(ESTIMATED PUB DATE) DISCUSSIONS OF MKNAOMI WITH (DELETED)

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00146143
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 17, 2024
• Document Release Date: January 15, 1983
• Publication Date: July 1, 1975

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Discussions of MKNAOMI with
Air
� 6,25 Junemetuithl Sfttleafilleat his apartment attMittfil
--eeeeeefeee-e� �,- ,to probe his recollectionsof the relationships
_ ween TS' an. Ft. Detrick in the MKNAOMI project.elittlitig was in TSO from
1952 until 1962, serving as Chief of the Division during the last two years of that
period. ONOSPOWNOOkof OGC andtAftfigaiiii;of ORD were also present and parti-
cipated in the discussions.! was told that he need not become involved
but he expressed a complete willingness to provide whatever help he could.
2. It was explained that MKNAOMI had been discovered oely recently as a-
result of personal recollections by people not directly involved and that availabT
records left large gaps in our ability to understand what had -taken p1ace.4ftW=11.f.1
stated/that the Detrick project had been established and was used as a source ef
�speciilized technical support in the areas of SW and CW. He agreed that its origins
were in the early 1950's. Its establishment was a rather natural step in view of�
OSS experience which had involved the development and use of two types of lethal
tabls. and other exotic weapon devices. � .
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� 3.. tressed that the relation with Detrick was an informal oneeand
was never efined with any precision. He seemed to be unaware of the 1952.1,Temorandur
of Understanding between the CIA and the Army's Chief Chemical Officer which
apparently was the charter for the association. Furthermore, he noted that well
defined programs were not established but that work pursued lines considered to*be.
Intriguing by Ft. Detrick'or requested by the CIA. Funding was not tied to tasking'
and he suggested that Agency money was not strictly accounted for in-terms of effort
expended strictly in our behalf. The arrangement worked because of close personal
ties between involved personnel at Detrick and the Agency. MKNAOMI activities
covered a broad spectrum and involved the development of materials useful for many
different purposes. Insofar as affecting human behavior was concerned, interests
ringed from very temporary minor disablement (such as inability to deliver a speech
well) to more serious and longer incapacitation to death.
4. According to some well established guidelines for the management
of work in this area existed. No written records were kept; verbal communications,
close assocations among the people involved, and human continuity kept the procrod
tosether. Since there wee swarms of requests of TS0 to provide support of weird
sorts which might involve this type of activity, it was agreed TSD would always
respond to such requests negatively unless approval by the DD? (i.e. the Deputy
Director) had been given prior to the contact. According toMMONSVOiii this rule
was always followed. Normally, he was tipped off at the DOP staff meeting that
scececne had a need for support in this area and then arrangements were made to put,
E2 IMP DET
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would
never learn anything more about the affair. Indeed, according to his account, he
was never apprised in any detail as to the specific type of support involved in
specific requests though he was aware in general terms as to the types of things
Involved. Others in TSD -- apparently including all but those few officers �
personally involved in relations with Detrick -- were entirely excluded from any
knowledge of these matters.
5. From
re.de with DDP ap
pti
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in contact with the Project Office. n al. that in no case he could
remirter had any direction or requests for support come from outside the Agency.
ccount, compartmentation was extreme. When contact was
, It wag done with the Chief of the Chemistry Branchi',
dayrrand, after having set up the contact,
6. In amplifying his statement about the number of requests for support in
this area,401-1411116provided a number of examples. These included suicide agents
for the U-2 pilots, 1-pills, means for incapacitating guards or guard dogs, material
to anesthetize the inhabitants of .a building so as to allow its entry, material to
dissolve the Berlin Wall, aphrodisiacs for operational use, etc. He gave the
Impression of TSD's being besieged with wild ideas for which they were to provide �
the magic potion that would make them work. Few were seriously considered.
7. When asked directly about any kn
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support to assassination planning, , ' stated that he-had none. He said that
lfdge he may have about speCific MKNAOMI
he was aware of a whole raft of schemes relating to Castro that were discussed
before and immediately after the Bay of Pigs but that he never knew which, if any,
were taken seriously. He did indicate, however,'that some requests for support
approved by the DDP had apparently involved assassination. He had no personal
Involvement in these or. knowledge of them.
8. When asked about personally targeted harrassment operations, MAW.-
stated that he knew of none and that the use of harrassment agents had focused on
breaking up meetings, affecting crowds, etc.
some, ex ent MKNAOMI was wrapped up with the".
mind. He recalled ULTRA as a funding
9. It was clear that --
drug activities of MKULTRA in
mechanism that was used to handle bo h rug research andvmeISM,
the first because of its sensitivity and the second because of -4;'�
� He noted that the drug activity was characterized -- like MKNAOMI -- by a s.
compartmentation policy and an avoidance of creating a written record. He spoke of
nearly all the drug work as having been related to-interrogation uses and noted
� that TSD received numerous requests to find aids to the interrogation process.
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11. When asked about the keeping of records of MKNAOMI materials stored in TSD,
he stated that it was unlikely that any very elaborate or systematic scheme was
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employed. The policy of avoiding written records would have acted against surfn
approach and he doubted that any real records were maintained. IftlibetOdid not
find it surprising that unexpected things had been discovered in storage in OTS:
It was the nature of the business that peculiar things were kept on hand. He
related a story of finding six sticks of ancient -- hence particularly dangerous --
dynamite stored above the DCI's office in the Central Building.
12. In conclusion, the interview shed little new light on HKNAOMI but did put
the activity and the way it was managed into somewhat better perspective. Though
some of what he related was surprising, it was believable. The most notable point
made was the unusual -- even by Agency standards -- compartmentation and security
maintained with regard to the Detrick project.
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