THE SMITHSONIAN SECRET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302600001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 1, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 12, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

eST -r
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LIZTICIAS LFFEARED
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WASHINGTON POST
12 May 1985
THE SMITHSONIAN
EMT
Why an innocent bird study went straight
to biological warfare experts at Fort Detrick By Ted Gyp
Twenty years ago, a
team of Smithso-
nian researchers
landed on a string
of remote Pacific
islands to study
the comings and goings of sea
birds?terns, albatrosses,
gulls. But there was another
reason they were there, one
stamped "Secret" The lead-
ers of this scholarly band of
curators and ecologists re-
ported their findings to mili-
tary scientists whose interest
was not birds but biological
weapons.
The Pacific project was
two separate missions exist-
ing side by side: the Smithso-
nian's and the Pentagon's.
The Smithsonian was only
too eager to be given funds to
study bird migratory patterns
and the military was eager to
find "safe" sites for atmos-
pheric testing of biological
, weapons in the Pacific. Such
sites could be determined
' from the Smithsonian re-
search.
An Army spokesman says
military scientists wanted to
be certain germs would not
1 be spread beyond the test
1 sites by migrating birds.
Other military scientists also
1 wanted to know if sea birds
could be used as carriers of
biological weapons, winging -
deadly disease across borders.
In military terms, birds could
be "avian vectors of disease."
The secret contract was an
odd departure for the Smith-
sonian Institution, beloved
, and benign. Although the
Smithsonian has for decades
had unclassified research
contracts with the Depart-
ment of Defense, as it has
with other federal depart-
ments and agencies, the Pa-
cific Ocean Bird Project was
not just another contract.
Smithsonian researchers
burned copies of some project
notes and correspondence
with the military, but many
of their originals are pre-
served in acid-free boxes
deep within the Smithso-
nian's own archives, which
are open to the public. For-
gotten by many, consulted by
few, the 17 square feet of
records contain day-by-day
accounts, maps, photos and
correspondence with the mili-
tary. All are pieces of a puzzle
that show the Pacific Ocean
I Bird Project was one of the
largest and most mysterious
undertakings in the institu-
tion's 139-year history.
The Smithsonian said at
the time that no part of the
project was classified "se-
cret" It was. The Smithso- ,
nian questioned how its
scientists could know the
military would use its study
for biological weapons re-
search. Some of those in
charge of the project did
know. In the end, the bird
study caused a major self-
examination within the
Smithsonian that brought
about a rededication to never
again take on a secret study.
And today, 15 years after the
project ended, a timeless
question remains: What re-
sponsibility do scientists and
institutions have to weigh
how research?even basic re-
search?will be used?
THE PACIFIC project
spanned eight years, cost the
Pentagon $3 million, and in-
volved dozens of Smithsonian
staffers and Defense Depart-
ment workers. From the first,
the Smithsonian knew the
contract was with the contro-
versial Fort Detrick biological
warfare research center in
Frederick, Md. And even that
fact was classified secret The
Smithsonian was prohibited
from divulging anything
about its work without clear-
ance from Fort Detrick.
1 Early letters to Smithso-
nian contract officers made it
clear the Army's interest
went beyond ornithology. On
Oct 1, 1963, the Army Bio-
logical Laboratories at Fort
1
Detrick wrote to Smithsonian
administrators about "Ma-
terial containing Biological
Weapons System information
which reveals the nondescrip-
tive code designations for
BW [Biologic Weapons]
agents. . ."
Although the pairing of the
Smithsonian and Fort De-
trick seems unlikely, in the
early 1960s there were
numerous ties between the
military and research institu-
tions. The Smithsonian's con-
tract was signed in October
1962, the same month that
President Kennedy an-
nounced that Soviet missiles
were in Cuba. Military ex-
otica flourished: mind control
through drugs, porpoises as
animate torpedoes, new con-
coctions of chemical and bio-
logical weapons, turning life
against life. It was a macabre
time of Strangelovean fanta-
sies when even one of God's
gentlest creatures, a gull,
could be considered for a
doomsday assignment
And there was another,
simpler reason the Smithso-
nian took the contract
Money. The Smithsonian
wanted more research funds.
