C.I.A. tests shake hypnotism theory

Press, 22 February 1978, Page 9

C.I.A. tests shake hypnotism theory

By DANIEL GILMORE, of United Press international Through NZPA Washington The American Central Intelligence Agency shook the [theory that "nice” people I cannot be made immoral [under hypnosis by getting 1 one woman to act out a ] cold-blooded murder in 1951, ■according to declassified intelligence documents, j The cold-war era mind-con Itrol experiment reached a j climax when the hypnotised I woman, described as a i peaceable sort, terrified of [guns, fired a pistol point (blank at a sleeping colleague ■ — not knowing the gun had [been unloaded. The documents also described other experiments ;in [hypnosis — always inivorving female subjects for ■reasons not. stated — in ■ which women were per- : isuaded to simulate immoral, abnormal or disloyal behaviour.

One report concluded: “This activity clearly indicates that individuals under hypnosis might be compromised and blackmailed." Another paper summarised successful efforts to get a volunteer hypnotic subject to flirt blatantly with a strange man, and states: "If it can be shown in a senes of tests that our subjects . will do things that they aorjinally would not do in their i every-day activities, it seems ■logical that individuals elseiwhere can'be also controlled ■thusly.” : The once-secret documents I were obtained by the weekly [Washington newsletter, “Science Trends,” under the [Freedom of Information Act.

They deserifted C.1.A.hypnosis ex-

pertinents carried out from 1951 to 1954, when the agency was starting up its ultra-secret “project M.K.U.L.T.R.A.” research into mind and behaviour control using witting and unwitting humans. M.K.U.L.T.R.A. ran on into the 19605, spurred initially by Korean War era fears that the Soviets and Chinese had a big lead in “brainwashing” techniques that might enable them to induce confessions from any captured enemy and turn Western spies into helpless, obedient double-agents, i The hypnosis experiments] !w ere part of al [ M.K.U.L.T.R.A. subdivision [known as “Operation Blue-i [bird.” Names of subjects were] [blanked out in the [documents, but all- were des-: jeribed as young, well-edu-i icated, highly . motivated] ■women who worked for the] C.I.A. and apparently volun-] iteered for the experiments. • The documents said the] [experimentation never went! ■ so far as to make the] women actually commit im-; :moral acts, but only to be-! lieve they had done so. ■ Explaining that restriction, one report stated: “The individuals with whom we are working are very high-type.” The tests were described as simple, amusing situations, i very carefully controlled . . ,\ rather than of a scandalous' [or immoral nature. The simulated murder was] described in a report dated i February 10, 1954. concern- . ing a male hypnotist and a ■woman “who had expressed a fear of firearms in any fashion." It said that she was put in a trance and told to awaken

another wdman who had been put into a deep sleep. When she could not awaken her colleague, the report said, she was Ordered to “pick up a pistol nearby and fire it at Miss (blank)” and assured that “her rage would be so great that she would not hesitate to kill.” It said the woman “carried out these suggestions to the letter, including firing the (unloaded) gun at Miss (blank), then proceeding to fall into a deep sleep as ordered." When awakened, neither the murderer nor her victim [had any recollection of what had happened, the document , said. It added: “The murderer ■ refused to pick up or accent the same gun and absolutely [denied that she had ever fired i In another case, two male i C.I.A. operatives hypnotised [three female employees in|side a security-guarded C.I.A. . building, telling them that. . upon signal, they would open [their eyes, “act. walk, talk ■ and move about in a perfectly normal manner." Thus entranced, they followed orders to leave the building in their usual way, chat with building guards as they checked out, get into a car with the two hypnotists, and go to an apartment with them. There, all three women followed orders to proceed into the bedroom and ... go into a deep sleep state on one ofi the beds. Another hypnotised subject stole what she thought was a secret document from an official’s desk and hid it in her girdle, while testcontrollers watched her through a two-way mirror.