26, 1960 from the papers of I. A. Poletaev; Vinokurov, I. V., and G. K. Gurtovoy. Психотронная война: от мифов к реалиям [Psychotronic war: from myths to realities], pp. 147-149; Poletaev, A. I. "«Военная кибернетика», или фрагмент истории отечественной «лженауки»," in Очерки истории информатики в России (Novosibirsk, 1998), pp. 515-530. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^12]: Maire, Louis F., III, and J. D. LaMothe. Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research, DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, DIA Task PT-1810-12-75. CIA-RDP96-00787R000500420001-2, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000500420001-2.
[^13]: "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.
[^14]: "The World of the Supra-Sensory," undated article, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400040032-1, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000400040032-1.
[^15]: 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. Ronald M. McRae and Sue Merrow wrote in The Investigator in October 1981 (CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3) that the stories were "fabricated out of whole cloth"; Michael E. Zarbo, in a November 1992 Defense Intelligence College thesis (CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6) citing McRae's Mind Wars, called the report "later revealed as untrue."
[^16]: Trud, April 10, 1992, no. 61, FBIS translation, CIA-RDP96-00792R000500610010-5, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000500610010-5.
[^17]: FBIS London summary of Soviet video footage, September 22, 1992, CIA-RDP96-00792R000500680011-7, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000500680011-7.
[^18]: Ostrander and Schroeder, Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain, pp. 32-33 (rabbit account and Cutten exchange). Bibliography, p. 427, entry 332: "MESSADIE, G., 'Du Nautilus,' Science et Vie, No. 509, Feb., 1960."
[^19]: "Parapsychology in the USSR," undated CIA paper, approved for release 2000/08/15, CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9, https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000500210001-9.

10
40 - EVENTS/INTELLIGENCE_SCANDALS/Moscow Signal.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-23 created: 2025-07-23
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Moscow Signal title: Moscow Signal
aliases: aliases:
- Moscow Signal - Moscow Signal
@ -25,6 +25,14 @@ The [[United States]] suspected the Moscow Signal was an electromagnetic weapon
Despite official denials and attempts to downplay its effects, the Moscow Signal became a public controversy in the mid-1970s, leading to lawsuits from embassy employees and further debate among scientists about the reality and dangers of electromagnetic weapons.[^1] Despite official denials and attempts to downplay its effects, the Moscow Signal became a public controversy in the mid-1970s, leading to lawsuits from embassy employees and further debate among scientists about the reality and dangers of electromagnetic weapons.[^1]
### ARPA measurements, 1967
A memorandum of the [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] dated September 27, 1967 and signed by [[Richard S. Cesaro]] reports that "New measurements with ARPA instrumentation of the 'Moscow Signal' on site has now been completed," with a partial mapping of the power density, and that "The latest data on power levels recorded in the Moscow Embassy were always below 50 microwatts/cm2 (. 05 mw/cm2)." The memorandum states that "The electromagnetic frequency and modulation used for these preliminary tests simulated a portion of the 'Moscow Signal'" and that "The intent of the 'Moscow Signal' has not been established by the experiments conducted to date." It recommends that "A thorough analysis of this new signal data should now be undertaken to define the 'Moscow Signal' characteristics."[^2]
A DARPA letter of September 15, 1977 to Senator [[Warren G. Magnuson]] states that Project Pandora was classified at the direction of the Department of State and the United States Intelligence Board "because of the sensitivity of the radiation problem of the United States Embassy in Moscow at that time."[^3]
### Footnotes ### 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. [^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]: ARPA memorandum ARPA-AS-TS-67-20, "Project BIZARRE," September 27, 1967, signed Richard S. Cesaro, Acting Director, Advanced Sensors, declassified copy, National Security Archive. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/rhwvuj-tzy4b/08.pdf
[^3]: 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

155
40 - EVENTS/MAJOR_CONFLICTS/Six-Day War.md
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@ -1,18 +1,161 @@
--- ---
category: "Major Conflict"
aliases:
- Six-Day War
- Six Day War
- June War
- 1967 Arab-Israeli War
- Third Arab-Israeli War
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
tags: tags:
- Event - Event
- Conflict - Conflict
- Middle East - MiddleEast
category: "Major Conflict" - Israel
summary: "1967 conflict in which Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, capturing the Sinai, Gaza, West Bank, and Golan Heights." - Egypt
- Syria
- Jordan
- NuclearWeapons
- Dimona
- USSLiberty
- Mossad
- CentralIntelligenceAgency
- NationalSecurityAgency
- SovietUnion
summary: "The June 1967 war in which Israel struck Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, with documented American intelligence warnings, the Israeli nuclear dimension, the Soviet role, and the USS Liberty attack."
start: 1967-06-05 start: 1967-06-05
end: 1967-06-10 end: 1967-06-10
location: "Middle East" location: "Middle East"
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Israel]]"
reverse: true
start: 1967-06-05
end: 1967-06-10
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Egypt]]"
reverse: true
start: 1967-06-05
end: 1967-06-10
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Jordan]]"
reverse: true
start: 1967-06-05
end: 1967-06-10
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Syria]]"
reverse: true
start: 1967-06-05
end: 1967-06-10
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Meir Amit]]"
reverse: true
start: 1967-05-31
end: 1967-06-02
role: "Israeli intelligence chief, Washington visit before the war"
fn: 5
--- ---
The Six-Day War was a conflict fought between [[Israel]] and a coalition of Arab states (primarily [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], and [[Jordan]]) from June 5 to June 10, 1967. [[Israel]] launched a preemptive strike against the increasing Arab buildup in the [[Sinai]] and achieved a stunning victory, humiliating the Soviet-supplied Arabs and seizing [[Egypt]]'s [[Sinai Peninsula]], the [[Gaza Strip]], [[Jordan]]'s [[West Bank]], and [[Syria]]'s [[Golan Heights]]. The war also resulted in the Old City of [[Jerusalem]] coming under Jewish control.[^1] The Six-Day War was fought between [[Israel]] and a coalition of Arab states, primarily [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], and [[Jordan]], from June 5 to June 10, 1967. Israel opened the war on June 5 with air strikes on Egypt, which its government presented as a preemptive response to the Arab buildup in the [[Sinai Peninsula]], and in six days defeated the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-supplied Arab armies and seized Egypt's [[Sinai]], the [[Gaza Strip]], Jordan's [[West Bank]], and Syria's [[Golan Heights]]. The Old City of [[Jerusalem]] came under Israeli control in the same war.[^1]
Following the war, [[Charles de Gaulle]] responded by accusing [[Israel]] of being the aggressor and canceling all of [[France]]'s arms sales to [[Israel]], abrogating twelve years of close French support. He also delayed the pending shipment of fifty previously purchased Mirage III jet fighters.[^1] ### Pre-war assessments
On the morning of May 23, 1967, the day after Egypt closed the Gulf of Aqaba, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] summoned [[Richard Helms]] from a congressional briefing and asked for an assessment. Four hours later Helms had two [[Central Intelligence Agency]] papers, "US Knowledge of Egyptian Alert" and "Overall Arab and Israeli Military Capabilities," the second of which stated that Israel could "defend successfully against simultaneous Arab attacks on all fronts . . . or hold on any three fronts while mounting successfully a major offensive on the fourth."[^2]
On May 25 the White House received an Israeli intelligence estimate, headed "Israeli Intelligence Estimate of the Israeli-Arab Crisis," which stated the conclusion that the United Arab Republic was now actively seeking war and that the opportunity for Israel to take the initiative would soon be gone. [[Walt Rostow]] sent it to Johnson with a CIA appraisal attached that "throws a great deal of cold water on the Israeli estimate."[^3] The appraisal, prepared in the Office of National Estimates, stated: "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." It also stated: "We believe the Soviet aim is still to avoid military involvement and to give the US a black eye among the Arabs by identifying it with Israel."[^3] [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, describes the Israeli paper as a [[Mossad]] estimate that claimed the Israeli military was badly outgunned by a Soviet-backed Arab force, and writes that the Israelis may have been trying to exploit the special relationship they had with [[James Jesus Angleton]], the chief of CIA counterintelligence. Robarge writes that Angleton had for years run the Israeli account out of his Counterintelligence Staff without involving the Directorate of Plans's Near East Division, and that this arrangement may have given Tel Aviv a sense that Washington accorded its analyses special import.[^2]
Robarge writes that the Soviet-aim judgment, which ran contrary to Tel Aviv's suspicions, caused [[Dean Rusk]] to remark to Helms, "if this is a mistake, it's a beaut."[^2] On May 26 the [[Board of National Estimates]] issued the paper "Military Capabilities of Israel and the Arab States" and a second paper, "The Middle Eastern Crisis."[^2] Robarge describes the Military Capabilities paper as a memorandum rather than a Special National Intelligence Estimate, and says that drafts which gave the Israelis seven to nine days to reach the Suez Canal lost that precision in coordination.[^2] Johnson later recalled telling the Israeli foreign minister, [[Abba Eban]], on May 26: "All of our intelligence people are unanimous that if the UAR attacks, you will whip hell out of them."[^2]
Major General [[Meir Amit]], the head of Mossad, visited Washington from May 31 to June 2. On the afternoon of June 1 he met Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]]. The memorandum of the conversation was written by Vice Admiral [[Rufus Taylor]], the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, and carries the handling caption "Personal and Eyes Only for the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence."[^4] The memorandum records that Amit described the blockade of the [[Strait of Tiran]] as "window dressing" for a Soviet-backed grand design that he called the "Domino Effect," said that time was against Israel, that Israel had mobilized 100,000 people, and that a pre-emptive air attack by the United Arab Republic on the Israeli Air Force was a main worry, and estimated that with air superiority Israel could take the Sinai at the cost of somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 casualties. It records that he said "there were no differences between the U.S. and the Israelis on the military intelligence picture or its interpretation," that "the Russian story of a planned attack against Syria was a sheer fabrication," and that his remarks were informal and not an official representation of the Israeli government. McNamara told him he would be seeing the President shortly and would convey Amit's views.[^4] At a conference on the war in June 1992, Amit stated that his objectives included "to tell the Americans, I, Meir Amit, am going to recommend that our government strike," and recalled that McNamara answered "it was all right, the president knows that you are here and I have a direct line to the president."[^4]
Robarge reports, citing published accounts, that Helms met on June 1 with a senior Israeli official who hinted that Israel could no longer avoid a decision, said its restraint was due to American pressure, and said that the delay had cost Israel the advantage of surprise. According to Robarge, the official abruptly left the United States on June 2 along with the Israeli ambassador, and that morning Helms wrote an "Eyes Only" letter to Johnson forewarning that Israel probably would start a war within a few days.[^2]
Helms was awakened at 3:00 a.m. on June 5 by a call from the CIA Operations Center, after the [[Foreign Broadcast Information Service]] picked up reports that Israel had launched its attack. Robarge adds that the Office of Current Intelligence soon concluded that the Israelis, contrary to their claims, had fired first. Johnson was able to tell congressional leaders later that day that he had been expecting Israel's move.[^2] The Israeli prime minister [[Levi Eshkol]]'s message to Johnson of the same day listed bombardments of Kisufim, Nahal Oz and Tsur Maon by Egypt as among the acts of aggression. A telegram from [[Tel Aviv]] of June 5 reported a meeting among Amit, the American ambassador [[Walworth Barbour]], and the presidential special counsel Harry C. McPherson, Jr.; Rostow's covering note to Johnson stated that Amit's argument was that there had been artillery fire on three Israeli villages and air incursions, and then the Israelis had "punched all the buttons," and added: "At least that's his story."[^5]
During the war Helms went to the White House every day but one. He recalled that "in the midst of one meeting" Johnson asked him how accurate his intelligence was on the progress of the war, and that he answered: "It's accurate just as long as the Israelis are winning."[^2]
### Israel's nuclear program in the crisis
A Control Group paper, dated June 17, 1967 by the editors of the Foreign Relations of the United States volume, states that "The most significant feature of the role of nuclear capabilities during the Arab-Israeli hostilities was the absence of direct impact."[^6] Its annex states that the French-built reactor at [[Dimona]] has a capacity of 25 MW, is not under [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] safeguards but has been inspected by the United States, and "is capable of producing enough plutonium for approximately one nuclear weapon per year." The annex states that the spent fuel rods "are still at Dimona and have not been subjected to chemical separation," and that prior to the crisis the Israelis "had probably not made a decision to develop nuclear weapons, but probably had decided to keep that option open." It says that if they made a decision then, it would probably be 18 months or longer before they could have a first weapon. The paper also records that Israel had a contract with the French firm [[Dassault Company|Dassault]] for the MD-620 missile.[^6]
On June 27, 1967, the American ambassador, Barbour, reported from Tel Aviv in telegram 4311, answering a State Department request of June 24 for an estimate of the impact of recent events on Israeli nuclear and missile policy. He wrote that the embassy had not discussed the subject with Israelis since the crisis began, that Israeli officials had not raised it in his many talks with them, and that there had been no press speculation. He wrote that Israelis "who have technical capability to build bomb, would, it may be argued, be foolish not to produce extra-conventional weapons against enemies whose total conventional military capabilities conceivably could outstrip Israel's within another decade." He wrote that the recent increase in popularity of [[Moshe Dayan]], who had been associated with those favoring nuclear weapons development, and any rise in the standing of Dayan's associates [[Shimon Peres]] and [[David Ben-Gurion]], "who made the decisions to build Dimona," could lead Israel closer to the nuclear route and the development of the necessary vehicles. He also wrote that if the French arms embargo continued and delivery of the Dassault missile were precluded, the "quite possible effect would be to stimulate Israeli missile production," and that he did not believe there was "any compelling reason at present time for change in" the Israeli government's policy of abstinence from nuclear weapons and missile production.[^7]
[[Seymour Hersh]] writes that after the war the intelligence about Dimona became highly compartmentalized as the White House decided to side more openly with Israel, and quotes an unnamed American official: "We knew about the yellowcake, but we weren't allowed to keep a file on it."[^8] Hersh also writes that at the end of the war Barbour told his deputy, Bill Dale, that the embassy's military attachés were no longer to report on Dimona, and quotes Barbour as saying "Israel is going to be our main ally."[^9] Hersh, citing Israeli officials, writes that Dimona was ordered into full-scale production early in 1968 and began turning out four or five warheads a year, with more than twenty-five bombs in the arsenal by the 1973 war, and that Mossad arranged the March 1968 purchase of uranium ore through a German agent for transfer at sea from the vessel renamed the Scheersberg A. Hersh states that the sale was approved by [[Euratom]] in October 1968.[^10]
The [[Atomic Energy Commission]] had by then recorded unexplained losses of highly enriched uranium at the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]] plant at [[Apollo, Pennsylvania|Apollo]], Pennsylvania, owned by [[Zalman Mordecai Shapiro]]. A General Accounting Office report to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy of June 20, 1967, stated that cumulative losses of U-235 through December 31, 1966 totaled about 260 kilograms, or about 1.2 percent of receipts.[^11] On April 2, 1968, Helms wrote to Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] asking that the FBI "initiate a discreet intelligence investigation of an all source nature of Dr. Shapiro in order to establish the nature and extent of his relationship with the Government of Israel," and asked that the letter be returned to him once the Attorney General had acted.[^11] On September 10, 1968, NUMEC received a visit by four Israelis, among them Avraham Hermoni, scientific counselor at the Israeli embassy, and [[Rafael Eitan|Raphael Eitan]] of the Israeli Ministry of Defense; the National Security Archive identifies Hermoni as the [[LAKAM]] station chief in Washington and Eitan as deputy chief of operations of the Mossad and organizer of the 1968 Plumbat uranium operation.[^11] Hersh writes that [[Carl E. Duckett]] and Helms shared the view of the CIA station chief [[John L. Hadden]] that Shapiro had to be the source of Israeli progress in nuclear weaponry, and states his own conclusion that Shapiro did not divert uranium to Israel.[^12]
[[Avner Cohen]], whose account rests on interviews with the late [[Yitzhak Ya'akov]], describes an assembly in May 1967 of two or three rudimentary nuclear explosives, and a plan, called [[Operation Shimshon]], to detonate them in the Egyptian desert as a last resort.[^13] The [[Wilson Center]], which released Cohen's collection in June 2017, described Ya'akov's testimony as revealing "for the first time the existence of a crash effort to assemble Israel's first nuclear device."[^14]
### Soviet role
[[Isabella Ginor]] and [[Gideon Remez]] argue in *Foxbats over Dimona: The Soviets' Nuclear Gamble in the Six-Day War* that Soviet MiG-25 "Foxbat" aircraft overflew the Dimona reactor in May 1967. The authors argue that the flights were meant to encourage Israel to launch a war, and to ensure that the site could be destroyed during a planned joint Arab-Soviet counterattack.[^15] In August 2007 the [[Russian Air Force]] spokesman Colonel [[Aleksandr Drobyshevsky|Aleksandr V. Drobyshevsky]] confirmed in writing that Soviet pilots had flown MiG-25 aircraft over Dimona in May 1967, according to the authors, who called this official confirmation of the central exhibit of their book.[^16] Hersh writes that after the war the Soviet Union severed relations with Israel, that Soviet arms shipments to Egypt began within weeks, and that the Soviet fleet deployed in greater force in the Mediterranean.[^17]
### USS Liberty
A [[National Security Agency]] review of the Technical Research Ship Program, declassified in 2017 after a mandatory declassification review, states that on May 23 the NSA asked the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] to authorize diverting the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]] from Abidjan to an operating area off Port Said for SIGINT coverage of the crisis; that on June 7 the Joint Chiefs initiated a message increasing the ship's closest point of approach to the United Arab Republic to 100 nautical miles after Arab allegations that the United States had participated in Israeli air strikes; and that, as later proven, the Liberty did not receive the order to move.[^18]
On June 8, 1967, the Liberty, a Navy signals intelligence ship, was attacked in the waters off the Sinai Peninsula. A CIA intelligence memorandum of June 13, 1967, compiled from the reports then available, states that unidentified jet aircraft made six strafing runs beginning at 3:05 p.m. local time, that three torpedo boats approached about twenty minutes later, and that one torpedo struck the starboard side in the spaces occupied by the SIGINT collectors. The memorandum records the hull number 206-T on one of the boats, and says that some fifty minutes later two Israeli helicopters arrived.[^19] The memorandum states that intercepted conversations between the helicopter pilots and the control tower at [[Hatzor Air Base|Hatzor]] "leave little doubt that the Israelis failed to identify" the ship as American before or during the attack. The control tower told helicopter 815 that "there is a warship there which we attacked. The men jumped into the water from it. You will try to rescue them." The memorandum records that the tower later identified the ship as Egyptian, that the weather was clear, that the hull number GTR 5 was prominently displayed, and that an American flag was flying. It gives the casualties as 10 killed, 90 wounded, and 22 missing.[^19]
A report of the National Security Agency to the White House of June 22, 1967, based on Israeli plain-language radio traffic intercepted on June 8 between 1229Z and 1328Z, states that it deals solely with the aftermath of the attack and that there are no COMINT reflections of the actual attack itself. It records the control tower telling the helicopters at about 1235Z, "Pay attention: the ship is now identified as Egyptian, you can return home now," helicopter 815 reporting at 1312Z that it had sighted an American flag on the ship, and the tower asking the helicopter to make another pass to check "if this is really an American flag."[^20]
Helms's notes of the June 12 meeting of the [[National Security Council]] Special Committee record that the President requested a special study on the strafing and torpedoing of the ship, covering pilot conversations and "everything we can get" from the NSA. Rostow sent a preliminary version of the report to Johnson on June 13, calling it the "CIA's first cut at the problem" and noting: "They do not find evidence of U.S. identification before the attack."[^19] Notes of the NSC Special Committee meeting of June 9, 1967 record [[Clark Clifford]] saying: "My concern is that we're not tough enough. Handle as if Arabs or USSR had done it. Manner egregious. Inconceivable that it was accident. 3 strafing passes, 3 torpedo boats. Set forth facts. Punish Israelis responsible." A marginal notation by the note-taker, [[Harold H. Saunders]], next to Clifford's remarks reads: "President subscribed 100%." The notes record under the initials "DR": "Do what is normal. 1) Reparation. 2) Punish. 3) No repetition."[^21] Hersh writes that a declassified cable in the [[Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library|LBJ Library]] shows that hours after the attack Barbour reported that Israel did not intend to admit to the incident and added: "Urge strongly that we too avoid publicity," and that Barbour wrote that the ship's "proximity to scene could feed Arab suspicions of U.S.-Israel collusion."[^22]
A CIA memorandum of June 21, 1967, on the Israeli statement, states: "It is now known, however, that the IDF Headquarters had identified the Liberty, probably more than four hours before the attack."[^23] The United States Navy Court of Inquiry, convened by Admiral [[John S. McCain, Jr.]] and presided over by Rear Admiral [[Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.]], conducted classified hearings in London and aboard the ship in Malta from June 11 to 17. A memorandum from Rostow to Johnson of June 26 forwarding the proposed public summary states that it was the judgment, "not flatly stated in the Report," that the attack was an accident, quotes the report's statement that "It was not the responsibility of the Court to rule on the culpability of the attackers, and no evidence was heard from the attacking nation," and reports that [[Cyrus Vance]] told Rostow that the members of the court, on the evidence available to them, believed the attack resulted from a failure within the Israeli communications system and not from premeditation, but that in his view, on the evidence the government had, it should not so state.[^24] The New York Times reported in 1980 that the court had said the Liberty was in international waters, "properly marked as to identify and nationality," that the attack had been unprovoked, and that the court had insufficient information to make a judgment about the reasons for it.[^25] The Judge Advocate General's endorsement on the record states that the record discloses beyond any doubt that the Liberty was engaged in peaceful operations in international waters and that the attack was entirely unprovoked and unexpected; it also states that the Israeli government had admitted a tragic accident and agreed to make amends, and that 34 deaths and 171 injuries resulted.[^26]
In a 2004 affidavit introduced into the [[Congressional Record]], Captain [[Ward Boston]], the senior legal counsel to the Court of Inquiry, stated: "Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew." He stated that he knew "from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary."[^27]
The NSA's oral history interviews with personnel aboard the ship, conducted in 1980 and posted with the agency's USS Liberty release, contain divergent recollections. Terry McFarland, asked about the helicopter, answered "It was an Israeli helicopter," and said that he learned from others on the bridge, sometime after the helicopter left, that the attackers were Israeli.[^28] James O'Connor, asked whether the helicopter was well marked as Israeli, answered "Yes, I think it was." He also recounted a story, which he said he could not confirm, that "supposedly only a couple of us on the ship knew that there was an Israeli submarine out there."[^29] Richard Harvey, asked whether there was a feeling at the time that the attack might have been deliberate, answered "There was speculation but, I don't know that anybody had really any substance to base it on." The interviewer, Henry Millington, said in the same exchange that among the documentation collected was a report the Israelis turned over to the State Department in which, in his words, they "frankly admit that their reconnaissance forces did know, before the attack, that that was a U.S. ship," and that "the word never got down to the operating forces." Harvey replied that he had heard the claim, and that the speculation he had heard rested on the view that Israeli intelligence was too good not to know what the ship was.[^30]
The Independent Commission of Inquiry chaired by Admiral [[Thomas H. Moorer]], whose findings were introduced into the Congressional Record by [[John Conyers]], issued findings in October 2003. Its fourth finding is that "there is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire crew." Its sixth finding is that the White House "deliberately prevented the U.S. Navy from coming to the defense of the Liberty by recalling Sixth Fleet military rescue support while the ship was under attack." The commission's published biographies describe Moorer as chairman of the Liberty Alliance, an organization dedicated to obtaining an investigation of the attack.[^27]
On June 14, Commodore [[Shlomo Erell]], commander of the Israeli Navy, presented apologies to the American naval attaché and said the incident was a "great mistake."[^31] On June 17 an aide to the Israeli chief of staff, [[Yitzhak Rabin]], gave the American naval attaché the synopsis of the findings of the Israeli court of inquiry, read from a Hebrew document. The synopsis stated that "the attack on USS Liberty was not in malice; there was no criminal negligence and the attack was made by innocent mistake," attributed the attack to a chain of three mistakes, and stated that "the officers who knew of the identification of Liberty early the same morning did not connect Liberty with the unidentified ships said to be shelling El-Arish." It also stated, in the words of the inquiry officer, that "a grave additional mistake not less decisive than the three above mistakes made by IDF was made by the Liberty itself." The aide mentioned that the Israeli government had received a statement from the United States saying that the Liberty had been identified six hours before the attack rather than one hour as stated in an earlier American communication. The attaché's own evaluation, in the same telegram, called the Israeli standing order to attack any ship moving at more than 20 knots "incomprehensible" and described two of the Israeli justifications as mutually contradictory.[^32] A CIA memorandum of June 21 reported the preliminary findings of the Israeli court as "not in malice" and "innocent mistake."[^23]
On December 18, 1980, the United States and Israel announced the settlement of American claims for the damage to the ship. The [[New York Times]] reported that Israel would pay $6 million over three years, in addition to nearly $7 million already paid ($3,323,500 in 1968 for the families of those killed and $3,452,275 in 1969 for wounds sustained by 75 crew members), and that Israel had maintained the attack was an accident. The paper also reported that [[James M. Ennes Jr.|James M. Ennes]], a retired Navy officer wounded in the attack, had charged in his book *Assault on the Liberty* that the court of inquiry and public statements by the government amounted to a cover-up, and that messages ordering the Liberty out of the area were not received by the vessel in time.[^25]
### Military and arms context
[[Charles de Gaulle]] responded to the war by accusing Israel of being the aggressor and canceling all of [[France]]'s arms sales to Israel, abrogating twelve years of close French support. He also delayed the pending shipment of fifty previously purchased Mirage III jet fighters, and claimed to newsmen that he had not known of Dassault's contract with Israel until the first field test in 1967 of the Jericho I.[^33] A footnote to a Central Intelligence Agency estimate of August 10, 1967, states that France imposed an embargo on shipments of military items to the Middle East on June 2, 1967, but that the embargo did not apply to spare parts previously contracted for, and that there probably had been some evasion of the ban.[^34]
Hersh reports that after the war, according to [[James H. Critchfield]], then chief of the CIA's Near East Division, Dayan and [[Zvi Zamir]] joined him and Angleton in an attempt to reach a quick accord with Jordan's King [[King Hussein|Hussein]] before Israeli settlement began, and that they were told at a White House meeting with [[McGeorge Bundy]] to "knock it off."[^35]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12, 13. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12, "The Ambassador," pp. 166-167. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^2]: Robarge, David S. "Getting it Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War." *Studies in Intelligence* 49, no. 1 (March 2005), reprinted in *Studies in Intelligence* 62, no. 2 (June 2018). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-Analysis-1967-War.pdf. The Robarge account cites Freshwater, "Policy and Intelligence: The Arab-Israeli War," *Studies in Intelligence* 13, no. 1 (1969); Helms, *A Look Over My Shoulder*; Oren, *Six Days of War* (2002), p. 146, citing Meir Amit; Johnson, *The Vantage Point*, p. 293; Mangold, *Cold Warrior* (1989), pp. 49, 362, for the Angleton arrangement. Helms's quoted recollection and the Eban quotation are Robarge's quotations of those books. Robarge's source for the June 1 to 2 passage is the work of Michael B. Oren, who cites an interview with and writings of Meir Amit.
[^3]: 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. The text of the Israeli estimate is not printed; the editors' note summarizes it. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d61
[^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 124, Memorandum for the Record, June 1, 1967 (prepared June 2), Conversation between Major General Meir Amit and Secretary McNamara, by Vice Admiral Rufus Taylor, with editors' note quoting Amit's remarks at the conference of June 3-5, 1992, published in Richard B. Parker, ed., *The Six-Day War: A Retrospective* (University Press of Florida, 1996), pp. 139-140. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d124
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 158, Telegram 3935 from the Embassy in Israel, June 5, 1967 (Eshkol's message), editors' note describing telegram 3937 and Rostow's covering memorandum. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d158
[^6]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 305, Paper Submitted by the Control Group, undated (dated June 17, 1967 by the editors). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d305
[^7]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 326, Telegram 4311 from the Embassy in Israel (Barbour) to the Department of State, June 27, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d326
[^8]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 11, p. 156. Sole source for the passages so cited; the official is unnamed.
[^9]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 12, p. 168, relying on an interview with Bill Dale. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^10]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 13, "An Israeli Decision," pp. 179-181, relying on unnamed Israeli officials and published accounts. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^11]: National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (November 2, 2016), Documents 7, 8 and 10 (AEC New York Security Office report of September 6, 1968 on the September 10 visit, with the posting's identifications of the visitors): Comptroller General of the United States, "Review of Accountability Controls Over Special Nuclear Materials, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation," June 20, 1967 (University of Arizona Special Collections, Morris Udall Papers, MS 325, Box 364, Folder 7); Letter from Richard Helms to Ramsey Clark, April 2, 1968 (ISCAP Appeal No. 2013-062). https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-11-02/numec-affair-did-highly-enriched-uranium-us-aid-israels-nuclear-weapons-program
[^12]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 18, "Injustice," pp. 240-248. The passage on Duckett, Helms and Hadden is Hersh's account; the conclusion on diversion is Hersh's own.
[^13]: Cohen, Avner. "Israel's Secret Plan to Nuke the Egyptian Desert." Politico Magazine, June 5, 2017, republished by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies. https://nonproliferation.org/israels-secret-plan-to-nuke-the-egyptian-desert/. Sole source for the passages so cited; Cohen relays the testimony of Ya'akov.
[^14]: Wilson Center, "Wilson Center Archive Sheds New Light on 1967 Six-Day War," June 5, 2017. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-archive-sheds-new-light-1967-six-day-war
[^15]: Ginor, Isabella, and Gideon Remez. *Foxbats over Dimona: The Soviets' Nuclear Gamble in the Six-Day War*. Yale University Press, 2007. Sole source for the overflight claim. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/42140 summarizes the authors' argument.
[^16]: Ginor and Remez, as reported in the Russian Air Force confirmation of August 2007. Sole source for the confirmation, attributed to the authors. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/42140
[^17]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 13, pp. 175-176.
[^18]: National Security Agency, "A Review of the Technical Research Ship Program, 1961-1969," released under MDR-85456, February 22, 2017, section on USN-855 (USS Liberty). https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/terrorism/AReviewoftheTechnicalResearchShipProgram-postMDR.pdf
[^19]: Central Intelligence Agency, Intelligence Memorandum, "The Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty," June 13, 1967 (SC No. 01415/67), in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 284, with source note reporting Helms's notes of the June 12 NSC Special Committee meeting and Rostow's covering memorandum of June 13. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d284
[^20]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 319, Telegram from the Director of the National Security Agency (Carter) to the White House, June 22, 1967, SIGINT Readiness Bravo "Crayon" Report Nr. 2149. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d319
[^21]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 236, Notes of a Meeting of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 9, 1967, 6:30 p.m. (Saunders' handwritten notes). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d236
[^22]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 12, pp. 167-168, quoting a declassified cable in the LBJ Library. Sole source for the cable text.
[^23]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 317, Intelligence Memorandum, June 21, 1967 (SC 08384-67). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d317
[^24]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 324, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, June 26, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d324
[^25]: Gwertzman, Bernard. "Israeli Payment to Close the Book On '67 Attack on U.S. Navy Vessel." New York Times, December 19, 1980. CIA Reading Room, CREST document CIA-RDP90-00965R000302640098-3, copy at https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00965r000302640098-3. The article spells the name Ennis.
[^26]: Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Third Endorsement and Enclosure (1), Summary of Events, on the Record of Proceedings, Court of Inquiry into the armed attack on USS Liberty (AGTR-5), 1967, pp. 1-2 of the endorsement (Navy JAG file 131). Scanned copy of the record at https://libertyincident.com/USNcourt.html (a website maintained by A. Jay Cristol).
[^27]: Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty and Affidavit of Captain Ward Boston, USN, JAG (Ret.), introduced by Representative John Conyers, Jr., dated October 7, 2004, in the issue of October 11, 2004 (Volume 150, Number 130, pp. E1886-E1889). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-10-11/html/CREC-2004-10-11-pt1-PgE1886-3.htm. Sole source for the finding texts and the affidavit text; the findings are the commission's and the affidavit is Boston's.
[^28]: National Security Agency, Oral History Interview with Terry L. McFarland, June 23, 1980 (OH-1980-26). https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/18/2002804900/-1/-1/0/INTERVIEW_T_MCFARLAND.PDF. Copy of the NSA USS Liberty gallery, captured by the Wayback Machine, at https://web.archive.org/web/20210928195052/https://www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/Historical-Releases/USS-Liberty/
[^29]: National Security Agency, Oral History Interview NSA-OH-21-80 with CDR James G. O'Connor, May 22, 1980. https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/18/2002804901/-1/-1/0/INTERVIEW_J_OCONNER.PDF. Sole source for the submarine story, which O'Connor recounts as a story passed among the crew.
[^30]: National Security Agency, Oral History Interview with Richard Harvey, July 16, 1980 (OH-1980-29). https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/18/2002804909/-1/-1/0/INTERVIEW_R_HARVEY.PDF. The Millington statement appears in the interviewer's question in the same transcript.
[^31]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 289, Telegram from the Defense Attache Office, Tel Aviv, June 15, 1967, reporting Erell's June 14 presentation of apologies. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d289
[^32]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 307, Telegram from the Defense Attache Office in Israel to the White House, June 18, 1967, "Israeli Court of Inquiry in USS Liberty incident." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d307
[^33]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 13, p. 175. Sole source for the de Gaulle statements and the fifty Mirage III aircraft.
[^34]: Central Intelligence Agency, Special National Intelligence Estimate, August 10, 1967, in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 414, footnote 3. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d414
[^35]: Hersh, *The Samson Option*, chapter 14, "A Presidential Gift," p. 185, footnote, quoting Critchfield. Hersh's footnote calls Zamir the head of Mossad at the time; Katzenbach, Hersh writes, had no recollection of the meeting. Sole source for the passages so cited.