The risks were great If
word got out that the revered
Smithsonian was working on
a classified project sponsored
by the Army's biological war-
1
fientnuad
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fare branch, the institution's "Attempts were made to
entree to other countries changes,_. _ __,in his environment collect as many specimens as inoculations. Some received
might be lost, and its image ,,can ' ameme",. _ __man nim"`",...,; possible," noted a progress their shots at Fort Detrick. In
blemished. There was a legal Imuu41.4_,_?__ ignilran, Ce' MaY uui report. "This was accom- 1 a memo written that month, ,
question as welL Smithsonian ,v1"' t? ___,ms mill__PTgresf", : plished with 12-gauge shot- I under the heading
officials have have long considered ti,uut w,l_t_ written [2...riLlt.f. guns [a common method of I tiona (Classified secret research research to be contrary 'um,_,_,:_,____ _....? wen , aff"X: collecting birds for research]
tion)," the Smithsonian's
to the spirit, if not the letter, "'au's chairman ?I we lje. from the helicopter deck or ' Charles ElY wrote: "Decisim
of the 19th century trust es- partmeht of Vertebrate Zool- from a whaleboat!, Parasites?to get everyone in the project
tablishing the institution. ogy and head of the Pacific and stomach contents were immunized as soon as posgi-
The trust mandates that the Pr?ject" preserved for further study. i ble without actually calling in
Smithsonian researchers Another 1964 report de_
Smithsonian would be "for
the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men." Be-
cause of that, some at the
Smithsonian have refused to
believe that the institution
ever could have undertaken a
Haaaified project.
"Never," said David Chal-
linor in a 1983 interview. The
Smithsonian's respected
assistant secretary for sci-
ence, who has been with the
institution since 1971, said:
"Why, by our very nature we
cannot do classified work. It
would violate the trust This
is what the Smithsonian In-
to publish what we do. If we ment of Defense] did with it of The Andromeda Strain.
did study the migratory pat- tails a biological survey of
terns of birds and the rich sand island and Johnston
ecological mix of species on Atoll, described as an island
the islands. They published mnatuzaily favored by birds as
reports detaling their find- a breeding site and stopping
ings for the scientific corn- off place.. Johnston, 700
mtmity. And there is DO evi- miles southwest of Hawaii,
dence that Smithsonian per- was used between 1958 and
'nal Wok Part in testing 1962 as a nuclear testing site.
biological weapons. Since 1970, thousands of tons
Said the project's research of nerve gas have been stored
curator, Arthur Binion Amer- there.
s?11: "The Pacific ..k.? PacifLc program Much of what the Smithso-
MIS one ui most success- than researchers did was
ful modern day field studies standard procedure. But
ever done. We were not in- against the background of the
volved in any military activi- mllitary,s interest, their re-
ties. What they [the DePEnt- ports read like passages out
stitution is all about We have -
don't, we are living a lie."
But last year, Challinor THE PACIFIC study had
learned that parts of the Pa- projects within projects. One
cific project had been c]assi- was operation Starbrite, de-
fied. "It is only recently that I Beni:it'd in a 1964 Smithso-
got the inside scoop on that
myself," he said. " . . . it
didn't smell right to me in the
first place." ,
If it was not a lie that the
Smithsonian lived during
that period, then it was a se-
lective rendering of the truth. grid of ocean and atolls., the
Smithsonian personnel were
to record "all visible animal
life." From sunrise to sunset,
they were to note the activity
their business."
Bird blood samples were
taken within 20 minutes of
capture, placed in glass vials,
frozen, then shipped to Fort
Detrick.
Before the project was
over, 2 million birds were
banded?Masked Boobies,
Great Frigatebirds, Sooty
Terns. Some had orange
streamers tied to their legs so
that their flight patterns
could be seen at sea. Many
were tracked by radar. Their
dates of arrival and departure
were recorded, as were their
areas of origm.' ?
years into the study, security and that the maitary is measures were were increased at
the urging of the military.
Cryptic messages were ex-
changed among the expedi-
tions in the Pacific, the
Smithsonian and Fort
Deseret Test Center.
In April of that year,
Smithsonian researchers were
told they needed a series of
Man report classified "Confi-
dential" by the Army. The
Starbrite program consisted
of monthly 15-day cruises
aboard US. Navy vessels op-
erating out of Pearl Harbor.
