CIA and the secrets of brainwashing
techniques
Aware by the
fact that mind control power is the most powerful weapon in the world, CIA began
experimenting brainwashing techniques to
have control over the individual psyche. The objective of this technique is to
erase the memory of the individual and to implement new beliefs. The practice
of torture in order to induce a new state of shock among victims of these
experiments is the one that sparked the outrage of American society. A long
time, CIA experiments in the field of behavioral science were kept secret from
american public opinion. The destruction of a large part of CIA documents
regarding brainwashing techniques prevents
us ,today, from learning the truth.
What are
brainwashing techniques?
In his book entitled Brainwashing, Edward Hunter
gives us a complete definition of what brainwashing technique means. According to his
definition, the purpose of brainwashing technique is to change radically a person's mind so that it becomes a living
puppet or a human robot. Those who practice this technique, have the aim to
create an individual with new faiths and beliefs compatible with their
interests. Without awareness , man becomes
trapped in his own body, because a new thought process is installed. Brainwashing
technique was useful in creating an individual who never revolts and listens to
orders received from higher authorities that interacts with him (governments,
organizations, institutions, officials.
The
term of ”brainwashing” was first used during the Korean War (1950-1953) to
describe the behavior of American prisoners returned from North Korean camps. In their technique
of manipulation, the North Koreans have taken the concept ksi-no (cleaning the
mind) applied in the Chinese Communism (Maoism),with roots in Confucianism
(from the great Mencius). U.S. commanders
realized that some American soldiers returned from North Korean prisons were
completely converted to communism, ready to denounce their own country. Their strange
behavior continued after release, even without being subjected to communist
influence. This negative effect on the morale of the soldiers, was baptized by Edward
Hunter with the term of brainwashing. Hunter describes that these soldiers who
had returned from North Korean prisons were no longer able to think freely and
could no longer adapt to unexpected situations. Individuals subjected to this brainwashing
techniques, were acting manipulated by their own instincts
.It was a party discipline of
North Koreans which extends to mind control. Brainwash is much more than a simple
psychosis or neurosis. The technique is labeled with the term
"mental rape" because the victim is forced by an attacker, whose
intentions are to destroy the victim's faith in her old moral values, to
create an empty space in which to implant new beliefs.
CIA and his
experiments in controlling human mind
Between
brainwashing technique and politics there is an interdependence that cannot be
denied. Beyond being a technique, brainwashing, is a vision of how to hold
supreme power over individuals, and yet there is no greater power than the
power to control the mind of an individual. That explains the interest of CIA
and other government bodies in this technique. Knowledge of Chinese and North
Korean communists about brainwashing techniques have been an additional
incentive for CIA to start immediately a research in behavioral science.
MKULTRA
was a CIA research operation started in the early 50s, with the support of the
U.S. government in order to study the human mind control techniques. According
to the report of Senator Sam Ervin from 1974, the CIA had targeted segments of
the population such as African Americans, women, prisoners, the elderly, young
and sick with mental illness. Regarding nationality, the subjects of the
experiments were American and Canadian citizens.
CIA Specialists
in behavioral science have used various methods to manipulate individual mental
state and alter their brain functions such as secret administration of potentially
hallucinogenic drugs (LSD) and other similar chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation,
sleep deprivation, isolation, verbal violence and sexual abuse and various
forms of torture such as skin sewing without anesthetic administration made by
torturer Dr. Lawrence Schacht. Beatings were common procedures in this
picture. CIA experiments were
conducted in 80 institutions including universities, hospitals, prisons and
pharmaceutical companies. . Heads of these institutions, where CIA conducted
experiments, knew about the torture phenomenon.
With
regard to the horrors perpetrated by CIA in an attempt to control the human
mind is advanced a conspiracy theory about CIA involvement in the case of mass
suicide at Jonestown. where have been recorded 900 deaths(the second incident
on the number of victims in a deliberate
attack after September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks). It supports the theory that
the CIA housed in the Jonestown medical experiments. Former CIA Director
Richard Helms ordered in 1973 (official year of the conclusion of the CIA experiments in handling human mind) the destruction
of all documents related to Project MKULTRA.
Due to this action of Helms, a small portion of the documents related to the
project managed to survive. In the declassification in July 2001, some of the
remaining 20,000 documents were declassified. Almost 6% of the funds received
CIA went on funding Project MKULTRA.
During
the experiments in Canada, the CIA became interested in the work of the
psychiatrist Ewen Cameron and his concept of mental start. .According to
theories of Ewen Cameron, patients with mental illness can be treated by
erasing the existing memory and rebuilding the psyche from the beginning.
Mentally ill sedated with hallucinogenic drugs were forced to listen non-stop
Cameron's message recorded on tape. Patients were regular subjected to a
drug-induced coma.
Cameron's
methods were eventually used by the CIA as interrogation techniques for
suspects who refuse to answer questions asked by CIA agents in an
investigation. Cameron's research was included in a CIA interrogation manual
for counterintelligence, called KUBARK. The main reason that the CIA has come
to conduct all sorts of experiments, is due to too much autonomy granted by the
American government. CIA hampered the access to classified documents for the US
Congress Commission, intended to supervise the activity of the intelligence
agency.
CIA results obtained from behavioral experiments
Although
mobilized lot of resources, the CIA failed to gain full control of its
experiments in brainwashing. As stated John D. Marks, author of the book,
Manchurian Candidate, it is still too early to believe that the CIA gave up his
plan of controlling the human mind. According to him "the best defense of
a free society against unethical behavior modification experiments is public
awareness."
Despite the fact that the CIA
failed to achieve the ultimate goal of complete control over the thoughts and
actions of the individual, the U.S. agency has applied several techniques over
the time (including electroshock), that can succeed in the end in the future research in erasing completely the human memory in order
to install a new kind of thinking.
Bibliography
Kathleen Taylor , Brainwashing: The science of thought control , Ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford,
2004,pp.3-10.