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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
- USS Liberty Incident - USS Liberty Incident
- USS Liberty attack - USS Liberty attack
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
tags: tags:
- Event - Event
- Military - Military
@ -19,6 +19,60 @@ The USS Liberty Incident refers to the attack on the U.S. Navy intelligence ship
[[Walworth Barbour]], the American ambassador to Israel, urged [[Washington, D.C.]] to downplay the incident, reporting that Israel did not intend to admit to it and suggesting that publicity could feed Arab suspicions of U.S.-Israel collusion. He noted that the Israelis were "obviously shocked by error and tender sincere apologies."[^1] [[Walworth Barbour]], the American ambassador to Israel, urged [[Washington, D.C.]] to downplay the incident, reporting that Israel did not intend to admit to it and suggesting that publicity could feed Arab suspicions of U.S.-Israel collusion. He noted that the Israelis were "obviously shocked by error and tender sincere apologies."[^1]
### Orders and operating area
A [[NSA|National Security Agency]] review of the Technical Research Ship Program, declassified in 2017 after a mandatory declassification review, states that on May 23 the NSA asked the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] to authorize diverting the USS Liberty from Abidjan to an operating area off Port Said for SIGINT coverage of the crisis; that on June 7 the Joint Chiefs initiated a message increasing the ship's closest point of approach to the United Arab Republic to 100 nautical miles after Arab allegations that the United States had participated in Israeli air strikes; and that, as later proven, the Liberty did not receive the order to move.[^2]
### Attack in the CIA record
On June 8, 1967, the Liberty, a Navy signals intelligence ship, was attacked in the waters off the Sinai Peninsula. A CIA intelligence memorandum of June 13, 1967, compiled from the reports then available, states that unidentified jet aircraft made six strafing runs beginning at 3:05 p.m. local time, that three torpedo boats approached about twenty minutes later, and that one torpedo struck the starboard side in the spaces occupied by the SIGINT collectors. The memorandum records the hull number 206-T on one of the boats, and says that some fifty minutes later two Israeli helicopters arrived.[^3] The memorandum states that intercepted conversations between the helicopter pilots and the control tower at [[Hatzor Air Base|Hatzor]] "leave little doubt that the Israelis failed to identify" the ship as American before or during the attack. The control tower told helicopter 815 that "there is a warship there which we attacked. The men jumped into the water from it. You will try to rescue them." The memorandum records that the tower later identified the ship as Egyptian, that the weather was clear, that the hull number GTR 5 was prominently displayed, and that an American flag was flying. It gives the casualties as 10 killed, 90 wounded, and 22 missing.[^3]
### NSA intercept report
A report of the National Security Agency to the White House of June 22, 1967, based on Israeli plain-language radio traffic intercepted on June 8 between 1229Z and 1328Z, states that it deals solely with the aftermath of the attack and that there are no COMINT reflections of the actual attack itself. It records the control tower telling the helicopters at about 1235Z, "Pay attention: the ship is now identified as Egyptian, you can return home now," helicopter 815 reporting at 1312Z that it had sighted an American flag on the ship, and the tower asking the helicopter to make another pass to check "if this is really an American flag."[^4]
### White House and NSC record, June 1967
Helms's notes of the June 12 meeting of the [[National Security Council]] Special Committee record that the President requested a special study on the strafing and torpedoing of the ship, covering pilot conversations and "everything we can get" from the NSA. Rostow sent a preliminary version of the report to Johnson on June 13, calling it the "CIA's first cut at the problem" and noting: "They do not find evidence of U.S. identification before the attack."[^3] Notes of the NSC Special Committee meeting of June 9, 1967 record [[Clark Clifford]] saying: "My concern is that we're not tough enough. Handle as if Arabs or USSR had done it. Manner egregious. Inconceivable that it was accident. 3 strafing passes, 3 torpedo boats. Set forth facts. Punish Israelis responsible." A marginal notation by the note-taker, [[Harold H. Saunders]], next to Clifford's remarks reads: "President subscribed 100%." The notes record under the initials "DR": "Do what is normal. 1) Reparation. 2) Punish. 3) No repetition."[^5]
### Navy Court of Inquiry
A CIA memorandum of June 21, 1967, on the Israeli statement, states: "It is now known, however, that the IDF Headquarters had identified the Liberty, probably more than four hours before the attack."[^6] The United States Navy Court of Inquiry, convened by Admiral [[John S. McCain, Jr.]] and presided over by Rear Admiral [[Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.]], conducted classified hearings in London and aboard the ship in Malta from June 11 to 17. A memorandum from Rostow to Johnson of June 26 forwarding the proposed public summary states that it was the judgment, "not flatly stated in the Report," that the attack was an accident, quotes the report's statement that "It was not the responsibility of the Court to rule on the culpability of the attackers, and no evidence was heard from the attacking nation," and reports that [[Cyrus Vance]] told Rostow that the members of the court, on the evidence available to them, believed the attack resulted from a failure within the Israeli communications system and not from premeditation, but that in his view, on the evidence the government had, it should not so state.[^7] The New York Times reported in 1980 that the court had said the Liberty was in international waters, "properly marked as to identify and nationality," that the attack had been unprovoked, and that the court had insufficient information to make a judgment about the reasons for it.[^8] The Judge Advocate General's endorsement on the record states that the record discloses beyond any doubt that the Liberty was engaged in peaceful operations in international waters and that the attack was entirely unprovoked and unexpected; it also states that the Israeli government had admitted a tragic accident and agreed to make amends, and that 34 deaths and 171 injuries resulted.[^9]
### Court of Inquiry counsel
In a 2004 affidavit introduced into the [[Congressional Record]], Captain [[Ward Boston]], the senior legal counsel to the Court of Inquiry, stated: "Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew." He stated that he knew "from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary."[^10]
### NSA oral histories
The NSA's oral history interviews with personnel aboard the ship, conducted in 1980 and posted with the agency's USS Liberty release, contain divergent recollections. Terry McFarland, asked about the helicopter, answered "It was an Israeli helicopter," and said that he learned from others on the bridge, sometime after the helicopter left, that the attackers were Israeli.[^11] James O'Connor, asked whether the helicopter was well marked as Israeli, answered "Yes, I think it was." He also recounted a story, which he said he could not confirm, that "supposedly only a couple of us on the ship knew that there was an Israeli submarine out there."[^12] Richard Harvey, asked whether there was a feeling at the time that the attack might have been deliberate, answered "There was speculation but, I don't know that anybody had really any substance to base it on." The interviewer, Henry Millington, said in the same exchange that among the documentation collected was a report the Israelis turned over to the State Department in which, in his words, they "frankly admit that their reconnaissance forces did know, before the attack, that that was a U.S. ship," and that "the word never got down to the operating forces." Harvey replied that he had heard the claim, and that the speculation he had heard rested on the view that Israeli intelligence was too good not to know what the ship was.[^13]
### Moorer commission
The Independent Commission of Inquiry chaired by Admiral [[Thomas H. Moorer]], whose findings were introduced into the Congressional Record by [[John Conyers]], issued findings in October 2003. Its fourth finding is that "there is compelling evidence that Israel's attack was a deliberate attempt to destroy an American ship and kill her entire crew." Its sixth finding is that the White House "deliberately prevented the U.S. Navy from coming to the defense of the Liberty by recalling Sixth Fleet military rescue support while the ship was under attack." The commission's published biographies describe Moorer as chairman of the Liberty Alliance, an organization dedicated to obtaining an investigation of the attack.[^10]
### Israeli inquiry and apologies
On June 14, Commodore [[Shlomo Erell]], commander of the Israeli Navy, presented apologies to the American naval attaché and said the incident was a "great mistake."[^14] On June 17 an aide to the Israeli chief of staff, [[Yitzhak Rabin]], gave the American naval attaché the synopsis of the findings of the Israeli court of inquiry, read from a Hebrew document. The synopsis stated that "the attack on USS Liberty was not in malice; there was no criminal negligence and the attack was made by innocent mistake," attributed the attack to a chain of three mistakes, and stated that "the officers who knew of the identification of Liberty early the same morning did not connect Liberty with the unidentified ships said to be shelling El-Arish." It also stated, in the words of the inquiry officer, that "a grave additional mistake not less decisive than the three above mistakes made by IDF was made by the Liberty itself." The aide mentioned that the Israeli government had received a statement from the United States saying that the Liberty had been identified six hours before the attack rather than one hour as stated in an earlier American communication. The attaché's own evaluation, in the same telegram, called the Israeli standing order to attack any ship moving at more than 20 knots "incomprehensible" and described two of the Israeli justifications as mutually contradictory.[^15] A CIA memorandum of June 21 reported the preliminary findings of the Israeli court as "not in malice" and "innocent mistake."[^6]
### Settlement, 1980
On December 18, 1980, the United States and Israel announced the settlement of American claims for the damage to the ship. The [[New York Times]] reported that Israel would pay $6 million over three years, in addition to nearly $7 million already paid ($3,323,500 in 1968 for the families of those killed and $3,452,275 in 1969 for wounds sustained by 75 crew members), and that Israel had maintained the attack was an accident. The paper also reported that [[James M. Ennes Jr.|James M. Ennes]], a retired Navy officer wounded in the attack, had charged in his book *Assault on the Liberty* that the court of inquiry and public statements by the government amounted to a cover-up, and that messages ordering the Liberty out of the area were not received by the vessel in time.[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12.
[^2]: National Security Agency, "A Review of the Technical Research Ship Program, 1961-1969," released under MDR-85456, February 22, 2017, section on USN-855 (USS Liberty). https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/terrorism/AReviewoftheTechnicalResearchShipProgram-postMDR.pdf
[^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, Intelligence Memorandum, "The Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty," June 13, 1967 (SC No. 01415/67), in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 284, with source note reporting Helms's notes of the June 12 NSC Special Committee meeting and Rostow's covering memorandum of June 13. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d284
[^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 319, Telegram from the Director of the National Security Agency (Carter) to the White House, June 22, 1967, SIGINT Readiness Bravo "Crayon" Report Nr. 2149. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d319
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 236, Notes of a Meeting of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 9, 1967, 6:30 p.m. (Saunders' handwritten notes). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d236
[^6]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 317, Intelligence Memorandum, June 21, 1967 (SC 08384-67). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d317
[^7]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 324, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, June 26, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d324
[^8]: Gwertzman, Bernard. "Israeli Payment to Close the Book On '67 Attack on U.S. Navy Vessel." New York Times, December 19, 1980. CIA Reading Room, CREST document CIA-RDP90-00965R000302640098-3, copy at https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00965r000302640098-3. The article spells the name Ennis.
[^9]: Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Third Endorsement and Enclosure (1), Summary of Events, on the Record of Proceedings, Court of Inquiry into the armed attack on USS Liberty (AGTR-5), 1967, pp. 1-2 of the endorsement (Navy JAG file 131). Scanned copy of the record at https://libertyincident.com/USNcourt.html (a website maintained by A. Jay Cristol).
[^10]: Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty and Affidavit of Captain Ward Boston, USN, JAG (Ret.), introduced by Representative John Conyers, Jr., dated October 7, 2004, in the issue of October 11, 2004 (Volume 150, Number 130, pp. E1886-E1889). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-10-11/html/CREC-2004-10-11-pt1-PgE1886-3.htm. Sole source for the finding texts and the affidavit text; the findings are the commission's and the affidavit is Boston's.
[^11]: National Security Agency, Oral History Interview with Terry L. McFarland, June 23, 1980 (OH-1980-26). https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/18/2002804900/-1/-1/0/INTERVIEW_T_MCFARLAND.PDF. Copy of the NSA USS Liberty gallery, captured by the Wayback Machine, at https://web.archive.org/web/20210928195052/https://www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/Historical-Releases/USS-Liberty/
[^12]: National Security Agency, Oral History Interview NSA-OH-21-80 with CDR James G. O'Connor, May 22, 1980. https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/18/2002804901/-1/-1/0/INTERVIEW_J_OCONNER.PDF. Sole source for the submarine story, which O'Connor recounts as a story passed among the crew.
[^13]: National Security Agency, Oral History Interview with Richard Harvey, July 16, 1980 (OH-1980-29). https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/18/2002804909/-1/-1/0/INTERVIEW_R_HARVEY.PDF. The Millington statement appears in the interviewer's question in the same transcript.
[^14]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 289, Telegram from the Defense Attache Office, Tel Aviv, June 15, 1967, reporting Erell's June 14 presentation of apologies. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d289
[^15]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 307, Telegram from the Defense Attache Office in Israel to the White House, June 18, 1967, "Israeli Court of Inquiry in USS Liberty incident." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d307

