Ancillary Mercy полностью

Also in 1960, CIA Director of Plans Richard Bissell asked MK-Ultra Director Sidney Gottlieb to undertake research on assassination techniques. Gottlieb’s support of people like Ewen Cameron already placed him in the Mengele class of mad scientists. He was glad to oblige Bissell, and had already developed a perfume that could be sprinkled on pillows and sheets which, upon inhalation, was instantly lethal.¹¹⁰ Speaking of Cameron, by early 1960 he was taking his sensory deprivation experiments to their ultimate conclusion: the irreversible scrambling of the human mind. Cameron was happy to take CIA money, courtesy of Gottlieb, but he had no need of “expendables” from the agency—he simply used his own patients. Researcher John Marks wrote:

It cannot be said how many, if any, other agency brainwashing projects reached the extremes of Cameron’s work. Details are scarce. In what ways the CIA applied work like Cameron’s is not known.¹¹¹

Probably the most significant new CIA project of 1960 was its secret war in Laos, which continued until 1973. This covert operation raised a thirty-thousand-man army, consisting mainly of Meo tribesmen, to fight the communist Pathet Lao. Air America, a CIA airline, provided air support.¹¹²

Project Paperclip showed that extremely secret programs could continue in the U.S. for well over ten years without a significant leak. Throughout the 1960s, Paperclip (along with National Interest, a similar program), sponsored the arrival of at least 267 more people into America. Another project, known as 63, brought an unknown number of others. These recruits worked everywhere. Among the government-related organizations were NASA, Edgewood Arsenal, Wright-Patterson AFB, Fort Monmouth AFB, and the Naval Ordnance Testing Station in China Lake, California. Private corporations included Pennsylvania State University, MIT, Bell Laboratories, RCA, CBS Laboratories, Martin Marietta, Convair, and Mobil Oil.¹¹³

In April 1960, worried over the Frankenstein nature of America’s military state, President Eisenhower asked the dying Foster Dulles, “How are we going to scale our programs down?” If we did not, suggested Ike, “in the long run, there is nothing but war—if we give up all hope of a peaceful solution.”¹¹⁴

1960: MONITORING THE UFOs

On the UFO front, the secret state never ceased in its efforts to monitor, and probably undermine, the civilian organizations. In early 1960, Keyhoe published yet another UFO book, Flying Saucers: Top Secret. As always, Keyhoe’s narrative style—fast, impetuous, and full of snappy dialogue—did not lend credibility to conservative readers. Yet, this made four books in ten years on the subject, and a careful reading of them provided a huge cache of information to the serious UFO researcher. No doubt some of those careful readers were in the air force, CIA, ONR, NSA, and elsewhere. Despite his busy pace throughout the 1950s, this book would be Keyhoe’s last for another thirteen years. He was now in his sixties, and his NICAP duties undoubtedly took much of his time. Still, it was obvious that Keyhoe needed watching. Perhaps coincidentally, in 1960 Col. Joseph J. Bryan III joined NICAP’s board of directors. It would not be known until 1977 that Bryan had founded and led the CIA’s psychological warfare staff. Prior to this, he had vehemently denied any connection to the agency. Although he made a number of strong pro-UFO statements throughout his history with NICAP, he later became strongly suspected in helping to facilitate the eventual demise of the organization, and certainly of Keyhoe’s role in it.

APRO, although much less dangerous than NICAP, had become a substantial organization in its own right. By 1960, it had a good investigative network, both within the U.S. and abroad, including South America, New Zealand, Australia, and several European countries. Led by Coral and Jim Lorenzen, APRO differed considerably from NICAP in its indifference to the drive for congressional hearings and disbelief in an air force cover-up. UFO organizations, the Lorenzens believed, ought to be conducting investigations, and NICAP’s obsession with a cover-up was a supreme waste of effort. Despite this entrenched attitude, APRO was also monitored. In 1960, the Lorenzens moved from Alamogordo, New Mexico, to Tucson, Arizona. On their third day in Tucson an “exterminator” visited them, offering to inspect their premises for free. This unusually well-dressed exterminator, with very polished shoes, failed to mention the name of his company. Although the Lorenzens were renting, he did not ask for the name of the landlord and did not seem interested in his profession. He was, however, very interested in conversing with Coral Lorenzen at length over their reason for moving, where Jim Lorenzen was employed, and UFOs.¹¹⁵