ASSOCIATED PRESS ARTICLE, FROM DATA BASE SEARCH. 'U.S. MILITARY RESEARCH: FROM WAR GAMES TO MIND GAMES

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP96-00791R000200230030-9
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RIFPUB
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U
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2
Document Creation Date: 
November 4, 2016
Document Release Date: 
December 7, 1998
Sequence Number: 
30
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Publication Date: 
November 7, 1983
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PAGE 17 10TH STORY of Level 2 rinted in KWIC format. Approved For Release 2000/08/10 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200230030-9 The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The November 7,(1983 ~ Monday, PM cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 911 words HEADLINE: U.S. Military Research: From War Games to Mind Games? BYLINE: By BARTON REPPERT, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGTON BODY: The United States should undertake more research into potential mind-control weapons to counter Soviet advances in "psychotronic warfare," according to a U.S. Army study disclosed in a new book. The Pentagon study, author Martin Ebon writes, reported that the Soviet Union appears to have made "significant progress" toward developing psychic weaponry that could play a role on future battlefields. Ebon contended that mind-altering effects or "remote monitoring of brain wave activity" were among possible reasons behind the Soviet microwave bombardment of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. "Soviet scientists view the brain as an apparatus available for probing and manipulation," he said. "They are well aware that perfected techniques in ... Publication of Ebon's book, "Psychic Warfare: Threat or Illusion?" comes amid increased interest in parapsychology research on Capitol Hill as well as within the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. A report prepared recently by the ... ... persuasion, mischief and disinformation," it said. Psi phenomena include various forms of extrasensory perception, for example telepathy and "remote viewing" of distant locations. Another form is "psychokinesis," the ability to move or bend solid objects with the mind. Critics of parapsychology, however, charge that much of the research on those effects is either scientifically unsound or fraudulent. Other skeptics argue that even if the phenomena exist, they are too ... ... research include Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. He said he had discussed the parapsychology field with Soviet researchers during a visit to the Soviet Union in August. Approved For Release 2000/08/10 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200230030-9 PAGE 18 T As oc'ated es Novemb r 7 1983 Approved or kerease 2f06/b8/10 : CIA- 0791 R000200230030-9 "I personally have never experienced or seen a psychic event," Pell said in a recent ... .., completed by Warsaw Pact countries during the past decade in the area of psychic phenomena, of which psychotronics is one element." The Soviet Union, in particular, appears to have made significant progress toward developing psychotronic weapons," said the Army study, entitled "Fire ... ... 1970s, when the agency was under intense criticism and scrutiny on Capitol Hill. But a U.S. government official familiar with the parapsychology field, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified, said that currently "there ---seems to be somewhat renewed interest at the CIA ..'~ ... Yuri V. Andropov and other Kremlin officials during their Aug. 17-21 visit to Moscow. In his private discussions with Soviet parapsychologists, Pell said he had been unable to get a "firm handle" on the overall scope of scientific resources Moscow is devoting to this ... ... for too short a time to go into anything in any depth," he said. The Congressional Research Service report said Soviet annual spending on psi research has been "speculated to amount to tens of millions of dollars." By contrast, total funding for parapsychology studies in the United States "probably does not greatly exceed $500,000" a year currently, with most of the money coming from foundations and other private sources, it said. Speculation over possible purposes behind the Soviet microwave bombardment of the Moscow embassy believed to have begun as early as 1953 has centered largely on use of the beams for eavesdropping or to try to jam U.S. electronic intelligence-gathering equipment. However, Ebon wrote that "another hypothesis is Soviet use of radiation to effect mind-changes in embassy personnel." An additional possibility is that the beams may have been "used to 'read ... ... tuning microwaves to the level of brain waves," said Ebon, a New York-based professional writer specializing in Soviet affairs. Approved For Release 2000/08/10 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200230030-9