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@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ The Vietnam War followed the French defeat at [[Dienbienphu]] and the division o
### Behavioral Science ### Behavioral Science
The [[Rand Corporation]]'s Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Study, commissioned by [[Advanced Research Projects Agency|ARPA]] in the mid-1960s, produced about 2,371 interviews, more than 60,000 pages, conducted at some forty sites in South Vietnam, including detention centers; Rand's own history later confirmed that its analyst Leon Gouré had promoted the air war with findings the interviews did not support.[^6] The Army's [[4th Psychological Operations Group]] developed leaflet and loudspeaker equipment; in March 1969 alone 713 million leaflets were dropped over Vietnam, the main channel for the [[Chieu Hoi]] defection program.[^7] In Top Secret testimony to the Church Committee in October 1975, [[Sidney Gottlieb]] said that during the war the military had been "considering the use of [[LSD]] on a fairly large scale."[^8] The [[Rand Corporation]]'s Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Study, commissioned by [[DARPA|ARPA]] in the mid-1960s, produced about 2,371 interviews, more than 60,000 pages, conducted at some forty sites in South Vietnam, including detention centers; Rand's own history later confirmed that its analyst Leon Gouré had promoted the air war with findings the interviews did not support.[^6] The Army's [[4th Psychological Operations Group]] developed leaflet and loudspeaker equipment; in March 1969 alone 713 million leaflets were dropped over Vietnam, the main channel for the [[Chieu Hoi]] defection program.[^7] In Top Secret testimony to the Church Committee in October 1975, [[Sidney Gottlieb]] said that during the war the military had been "considering the use of [[LSD]] on a fairly large scale."[^8]
### Opposition ### Opposition