Cruising a 50,000-square-mile
The Smithsonian touted the
project as a measure of its
devotion to the environment
"The project which surpasses
all others in number of per-
sonnel and size of the ge9- __I= and athe7r? every
graphical area covered," said umou`;;;"'ent.
the Smithsonian's 1965 an- Officers from Utah's Fort
nual report.. With a certain Deseret Test center, where
irony, the report warned of
the hazards man posed to his
environment and himself:
. . . man, in his struggle
to advance himself, . . . is
subjecting the total environ-
ment?water, atmosphere,
and living tissues?to physi-
cal and chemical influences
which need to be measured
now and in the future. For
unless these fundamental
, biological weapons research
was conducted, accompanied
Smithsonian scientists on
many "Starbrite cruises" to
islands with names like
French Frigate Shoals,
Christmas Island and the
Phoenix IglanAR
people from the field. Must
be very careful about the ap-
proach and consider it a rou-
tine matter. Specifics may
not be discussed by phone."
A later memo spoke of per-
sonnel getting "antigent [sic]
immunization" at Fort De-
trick. (Humphrey speculates
that the Army did not want
Smithsonian personnel to
contract diseases from the
test areas.)
Documents now a part of
the Smithsonian archives
show Ely was particularly
concerned with security. In
April of 1964 he wrote "As a
result of a recent security
meeting in Washington some
aspects of our program have
been classified by the mili-
tary. It therefore becomes im-
portant that our people be
even more careful about dis-
cussing the project with out-
side people. No one wants to
be branded a security risk as
a result of idle conversation.
"A discussion of this mat-
ter with SI [Smithsonian In-
stitution] personnel under
you will vary with the
indi-
vidual and his knowledge of
1 the program . . . It should be
enough for our men to know
that they are securing data
By 1964, less than two for the DiVISKIII of Birds, SI
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0,
ested in learning the ECOL-
OGY (or environment) of
areas in which they may
someday be committed. Mili-
tary and ecology are both
nice vague terms . . .
"Forget the term Starbrite
. . . Don't use any naval ship
names with term S [Smithso-
nian] . . . don't associate
DTC [Deseret Test Center]
with S [Smithsonian] ? ?
Don't mention the Eastern
lorganization (or live bird
shipments) in any connection
. . ."
On April 23, 1964, Ely
wrote a colleague: "I've
started a procedure of burn-
ing all project notes, carbon
papers, etc.. keeping only the
original and carbons to be
transmitted whether poten-
tially classified or not . . ?
Also I'd appreciate receiving
eless= infIrmationthe raimZemd
to keep me abreast of devel-
opments. . . This cloak and
dagger business is not for
me."
In a recent interview, Ely,
an ornithologist lecturing in
zoology at Fort Hays State
University in Kansas, said he
could not discuss the specifics
1 of the project "If they [the
? military] told me exactly
what they were going to do
and it were a secret, I
wouldn't tell you. That);
1 what it boils down to."
Research curator Arthur
1 Binion Ammon said he
never asked what the mili-
tary's interests were. "We
knew what Detrick was sup-
posed to do, but we didn't
know what they were doing
. . . Yes, we heard rumors,
but we had no physical evi-
dence of what was going on."
"Project head Humphrey is
director of the Museum of
Natural History at the 'Uni-
versity of Kansas. In a recent
interview, he said: "What I
knew was that the military
was planning certain biologi-
cal weapons testing in the
central Pacific and basically
they wanted to know whether
it was safe. So it seemed to
me then, as now, there was a
clear distinction between the
basic cecnin&al werk_ _bY Douglas, Utah. He now works
the f?mithstsnan?..._. anu____ILm in Washington with the Eavi- motive behind its sponsor-
' um?rma'''' was ronmental Projects Branch of ship!, The Smithsonian "In_
quentlY used by the mai- the ArmY Corps of Engineers- sisted that it had no knowl-
tary." He declined to be inter-
Humphrey said he remem- viewed.
edge that its migratory bird
study was in any way related
bers the names of two "candi- to chemical-biological warfare
date agents" to be tested hi, IN 1969, the secret es- research?,
the InilitarY?VEE and '14 caned for a time as television The Smithsonian attacked
Fever. VEE is Venezuelan and newspaper reporters got the reports_
Equine Encephalitis, a highly icious but their stones science InRitatine wrote an
infectious virus that causes
an acute influenza-like syn-
drome. One medical manual
describes the symptoms as
were met with public &be- extenswe article and quoted a
lief and the Smithsonian's senior Smithsonian official
own indignant protestatiohs. who "told Science 'unequivo-
A tud of birds and nothing cally' that the Smithsonian
"severe headache, c1415, more, the Smithsonian told lass never engaged in any
fever' and explosive vmlitmg the Audubon Society, sena- Lind of biological warfare re-
and diarrhea VEE viruses, tors and Puzzled museum Pa- search.' He said there is 'no
it says, "have produced more tron& evidence' that the had i Smithso-
humanainesshere than any other th
in theWesta 196047.erbeefore, iii:eZi brush
ting dupe
or cloak
December nianhasserved ol for sona
,anunwit.