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@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ summary: "The 1973 war in which coordinated Egyptian and Syrian attacks produced
start: 1973-10-06 start: 1973-10-06
end: 1973-10-25 end: 1973-10-25
location: ["Sinai Peninsula", "Golan Heights"] location: ["Sinai Peninsula", "Golan Heights"]
updated: 2026-10-07 updated: 2026-10-08
relations: relations:
- type: participant_in - type: participant_in
with: "[[Israel]]" with: "[[Israel]]"
@ -49,21 +49,21 @@ relations:
start: 1973-10-24 start: 1973-10-24
end: 1973-10-25 end: 1973-10-25
role: "sender of the Brezhnev letter of October 24, 1973 that preceded the American DEFCON III alert" role: "sender of the Brezhnev letter of October 24, 1973 that preceded the American DEFCON III alert"
fn: 14 fn: 25
- type: participant_in - type: participant_in
with: "[[Henry A. Kissinger]]" with: "[[Henry A. Kissinger]]"
reverse: true reverse: true
start: 1973-10-16 start: 1973-10-16
end: 1973-10-25 end: 1973-10-25
role: "Secretary of State; participant in the Washington Special Actions Group meetings" role: "Secretary of State; participant in the Washington Special Actions Group meetings"
fn: 25 fn: 27
- type: participant_in - type: participant_in
with: "[[Richard Nixon]]" with: "[[Richard Nixon]]"
reverse: true reverse: true
start: 1973-10-06 start: 1973-10-06
end: 1973-10-25 end: 1973-10-25
role: "President; authorized the airlift on October 12, 1973" role: "President; authorized the airlift on October 12, 1973"
fn: 15 fn: 16
- type: investigated - type: investigated
with: "[[Agranat Commission]]" with: "[[Agranat Commission]]"
reverse: true reverse: true
@ -73,90 +73,96 @@ relations:
--- ---
The Yom Kippur War, also called the October War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Ramadan War, began on Saturday, October 6, 1973, when [[Egypt]] attacked across the [[Suez Canal]] into the [[Sinai Peninsula]] and [[Syria]] attacked the [[Golan Heights]], both striking [[Israel]] on the Jewish holy day. [[Seymour Hersh]] wrote that the first days were "a stunning rout" for Israel, with 500 tanks and 49 aircraft (14 of them F-4 Phantoms) lost in the first three days, that Egyptian forces equipped with missiles and electronic defenses "blasted through the Bar-Lev defense line" along the canal, and that Syrian forces rolled through the Israeli defenses on the Golan and "moved to the edge of Galilee."[^1] The [[Agranat Commission]] recorded that the Egyptians crossed the canal despite the line of Israeli outposts, and that the Syrians attacked with 1,400 tanks against 177 Israeli tanks and advanced almost to the edge of the heights overlooking the [[Sea of Galilee]].[^2] The Yom Kippur War, also called the October War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Ramadan War, began on Saturday, October 6, 1973, when [[Egypt]] attacked across the [[Suez Canal]] into the [[Sinai Peninsula]] and [[Syria]] attacked the [[Golan Heights]], both striking [[Israel]] on the Jewish holy day. [[Seymour Hersh]] wrote that the first days were "a stunning rout" for Israel, with 500 tanks and 49 aircraft (14 of them F-4 Phantoms) lost in the first three days, that Egyptian forces equipped with missiles and electronic defenses "blasted through the Bar-Lev defense line" along the canal, and that Syrian forces rolled through the Israeli defenses on the Golan and "moved to the edge of Galilee."[^1] The [[Agranat Commission]] recorded that the Egyptians crossed the canal despite the line of Israeli outposts, and that the Syrians attacked with 1,400 tanks against 177 Israeli tanks and advanced almost to the edge of the heights overlooking the [[Sea of Galilee]].[^2]
### Israeli nuclear arsenal at the outbreak
Hersh writes, citing Israeli officials, that [[Dimona]] was ordered into full-scale production early in 1968, turning out four or five warheads a year, and that there were more than twenty-five bombs in the arsenal by the Yom Kippur War.[^3] A Control Group paper of June 1967 had stated that the reactor at Dimona was capable of producing enough plutonium for about one weapon per year and that before the 1967 crisis the Israelis had "probably not made a decision to develop nuclear weapons, but probably had decided to keep that option open."[^4]
### The warning ### The warning
On October 5, 1973, [[Zvi Zamir]], the head of the [[Mossad]], sent a five-page Hebrew cable to the military secretary of Prime Minister [[Golda Meir]]. The Israel State Archives released it on September 17, 2018. Its first line read, "The Egyptian army and the Syrian army are poised to launch an attack on Israel on Saturday 6.10.73 at dusk." The cable gave the source's assessment as a "99 percent chance" that the attack would be launched on October 6, and suggested that "it may be possible to prevent the outbreak of war by publishing information about it on the radio and in newspapers."[^3] The source was [[Ashraf Marwan]], a son-in-law of [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and an aide to [[Anwar Sadat]].[^3][^2] On October 5, 1973, [[Zvi Zamir]], the head of the [[Mossad]], sent a five-page Hebrew cable to the military secretary of Prime Minister [[Golda Meir]]. The Israel State Archives released it on September 17, 2018. Its first line read, "The Egyptian army and the Syrian army are poised to launch an attack on Israel on Saturday 6.10.73 at dusk." The cable gave the source's assessment as a "99 percent chance" that the attack would be launched on October 6, and suggested that "it may be possible to prevent the outbreak of war by publishing information about it on the radio and in newspapers."[^5] The source was [[Ashraf Marwan]], a son-in-law of [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and an aide to [[Anwar Sadat]].[^2][^5]
A telegram from London reached the Mossad on the night of October 4 and 5, 1973. [[Alfred Eini]], an aide to Zamir, testified to the Agranat Commission that he understood it "to be a warning that there would be a war," and that he telephoned Zamir that night.[^4] At the meeting of the Prime Minister's advisers that opened at 8:05 a.m. on October 6, the Chief of Staff, [[David Elazar]], said that he had read the telegram sent by Marwan to Zamir and that it was "an authentic message, though it is a very short notice for us." Defense Minister [[Moshe Dayan]] opposed a preemptive strike and proposed a smaller call-up of reserves than the 200,000 that Elazar asked for; Golda Meir decided for the larger mobilization.[^2] A telegram from London reached the Mossad on the night of October 4 and 5, 1973. [[Alfred Eini]], an aide to Zamir, testified to the Agranat Commission that he understood it "to be a warning that there would be a war," and that he telephoned Zamir that night.[^6] At the meeting of the Prime Minister's advisers that opened at 8:05 a.m. on October 6, the Chief of Staff, [[David Elazar]], said that he had read the telegram sent by Marwan to Zamir and that it was "an authentic message, though it is a very short notice for us." Defense Minister [[Moshe Dayan]] opposed a preemptive strike and proposed a smaller call-up of reserves than the 200,000 that Elazar asked for; Golda Meir decided for the larger mobilization.[^2]
The Agranat Commission, which the Israeli government established on November 21, 1973, held 156 sessions and heard 90 witnesses. Its interim report, presented on April 1, 1974, dealt mainly with the circumstances that produced the surprise and examined the functionality of the prime minister, the defense minister and the heads of the military. A second report followed on July 10, 1974, and a final report of a more general character came after it.[^2] The Agranat Commission, which the Israeli government established on November 21, 1973, held 156 sessions and heard 90 witnesses. Its interim report, presented on April 1, 1974, dealt mainly with the circumstances that produced the surprise and examined the functionality of the prime minister, the defense minister and the heads of the military. A second report followed on July 10, 1974, and a final report of a more general character came after it.[^2]
The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] conducted its own review. A preliminary post-mortem dated December 20, 1973, titled "The Performance of the Intelligence Community before the Arab-Israeli War of October 1973," concluded that "there was an intelligence failure in the weeks preceding the outbreak of war in the Middle East on 6 October."[^5] The same report stated that the information gathered by the collection elements "was sufficient to prompt such a warning" and was "not conclusive but was plentiful, ominous, and often accurate."[^5] Shortly before the war, the Director of Central Intelligence, [[William Colby]], had initiated a reorganization of the Agency's estimative process.[^5] The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] conducted its own review. A preliminary post-mortem dated December 20, 1973, titled "The Performance of the Intelligence Community before the Arab-Israeli War of October 1973," concluded that "there was an intelligence failure in the weeks preceding the outbreak of war in the Middle East on 6 October."[^7] The same report stated that the information gathered by the collection elements "was sufficient to prompt such a warning" and was "not conclusive but was plentiful, ominous, and often accurate."[^7] Shortly before the war, the Director of Central Intelligence, [[William Colby]], had initiated a reorganization of the Agency's estimative process.[^7]
### Opening days and the nuclear question ### Opening days and the nuclear question
In his 1991 book on the [[Samson Option]], Hersh wrote that Dayan had told the censored press at his daily briefing on Monday, October 8 that "the situation is desperate. Everything is lost. We must withdraw," and had said that "this is the end of the Third Temple."[^1] Hersh wrote that Dayan's pessimism led to an all-night meeting that day in Golda Meir's office in [[Tel Aviv]], attended by Dayan, Meir, Elazar, deputy prime minister [[Yigal Allon]], Meir's military aide [[Yisrael Leor]] and the minister without portfolio [[Israel Galili]]. Hersh wrote that the leadership resolved to rally its collapsing forces, to arm and target its nuclear arsenal in case of total collapse, and to inform [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] of the step and demand an emergency airlift.[^6] He wrote that the launchers at [[Hirbat Zachariah]] would be made operational, along with eight specially marked F-4 aircraft on twenty-four-hour alert at [[Tel Nof]], and that the initial target list included the Egyptian and Syrian military headquarters near [[Cairo]] and [[Damascus]].[^6] Hersh wrote that no weapons were targeted on the [[Soviet Union]] but that "there was little doubt that the Soviets would quickly learn what was going on," because Israeli intelligence was intercepting encoded signals from presumed Soviet operatives inside the country that morning.[^7] He added that Elazar's published diary recorded the night of October 8 only as "Crucial meeting," that a source said some senior officials of the nuclear establishment, though not [[Shalheveth Freier]], accused the senior officials of panicking, and that a separate preliminary briefing by technical experts from [[Dimona]], led by Freier, described the weapons and targets available for immediate assembly.[^7] In his 1991 book on the [[Samson Option]], Hersh wrote that Dayan had told the censored press at his daily briefing on Monday, October 8 that "the situation is desperate. Everything is lost. We must withdraw," and had said that "this is the end of the Third Temple."[^1] Hersh wrote that Dayan's pessimism led to an all-night meeting that day in Golda Meir's office in [[Tel Aviv]], attended by Dayan, Meir, Elazar, deputy prime minister [[Yigal Allon]], Meir's military aide [[Yisrael Leor]] and the minister without portfolio [[Israel Galili]]. Hersh wrote that the leadership resolved to rally its collapsing forces, to arm and target its nuclear arsenal in case of total collapse, and to inform [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] of the step and demand an emergency airlift.[^8] He wrote that the launchers at [[Hirbat Zachariah]] would be made operational, along with eight specially marked F-4 aircraft on twenty-four-hour alert at [[Tel Nof]], and that the initial target list included the Egyptian and Syrian military headquarters near [[Cairo]] and [[Damascus]].[^8] Hersh wrote that no weapons were targeted on the [[Soviet Union]] but that "there was little doubt that the Soviets would quickly learn what was going on," because Israeli intelligence was intercepting encoded signals from presumed Soviet operatives inside the country that morning.[^9] He added that Elazar's published diary recorded the night of October 8 only as "Crucial meeting," that a source said some senior officials of the nuclear establishment, though not [[Shalheveth Freier]], accused the senior officials of panicking, and that a separate preliminary briefing by technical experts from Dimona, led by Freier, described the weapons and targets available for immediate assembly.[^9]
Hersh quoted [[Mohammed Heikal]], the editor of [[Al-Ahram]], as saying that the Soviet Union told the Egyptian leadership early in the war that the "Israelis had three warheads assembled and ready," through a Soviet intelligence officer who passed the message to the Egyptian chief of staff, [[Mohammed Abdel Ghany el-Gamasy]].[^7] Hersh wrote, citing former Israeli government officials, that arming the weapons had a second purpose, to force the [[United States]] into an immediate resupply of the Israeli military, and that "there was widespread rage inside the Israeli cabinet at the Nixon White House," aimed especially at [[Henry A. Kissinger]], "over what was correctly perceived in Israel as an American strategy of delaying the resupply" so that the Arabs would win some territory and open the way to land-for-peace bargaining. He quoted Kissinger telling Defense Secretary [[James R. Schlesinger]] that his goal was to "let Israel come out ahead, but bleed."[^7] Hersh quoted [[Mohammed Heikal]], the editor of [[Al-Ahram]], as saying that the Soviet Union told the Egyptian leadership early in the war that the "Israelis had three warheads assembled and ready," through a Soviet intelligence officer who passed the message to the Egyptian chief of staff, [[Mohammed Abdel Ghany el-Gamasy]].[^9] Hersh wrote, citing former Israeli government officials, that arming the weapons had a second purpose, to force the [[United States]] into an immediate resupply of the Israeli military, and that "there was widespread rage inside the Israeli cabinet at the Nixon White House," aimed especially at [[Henry A. Kissinger]], "over what was correctly perceived in Israel as an American strategy of delaying the resupply" so that the Arabs would win some territory and open the way to land-for-peace bargaining. He quoted Kissinger telling Defense Secretary [[James R. Schlesinger]] that his goal was to "let Israel come out ahead, but bleed."[^9]
Hersh described a series of urgent telephone calls from the Israeli ambassador to Washington, [[Simcha Dinitz]], beginning at 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, October 9, and a meeting at 8:20 a.m. in the White House Map Room, at which, in Kissinger's memoir, Dinitz asked to speak with him alone and said that Meir "was prepared to come to the United States personally for an hour to plead with President Nixon for urgent arms aid." Kissinger wrote that he rejected the proposal "out of hand" and that it "could reflect only either hysteria or blackmail," and that by the evening of October 9 Israel "had been assured that its war losses would be made up." Hersh wrote that "a more complete account of the Dinitz message would undoubtedly show that it was closer to blackmail." He wrote that, according to a former Israeli intelligence official, the Israeli signals intelligence unit [[Unit 8200]] intercepted on the morning of October 9 a Soviet warning to Washington about the Israeli nuclear arming.[^8] Hersh described a series of urgent telephone calls from the Israeli ambassador to Washington, [[Simcha Dinitz]], beginning at 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, October 9, and a meeting at 8:20 a.m. in the White House Map Room, at which, in Kissinger's memoir, Dinitz asked to speak with him alone and said that Meir "was prepared to come to the United States personally for an hour to plead with President Nixon for urgent arms aid." Kissinger wrote that he rejected the proposal "out of hand" and that it "could reflect only either hysteria or blackmail," and that by the evening of October 9 Israel "had been assured that its war losses would be made up." Hersh wrote that "a more complete account of the Dinitz message would undoubtedly show that it was closer to blackmail." He wrote that, according to a former Israeli intelligence official, the Israeli signals intelligence unit [[Unit 8200]] intercepted on the morning of October 9 a Soviet warning to Washington about the Israeli nuclear arming.[^10]
Hersh cited the recollection of [[Hermann F. Eilts]], the American ambassador to Egypt, that Kissinger spoke to him in November 1973 about Israeli panic on the fourth day of the war with "never a word about nuclear arming," and that in late 1976 Kissinger "threw in that there was concern that the Israelis might go nuclear." Schlesinger told Hersh that "Kissinger just turned around totally" on resupply and that "from where we sat, there was an assumption that Israel had a few nukes"; Colby told him, "We were afraid Israel might go for broke." Hersh wrote that Heikal reported that Anwar Sadat had relayed a remark by an "American," whom Hersh took to be Kissinger, that the airlift was decided to avoid a nuclear escalation, and that "sometime in this period" the American intelligence community got its first look, via the KH-11, at the completed missile launchers at Hirbat Zachariah.[^9] Hersh cited the recollection of [[Hermann F. Eilts]], the American ambassador to Egypt, that Kissinger spoke to him in November 1973 about Israeli panic on the fourth day of the war with "never a word about nuclear arming," and that in late 1976 Kissinger "threw in that there was concern that the Israelis might go nuclear." Schlesinger told Hersh that "Kissinger just turned around totally" on resupply and that "from where we sat, there was an assumption that Israel had a few nukes"; Colby told him, "We were afraid Israel might go for broke." Hersh wrote that Heikal reported that Anwar Sadat had relayed a remark by an "American," whom Hersh took to be Kissinger, that the airlift was decided to avoid a nuclear escalation, and that "sometime in this period" the American intelligence community got its first look, via the KH-11, at the completed missile launchers at Hirbat Zachariah.[^11]
The Israel State Archives released protocols of Meir's consultations with her advisers in 2010. In the protocol of the session of October 9, 1973 at 7:30 a.m., Golda Meir raises a "crazy thought" of flying to Washington in secrecy for 24 hours to put the severity of the situation to Nixon directly, and asks that Dinitz bring the idea to Kissinger; Dayan answers, "It is. But it needs to be done." In the same session Elazar asks for permission to target inside Damascus.[^2] The Israel State Archives released protocols of Meir's consultations with her advisers in 2010. In the protocol of the session of October 9, 1973 at 7:30 a.m., Golda Meir raises a "crazy thought" of flying to Washington in secrecy for 24 hours to put the severity of the situation to Nixon directly, and asks that Dinitz bring the idea to Kissinger; Dayan answers, "It is. But it needs to be done." In the same session Elazar asks for permission to target inside Damascus.[^2]
A 2013 [[CNA]] study by [[Elbridge Colby]], [[Avner Cohen]], William McCants, Bradley Morris and William Rosenau. It concluded that Israel "likely did take some steps associated with the readying of its nuclear weapons and/or nuclear weapons delivery forces" in the early stages of the war, that these steps were "defensive or precautionary in nature," and that the United States very likely observed the activity.[^10] The study judged that Dayan likely proposed a "demonstration" use of nuclear forces on or about October 7, that Meir and the other participants rebuffed the proposal, and that no action followed from it.[^10] The study assessed Hersh's account of a coordinated "blackmail" attempt as "without foundation" and found that the account has "evident inaccuracies."[^10] It located the "blackmail" that Kissinger described in his memoirs in a proposal by Dinitz that Meir visit Washington during the war.[^10] A 2013 [[CNA]] study by [[Elbridge Colby]], [[Avner Cohen]], William McCants, Bradley Morris and William Rosenau. It concluded that Israel "likely did take some steps associated with the readying of its nuclear weapons and/or nuclear weapons delivery forces" in the early stages of the war, that these steps were "defensive or precautionary in nature," and that the United States very likely observed the activity.[^12] The study judged that Dayan likely proposed a "demonstration" use of nuclear forces on or about October 7, that Meir and the other participants rebuffed the proposal, and that no action followed from it.[^12] The study assessed Hersh's account of a coordinated "blackmail" attempt as "without foundation" and found that the account has "evident inaccuracies."[^12] It located the "blackmail" that Kissinger described in his memoirs in a proposal by Dinitz that Meir visit Washington during the war.[^12]
A 2002 [[United Press International]] report by [[Richard Sale]] repeated several of Hersh's claims and attributed them to unidentified "knowledgeable" American government sources. It added that the alert lasted three full days and that the Jericho missiles were deployed inside caves at air bases with "huge blast doors."[^11] [[Alistair Horne]] wrote in his Kissinger biography that Kissinger "always hotly denied, and several times to the author, that Israel had ever mentioned this possibility [the use, in extremis, of Israel's nuclear weapon]" to the United States.[^12] A 2002 [[United Press International]] report by [[Richard Sale]] repeated several of Hersh's claims and attributed them to unidentified "knowledgeable" American government sources. It added that the alert lasted three full days and that the Jericho missiles were deployed inside caves at air bases with "huge blast doors."[^13] [[Alistair Horne]] wrote in his Kissinger biography that Kissinger "always hotly denied, and several times to the author, that Israel had ever mentioned this possibility [the use, in extremis, of Israel's nuclear weapon]" to the United States.[^14]
A [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] paper on Israeli security, "Long-Range Outlook for Israeli Security," was attached to an October 24 memorandum from Vice Admiral V.P. de Poix, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, to [[Thomas H. Moorer]]. One option it listed was "a public declaration of Israeli determination to employ nuclear weapons." The paper described an Israeli nuclear threat against "such targets as Arab forces, cities, ports, holy places, and the Aswan High Dam," and stated that the Arabs "might be willing to attack, despite the deterrent threat."[^13] A [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] paper on Israeli security, "Long-Range Outlook for Israeli Security," was attached to an October 24 memorandum from Vice Admiral V.P. de Poix, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, to [[Thomas H. Moorer]]. One option it listed was "a public declaration of Israeli determination to employ nuclear weapons." The paper described an Israeli nuclear threat against "such targets as Arab forces, cities, ports, holy places, and the Aswan High Dam," and stated that the Arabs "might be willing to attack, despite the deterrent threat."[^15]
### The airlift ### The airlift
On October 12, 1973, President [[Richard Nixon]] authorized the emergency airlift known as [[Operation Nickel Grass]]. [[Military Airlift Command]] aircraft were ready to depart less than nine hours after the decision. The fleet consisted of 268 C-141s and 77 C-5As, and [[Paul K. Carlton]] knew that it could sustain a flow of three C-141s every two hours and four C-5s every four hours.[^15] With a single exception, the United States' allies denied landing and overflight rights, and [[Portugal]] allowed flights through [[Lajes Field]].[^15] On October 12, 1973, President [[Richard Nixon]] authorized the emergency airlift known as [[Operation Nickel Grass]]. [[Military Airlift Command]] aircraft were ready to depart less than nine hours after the decision. The fleet consisted of 268 C-141s and 77 C-5As, and [[Paul K. Carlton]] knew that it could sustain a flow of three C-141s every two hours and four C-5s every four hours.[^16] With a single exception, the United States' allies denied landing and overflight rights, and [[Portugal]] allowed flights through [[Lajes Field]].[^16]
Military Airlift Command aircraft carried 22,325 tons over 32 days, between October 14 and November 14, 1973,, and the airlift slowed after the third cease-fire resolution was implemented on October 24.[^16] The Israeli national airline, [[El Al]], flew eight of its own airliners carrying 5,500 tons.[^15] The Washington Special Actions Group minutes of October 19 record that the airlift was being stepped up to "5 C5As and 18 C141s a day."[^17] Military Airlift Command aircraft carried 22,325 tons over 32 days, between October 14 and November 14, 1973,, and the airlift slowed after the third cease-fire resolution was implemented on October 24.[^17] The Israeli national airline, [[El Al]], flew eight of its own airliners carrying 5,500 tons.[^16] The Washington Special Actions Group minutes of October 19 record that the airlift was being stepped up to "5 C5As and 18 C141s a day."[^18]
### The oil embargo ### The oil embargo
On October 17, 1973, the eleven members of the [[Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries]] announced an immediate cut of 5 percent in oil production, with monthly cuts of 5 percent to follow until Israel withdrew to the 1967 frontiers. On the same day the six Persian Gulf members of [[OPEC]] raised the price of oil by 70 percent, from $3.01 to $5.12 a barrel. The Kuwaiti minister of oil and finance told the American ambassador that the cumulative effect of the cuts was intended to produce a "complete embargo on oil to the United States."[^18] On October 17, 1973, the eleven members of the [[Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries]] announced an immediate cut of 5 percent in oil production, with monthly cuts of 5 percent to follow until Israel withdrew to the 1967 frontiers. On the same day the six Persian Gulf members of [[OPEC]] raised the price of oil by 70 percent, from $3.01 to $5.12 a barrel. The Kuwaiti minister of oil and finance told the American ambassador that the cumulative effect of the cuts was intended to produce a "complete embargo on oil to the United States."[^19]
A CIA paper of October 19 judged that the effect on the United States "would be relatively small" and that the brunt of the cutback would fall on [[Europe]] and [[Japan]].[^18] On October 23, Prince [[Fahd]] of [[Saudi Arabia]] informed Kissinger that the kingdom would maintain a total embargo on oil exports to the United States until Israel withdrew to its pre-June 1967 borders. At the Secretary of State's staff meeting that day, Kissinger said, "We will break it."[^18] Kissinger later wrote that "the true impact of the embargo was psychological."[^18] A CIA paper of October 19 judged that the effect on the United States "would be relatively small" and that the brunt of the cutback would fall on [[Europe]] and [[Japan]].[^19] On October 23, Prince [[Fahd]] of [[Saudi Arabia]] informed Kissinger that the kingdom would maintain a total embargo on oil exports to the United States until Israel withdrew to its pre-June 1967 borders. At the Secretary of State's staff meeting that day, Kissinger said, "We will break it."[^19] Kissinger later wrote that "the true impact of the embargo was psychological."[^19]
The financial side of the price rise appears in the State Department and CIA papers of the period. A telegram from the embassy at [[Jeddah]] of September 4, 1973, reported that Saudi petrodollars "continue to grow" and that more than 50 percent of current Saudi income was being re-positioned into European or other currencies.[^19] A CIA Office of Economic Research paper of March 5, 1974, stated that OPEC members were "considering many and implementing some schemes to recycle a portion of their burgeoning revenues to the Third World."[^20] A March 29, 1974 paper by an ad hoc group of the [[International Energy Review Group]] addressed "the LDC payments problems related to higher oil prices."[^21] The financial side of the price rise appears in the State Department and CIA papers of the period. A telegram from the embassy at [[Jeddah]] of September 4, 1973, reported that Saudi petrodollars "continue to grow" and that more than 50 percent of current Saudi income was being re-positioned into European or other currencies.[^20] A CIA Office of Economic Research paper of March 5, 1974, stated that OPEC members were "considering many and implementing some schemes to recycle a portion of their burgeoning revenues to the Third World."[^21] A March 29, 1974 paper by an ad hoc group of the [[International Energy Review Group]] addressed "the LDC payments problems related to higher oil prices."[^22]
Kissinger's "shuttle diplomacy" between Israel and the Arab states followed the fighting.[^22] On October 16, at a Washington Special Actions Group meeting, Kissinger said, "I expect that plane is carrying Kosygin to Cairo," a reference to [[Alexei N. Kosygin]], the Soviet premier.[^23] Kissinger's "shuttle diplomacy" between Israel and the Arab states followed the fighting.[^23] On October 16, at a Washington Special Actions Group meeting, Kissinger said, "I expect that plane is carrying Kosygin to Cairo," a reference to [[Alexei N. Kosygin]], the Soviet premier.[^24]
### The October 24 alert ### The October 24 alert
On October 24, 1973, [[Leonid Brezhnev]] sent Nixon a letter threatening unilateral Soviet action in the Middle East. The letter prompted the American DEFCON III alert.[^14] Kissinger described it in his memoirs as "one of the most serious challenges to an American President by a Soviet leader."[^24] On October 24, 1973, [[Leonid Brezhnev]] sent Nixon a letter threatening unilateral Soviet action in the Middle East. The letter prompted the American DEFCON III alert.[^25] Kissinger described it in his memoirs as "one of the most serious challenges to an American President by a Soviet leader."[^26]
The Washington Special Actions Group principals met in the night of October 24 and 25 and decided to set DEFCON III. Admiral Moorer's record of the meeting lists the actions taken: the carrier [[USS John F. Kennedy]] was moved from west of [[Gibraltar]] into the Mediterranean, the Roosevelt was moved from the vicinity of [[Sicily]], the [[82nd Airborne Division]] was alerted, and 75 B-52s were recalled from [[Guam]].[^25] Kissinger recalled that the group decided DEFCON III would not be noted quickly enough by Soviet decisionmakers, so at 12:20 a.m. the 82nd Airborne was alerted for possible movement and at 12:25 a.m. the carriers were ordered to the Mediterranean.[^26] The alert was leaked at about 3 a.m. on October 25.[^25] At 1:03 a.m. Kissinger told the British ambassador, [[Cromer]], "Well, don't say the Americans have gone crazy."[^25] The Washington Special Actions Group principals met in the night of October 24 and 25 and decided to set DEFCON III. Admiral Moorer's record of the meeting lists the actions taken: the carrier [[USS John F. Kennedy]] was moved from west of [[Gibraltar]] into the Mediterranean, the Roosevelt was moved from the vicinity of [[Sicily]], the [[82nd Airborne Division]] was alerted, and 75 B-52s were recalled from [[Guam]].[^27] Kissinger recalled that the group decided DEFCON III would not be noted quickly enough by Soviet decisionmakers, so at 12:20 a.m. the 82nd Airborne was alerted for possible movement and at 12:25 a.m. the carriers were ordered to the Mediterranean.[^28] The alert was leaked at about 3 a.m. on October 25.[^27] At 1:03 a.m. Kissinger told the British ambassador, [[Cromer]], "Well, don't say the Americans have gone crazy."[^27]
The participants in the rump session were Kissinger, Schlesinger, Moorer, [[Alexander Haig]], [[Brent Scowcroft]] and Colby. Nixon remained upstairs in the White House, and Kissinger conferred with him by telephone before the decision.[^5] The CIA's 2013 history of the episode states that "many questioned, then and later, whether the decision for DEFCON III was based on legitimate alarms or whether it was an overreaction," and that "there has also been speculation that the decision may have been politically motivated" by the needs of a [[Watergate]]-beleaguered White House.[^5] It records the view of [[Ray Cline]] that Kissinger "knew what he wanted to do all along" and that the meeting was "a kind of shell game, a superficial exercise."[^5] Cline's October 26 memorandum to Kissinger, quoted in a footnote to the minutes, stated that "the technical intelligence evidence available in INR did not support such a Soviet intention."[^25] The participants in the rump session were Kissinger, Schlesinger, Moorer, [[Alexander Haig]], [[Brent Scowcroft]] and Colby. Nixon remained upstairs in the White House, and Kissinger conferred with him by telephone before the decision.[^7] The CIA's 2013 history of the episode states that "many questioned, then and later, whether the decision for DEFCON III was based on legitimate alarms or whether it was an overreaction," and that "there has also been speculation that the decision may have been politically motivated" by the needs of a [[Watergate]]-beleaguered White House.[^7] It records the view of [[Ray Cline]] that Kissinger "knew what he wanted to do all along" and that the meeting was "a kind of shell game, a superficial exercise."[^7] Cline's October 26 memorandum to Kissinger, quoted in a footnote to the minutes, stated that "the technical intelligence evidence available in INR did not support such a Soviet intention."[^27]
A CIA document dated October 30, 1973, titled "Soviet Nuclear Weapons in Egypt?," reported Scud-associated equipment at two locations in Egypt and stated that the confirmation "adds seriousness to the evidence that Moscow introduced nuclear weapons into the Middle East."[^5] A December 20, 1973 CIA assessment, "The Impact of the 24 October US Alert on the Soviet Leadership," judged that Brezhnev and his colleagues "appear to have reacted with greater concern and annoyance to President Nixon's statements of 26 October than they did to the alert itself."[^5] A CIA document dated October 30, 1973, titled "Soviet Nuclear Weapons in Egypt?," reported Scud-associated equipment at two locations in Egypt and stated that the confirmation "adds seriousness to the evidence that Moscow introduced nuclear weapons into the Middle East."[^7] A December 20, 1973 CIA assessment, "The Impact of the 24 October US Alert on the Soviet Leadership," judged that Brezhnev and his colleagues "appear to have reacted with greater concern and annoyance to President Nixon's statements of 26 October than they did to the alert itself."[^7]
### Aftermath ### Aftermath
Marwan died in June 2007 after falling from the balcony of his apartment in [[London]]. A coroner's inquest was held to determine whether he died by suicide, accident or foul play.[^27] Coroner [[William Dolman]] handed down an open verdict on July 14, 2010, and said there was no evidence to support a verdict of either suicide or unlawful killing.[^27] Dolman described claims about the death as belonging to "the murky and secretive world of espionage."[^27] Marwan's widow, [[Mona Nasser]], told the inquest that her husband had never spoken of suicide but had expressed fears that he might be killed.[^27] Historians and intelligence agents have accused Marwan of being an Israeli spy who passed on vital information before the 1973 war, or of being a double agent loyal to Egypt.[^27] Marwan died in June 2007 after falling from the balcony of his apartment in [[London]]. A coroner's inquest was held to determine whether he died by suicide, accident or foul play.[^29] Coroner [[William Dolman]] handed down an open verdict on July 14, 2010, and said there was no evidence to support a verdict of either suicide or unlawful killing.[^29] Dolman described claims about the death as belonging to "the murky and secretive world of espionage."[^29] Marwan's widow, [[Mona Nasser]], told the inquest that her husband had never spoken of suicide but had expressed fears that he might be killed.[^29] Historians and intelligence agents have accused Marwan of being an Israeli spy who passed on vital information before the 1973 war, or of being a double agent loyal to Egypt.[^29]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour M. Hersh, The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy (New York: Random House, 1991), pages 222 to 223 (military losses, Bar-Lev line, the Golan, "the end of the Third Temple," Dayan's October 8 briefing). Sole source for the figures so cited. [^1]: Seymour M. Hersh, The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy (New York: Random House, 1991), pages 222 to 223 (military losses, Bar-Lev line, the Golan, "the end of the Third Temple," Dayan's October 8 briefing). Sole source for the figures so cited.
[^2]: Agranat Commission, "1973 Agranat Commission: Yom Kippur War," translated by Roni Eshel (Center for Israel Education, December 2010), https://israeled.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1973-Agranat-Comm-Report-1973-War.pdf. Summary of the Egyptian and Syrian fronts (1,400 Syrian tanks against 177 Israeli tanks); session and witness counts and the interim report of April 1, 1974; the protocol of the meeting of October 6, 1973 at 8:05 a.m. in which the Chief of Staff speaks of the Marwan telegram; the protocol of October 9, 1973 (7:30 a.m.) released by the Israel State Archives. [^2]: Agranat Commission, "1973 Agranat Commission: Yom Kippur War," translated by Roni Eshel (Center for Israel Education, December 2010), https://israeled.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1973-Agranat-Comm-Report-1973-War.pdf. Summary of the Egyptian and Syrian fronts (1,400 Syrian tanks against 177 Israeli tanks); session and witness counts and the interim report of April 1, 1974; the protocol of the meeting of October 6, 1973 at 8:05 a.m. in which the Chief of Staff speaks of the Marwan telegram; the protocol of October 9, 1973 (7:30 a.m.) released by the Israel State Archives.
[^3]: Judah Ari Gross, "'Odds of war lower than low': Papers highlight intel failures in Yom Kippur War," The Times of Israel, September 17, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/odds-of-war-lower-than-low-papers-highlight-intel-failures-in-yom-kippur-war/, on the cable of Zvi Zamir dated October 5, 1973 released by the Israel State Archives. [^3]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 13, p. 179. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^4]: Alfred Eini testimony to the Agranat Commission, as reported by ynetnews (Reuters), September 25, 2012, https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4285092,00.html [^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 305, Paper Submitted by the Control Group, undated (dated June 17, 1967 by the editors), with annex. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d305
[^5]: Central Intelligence Agency, Historical Collections Division, "President Nixon and the Role of Intelligence in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War" (2013), https://cia.gov/static/President-Nixon-and-the-Role-of-Intelligence-in-the-1973-Arab-Israeli-War.pdf. The December 20, 1973 post-mortem, the Cline and Colby passages, the CIA document of October 30, 1973 and the December 20, 1973 assessment appear in the booklet's text and collection list. [^5]: Judah Ari Gross, "'Odds of war lower than low': Papers highlight intel failures in Yom Kippur War," The Times of Israel, September 17, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/odds-of-war-lower-than-low-papers-highlight-intel-failures-in-yom-kippur-war/, on the cable of Zvi Zamir dated October 5, 1973 released by the Israel State Archives.
[^6]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 224 to 226 (chapter 17, "Nuclear Blackmail": the meeting of October 8, attendees, the three decisions, Hirbat Zachariah, Tel Nof, target list). Sole source for the passages so cited. [^6]: Alfred Eini testimony to the Agranat Commission, as reported by ynetnews (Reuters), September 25, 2012, https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4285092,00.html
[^7]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 226 to 228 (Soviet interception, Elazar's diary, the objections, the Freier briefing, the Heikal account of the Soviet warning to Cairo, the Israeli cabinet's anger, Kissinger's "let Israel come out ahead, but bleed"). Sole source for the passages so cited. [^7]: Central Intelligence Agency, Historical Collections Division, "President Nixon and the Role of Intelligence in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War" (2013), https://cia.gov/static/President-Nixon-and-the-Role-of-Intelligence-in-the-1973-Arab-Israeli-War.pdf. The December 20, 1973 post-mortem, the Cline and Colby passages, the CIA document of October 30, 1973 and the December 20, 1973 assessment appear in the booklet's text and collection list.
[^8]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 228 to 229 (the Dinitz calls and Map Room meeting, quoting Kissinger, Years of Upheaval; the account of a former Israeli intelligence official on Detachment 8200 and the October 9 Soviet warning). Sole source for the intelligence official's account. [^8]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 224 to 226 (chapter 17, "Nuclear Blackmail": the meeting of October 8, attendees, the three decisions, Hirbat Zachariah, Tel Nof, target list). Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^9]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 229 to 231 (Eilts, Schlesinger and Colby recollections; Heikal on Sadat and Kissinger; the KH-11 imagery of Hirbat Zachariah). Sole source for the passages so cited. [^9]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 226 to 228 (Soviet interception, Elazar's diary, the objections, the Freier briefing, the Heikal account of the Soviet warning to Cairo, the Israeli cabinet's anger, Kissinger's "let Israel come out ahead, but bleed"). Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^10]: Elbridge Colby, Avner Cohen, William McCants, Bradley Morris and William Rosenau, "The Israeli 'Nuclear Alert' of 1973: Deterrence and Signaling in Crisis," CNA, DRM-2013-U-004480-Final (April 2013), https://www.cna.org/reports/2013/DRM-2013-U-004480-Final.pdf [^10]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 228 to 229 (the Dinitz calls and Map Room meeting, quoting Kissinger, Years of Upheaval; the account of a former Israeli intelligence official on Detachment 8200 and the October 9 Soviet warning). Sole source for the intelligence official's account.
[^11]: Richard Sale, "Yom Kippur: Israel's 1973 Nuclear Alert," UPI, September 16, 2002, as cited in Colby et al., note 10. Sole source for the passages so cited. [^11]: Hersh, The Samson Option, pages 229 to 231 (Eilts, Schlesinger and Colby recollections; Heikal on Sadat and Kissinger; the KH-11 imagery of Hirbat Zachariah). Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^12]: Alistair Horne, biography of Henry Kissinger, as quoted in Colby et al., note 10. Sole source for the passage so cited. [^12]: Elbridge Colby, Avner Cohen, William McCants, Bradley Morris and William Rosenau, "The Israeli 'Nuclear Alert' of 1973: Deterrence and Signaling in Crisis," CNA, DRM-2013-U-004480-Final (April 2013), https://www.cna.org/reports/2013/DRM-2013-U-004480-Final.pdf
[^13]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Long-Range Outlook for Israeli Security," enclosure to the October 24, 1973 memorandum from Vice Admiral V.P. de Poix to Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1973, Document 265, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^13]: Richard Sale, "Yom Kippur: Israel's 1973 Nuclear Alert," UPI, September 16, 2002, as cited in Colby et al., note 10. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^14]: National Security Archive, "The October War and U.S. Policy," Electronic Briefing Book No. 98 (2003), https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/index.htm, including document 71, Brezhnev's letter of October 24, 1973. [^14]: Alistair Horne, biography of Henry Kissinger, as quoted in Colby et al., note 10. Sole source for the passage so cited.
[^15]: "Nickel Grass," Air & Space Forces Magazine, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1298nickel/ [^15]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Long-Range Outlook for Israeli Security," enclosure to the October 24, 1973 memorandum from Vice Admiral V.P. de Poix to Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1973, Document 265, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^16]: "Yom Kippur War: Nickel Grass," Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/nickelgrass.html [^16]: "Nickel Grass," Air & Space Forces Magazine, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/1298nickel/
[^17]: Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, October 19, 1973, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 208, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^17]: "Yom Kippur War: Nickel Grass," Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/nickelgrass.html
[^18]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 200, editorial note, pages 586 to 587, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^18]: Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, October 19, 1973, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 208, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^19]: Embassy in Saudi Arabia, telegram 3796 to the Department of State, Jidda, September 4, 1973, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXXVI, Energy Crisis, 1969-1974, Document 200, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v36 [^19]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 200, editorial note, pages 586 to 587, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^20]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Economic Research paper, March 5, 1974, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXXVI, Document 333, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v36 [^20]: Embassy in Saudi Arabia, telegram 3796 to the Department of State, Jidda, September 4, 1973, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXXVI, Energy Crisis, 1969-1974, Document 200, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v36
[^21]: Ad Hoc Group, International Energy Review Group Working Group, "The LDC Payments Problems Related to Higher Oil Prices," March 29, 1974, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXXVI, Document 346, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v36 [^21]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Economic Research paper, March 5, 1974, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXXVI, Document 333, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v36
[^22]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Preface, identifying Volume XXVI, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1974-1976, for the "shuttle diplomacy," https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^22]: Ad Hoc Group, International Energy Review Group Working Group, "The LDC Payments Problems Related to Higher Oil Prices," March 29, 1974, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXXVI, Document 346, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v36
[^23]: Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, October 16, 1973, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 191, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^23]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Preface, identifying Volume XXVI, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1974-1976, for the "shuttle diplomacy," https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^24]: Henry A. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (1982), pages 583 to 584, as quoted in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 268, note 3, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^24]: Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, October 16, 1973, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 191, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^25]: Memorandum for the Record, CJCS Memo M-88-73, NSC/JCS meeting of October 24 and 25, 1973, from the records of Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 269, including notes 11 and 13, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^25]: National Security Archive, "The October War and U.S. Policy," Electronic Briefing Book No. 98 (2003), https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/index.htm, including document 71, Brezhnev's letter of October 24, 1973.
[^26]: Henry A. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (1982), pages 588 to 589, as quoted in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 269, note 10, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25 [^26]: Henry A. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (1982), pages 583 to 584, as quoted in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 268, note 3, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^27]: "Inquest: Egyptian spy suspect's death unexplained," report of the British coroner's ruling of July 14, 2010, reprinted at The Herald (heraldnet.com), https://www.heraldnet.com/?p=177620, and ynetnews, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/3919938 [^27]: Memorandum for the Record, CJCS Memo M-88-73, NSC/JCS meeting of October 24 and 25, 1973, from the records of Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 269, including notes 11 and 13, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^28]: Henry A. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (1982), pages 588 to 589, as quoted in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume XXV, Document 269, note 10, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v25
[^29]: "Inquest: Egyptian spy suspect's death unexplained," report of the British coroner's ruling of July 14, 2010, reprinted at The Herald (heraldnet.com), https://www.heraldnet.com/?p=177620, and ynetnews, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/3919938

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@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ The FBI's tear gas planning is dated in the Special Counsel's report from early
### Consultation with Igor Smirnov ### Consultation with Igor Smirnov
In a series of closed meetings that began on March 17, 1993 in suburban northern Virginia, the Russian physician [[Igor Smirnov]] of the [[Moscow Medical Academy]] briefed FBI officials on a computerized acoustic "psycho-correction" device. *[[Defense Electronics]]*, citing an unnamed participant and a memorandum of the Richmond firm [[Psychotechnologies Corp.]], reported in July 1993 that the FBI, "which was looking for a viable option to deal with Koresh," asked after several meetings for a proposal on requirements and procedures for using the device at Waco; that officials "wanted the Russians to promise zero risk," which the Russians would not do; and that Smirnov had brought only "entry-level equipment." Representatives of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] were also said to be present.[^3] In a series of closed meetings that began on March 17, 1993 in suburban northern Virginia, the Russian physician [[Igor Smirnov]] of the [[Moscow Medical Academy]] briefed FBI officials on a computerized acoustic "psycho-correction" device. *[[Defense Electronics]]*, citing an unnamed participant and a memorandum of the Richmond firm [[Psychotechnologies Corp.]], reported in July 1993 that the FBI, "which was looking for a viable option to deal with Koresh," asked after several meetings for a proposal on requirements and procedures for using the device at Waco; that officials "wanted the Russians to promise zero risk," which the Russians would not do; and that Smirnov had brought only "entry-level equipment." Representatives of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and the [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] were also said to be present.[^3]
*[[Newsweek]]* reported in August 1994 that "Experts from the FBI Counter-Terrorism Center secretly met in Arlington, Va." with Smirnov, whose plan was "piping subliminal messages from sect members' families through the phone lines during negotiations," and that "the FBI backed out of Smirnov's Waco strategy."[^4] Smirnov told the [[Moscow Times]] in July 1994 that the FBI had explored using his methods, and the paper reported that a *[[Village Voice]]* article had quoted an FBI official to the same effect.[^5] The writer [[Sharon Weinberger]] recorded [[Chris Morris]]'s account that the FBI was put off when Smirnov answered a question about failure by saying that Koresh's followers might slit each other's throats.[^6] *[[Newsweek]]* reported in August 1994 that "Experts from the FBI Counter-Terrorism Center secretly met in Arlington, Va." with Smirnov, whose plan was "piping subliminal messages from sect members' families through the phone lines during negotiations," and that "the FBI backed out of Smirnov's Waco strategy."[^4] Smirnov told the [[Moscow Times]] in July 1994 that the FBI had explored using his methods, and the paper reported that a *[[Village Voice]]* article had quoted an FBI official to the same effect.[^5] The writer [[Sharon Weinberger]] recorded [[Chris Morris]]'s account that the FBI was put off when Smirnov answered a question about failure by saying that Koresh's followers might slit each other's throats.[^6]

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@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ relations:
role: "review of the Justice Department's redaction and release process" role: "review of the Justice Department's redaction and release process"
fn: 26 fn: 26
created: 2026-09-25 created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25 updated: 2026-10-08
--- ---
The Epstein files are the investigative and prosecutorial records on [[Jeffrey Epstein]] and [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] held by the [[Department of Justice]], the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the United States Attorneys' offices in Florida and New York. The department published them in stages: a first set of binders on February 27, 2025; an unsigned memorandum of July 7, 2025, declaring that no further disclosure was warranted; and, after Congress passed the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]] in November 2025, a searchable online library that the department described on January 30, 2026, as "nearly 3.5 million pages."[^1][^2][^3] Every document produced under the statute carries a Bates number with the prefix EFTA.[^4] The Epstein files are the investigative and prosecutorial records on [[Jeffrey Epstein]] and [[Ghislaine Maxwell]] held by the [[Department of Justice]], the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the United States Attorneys' offices in Florida and New York. The department published them in stages: a first set of binders on February 27, 2025; an unsigned memorandum of July 7, 2025, declaring that no further disclosure was warranted; and, after Congress passed the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]] in November 2025, a searchable online library that the department described on January 30, 2026, as "nearly 3.5 million pages."[^1][^2][^3] Every document produced under the statute carries a Bates number with the prefix EFTA.[^4]
@ -80,6 +80,10 @@ On March 11, 2026, Senators [[Jeff Merkley]], [[Lisa Murkowski]], [[Ben Ray Luj
On September 1, 2026, Massie and Khanna began collecting signatures on a discharge petition for a second bill, which would let members of Congress, state officials and survivors sue the department over compliance with the first act. Massie said the government "continues to withhold over three million files."[^27] On September 1, 2026, Massie and Khanna began collecting signatures on a discharge petition for a second bill, which would let members of Congress, state officials and survivors sue the department over compliance with the first act. Massie said the government "continues to withhold over three million files."[^27]
### Stephen Deckoff and Black Diamond
Data Set 9 of the library contains EFTA01204007, an undated photograph of the business card of [[Stephen Deckoff]], managing principal of [[Black Diamond Capital Management]], whose entity bought [[Little St. James]] and [[Great St. James]] from the estate in 2023. The document numbered immediately before it, EFTA01204006, is a screenshot of an aviation application with a 5:40 PM AST radar timestamp and the route "TIST KEWR," St. Thomas to Newark.[^28] Two May 16, 2014 email chains, EFTA02383246 and EFTA02583238, record [[Richard Kahn]] asking the pilot [[Larry Visoski]] to "poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading," Visoski replying at 5:40 PM with the type and tail number of the Black Diamond Learjet, N114BD, then writing "Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive," and Kahn asking Epstein whether Visoski should "meet the aircraft and poke around with them tonight."[^29]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, unsigned memorandum on the review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein, July 7, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline [^1]: U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, unsigned memorandum on the review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein, July 7, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline
@ -109,3 +113,5 @@ On September 1, 2026, Massie and Khanna began collecting signatures on a dischar
[^25]: Senators Jeffrey A. Merkley, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Ray Luján and Richard J. Durbin, letter to Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, March 11, 2026. https://www.merkley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/GAO-Epstein-Files-Redactions-Review-Letter.pdf [^25]: Senators Jeffrey A. Merkley, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Ray Luján and Richard J. Durbin, letter to Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, March 11, 2026. https://www.merkley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/GAO-Epstein-Files-Redactions-Review-Letter.pdf
[^26]: "Government watchdog to review DOJ's handling of the Epstein files," NBC News, April 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/government-watchdog-review-dojs-handling-epstein-files-rcna342513 ; Office of Senator Jeff Merkley, "At Merkley's Request, Independent Government Watchdog Launches Investigation into Trump DOJ's Handling of the Epstein Files," April 28, 2026. https://www.merkley.senate.gov/at-merkleys-request-independent-government-watchdog-launches-investigation-into-trump-dojs-handling-of-the-epstein-files/ [^26]: "Government watchdog to review DOJ's handling of the Epstein files," NBC News, April 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/government-watchdog-review-dojs-handling-epstein-files-rcna342513 ; Office of Senator Jeff Merkley, "At Merkley's Request, Independent Government Watchdog Launches Investigation into Trump DOJ's Handling of the Epstein Files," April 28, 2026. https://www.merkley.senate.gov/at-merkleys-request-independent-government-watchdog-launches-investigation-into-trump-dojs-handling-of-the-epstein-files/
[^27]: Erin Kelly, "Massie seeks signatures to force vote on second Epstein files bill," Spectrum News 1, September 1, 2026. https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2026/09/01/massie-discharge-petition-epstein [^27]: Erin Kelly, "Massie seeks signatures to force vote on second Epstein files bill," Spectrum News 1, September 1, 2026. https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2026/09/01/massie-discharge-petition-epstein
[^28]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01204007 (photograph of a business card) and EFTA01204006 (screenshot of an aviation application), DataSet 9, undated. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204007.pdf and https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204006.pdf
[^29]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02383246, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Jeffrey Epstein," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02383246.pdf ; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02583238, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Re: Barn," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02583238.pdf

18
50 - CONCEPTS & TECHNOLOGY/INTELLIGENCE/Disinformation.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2025-07-22 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Disinformation title: Disinformation
tags: tags:
- concept - concept
@ -11,12 +11,16 @@ category: "Intelligence Concept"
summary: "Disinformation is false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth." summary: "Disinformation is false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth."
--- ---
[[Disinformation]] is false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth. In the context of the *Remote Viewers* narrative, disinformation plays a significant role, particularly concerning the origins of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Parapsychology|psi]] research program.[^1] Disinformation is false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth. In accounts of Cold War [[Parapsychology|psi]] research it figures in the origins of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] research program.[^1]
The sensational 1960 French magazine article, [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|"The Secret of the Nautilus"]], which claimed successful telepathic communication with the USS Nautilus submarine, was later suggested to be a fabrication or a disinformation ploy. Its purpose may have been to stir up valuable data about any American psi research or to encourage the Soviets to undertake wasteful research on psi, or both. Despite being debunked in the West, the Soviets seemingly believed the story, leading to a significant increase in their own psi research efforts.[^1] The French accounts of 1959 and 1960 describing telepathy tests between a shore laboratory and the USS Nautilus ([[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]) were cited by [[Leonid Vasiliev]] in 1960, in a lecture at Leningrad and, according to [[I. V. Tsykunov]], in a report to Defense Minister [[Rodion Malinovsky]], when he argued for renewed Soviet psi research.[^2][^3] The [[U.S. Navy]] denied the reports, and the submarine's first captain, [[William R. Anderson]], said in 1963 that the Nautilus was in dock on the date given.[^4] [[Martin Ebon]] recorded that some Americans entertained the hypothesis that the story was a "Soviet plant," a piece of "disinformation" launched in France to provide a reason for a start-up of Soviet psychic studies, and that [[Gerard Messadie|Gérald Messadié]] told him in 1980 that the whole thing was probably a hoax and that [[Jacques Bergier]], who had ties to French intelligence, was his source.[^5] [[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that the story may have been Bergier's private fraud or a disinformation ploy designed to stir up valuable data about American psi research or to encourage Russia to undertake wasteful psi research.[^6] A 1975 [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] study described the Nautilus "experiments" as "probably mythical," while saying the claims had "one tangible consequence" for Soviet research.[^7]
Disinformation can be a powerful tool in intelligence operations, capable of influencing adversary actions and perceptions, even if based on false premises. The *Remote Viewers* narrative highlights how a single piece of disinformation can have far-reaching and unintended consequences in the realm of intelligence and scientific research.[^1] ### Footnotes
--- [^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Anfilov, Gleb. "Is Telepathy Possible?" *The Soviet Review*, vol. 2, no. 6 (June 1961), pp. 3-7, translated from Znanie-Sila, 1960, no. 12. https://archive.org/details/sim_russian-social-science-review_1961-06_2_6
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. [^3]: 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.
[^4]: 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.
[^5]: Ebon, Martin. *Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion?* McGraw-Hill, 1983, chapter 3, pp. 28-31.
[^6]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies*. Dell, 1997, pp. 90-93. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^7]: 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.

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50 - CONCEPTS & TECHNOLOGY/INTELLIGENCE/Psi Gap.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2025-07-22 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Psi Gap title: Psi Gap
tags: tags:
- concept - concept
@ -12,10 +12,15 @@ category: "Intelligence Concept"
summary: "The 'Psi Gap' was a perceived disparity in Psi research capabilities between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War." summary: "The 'Psi Gap' was a perceived disparity in Psi research capabilities between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War."
--- ---
The "[[Psi Gap]]" was a perceived disparity in [[Psi|psychic]] research capabilities between the [[United States|U.S.]] and the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Cold War]]. This concept gained prominence following reports of extensive Soviet and Eastern European [[Parapsychology|psi]] research, particularly after the sensational 1960 article [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|"The Secret of the Nautilus"]], which, despite being a fabrication, spurred significant Soviet investment in the field.[^1] The "[[Psi Gap]]" was a perceived disparity in [[Psi|psychic]] research capabilities between the [[United States|U.S.]] and the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Cold War]]. This concept gained prominence following reports of extensive Soviet and Eastern European [[Parapsychology|psi]] research, particularly after the sensational 1960 article [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|"The Secret of the Nautilus"]], which [[Leonid Vasiliev]] cited in 1960 in arguing for Soviet psi research and which the 1972 DIA report says stimulated Soviet parapsychology research.[^1][^2][^3]
The 1972 [[Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR]] report by the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] explicitly warned of a "devastating 'psi gap,'" stating that "Soviet knowledge in this field is superior to that of the West." This alarmist assessment, which outlined potential military applications of psi such as telepathic communication and psychokinesis, contributed to the U.S. intelligence community's increased interest in and funding of its own psi research, including the [[Stargate Project|Stargate Project]], in an effort to catch up with perceived Soviet advancements.[^1] The 1972 [[Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR]] report by the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] explicitly warned of a "devastating 'psi gap,'" stating that "Soviet knowledge in this field is superior to that of the West." This alarmist assessment, which outlined potential military applications of psi such as telepathic communication and psychokinesis, contributed to the U.S. intelligence community's increased interest in and funding of its own psi research, including the [[Stargate Project|Stargate Project]], in an effort to catch up with perceived Soviet advancements.[^1]
--- The 1975 DIA study described rumors of ship-to-shore experiments with the Nautilus and said the "experiments" "probably were mythical," while noting that the claims had "one tangible consequence" for Soviet research.[^4]
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Anfilov, Gleb. "Is Telepathy Possible?" *The Soviet Review*, vol. 2, no. 6 (June 1961), pp. 3-7, translated from Znanie-Sila, 1960, no. 12. https://archive.org/details/sim_russian-social-science-review_1961-06_2_6
[^3]: 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.
[^4]: 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.

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50 - CONCEPTS & TECHNOLOGY/MILITARY/The Nautilus.md
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@ -1,23 +1,28 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2025-07-22 updated: 2026-10-08
title: The Nautilus title: The Nautilus
tags: tags:
- vessel - vessel
- submarine - submarine
- ColdWar - ColdWar
description: The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. It became the subject of a fabricated story about telepathy experiments that influenced Soviet psi research. description: The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. It became the subject of French magazine accounts of telepathy experiments that the Navy denied and Soviet psi researchers cited.
category: "Esoteric & Historical Concept" category: "Esoteric & Historical Concept"
summary: "The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, launched in 1954, whose name was attached to a fabricated 1960 French magazine story about telepathy experiments that inadvertently accelerated Soviet psi research funding." summary: "The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, launched in 1954, named in French magazine accounts of 1959 and 1960 of telepathy experiments, which the Navy denied and Soviet psi researchers cited."
start: 1954 start: 1954
location: United States location: United States
--- ---
The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, launched by the United States in 1954. It gained notoriety in the context of psychic research due to a fabricated story published in 1960.[^1] The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, launched by the United States in 1954. It gained notoriety in the context of psychic research due to French magazine accounts published in 1959 and 1960 ([[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)]]).[^1]
In February 1960, the French magazine *Science et Vie* published an article titled "The Secret of the Nautilus," written by [[Gerard Messadie]] and allegedly sourced by [[Jacques Bergier]]. The article falsely claimed that the U.S. government had successfully used telepathy to communicate with the Nautilus crew while the submarine was submerged beneath the Arctic ice cap.[^1] In February 1960, the French magazine *Science et Vie* published an article titled "The Secret of the Nautilus," written by [[Gerard Messadie]] and allegedly sourced by [[Jacques Bergier]]. The article stated that the U.S. government had used telepathy to communicate with the Nautilus crew while the submarine was submerged beneath the Arctic ice cap.[^1]
Despite official American denials, the Soviet Union reportedly believed the story, which served as a significant stimulus for the expansion of their own parapsychology research programs. The Soviets even claimed to have replicated the entire Nautilus experiment successfully with one of their own submarines.[^1] The account first appeared in a December 1959 article by Bergier in Constellation and in his book with [[Louis Pauwels]], Le Matin des magiciens, which names the captain as [[William R. Anderson]] and gives July 25, 1959 as the date the Nautilus embarked.[^2] Anderson, by then retired, told This Week in 1963 that the report was "completely false" and that on July 24, 1959, the date the authors alleged, the ship was "high and dry in dock at Portsmouth, N. H., undergoing her first major overhaul."[^3] The Navy's history of the ship states that in May 1959 the Nautilus entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, for her first complete overhaul, completed in August 1960.[^4]
--- Schnabel wrote that despite official American denials the Soviet Union believed the story, which served as a stimulus for the expansion of its own parapsychology research, and that at a Moscow conference in 1968 the Soviet parapsychologist [[Eduard Naumov]] announced that the Red Navy had replicated the entire Nautilus experiment with one of its own submarines.[^1]
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997. ### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: 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.
[^3]: 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.
[^4]: "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

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50 - CONCEPTS & TECHNOLOGY/NUCLEAR/Samson Option.md
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@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ tags:
- Israel - Israel
- Nuclear - Nuclear
category: "Nuclear Concept" category: "Nuclear Concept"
summary: "The Samson Option is a concept deeply ingrained in Israel's national security doctrine, referring to the idea that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal that it would use as a last resort to prevent its destruction, even if it means causing massive..." summary: "The Samson Option is the Israeli doctrine of using a nuclear arsenal as a last resort against destruction, as described by Seymour Hersh, with roots in the May 1967 Shimshon plan."
--- ---
The [[Samson Option]] is a concept deeply ingrained in [[Israel]]'s national security doctrine, referring to the idea that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal that it would use as a last resort to prevent its destruction, even if it means causing massive destruction to its enemies. The name derives from the biblical figure Samson, who, captured by the Philistines, pulled down the pillars of Dagon's Temple, killing himself and his enemies. For Israel's nuclear advocates, the Samson Option became another way of saying "Never again," echoing the sentiment of survivors of the Holocaust.[^1] The Samson Option is a concept deeply ingrained in [[Israel]]'s national security doctrine, referring to the idea that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal that it would use as a last resort to prevent its destruction, even if it means causing massive destruction to its enemies. The name derives from the biblical figure Samson, who, captured by the Philistines, pulled down the pillars of Dagon's Temple, killing himself and his enemies. For Israel's nuclear advocates, the Samson Option became another way of saying "Never again," echoing the sentiment of survivors of the Holocaust.[^1]
[[Seymour Hersh|Seymour Hersh's]] book, *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*, published in 1991, details how Israel secretly became a nuclear power and how this secret was largely ignored or sanctioned by top political and military officials of the [[United States]] since the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] years. The book also explores the origins and implications of this doctrine.[^2] [[Seymour Hersh|Seymour Hersh's]] book, *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*, published in 1991, details how Israel secretly became a nuclear power and how this secret was largely ignored or sanctioned by top political and military officials of the [[United States]] since the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] years. The book also explores the origins and implications of this doctrine.[^2]
@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ The concept of the Samson Option was a central argument for Israel's nuclear adv
Key figures like [[Ernst David Bergmann]], [[David Ben-Gurion]], and [[Shimon Peres]] were early proponents of developing Israel's nuclear capabilities, with the public pursuit of peaceful nuclear energy serving as a cover for their weapons ambitions. They sought private financing from wealthy American and European Jews to maintain the secrecy of the program.[^3] Key figures like [[Ernst David Bergmann]], [[David Ben-Gurion]], and [[Shimon Peres]] were early proponents of developing Israel's nuclear capabilities, with the public pursuit of peaceful nuclear energy serving as a cover for their weapons ambitions. They sought private financing from wealthy American and European Jews to maintain the secrecy of the program.[^3]
[[France]]'s [[Force de Frappe|force de frappe]], whose intellectual spokesman was the retired general [[Pierre Gallois]], became the model for Israel's strategic planning and for its decision not to count on the American nuclear umbrella.[^5] [[France]]'s [[Force de Frappe|force de frappe]], whose intellectual spokesman was the retired general [[Pierre Gallois]], became the model for Israel's strategic planning and for its decision not to count on the American nuclear umbrella.[^4]
### Political and Military Debates ### Political and Military Debates
@ -24,18 +24,25 @@ The pursuit of the Samson Option was not without internal opposition within Isra
Old-fashioned military men like [[Yigal Allon]] and [[Yitzhak Rabin]] initially believed that Israel's advantage lay in the quality of its conventional military personnel, viewing nuclear weapons as a great equalizer that would make a nuclear-armed [[Egypt]] far more dangerous. However, [[Moshe Dayan]] became a strong proponent of the bomb, convinced that Israel could not depend on [[America]] to deter a Soviet attack and that a credible Israeli nuclear threat was necessary to influence superpower actions in the [[Middle East]].[^1] Old-fashioned military men like [[Yigal Allon]] and [[Yitzhak Rabin]] initially believed that Israel's advantage lay in the quality of its conventional military personnel, viewing nuclear weapons as a great equalizer that would make a nuclear-armed [[Egypt]] far more dangerous. However, [[Moshe Dayan]] became a strong proponent of the bomb, convinced that Israel could not depend on [[America]] to deter a Soviet attack and that a credible Israeli nuclear threat was necessary to influence superpower actions in the [[Middle East]].[^1]
### Shimshon plan of May 1967
[[Avner Cohen]] describes the assembly by Israel in May 1967 of two or three rudimentary nuclear explosives and a plan, [[Operation Shimshon]], to detonate them in the Egyptian desert as a last resort, on the basis of interviews with the late [[Yitzhak Ya'akov]], whose testimony the [[Wilson Center]] released in June 2017 as revealing "for the first time the existence of a crash effort to assemble Israel's first nuclear device."[^5][^6] A Control Group paper dated by the editors of the Foreign Relations of the United States to June 17, 1967 stated that before the crisis the Israelis "had probably not made a decision to develop nuclear weapons, but probably had decided to keep that option open."[^7]
### Implementation and Implications ### Implementation and Implications
By early 1968, Moshe Dayan unilaterally pushed [[Dimona]] into full-scale production, leading to the manufacture of four or five warheads a year. This decision was made without a formal cabinet resolution, but was widely applauded by the top layer of national security officials. The first assembly line bomb was reportedly welded with the phrase: "NEVER AGAIN."[^1] By early 1968, Moshe Dayan unilaterally pushed [[Dimona]] into full-scale production, leading to the manufacture of four or five warheads a year. This decision was made without a formal cabinet resolution, but was widely applauded by the top layer of national security officials. The first assembly line bomb was reportedly welded with the phrase: "NEVER AGAIN."[^1]
The Samson Option implies a strategy of deliberate ambiguity regarding Israel's nuclear capabilities. This "bomb in the basement" approach aimed to deter potential adversaries without explicitly confirming possession, thereby avoiding international condemnation and a regional nuclear arms race. However, this ambiguity also led to constant international pressure and scrutiny, particularly from the United States, which sought to prevent nuclear proliferation.[^1] The Samson Option implies a strategy of deliberate ambiguity regarding Israel's nuclear capabilities. This "bomb in the basement" approach aimed to deter potential adversaries without explicitly confirming possession, thereby avoiding international condemnation and a regional nuclear arms race. However, this ambiguity also led to constant international pressure and scrutiny, particularly from the United States, which sought to prevent nuclear proliferation.[^1]
During the desperate early days of the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], faced with the imminent collapse of Israeli forces, the leadership resolved to arm and target its nuclear arsenal as a last resort, implementing the Samson Option. This drastic step was also intended to force the United States to begin an immediate and massive resupply of the Israeli military. The initial target list included Egyptian and Syrian military headquarters. While no weapons were targeted on the [[Soviet Union]], it was understood that the Soviets would quickly learn of the nuclear arming.[^4] During the desperate early days of the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], faced with the imminent collapse of Israeli forces, the leadership resolved to arm and target its nuclear arsenal as a last resort, implementing the Samson Option. This drastic step was also intended to force the United States to begin an immediate and massive resupply of the Israeli military. The initial target list included Egyptian and Syrian military headquarters. While no weapons were targeted on the [[Soviet Union]], it was understood that the Soviets would quickly learn of the nuclear arming.[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 10. [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 10.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Author's Note. [^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Author's Note.
[^3]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2. [^3]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2.
[^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17. [^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3.
[^5]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3. [^5]: Cohen, Avner. "Israel's Secret Plan to Nuke the Egyptian Desert." *Politico Magazine*, June 5, 2017, republished by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. https://nonproliferation.org/israels-secret-plan-to-nuke-the-egyptian-desert/. Sole source for the passages so cited; Cohen relays the testimony of Ya'akov.
[^6]: Wilson Center, "Wilson Center Archive Sheds New Light on 1967 Six-Day War," June 5, 2017. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-archive-sheds-new-light-1967-six-day-war
[^7]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 305, Paper Submitted by the Control Group, undated (dated June 17, 1967 by the editors), with annex. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d305
[^8]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.

11
50 - CONCEPTS & TECHNOLOGY/PSI_PHENOMENA/Telepathy.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-22 created: 2025-07-22
updated: 2026-10-07 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Telepathy title: Telepathy
aliases: aliases:
- Telepathy - Telepathy
@ -30,12 +30,16 @@ The Rhine work drew criticism, which Puthoff and Targ summarized as "accusations
### The Nautilus reports, 1960 ### The Nautilus reports, 1960
In 1959 the French magazine *Constellation* carried an article by [[Jacques Bergier]] titled "La Transmission de Pensée, Arme de Guerre" ("Thought Transmission, a Weapon of War"). It was followed early in 1960 by an article by Georges Messadié in [[Science et Vie]], called "Du Nautilus" ("On the Nautilus"), which described telepathy experiments said to have been carried out aboard the U.S. nuclear submarine [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|Nautilus]].[^3] A 1972 Army medical intelligence bibliography lists the piece as Messadié, "Du Nautilus," *Science et Vie*, Number 509, February 1960.[^4] [[Jim Schnabel]] gives the title as "The Secret of the Nautilus" and wrote that it reported that the U.S. government, in secret tests, had successfully employed telepathy to communicate with the crew of the Nautilus, its first nuclear submarine, while the vessel was beneath the Arctic ice cap, and that the project had the attention of President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and involved the [[United States Navy|Navy]], the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]], [[General Electric]], [[Bell Labs|Bell Laboratories]] and the [[RAND Corporation]].[^5] In 1959 the French magazine *Constellation* carried an article by [[Jacques Bergier]] titled "La Transmission de Pensée, Arme de Guerre" ("Thought Transmission, a Weapon of War"). It was followed early in 1960 by an article by [[Gerard Messadie|Gérald Messadié]] in [[Science et Vie]], called "Du Nautilus" ("On the Nautilus"), which described telepathy experiments said to have been carried out aboard the U.S. nuclear submarine [[The Nautilus (Telepathy Project)|Nautilus]].[^3] A 1972 Army medical intelligence bibliography lists the piece as Messadié, "Du Nautilus," *Science et Vie*, Number 509, February 1960.[^4] [[Jim Schnabel]] gives the title as "The Secret of the Nautilus" and wrote that it reported that the U.S. government, in secret tests, had successfully employed telepathy to communicate with the crew of the Nautilus, its first nuclear submarine, while the vessel was beneath the Arctic ice cap, and that the project had the attention of President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and involved the [[United States Navy|Navy]], the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]], [[General Electric]], [[Bell Labs|Bell Laboratories]] and the [[RAND Corporation]].[^5]
[[Sheila Ostrander]] and [[Lynn Schroeder]] wrote that the French journalists splashed the story in the headlines "U.S. Navy Uses ESP on Atomic Sub!" and that ship-to-shore telepathy, "according to the French, blipped along nicely even when the Nautilus was far under water."[^6] In April 1960, according to the same authors, [[Leonid Vasiliev]] rose to speak to a gathering of top Soviet scientists in Leningrad and said: "Today the American Navy is testing telepathy on their atomic submarines."[^6] The 1972 Army medical intelligence report states that Soviet parapsychology research "was actually stimulated by" the French story and that Vasilev gave the same address in April 1960.[^7] [[Sheila Ostrander]] and [[Lynn Schroeder]] wrote that the French journalists splashed the story in the headlines "U.S. Navy Uses ESP on Atomic Sub!" and that ship-to-shore telepathy, "according to the French, blipped along nicely even when the Nautilus was far under water."[^6] In April 1960, according to the same authors, [[Leonid Vasiliev]] rose to speak to a gathering of top Soviet scientists in Leningrad and said: "Today the American Navy is testing telepathy on their atomic submarines."[^6] The 1972 Army medical intelligence report states that Soviet parapsychology research "was actually stimulated by" the French story and that Vasilev gave the same address in April 1960.[^7]
In a report dated March 26, 1960 to Defense Minister [[Rodion Malinovsky]], quoted by [[I. V. Tsykunov]], [[Igor Poletaev]] wrote that Vasiliev had told him the American armed forces had adopted telepathy for communication with submarines, and that a test with the Nautilus under polar ice had produced 70 percent correct symbols; the report adds that without discussing the reliability of the reports the danger of such a weapon was too great to ignore.[^27] Tsykunov suggests the Vasiliev address was given in May rather than April, and the translated Znanie-Sila report of [[Gleb Anfilov]] places a Vasiliev lecture mentioning the Nautilus at the Leningrad Scientists Club on June 15, 1960.[^27][^28]
Ostrander and Schroeder wrote that the U.S. Navy denied the story.[^6] Gregory wrote that Rhine stated that "authoritative sources in Washington denied all knowledge of such 'experiments'."[^3] The 1972 report says "the US Navy subsequently denied the reports of telepathic testing on atomic submarines."[^7] Schnabel wrote that an Air Force officer named in the story denied that any such incident had taken place, that the skipper of the Nautilus insisted the submarine had been in dry dock during the period said to have been spent conducting telepathy tests, that Bergier, who Schnabel wrote had apparently had connections to French intelligence services, backpedalled when questioned, and that Messadié later admitted he had probably been fooled.[^5] A 1975 [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] report stated that the Nautilus "experiments" "probably were mythical," but that the claims had one tangible consequence: Soviet authorities allowed Vasilev, a professor of physiology and holder of the Order of Lenin, to publish his own earlier work, in which decades previously he "had proven to his own satisfaction that radio-type brain waves did not mediate telepathy."[^8] Ostrander and Schroeder wrote that the U.S. Navy denied the story.[^6] Gregory wrote that Rhine stated that "authoritative sources in Washington denied all knowledge of such 'experiments'."[^3] The 1972 report says "the US Navy subsequently denied the reports of telepathic testing on atomic submarines."[^7] Schnabel wrote that an Air Force officer named in the story denied that any such incident had taken place, that the skipper of the Nautilus insisted the submarine had been in dry dock during the period said to have been spent conducting telepathy tests, that Bergier, who Schnabel wrote had apparently had connections to French intelligence services, backpedalled when questioned, and that Messadié later admitted he had probably been fooled.[^5] A 1975 [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] report stated that the Nautilus "experiments" "probably were mythical," but that the claims had one tangible consequence: Soviet authorities allowed Vasilev, a professor of physiology and holder of the Order of Lenin, to publish his own earlier work, in which decades previously he "had proven to his own satisfaction that radio-type brain waves did not mediate telepathy."[^8]
In September 1963 the Sunday supplement [[This Week]] printed "The Great Nautilus ESP Hoax," in which, according to the Parapsychology Foundation, Pauwels and Bergier admitted they "had elaborated on reports they had heard, but not verified"; Captain [[William R. Anderson]] said the Nautilus was in dock at Portsmouth on the date the authors gave, and Colonel [[William H. Bowers]] said the experiment attributed to him never took place.[^29]
Schnabel wrote that in the East the story had a different reception: the Soviets "seemed to swallow it whole," and official American denials "only served to confirm their suspicions that the entire episode had occurred just as reported, and had been a deep military secret."[^5] Ostrander and Schroeder wrote that whether or not the American tests happened, the reports were enough to set the Soviets going on ESP tests with their own submarines.[^6] [[Eduard Naumov]] asked the two authors, "Is the Nautilus story really untrue?" and they wrote that "Who knows?" was their best answer.[^6] According to Schnabel, Naumov announced to Western researchers at a conference in Moscow in 1968 that the Red Navy had replicated the entire Nautilus experiment successfully, using one of its own submarines, and that Soviet military researchers had developed a method for telepathically tapping into other people's psychic communications.[^9] Schnabel wrote that in the East the story had a different reception: the Soviets "seemed to swallow it whole," and official American denials "only served to confirm their suspicions that the entire episode had occurred just as reported, and had been a deep military secret."[^5] Ostrander and Schroeder wrote that whether or not the American tests happened, the reports were enough to set the Soviets going on ESP tests with their own submarines.[^6] [[Eduard Naumov]] asked the two authors, "Is the Nautilus story really untrue?" and they wrote that "Who knows?" was their best answer.[^6] According to Schnabel, Naumov announced to Western researchers at a conference in Moscow in 1968 that the Red Navy had replicated the entire Nautilus experiment successfully, using one of its own submarines, and that Soviet military researchers had developed a method for telepathically tapping into other people's psychic communications.[^9]
### Soviet research under Vasiliev and Kogan ### Soviet research under Vasiliev and Kogan
@ -110,3 +114,6 @@ A July 1978 [[U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command]] session report on th
[^24]: Schnabel, *Remote Viewers*, pp. 57-59. Sole source for the passages so cited. [^24]: Schnabel, *Remote Viewers*, pp. 57-59. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^25]: Schnabel, *Remote Viewers*, p. 68. Sole source for the passages so cited. [^25]: Schnabel, *Remote Viewers*, p. 68. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^26]: Grill Flame remote viewing session report, July 1978, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r000200300001-7 [^26]: Grill Flame remote viewing session report, July 1978, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. https://cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r000200300001-7
[^27]: 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.
[^28]: Anfilov, Gleb. "Is Telepathy Possible?" *The Soviet Review*, vol. 2, no. 6 (June 1961), pp. 3-7, translated from Znanie-Sila, 1960, no. 12. https://archive.org/details/sim_russian-social-science-review_1961-06_2_6
[^29]: 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.

10
50 - CONCEPTS & TECHNOLOGY/SCIENTIFIC_THEORIES_&_TECHNOLOGIES/Kirlian Photography.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
--- ---
created: 2025-07-23 created: 2025-07-23
updated: 2025-07-23 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Kirlian Photography title: Kirlian Photography
tags: tags:
- concept - concept
@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ location: Soviet Union
In the context of [[Parapsychology]], Kirlian photography was believed by some to capture the "aura" or "biofield" of living organisms, which was thought to be related to [[Psi|psychic]] energy. [[Dale Graff]]'s 1977 report, "[[Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact]]," discussed Soviet research in Kirlian photography as part of their broader investigation into paranormal phenomena.[^1] In the context of [[Parapsychology]], Kirlian photography was believed by some to capture the "aura" or "biofield" of living organisms, which was thought to be related to [[Psi|psychic]] energy. [[Dale Graff]]'s 1977 report, "[[Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact]]," discussed Soviet research in Kirlian photography as part of their broader investigation into paranormal phenomena.[^1]
--- ### Government contract of $145,000
[[Roger A. Beaumont]] wrote that in 1976 the Army awarded a $145,000 contract to check into the "aura" seen around human beings by Kirlian photography, and that the researchers found the "aura" to be an easily explained interaction of body moisture and the electric field.[^2] [[David Suter]], in an undated Washington Post article, wrote that "Last year" the Defense Department's [[DARPA|Advanced Research Projects Agency]] sponsored a $145,000 contract to determine whether the Soviet-discovered Kirlian photography depicted the "etheric body" of a person, and that the study found Kirlian pictures related to the moisture content of a person's skin.[^3]
### 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. [^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]: Roger A. Beaumont, "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," clipping reproduced in the 1983 Center Lane staff study, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
[^3]: David Suter, article for *The Washington Post*, undated clipping reproduced in CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf

15
60 - PLACES/LANDMARKS/Great St. James.md
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tags:
summary: "Great St. James is the island beside Little St. James that Jeffrey Epstein bought in January 2016 through Great St. Jim LLC, developed without permits, and whose estate sold it to Stephen Deckoff in 2023." summary: "Great St. James is the island beside Little St. James that Jeffrey Epstein bought in January 2016 through Great St. Jim LLC, developed without permits, and whose estate sold it to Stephen Deckoff in 2023."
location: "U.S. Virgin Islands (off St. Thomas)" location: "U.S. Virgin Islands (off St. Thomas)"
created: 2026-06-20 created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25 updated: 2026-10-08
relations: relations:
- type: owned - type: owned
with: "[[Great St. Jim, LLC]]" with: "[[Great St. Jim, LLC]]"
@ -48,9 +48,11 @@ On December 21, 2018 the territory's Coastal Zone Management program issued a st
Great St. James was sold together with Little St. James in May 2023 to an entity controlled by the investor Stephen Deckoff, founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, for 60 million dollars. The two islands had been listed in March 2022 at a combined asking price of 125 million dollars, and the sale closed at well below half of that figure.[^8] Great St. James was sold together with Little St. James in May 2023 to an entity controlled by the investor Stephen Deckoff, founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, for 60 million dollars. The two islands had been listed in March 2022 at a combined asking price of 125 million dollars, and the sale closed at well below half of that figure.[^8]
Forbes put Great St. James at more than 160 acres and Little St. James at more than 70 acres.[^9]
Deckoff announced plans to develop a luxury resort of about 25 rooms on one of the islands, with reporting citing a planned opening in 2025. The sale resolved part of the estate's obligation under the 2022 U.S. Virgin Islands settlement, which had also directed half of the Little St. James sale proceeds to the territorial government and required environmental remediation on Great St. James.[^7][^8] Deckoff announced plans to develop a luxury resort of about 25 rooms on one of the islands, with reporting citing a planned opening in 2025. The sale resolved part of the estate's obligation under the 2022 U.S. Virgin Islands settlement, which had also directed half of the Little St. James sale proceeds to the territorial government and required environmental remediation on Great St. James.[^7][^8]
The transaction transferred both islands out of the Epstein estate. Poplar, Inc. was listed as the signatory for Great St. Jim's 2017 annual report, with a signature that appears to be Epstein's; at his death the estate valued Great St. James and Little St. James together at 86 million dollars, against the 60 million dollar sale price. As of February 2026 no resort had been built, and the only construction permit Deckoff had requested for either island was for a warehouse on Little St. James.[^1][^9] The combined sale ended Epstein's ownership of the two adjacent islands he had assembled off St. Thomas, the second of which he had acquired and developed largely outside the territory's permitting system.[^8] The transaction transferred both islands out of the Epstein estate. Poplar, Inc. was listed as the signatory for Great St. Jim's 2017 annual report, with a signature that appears to be Epstein's; at his death the estate valued Great St. James and Little St. James together at 86 million dollars, against the 60 million dollar sale price. As of February 2026 no resort had been built, and the only construction permit Deckoff had requested for either island was for a warehouse on Little St. James.[^1][^10] The combined sale ended Epstein's ownership of the two adjacent islands he had assembled off St. Thomas, the second of which he had acquired and developed largely outside the territory's permitting system.[^8]
### Purpose and Inspections ### Purpose and Inspections
@ -58,9 +60,9 @@ The territory's 2020 complaint against the estate alleged that Epstein bought Gr
### The 2019 Stop-Work Dispute and the Governor ### The 2019 Stop-Work Dispute and the Governor
In May 2019 [[Jean-Pierre Oriol]], Governor [[Albert Bryan|Albert Bryan's]] nominee for commissioner of the [[Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources|Department of Planning and Natural Resources]], told the Virgin Islands Daily News that Epstein was continuing illegal construction on Great St. James despite the stop-work order. Epstein complained to Bryan in text messages later released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]: "Jp going after me in the press!! Army corps told us ok. This is very wrong!" and "Accusing me of illegality!!!" Bryan replied, "We got u." Bryan did not answer the Daily News's questions about why he told Oriol to recuse himself. At a March 2026 briefing he said he had not helped Epstein secure permits, and that "even if I had told DPNR to grant his permit, it's perfectly within the right and power of the governor of the Virgin Islands."[^10] In May 2019 [[Jean-Pierre Oriol]], Governor [[Albert Bryan|Albert Bryan's]] nominee for commissioner of the [[Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources|Department of Planning and Natural Resources]], told the Virgin Islands Daily News that Epstein was continuing illegal construction on Great St. James despite the stop-work order. Epstein complained to Bryan in text messages later released by the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]: "Jp going after me in the press!! Army corps told us ok. This is very wrong!" and "Accusing me of illegality!!!" Bryan replied, "We got u." Bryan did not answer the Daily News's questions about why he told Oriol to recuse himself. At a March 2026 briefing he said he had not helped Epstein secure permits, and that "even if I had told DPNR to grant his permit, it's perfectly within the right and power of the governor of the Virgin Islands."[^11]
The stop-work order had been issued on December 21, 2018, in the last weeks of Governor [[Kenneth Mapp|Kenneth Mapp's]] administration; Bryan was inaugurated on January 7, 2019, and Epstein contacted him days later, corresponding with him in the months before his arrest. Epstein was arrested in [[New Jersey]] on July 6, 2019, two months after the exchange over Oriol.[^10] Under the estate's 2022 settlement with the territory, the 450,000 dollar remediation payment for Great St. James covered damage where, according to the government, Epstein had razed the remains of structures built by enslaved workers.[^7] The stop-work order had been issued on December 21, 2018, in the last weeks of Governor [[Kenneth Mapp|Kenneth Mapp's]] administration; Bryan was inaugurated on January 7, 2019, and Epstein contacted him days later, corresponding with him in the months before his arrest. Epstein was arrested in [[New Jersey]] on July 6, 2019, two months after the exchange over Oriol.[^11] Under the estate's 2022 settlement with the territory, the 450,000 dollar remediation payment for Great St. James covered damage where, according to the government, Epstein had razed the remains of structures built by enslaved workers.[^7]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
@ -72,5 +74,6 @@ The stop-work order had been issued on December 21, 2018, in the last weeks of G
[^6]: "DPNR planning visit to Epstein's island." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* 2019. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/dpnr-planning-visit-to-epstein-s-island/ (planned complex of buildings; single minor permit approved; December 21, 2018 stop-work order; alleged violations involving a beach-bar cabana and a driveway). [^6]: "DPNR planning visit to Epstein's island." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* 2019. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/dpnr-planning-visit-to-epstein-s-island/ (planned complex of buildings; single minor permit approved; December 21, 2018 stop-work order; alleged violations involving a beach-bar cabana and a driveway).
[^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/ (450,000 dollars for environmental remediation on Great St. James; razed structures associated with enslaved workers). [^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/ (450,000 dollars for environmental remediation on Great St. James; razed structures associated with enslaved workers).
[^8]: "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james ; "Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands sell for $60m." *AOL/The Independent,* May 2023. https://www.aol.com/jeffrey-epstein-two-private-islands-160710392.html [^8]: "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james ; "Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands sell for $60m." *AOL/The Independent,* May 2023. https://www.aol.com/jeffrey-epstein-two-private-islands-160710392.html
[^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 [^9]: Chang, Richard J. "Exclusive: Billionaire Investor Buys Jeffrey Epstein's Private Islands For $60 Million." *Forbes,* May 2023. 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.), July 24, 2023; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02810216. 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
[^10]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html [^10]: 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
[^11]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html

28
60 - PLACES/LANDMARKS/Little St. James.md
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tags:
summary: "Little St. James is the roughly 70-acre island off St. Thomas that Jeffrey Epstein owned from 1998 through shell companies, where victims alleged abuse, and which his estate sold to Stephen Deckoff in 2023." summary: "Little St. James is the roughly 70-acre island off St. Thomas that Jeffrey Epstein owned from 1998 through shell companies, where victims alleged abuse, and which his estate sold to Stephen Deckoff in 2023."
location: "U.S. Virgin Islands (off St. Thomas)" location: "U.S. Virgin Islands (off St. Thomas)"
created: 2026-06-20 created: 2026-06-20
updated: 2026-09-25 updated: 2026-10-08
relations: relations:
- type: owned - type: owned
with: "[[Nautilus, Inc.]]" with: "[[Nautilus, Inc.]]"
@ -75,27 +75,29 @@ In May 2023 Epstein's estate sold Little St. James together with the adjacent Gr
Deckoff stated that he intended to develop a luxury resort of about 25 rooms on one of the islands, with reporting at the time citing a planned opening in 2025 and framing the project as a tourism and economic-development venture for the territory. Under the 2022 settlement, half of the Little St. James sale proceeds were directed to the U.S. Virgin Islands government, satisfying part of the estate's obligation.[^9] Deckoff stated that he intended to develop a luxury resort of about 25 rooms on one of the islands, with reporting at the time citing a planned opening in 2025 and framing the project as a tourism and economic-development venture for the territory. Under the 2022 settlement, half of the Little St. James sale proceeds were directed to the U.S. Virgin Islands government, satisfying part of the estate's obligation.[^9]
Forbes reported in May 2023 that Deckoff said he had never met Epstein and had never set foot on the islands until they were marketed after Epstein's 2019 death, and that the settlement gave the government half the sale proceeds, which it put at about 30 million dollars.[^10] An undated photograph of Deckoff's Black Diamond business card is among the Justice Department's Epstein releases (EFTA01204007), and Epstein's staff gathered information on Black Diamond's aircraft at St. Thomas in May 2014.[^11]
The sale ended Epstein's decades-long association with the U.S. Virgin Islands, transferring both islands to new ownership. Reporting noted the unusual challenge of marketing properties so closely identified with the trafficking operation, which informed both the discounted price and the announced plan to rebrand the islands for resort use.[^9] The sale ended Epstein's decades-long association with the U.S. Virgin Islands, transferring both islands to new ownership. Reporting noted the unusual challenge of marketing properties so closely identified with the trafficking operation, which informed both the discounted price and the announced plan to rebrand the islands for resort use.[^9]
### Ownership Structure ### Ownership Structure
On November 22, 2011, a year after Epstein registered in the territory as a sex offender, he incorporated Nautilus, Inc. in the Virgin Islands, with himself as president and director, his lawyer [[Darren Indyke]] as secretary, and his accountant [[Richard Kahn]] as treasurer, and a stated purpose of "holding property for personal use." A quitclaim deed recorded on December 30, 2011 moved Little St. James from L.S.J., LLC to Nautilus for "TEN DOLLARS ($10.00) and other good and valuable consideration." Most of Epstein's other territorial companies were created in 2011 and 2012, among them LSJ Employees, LLC (registered October 27, 2011 "to provide services"), followed by LSJ Emergency, LLC (December 2, 2015).[^10] On November 22, 2011, a year after Epstein registered in the territory as a sex offender, he incorporated Nautilus, Inc. in the Virgin Islands, with himself as president and director, his lawyer [[Darren Indyke]] as secretary, and his accountant [[Richard Kahn]] as treasurer, and a stated purpose of "holding property for personal use." A quitclaim deed recorded on December 30, 2011 moved Little St. James from L.S.J., LLC to Nautilus for "TEN DOLLARS ($10.00) and other good and valuable consideration." Most of Epstein's other territorial companies were created in 2011 and 2012, among them LSJ Employees, LLC (registered October 27, 2011 "to provide services"), followed by LSJ Emergency, LLC (December 2, 2015).[^12]
The island was served by aircraft held through companies that listed Epstein's pilot [[Larry Visoski]] as a manager or member. [[Hyperion Air|Hyperion Air, LLC]], organized October 19, 2012 with Epstein and Visoski as managers, owned a Bell helicopter (N331JE) and a Keystone helicopter (N722JE) that the territory alleged Epstein used "to transport young women and underage girls between St. Thomas and Little St. James." Plan D, LLC, which owned the Gulfstream N212JE, listed Visoski as its sole manager until a July 31, 2019 annual report named Epstein as the principal.[^10] The island was served by aircraft held through companies that listed Epstein's pilot [[Larry Visoski]] as a manager or member. [[Hyperion Air|Hyperion Air, LLC]], organized October 19, 2012 with Epstein and Visoski as managers, owned a Bell helicopter (N331JE) and a Keystone helicopter (N722JE) that the territory alleged Epstein used "to transport young women and underage girls between St. Thomas and Little St. James." Plan D, LLC, which owned the Gulfstream N212JE, listed Visoski as its sole manager until a July 31, 2019 annual report named Epstein as the principal.[^12]
### Verification, Staff, and Records ### Verification, Staff, and Records
Epstein registered annually as a Tier 1 sex offender in the territory from 2010, and the [[Virgin Islands Department of Justice]] periodically visited or tried to visit the island to verify his address. At the last verification, in July 2018, he refused to let the department's investigators, assisted by [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals]], go beyond the dock, calling it his "front door," and arranged to meet them instead at his office on St. Thomas.[^10] Epstein registered annually as a Tier 1 sex offender in the territory from 2010, and the [[Virgin Islands Department of Justice]] periodically visited or tried to visit the island to verify his address. At the last verification, in July 2018, he refused to let the department's investigators, assisted by [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals]], go beyond the dock, calling it his "front door," and arranged to meet them instead at his office on St. Thomas.[^12]
Island employees and others were required to sign confidentiality agreements that barred them from speaking with law enforcement, and were told that if contacted they should notify the Epstein organization and be represented by its counsel; they were also told not to interact with guests or disclose what happened on the island. The former Attorney General Denise George told the FBI in 2023 that when she tried to interview estate employees, they "had nondisclosure agreements and were informed if questioned by law enforcement to say nothing and alert Kellerhals," a reference to Epstein's St. Thomas attorney [[Erika Kellerhals]]. In a December 2014 email to Epstein, his office manager [[Cecile de Jongh]] reported that an employee was "working on the scanning and shredding for all of the entities, FTC, LSJ, Zorro, NES, JEGE, Hyperion, and JEVIF." Documents released by the Justice Department in 2026 included photos and receipts that federal agents reassembled from a bag of shredded paper found during the search of Epstein's house on the island, portions of which remain redacted.[^10][^11][^12] Island employees and others were required to sign confidentiality agreements that barred them from speaking with law enforcement, and were told that if contacted they should notify the Epstein organization and be represented by its counsel; they were also told not to interact with guests or disclose what happened on the island. The former Attorney General Denise George told the FBI in 2023 that when she tried to interview estate employees, they "had nondisclosure agreements and were informed if questioned by law enforcement to say nothing and alert Kellerhals," a reference to Epstein's St. Thomas attorney [[Erika Kellerhals]]. In a December 2014 email to Epstein, his office manager [[Cecile de Jongh]] reported that an employee was "working on the scanning and shredding for all of the entities, FTC, LSJ, Zorro, NES, JEGE, Hyperion, and JEVIF." Documents released by the Justice Department in 2026 included photos and receipts that federal agents reassembled from a bag of shredded paper found during the search of Epstein's house on the island, portions of which remain redacted.[^12][^13][^14]
### Henry Smock ### Henry Smock
The St. Thomas attorney [[Henry Smock]] assisted Epstein in the 1998 purchase of the island. Smock later served for years as counsel to the board of the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]], which oversees the [[Economic Development Commission]] program that granted Epstein's companies their tax benefits, and to the board of the [[University of the Virgin Islands]]. According to FBI notes of George's 2023 interview, Governor [[Albert 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 a 2023 divorce and obtained an order sealing its records. Bryan has said Epstein received no special privilege from his administration.[^11][^13] The St. Thomas attorney [[Henry Smock]] assisted Epstein in the 1998 purchase of the island. Smock later served for years as counsel to the board of the [[Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority]], which oversees the [[Economic Development Commission]] program that granted Epstein's companies their tax benefits, and to the board of the [[University of the Virgin Islands]]. According to FBI notes of George's 2023 interview, Governor [[Albert 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 a 2023 divorce and obtained an order sealing its records. Bryan has said Epstein received no special privilege from his administration.[^13][^15]
### After the Sale ### After the Sale
Under the 2022 settlement the estate agreed to sell both islands to independent third parties and to wind down its business in the territory; the government's half of the Little St. James proceeds came to about 11 million dollars. As of February 2026 the only construction permit the new owner, Stephen Deckoff, had requested was for an 8,800 square foot concrete warehouse on Little St. James, and the territory's Coastal Zone Management director said the application was incomplete without an environmental assessment.[^8][^11][^14] Under the 2022 settlement the estate agreed to sell both islands to independent third parties and to wind down its business in the territory; the government's half of the Little St. James proceeds came to about 11 million dollars. As of February 2026 the only construction permit the new owner, Stephen Deckoff, had requested was for an 8,800 square foot concrete warehouse on Little St. James, and the territory's Coastal Zone Management director said the application was incomplete without an environmental assessment.[^8][^13][^16]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
@ -108,8 +110,10 @@ Under the 2022 settlement the estate agreed to sell both islands to independent
[^7]: "FBI agents swarm Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island." *NBC News,* August 12, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-agents-swarm-jeffrey-epstein-s-private-caribbean-island-n1041596 (August 12, 2019 search; arrival by boat and helicopter; seizure of electronic devices). [^7]: "FBI agents swarm Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island." *NBC News,* August 12, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-agents-swarm-jeffrey-epstein-s-private-caribbean-island-n1041596 (August 12, 2019 search; arrival by boat and helicopter; seizure of electronic devices).
[^8]: "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/ ; "U.S. Virgin Islands reaches a $105M settlement with Jeffrey Epstein's estate." *NPR,* December 1, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/01/1140096222/jeffrey-epsteins-estate-reaches-a-105m-settlement-with-the-u-s-virgin-islands [^8]: "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/ ; "U.S. Virgin Islands reaches a $105M settlement with Jeffrey Epstein's estate." *NPR,* December 1, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/01/1140096222/jeffrey-epsteins-estate-reaches-a-105m-settlement-with-the-u-s-virgin-islands
[^9]: "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james ; "Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands sell for $60m." *AOL/The Independent,* May 2023. https://www.aol.com/jeffrey-epstein-two-private-islands-160710392.html ; "Billionaire Stephen Deckoff buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands." *CNBC,* May 3, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/jeffrey-epstein-private-islands-bought-by-billionaire.html [^9]: "Financier buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands, with plans to create a resort." *NPR,* May 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173956903/jeffrey-epstein-island-sold-st-james ; "Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands sell for $60m." *AOL/The Independent,* May 2023. https://www.aol.com/jeffrey-epstein-two-private-islands-160710392.html ; "Billionaire Stephen Deckoff buys Jeffrey Epstein's private islands." *CNBC,* May 3, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/jeffrey-epstein-private-islands-bought-by-billionaire.html
[^10]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 6, 12 to 14, 22 to 25, 34 to 36, 128 to 133, 137 to 139, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 3 to 9, 28 to 30. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/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)/001-01.pdf [^10]: Chang, Richard J. "Exclusive: Billionaire Investor Buys Jeffrey Epstein's Private Islands For $60 Million." *Forbes,* May 2023. 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.), July 24, 2023; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02810216. 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
[^11]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html (shredded-paper reconstruction; George's FBI interview; Smock; 11 million dollars from the sale). [^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01204007 (photograph of a business card) and EFTA01204006 (screenshot of an aviation application), DataSet 9, undated. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204007.pdf and https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01204006.pdf ; U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02583238, DataSet 11, email chain headed "Re: Barn," May 16, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02583238.pdf
[^12]: 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 [^12]: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, No. ST-20-CV-14 (V.I. Super. Ct.), Second Amended Complaint, paragraphs 6, 12 to 14, 22 to 25, 34 to 36, 128 to 133, 137 to 139, filed as Exhibit 1 to Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), ECF No. 1-1 (December 27, 2022), ECF pp. 3 to 9, 28 to 30. https://web.archive.org/web/20260117011558/https://www.justice.gov/multimedia/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)/001-01.pdf
[^13]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html [^13]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Docs confirm Bryan pressed for special treatment of sex offender." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* February 2, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/docs-confirm-bryan-pressed-for-special-treatment-of-sex-offender/article_5e9483c9-38d2-406c-8bb0-e5757ce287f2.html (shredded-paper reconstruction; George's FBI interview; Smock; 11 million dollars from the sale).
[^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 [^14]: 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
[^15]: Carlson, Suzanne. "Bryan unapologetic for texts with Epstein, doubles down on denial of wrongdoing." *Virgin Islands Daily News,* March 3, 2026. https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bryan-unapologetic-for-texts-with-epstein-doubles-down-on-denial-of-wrongdoing/article_8bab46a1-6075-4c7c-abec-6efb19622e62.html
[^16]: 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

41
60 - PLACES/MILITARY_INSTALLATIONS/Dimona.md
View file

@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ aliases:
- Dimona reactor - Dimona reactor
- Dimona facility - Dimona facility
created: 2025-01-09 created: 2025-01-09
updated: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-08
title: Dimona title: Dimona
tags: tags:
- Place - Place
@ -39,23 +39,31 @@ Special National Intelligence Estimate 100-8-60 of December 8, 1960 stated that
### American visits, 1961 to 1969 ### American visits, 1961 to 1969
Hersh wrote that Ben-Gurion insisted that inspection by the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] would violate Israeli sovereignty, and that [[John F. Kennedy]]'s White House agreed to an American team on terms by which it "would have to schedule its visits well in advance, and with the full acquiescence of Israel. There would be no spot checks permitted."[^9] He wrote that [[Floyd L. Culler, Jr.]] dated the first inspection to 1962 and that Culler's teams made the visits.[^10] According to Hersh, the Israeli scheme "based on plans supplied by the French" built a false control room at Dimona "complete with false control panels and computer-driven measuring devices that seemed to be gauging the thermal output of a twenty-four-megawatt reactor"; Culler told him he reported to the White House that the reactor was a "standard reactor," and when informed of the false room replied, "It's possible to make a system appear that it's controlling something when it's not." A former member of the Israeli General Staff Reconnaissance Unit told Hersh that weeks before an inspection soldiers brought "eight semitrailers loaded with grass. It was sod, all for camouflage," to cover walks and bunkers.[^11] The CIA photo interpreter Brugioni told Hersh that the sudden grass "just spotlights activity."[^11] Hersh wrote that Ben-Gurion insisted that inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency would violate Israeli sovereignty, and that [[John F. Kennedy]]'s White House agreed to an American team on terms by which it "would have to schedule its visits well in advance, and with the full acquiescence of Israel. There would be no spot checks permitted."[^9] He wrote that [[Floyd L. Culler, Jr.]] dated the first inspection to 1962 and that Culler's teams made the visits.[^10] According to Hersh, the Israeli scheme "based on plans supplied by the French" built a false control room at Dimona "complete with false control panels and computer-driven measuring devices that seemed to be gauging the thermal output of a twenty-four-megawatt reactor"; Culler told him he reported to the White House that the reactor was a "standard reactor," and when informed of the false room replied, "It's possible to make a system appear that it's controlling something when it's not." A former member of the Israeli General Staff Reconnaissance Unit told Hersh that weeks before an inspection soldiers brought "eight semitrailers loaded with grass. It was sod, all for camouflage," to cover walks and bunkers.[^11] The CIA photo interpreter Brugioni told Hersh that the sudden grass "just spotlights activity."[^11]
The documents of 1969 give the American side. On March 17, 1969 Secretary of Defense [[Melvin Laird]] wrote to the Secretary of State, the national security adviser and the Director of Central Intelligence, under the subject "Stopping the Introduction of Nuclear Weapons Into the Middle East," that he had seen "additional evidence of activity" (the object is redacted), referred to export licenses granted the previous June and October for two Control Data 6400 computers and one IBM 360/65 computer, and endorsed [[David Packard]]'s recommendation that shipment of the second CDC 6400 be withheld.[^12] The visit of July 10 to 13, 1969 was, in a State Department memorandum of June 12, 1970, "the last 'visit' to Dimona"; the memorandum added that "no one in the U.S. community has been satisfied with the restrictions and conditions Israel has imposed."[^13] In a memorandum of conversation of August 13, 1969 between Dr. Charles H. Reichardt, the AEC's Director of Intelligence, his deputy Charles A. Sommer, George B. Pleat, chief of the Dimona inspection team, and a State Department officer, the team was said to have drawn "the inference that the US government is not prepared to support a real 'inspection' effort," to have been "cautioned to avoid controversy" and to "be gentlemen," and to have been "criticized roundly" by the Israelis on one occasion "for having 'acted like inspectors'"; the State officer added that "visits conducted under these approaches may even be counter-productive."[^14] A State Department background paper of September 19, 1969 for the visit of Golda Meir, drafted by Robert H. Munn and cleared by [[Joseph Sisco]], [[Rodger Davies]], the Atomic Energy Commission and a CIA officer named Chamberlain, stated: "Our 'visits' to Dimona have shed virtually no light on the role that site may play in a weapons program," that "we have actually learned very little from the standpoint of a weapons program," that Israel had since about 1963 "moved as rapidly as possible" on strategic missiles and warheads, that "all the facilities required for production of plutonium have been identified with the exception of a separation plant," that "others feel confident that Israel already has one or more complete nuclear weapons now," and that Israel's formula was "Israel will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Near East."[^15] [[Henry Kissinger]]'s memorandum of October 7, 1969, "Discussions with the Israelis on Nuclear Matters," was written after the meeting of [[Richard Nixon]] and Meir.[^16] Hersh wrote that the Israeli leadership "correctly interpreted the end of the Culler inspections as an American carte blanche."[^17] The documents of 1969 give the American side. On March 17, 1969 Secretary of Defense [[Melvin Laird]] wrote to the Secretary of State, the national security adviser and the Director of Central Intelligence, under the subject "Stopping the Introduction of Nuclear Weapons Into the Middle East," that he had seen "additional evidence of activity" (the object is redacted), referred to export licenses granted the previous June and October for two Control Data 6400 computers and one IBM 360/65 computer, and endorsed [[David Packard]]'s recommendation that shipment of the second CDC 6400 be withheld.[^12] The visit of July 10 to 13, 1969 was, in a State Department memorandum of June 12, 1970, "the last 'visit' to Dimona"; the memorandum added that "no one in the U.S. community has been satisfied with the restrictions and conditions Israel has imposed."[^13] In a memorandum of conversation of August 13, 1969 between Dr. Charles H. Reichardt, the AEC's Director of Intelligence, his deputy Charles A. Sommer, George B. Pleat, chief of the Dimona inspection team, and a State Department officer, the team was said to have drawn "the inference that the US government is not prepared to support a real 'inspection' effort," to have been "cautioned to avoid controversy" and to "be gentlemen," and to have been "criticized roundly" by the Israelis on one occasion "for having 'acted like inspectors'"; the State officer added that "visits conducted under these approaches may even be counter-productive."[^14] A State Department background paper of September 19, 1969 for the visit of Golda Meir, drafted by Robert H. Munn and cleared by [[Joseph Sisco]], [[Rodger Davies]], the Atomic Energy Commission and a CIA officer named Chamberlain, stated: "Our 'visits' to Dimona have shed virtually no light on the role that site may play in a weapons program," that "we have actually learned very little from the standpoint of a weapons program," that Israel had since about 1963 "moved as rapidly as possible" on strategic missiles and warheads, that "all the facilities required for production of plutonium have been identified with the exception of a separation plant," that "others feel confident that Israel already has one or more complete nuclear weapons now," and that Israel's formula was "Israel will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Near East."[^15] [[Henry Kissinger]]'s memorandum of October 7, 1969, "Discussions with the Israelis on Nuclear Matters," was written after the meeting of [[Richard Nixon]] and Meir.[^16] Hersh wrote that the Israeli leadership "correctly interpreted the end of the Culler inspections as an American carte blanche."[^17]
### June 1967
A Control Group paper dated by the Foreign Relations of the United States editors to June 17, 1967 carries an annex on indigenous capabilities to develop nuclear weapons. It describes the reactor at Dimona as a French-built facility of 25 MW, not under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards but inspected by the United States, which "is capable of producing enough plutonium for approximately one nuclear weapon per year." It states that the spent fuel rods "are still at Dimona and have not been subjected to chemical separation," that before the crisis the Israelis "had probably not made a decision to develop nuclear weapons, but probably had decided to keep that option open," and that a decision made then would probably mean 18 months or longer before a first weapon.[^18]
On June 27, 1967, the American ambassador [[Walworth Barbour]] reported from Tel Aviv that Israelis "who have technical capability to build bomb, would, it may be argued, be foolish not to produce extra-conventional weapons." He wrote that the rising popularity of [[Moshe Dayan]], "who has been associated with those favoring the nuclear weapons development," and any rise in the standing of Dayan's associates Peres and Ben-Gurion, "who made the decisions to build Dimona," could lead Israel closer to the nuclear route.[^19] Hersh writes that after the war the intelligence about Dimona became highly compartmentalized as the White House decided to side more openly with Israel, and quotes an unnamed American official: "We knew about the yellowcake, but we weren't allowed to keep a file on it."[^20] Relying on Bill Dale, the embassy's deputy chief of mission, Hersh writes that Barbour told the military attaches at the end of the war that they were no longer to report on Dimona, and quotes Barbour: "Israel is going to be our main ally."[^21]
Avner Cohen, on the basis of interviews with the late [[Yitzhak Ya'akov]], describes the assembly in May 1967 of two or three rudimentary nuclear explosives and a plan, [[Operation Shimshon]], to detonate them in the Egyptian desert as a last resort; the [[Wilson Center]], which released Cohen's collection in June 2017, described Ya'akov's testimony as revealing "for the first time the existence of a crash effort to assemble Israel's first nuclear device."[^22][^23] [[Isabella Ginor]] and [[Gideon Remez]] argue that Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat aircraft overflew Dimona in May 1967, to encourage Israel to launch a war and to ensure the site could be destroyed in a planned Arab-Soviet counterattack, and report that in August 2007 the Russian Air Force spokesman Colonel Aleksandr V. Drobyshevsky confirmed in writing that Soviet pilots had flown the sorties.[^24]
### Facilities, as described by Vanunu ### Facilities, as described by Vanunu
Mordecai Vanunu, a technician, gave photographs and an account to the London Sunday Times in 1986 that Hersh summarized as follows. The complex has a main reactor and at least eight other buildings (machons). Machon 1 houses the silver-domed reactor, 60 feet in diameter and visible from a nearby highway, with uranium rods left in the core about three months, heavy water cooled by ordinary water through a heat exchanger, and steam vented into the atmosphere. Machon 2, "the Tunnel," is the six-level underground reprocessing plant where plutonium is extracted; its control room contains an observation area called "Golda's Balcony" for Meir's visits after 1969; plutonium is molded into hemispheres in glove boxes on level five, with lithium compounds and beryllium; and Vanunu gave the output as a weekly average of nine "buttons" of plutonium weighing 1.2 kilograms. Machon 3 converts lithium 6 and processes natural uranium; Machon 4 treats waste; Machon 5 coats rods with aluminum; Machon 6 supplies services and power; Machon 8 holds a test laboratory and Special Unit 840, "where Israeli scientists have developed a gas centrifuge method of enriching uranium for weapons use"; Machon 9 holds a laser-isotope facility; Machon 10 isolates depleted uranium. Unit 92 had been removing tritium from heavy water since the 1960s and Unit 93, opened in 1984, produced tritium on a large scale. The reactor ran 34 weeks a year.[^18] Vanunu's account is the sole source for these passages; Hersh's note states that the nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby spent two days with Vanunu for the Sunday Times and concluded that the account "is totally convincing." The vault's pages on [[Machon 1]], [[Machon 2]], [[Machon 3]], [[Machon 4]], [[Machon 5]], [[Machon 6]], [[Machon 8]], [[Machon 9]] and [[Machon 10]] carry the individual descriptions. Mordecai Vanunu, a technician, gave photographs and an account to the London Sunday Times in 1986 that Hersh summarized as follows. The complex has a main reactor and at least eight other buildings (machons). Machon 1 houses the silver-domed reactor, 60 feet in diameter and visible from a nearby highway, with uranium rods left in the core about three months, heavy water cooled by ordinary water through a heat exchanger, and steam vented into the atmosphere. Machon 2, "the Tunnel," is the six-level underground reprocessing plant where plutonium is extracted; its control room contains an observation area called "Golda's Balcony" for Meir's visits after 1969; plutonium is molded into hemispheres in glove boxes on level five, with lithium compounds and beryllium; and Vanunu gave the output as a weekly average of nine "buttons" of plutonium weighing 1.2 kilograms. Machon 3 converts lithium 6 and processes natural uranium; Machon 4 treats waste; Machon 5 coats rods with aluminum; Machon 6 supplies services and power; Machon 8 holds a test laboratory and Special Unit 840, "where Israeli scientists have developed a gas centrifuge method of enriching uranium for weapons use"; Machon 9 holds a laser-isotope facility; Machon 10 isolates depleted uranium. Unit 92 had been removing tritium from heavy water since the 1960s and Unit 93, opened in 1984, produced tritium on a large scale. The reactor ran 34 weeks a year.[^25] Vanunu's account is the sole source for these passages; Hersh's note states that the nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby spent two days with Vanunu for the Sunday Times and concluded that the account "is totally convincing." The vault's pages on [[Machon 1]], [[Machon 2]], [[Machon 3]], [[Machon 4]], [[Machon 5]], [[Machon 6]], [[Machon 8]], [[Machon 9]] and [[Machon 10]] carry the individual descriptions.
### The security apparatus ### The security apparatus
Hersh wrote that [[Binyamin Blumberg]], a former military intelligence officer chosen by Peres, headed the Office of Special Tasks, later known as [[LAKAM]], placed in the Defense Ministry to protect the nuclear project, collect technical information abroad and set up front companies for restricted equipment.[^19] He wrote that Israeli forces watched for photography, that aircraft, "including those belonging to the Israeli Air Force," are forbidden to overfly the site, and that in 1967 an Israeli Mirage was shot down in its airspace.[^20] Hersh wrote that [[Binyamin Blumberg]], a former military intelligence officer chosen by Peres, headed the Office of Special Tasks, later known as [[LAKAM]], placed in the Defense Ministry to protect the nuclear project, collect technical information abroad and set up front companies for restricted equipment.[^26] He wrote that Israeli forces watched for photography, that aircraft, "including those belonging to the Israeli Air Force," are forbidden to overfly the site, and that in 1967 an Israeli Mirage was shot down in its airspace.[^27]
### Output and tests, as reported by Hersh ### Output and tests, as reported by Hersh
Hersh wrote that "sometime early in 1968, Dimona finally was ordered into full-scale production and began turning out four or five warheads a year," and, in another chapter, that by 1973 "according to former Israeli government officials, the Israeli nuclear arsenal totaled at least twenty warheads"; his chapter on the Tunnel states a figure of more than twenty-five by the Yom Kippur War.[^21] He wrote that "well-placed Israeli sources" said that technicians conducted "at least one successful low-yield nuclear test sometime in the mid-1960s at an underground cavern" in the Negev.[^22] Hersh wrote that "sometime early in 1968, Dimona finally was ordered into full-scale production and began turning out four or five warheads a year," and, in another chapter, that by 1973 "according to former Israeli government officials, the Israeli nuclear arsenal totaled at least twenty warheads"; his chapter on the Tunnel states a figure of more than twenty-five by the Yom Kippur War.[^28] He wrote that "well-placed Israeli sources" said that technicians conducted "at least one successful low-yield nuclear test sometime in the mid-1960s at an underground cavern" in the Negev.[^29]
On September 22, 1979 the Vela 6911 satellite recorded a double flash over the South Indian Ocean; the technicians of the [[Air Force Technical Applications Center]] at [[Patrick Air Force Base]] had seen 41 earlier double flashes, each confirmed as a nuclear explosion.[^23] Hersh wrote that "former Israeli government officials, whose information on other aspects of Dimona's activities has been corroborated," said the event was a low-yield Israeli artillery shell tested with the South African Navy observing and was the third such test over the ocean; he wrote that the presidential science adviser [[Frank Press]] wanted the review panel to buy time and that an aide recalled Press "did not want that panel to conclude there had been a nuclear explosion."[^24] The panel chaired by [[Jack Ruina]], which included [[Richard Garwin]], [[Luis Alvarez]] and [[Wolfgang Panofsky]], concluded in May 1980 that the signal was more likely a meteoroid striking the satellite and sunlight reflecting off the ejected particles, while reports from [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], [[SRI International]], [[Sandia National Laboratories]], the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Aerospace Corporation]] published in 2006 included several that held a nuclear test most probable.[^23] See [[VELA Satellite]] and [[Nuclear Intelligence Panel]]. On September 22, 1979 the Vela 6911 satellite recorded a double flash over the South Indian Ocean; the technicians of the [[Air Force Technical Applications Center]] at [[Patrick Air Force Base]] had seen 41 earlier double flashes, each confirmed as a nuclear explosion.[^30] Hersh wrote that "former Israeli government officials, whose information on other aspects of Dimona's activities has been corroborated," said the event was a low-yield Israeli artillery shell tested with the South African Navy observing and was the third such test over the ocean; he wrote that the presidential science adviser [[Frank Press]] wanted the review panel to buy time and that an aide recalled Press "did not want that panel to conclude there had been a nuclear explosion."[^31] The panel chaired by [[Jack Ruina]], which included [[Richard Garwin]], [[Luis Alvarez]] and [[Wolfgang Panofsky]], concluded in May 1980 that the signal was more likely a meteoroid striking the satellite and sunlight reflecting off the ejected particles, while reports from [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], [[SRI International]], [[Sandia National Laboratories]], the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Aerospace Corporation]] published in 2006 included several that held a nuclear test most probable.[^30] See [[VELA Satellite]] and [[Nuclear Intelligence Panel]].
### Doctrine and deterrence ### Doctrine and deterrence
@ -80,10 +88,17 @@ Hersh's title phrase, [[The Samson Option (GFE)|the Samson Option]], is treated
[^15]: Department of State, "Background: Israel's Nuclear Weapon and Missile Programs," enclosed in Executive Secretary Theodore L. Eliot to Henry Kissinger, September 19, 1969, EBB 189, document 21 (pp. 2 to 8, with drafting and clearance box). https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB189/IN-21.pdf ; Cohen, Avner, and William Burr, "Israel crosses the threshold," *Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,* May/June 2006. [^15]: Department of State, "Background: Israel's Nuclear Weapon and Missile Programs," enclosed in Executive Secretary Theodore L. Eliot to Henry Kissinger, September 19, 1969, EBB 189, document 21 (pp. 2 to 8, with drafting and clearance box). https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB189/IN-21.pdf ; Cohen, Avner, and William Burr, "Israel crosses the threshold," *Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,* May/June 2006.
[^16]: Kissinger, Henry A., to the President, "Discussions with the Israelis on Nuclear Matters," October 7, 1969, EBB 189, document 22 (title and date; the National Security Archive's index describes it as written "in the wake of the Nixon-Meir meeting"). https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB189/IN-22.pdf [^16]: Kissinger, Henry A., to the President, "Discussions with the Israelis on Nuclear Matters," October 7, 1969, EBB 189, document 22 (title and date; the National Security Archive's index describes it as written "in the wake of the Nixon-Meir meeting"). https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB189/IN-22.pdf
[^17]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 16, "Prelude to War," on the end of the Culler inspections. [^17]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 16, "Prelude to War," on the end of the Culler inspections.
[^18]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 15, "The Tunnel." [^18]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 305, Paper Submitted by the Control Group, undated (dated June 17, 1967 by the editors), with annex. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d305
[^19]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 5, "Internal Wars," and chapter 10 (Office of Special Tasks). [^19]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 326, Telegram 4311 from the Embassy in Israel (Barbour) to the Department of State, June 27, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d326
[^20]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 10, p. 131 and its footnote. [^20]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 11, p. 156. Sole source for the passages so cited; the official is unnamed.
[^21]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 13, "An Israeli Decision" (1968 production; more than twenty-five bombs), and chapter 16, "Prelude to War" (at least twenty warheads by 1973). [^21]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12, p. 168. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^22]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 10, p. 131. [^22]: Cohen, Avner. "Israel's Secret Plan to Nuke the Egyptian Desert." *Politico Magazine*, June 5, 2017, republished by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. https://nonproliferation.org/israels-secret-plan-to-nuke-the-egyptian-desert/. Sole source for the passages so cited; Cohen relays the testimony of Ya'akov.
[^23]: Richelson, Jeffrey T., ed., "The Vela Incident: Nuclear Test or Meteoroid?" National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 190, May 5, 2006. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB190/index.htm [^23]: Wilson Center, "Wilson Center Archive Sheds New Light on 1967 Six-Day War," June 5, 2017. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-archive-sheds-new-light-1967-six-day-war
[^24]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 20, "An Israeli Test," pp. 271-273. [^24]: Ginor, Isabella, and Gideon Remez. *Foxbats over Dimona: The Soviets' Nuclear Gamble in the Six-Day War*. Yale University Press, 2007; their report of the 2007 Russian Air Force statement, https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/42140. Sole source for the overflights.
[^25]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 15, "The Tunnel."
[^26]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 5, "Internal Wars," and chapter 10 (Office of Special Tasks).
[^27]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 10, p. 131 and its footnote.
[^28]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 13, "An Israeli Decision" (1968 production; more than twenty-five bombs), and chapter 16, "Prelude to War" (at least twenty warheads by 1973).
[^29]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 10, p. 131.
[^30]: Richelson, Jeffrey T., ed., "The Vela Incident: Nuclear Test or Meteoroid?" National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 190, May 5, 2006. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB190/index.htm
[^31]: Hersh, *The Samson Option,* chapter 20, "An Israeli Test," pp. 271-273.

25
60 - PLACES/MILITARY_INSTALLATIONS/Ilopango Airbase.md
View file

@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ aliases:
- Ilopango Air Force Base - Ilopango Air Force Base
- Ilopango - Ilopango
created: 2026-05-17 created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17 updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Military Installation" category: "Military Installation"
tags: tags:
- Geography - Geography
@ -21,7 +21,9 @@ Ilopango Air Force Base is a military airfield outside [[San Salvador]], [[El Sa
### Contra Resupply Hub ### Contra Resupply Hub
The [[Contras]] had been using Ilopango with Salvadoran Air Force commander General Juan Rafael Bustillo's blessings since 1983, when [[Norwin Meneses]]'s friend, CIA pilot [[Marcos Aguado]], arranged to base [[Eden Pastora]]'s ARDE air force there. Most accounts date the Contras' intensified use to September 1985, when North wrote to [[Felix Rodriguez]] asking him to use his influence with Bustillo to secure hangar space. Rodriguez "greased the skids" with Bustillo and became overseer of North's Contra resupply operation. Rodriguez recruited [[Luis Posada Carriles]] as his day-to-day manager, operating under the alias "Ramon Medina."[^1] According to Gary Webb, the [[Contras]] had been using Ilopango with Salvadoran Air Force commander General [[Juan Rafael Bustillo]]'s blessing since 1983, when [[Norwin Meneses]]'s friend, the pilot [[Marcos Aguado]], arranged to base [[Eden Pastora]]'s ARDE air force there.[^2] The CIA Inspector General gives Aguado a Sandinista Air Force and Aeronica career until his 1983 defection and records him as Chief of Air Operations for the Sandino Revolutionary Front and ARDE by September 1984.[^3] Most accounts date the Contras' intensified use to September 1985, when North wrote to [[Felix Rodriguez]] asking him to use his influence with Bustillo to secure hangar space. Rodriguez "greased the skids" with Bustillo and became overseer of North's Contra resupply operation. Rodriguez recruited [[Luis Posada Carriles]] as his day-to-day manager, operating under the alias "Ramon Medina."[^1]
In October 1986 the [[Christian Science Monitor]] reported that the Contras had used Ilopango "at least since 1984, and probably earlier," to ship supplies to Pastora in Costa Rica, and that Bustillo "has been a major contact person for aiding the contra shipments, according to diplomats and other informed sources."[^4] Senate subcommittee records show some 156,000 pounds of material moved from Ilopango to Costa Rican airfields between October 18, 1984 and February 12, 1986 on a C-47 that had been transferred to Aguado for one dollar, on 24 flights, eleven of them to [[La Penca]].[^5]
The operation was run openly. The assistant regional security officer for the U.S. embassy in San Salvador told Iran-Contra investigators in 1991: "The woman selling tortillas at the gate of Ilopango could tell you what was going on. Anyone who ever flew into or over Ilopango air base could see something like that was going on. When looking down at Ilopango from the air, one could see one side of the airfield having a ragtag operation of inferior planes, dilapidated buildings and the like. On the other side of the airport were nice facilities, lift trucks unloading supplies from more sophisticated and bigger aircraft, and gringos running around." The modern facilities "all belonged to the American operation."[^1] The operation was run openly. The assistant regional security officer for the U.S. embassy in San Salvador told Iran-Contra investigators in 1991: "The woman selling tortillas at the gate of Ilopango could tell you what was going on. Anyone who ever flew into or over Ilopango air base could see something like that was going on. When looking down at Ilopango from the air, one could see one side of the airfield having a ragtag operation of inferior planes, dilapidated buildings and the like. On the other side of the airport were nice facilities, lift trucks unloading supplies from more sophisticated and bigger aircraft, and gringos running around." The modern facilities "all belonged to the American operation."[^1]
@ -35,7 +37,11 @@ In March 1986, a cable from the Costa Rican [[DEA]] office reported that a pilot
DEA agent [[Celerino Castillo]]'s informant Murga, who wrote flight plans for private planes on the civilian side of the base, reported that Contra pilots were brazenly flying drugs to the United States and money to Panama, sometimes leaving with kilos in plain view or arriving with boxloads of money. When Castillo ran pilot names through DEA computers, nearly all came back as documented narcotics traffickers. Among the busiest pilots was [[Francisco Guirola Beeche]], who was later observed zooming in and out of Ilopango hauling drugs in and carrying cash to the Bahamas.[^1] DEA agent [[Celerino Castillo]]'s informant Murga, who wrote flight plans for private planes on the civilian side of the base, reported that Contra pilots were brazenly flying drugs to the United States and money to Panama, sometimes leaving with kilos in plain view or arriving with boxloads of money. When Castillo ran pilot names through DEA computers, nearly all came back as documented narcotics traffickers. Among the busiest pilots was [[Francisco Guirola Beeche]], who was later observed zooming in and out of Ilopango hauling drugs in and carrying cash to the Bahamas.[^1]
Former Meneses aide [[Enrique Miranda]] testified that cocaine from [[Colombia]] arrived at various Costa Rican airstrips, including one on CIA operative [[John Hull]]'s farm, and was placed aboard Contra planes flown into Ilopango. There, Marcos Aguado and Norwin Meneses supervised loading the cocaine onto U.S.-bound aircraft owned by the Salvadoran Air Force and, on occasion, the Miami-based CIA contractor [[Southern Air Transport]]. Miranda said Meneses told him U.S. military hardware stockpiled at Ilopango was loaded onto Salvadoran transport planes and flown south, where guns were traded for cocaine and flown back.[^1] Former Meneses aide [[Enrique Miranda]] testified at the 1991 Nicaraguan trial that cocaine from [[Colombia]] arrived at various Costa Rican airstrips, including one on CIA operative [[John Hull]]'s farm, and was placed aboard Contra planes flown into Ilopango. There, according to Miranda, Aguado and Meneses supervised loading the cocaine onto U.S.-bound aircraft owned by the Salvadoran Air Force and, on occasion, the Miami-based CIA contractor [[Southern Air Transport]]. Miranda said Meneses told him U.S. military hardware stockpiled at Ilopango was loaded onto Salvadoran transport planes and flown south, where guns were traded for cocaine and flown back.[^1]
In February and March 1988 a CIA station cable reported that the Guatemalan suspected trafficker Reyner Veliz Cruz flew into Ilopango with Aguado in a twin-engine aircraft, the second time after customs officers had left, and that customs personnel at Ilopango "assume that Aguado has connections with drug trafficking."[^6]
The Justice Department Inspector General reports that on December 14, 1988 Bustillo met DEA agent Celerino Castillo to discuss Castillo's suspicions that Salvadoran Air Force officers were using Ilopango for drug trafficking; Castillo named, among others, Air School Director Lieutenant Colonel Manfredo Koenigsberg, and according to a State Department cable of January 3, 1989, Bustillo said he would investigate and seek to transfer the officer. After DEA agent Richard deTriquet was detailed to Guatemala in 1989, he and Castillo went to El Salvador to investigate reports that cocaine moved through hangar five; a Salvadoran security officer denied them access, and the CIA chief of station told them there was no drug activity associated with hangar five.[^7]
### CIA Obstruction of Investigations ### CIA Obstruction of Investigations
@ -43,8 +49,19 @@ When Celerino Castillo's investigation began probing the hangars, the CIA sent a
U.S. Ambassador Edwin Corr sent a secret "back channel" cable to the State Department requesting an internal DEA review of Castillo's allegations. The DEA informed Corr that Castillo's information was "totally inaccurate" and Castillo was told to close his investigation. When he continued, Corr personally ordered him to "stop the witch hunt." Three years later, when Castillo opened another investigation into drug trafficking at Hangar No. 5, the CIA refused to allow him on the base.[^1] U.S. Ambassador Edwin Corr sent a secret "back channel" cable to the State Department requesting an internal DEA review of Castillo's allegations. The DEA informed Corr that Castillo's information was "totally inaccurate" and Castillo was told to close his investigation. When he continued, Corr personally ordered him to "stop the witch hunt." Three years later, when Castillo opened another investigation into drug trafficking at Hangar No. 5, the CIA refused to allow him on the base.[^1]
[[Alan Fiers|Alan Fiers Jr.]], the former CIA official who headed the Contra program from 1984 to 1988, acknowledged: "We had a capability and indeed a responsibility for reporting what had been happening at Ilopango." The DEA later claimed under FOIA that it had no reports from Castillo about drug trafficking at Ilopango - a claim the [[Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General|Justice Department Inspector General]] exposed as false, having found and quoted from the reports liberally.[^1] [[Alan Fiers|Alan Fiers Jr.]], the former CIA official who headed the Contra program from 1984 to 1988, acknowledged: "We had a capability and indeed a responsibility for reporting what had been happening at Ilopango." The DEA later claimed under FOIA that it had no reports from Castillo about drug trafficking at Ilopango, a claim the [[Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General|Justice Department Inspector General]] exposed as false, having found and quoted from the reports liberally.[^1]
### Bombs from the Airport Battalion, 1992
Five 500-pound bombs were taken from a battalion at the San Salvador airport on February 26, 1992. [[Semana]] reported on April 12, 1992 that the arrested men, among them a Salvadoran army colonel, [[Roberto Antonio Leiva Jacobo]], confessed that members of the [[Cali Drug Cartel|Cali cartel]] had hired them and paid four million dollars for the bombs, and that the bombs were meant for a plan to kill [[Pablo Escobar]] in the [[Envigado]] prison.[^8]
### Footnotes ### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends" [^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends"
[^2]: 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.
[^3]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), Marcos Antonio Aguado section of the Southern Front chapter, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html
[^4]: "Salvador airport said to be transfer point for arms to contras," *Christian Science Monitor*, October 10, 1986, https://proof.csmonitor.com/1986/1010/omerc.html
[^5]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), pp. 37, 50 to 52, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^6]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), Marcos Antonio Aguado section and the pilots chapter (March 23, 1988 cable on Reyner Veliz Cruz), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html and https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/pilots.html
[^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter X, sections D and E, https://irp.fas.org/agency/doj/oig/c4rpt/ch10p3.htm
[^8]: "¿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.