Hemisp e
arbovirus." Q Fever is an with the press. Ely wrote m a kind of biological warfare re-
al:lite= lingerinfectiformsmodiseasnths lout memo
oe callthafrof from a recelocalivosedPera searindla:/"Aarch 10, 1969, letter
it is rarely fataL HumphreY inquiring about their work to Rep. William F. Ryan,
sakl the biological agents and asking about a tie-in with Smithsonian Secretary S. Dil-
weHtinenpfesthr4:1 sainidaermth:l. Armfarm; thsioen.Ath`miThceEnTrPortCerisals?- IsoonnianRipleInstiy wmtuf4:tion"fhdeoSesminthot-
ne4vdenit thethespinfreatimathmof the tO c?frippieedfraomlofvariof inisousunbodoeksisf??dand awry pant to ascertain
taindecireadernsth
logical 4.agents _rbY birds, but .Previous articles, some ?.f offer support for our scien-
was DOt. aware ei any euutary which I changed. . All this ..?,c ,y,
interest in using birds as car- further convinced him .that tnever, efforts
refientists Rarely,
isnistituu-
we are with AEC?which I tions in a position to predict
guess at least throws him on a how or where the data ar-
cold trail." rived at from their studies
Four Years later, lii may be utilized The line be-
December 1968, the press tween the urrii?zetion of re-
Weed a more serious threat' search information for
ners of agents.
He said he was uncomfort-
able with the notion of letting
them loose. "The more we
learned about the tropical
ecology " he said, "the more
complicated it seemed to he?. A project memo notes: health-oriented objectives
anc_Lthe less feasible " National Broadcasting Coin- and other applications, (bio-
seemed to me biological ,pany continued to make in- logical warfare for example)
weapons testing became. I quiries of present and former is too fine to be discernible,
made this Point to various Program employees concern- Smithsonian records do
People including to the 1.112/1- ing work accomplished on the
dent's Scientifac Advisory program?, not make it clear what senior
Committee. I have no idea as A letter from a researcher officials at the institution
t? the ntitc?me ?f mY m'Pres" to a Smitlasonian administra- Imew ab?ut the project'
says, "I think that was at that ' and our location are partial- of line c9ificTr7rhjec'EtiA.Te!
Nevertheless, Htmiphrey
time an appropriate function
for the Smithsonian and,
even today, I think it would
be an appropriate function
eam cnncern'" , tor notes: "The ship's name
larly touchy. Now NBC can
tie up the Smithsonian and _ere _man, 37. at the Snuths?-
the Hall [the USS Granville interests both
S. Hall] and no telling what science and national security.
else ? Sidney P.. Geller worked at
the Crffice of Naval Research
for the Smithsonian m the The NBC report aired
, from 1948 until 1965, when
national interest I Perm:1211Y Feb. 5, 1969. The next day in-
don't happen to agree with side The New York Times, he joined the institution.
The W..ni.,;,...4.nn Post and While with the Navy, Geller
the notion of biological war- oversaw projects related to
fare* I think it's hideous, but other ;1w* wpers, articles sug-
it's a fact of life." gested a link between the what he called in a recent in-
The military's project offi- Smithsonian project and terview "environmental war-
ear was John B. Bushman, chemical or biological weap-
in helping Humphrey get a
fare" and was "instrumental"
then stationed at Fort ' ons. The Defense Depart-
Deseret Test Center in Fort ment denied any "military
Ciactitit Lied
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contract to do research simi-
lar to that which was later ex-
panded into the Pacific proj-
ect.
"I wasn't interested in the
germs," said Geller, "I was in-
terested in the animals and
their behavior that could be
utilized by an enemy to carry the
germs." Some Pacific oceanic birds,
he said, can "migrate tremendous dis-
tances and reach target areas with
about 97 percent accuracies." He said
the Department of Defense was inter-
ested in "the development of defen-
sive capabilities."
Geller said he was not aware that
the Smithsonian contract was classi-
fied or that actual agents had been
tested. Today Geller continues to
work as a "consultant on environmen-
tal warfare defensive strategies?
At the time the Smithsonian COD-
tract was signed the late Leonard
CarmicnaeL a psychologist, headed
the Smithsonian. During the early
19605?while the Pacific bird study
was under way--Carmichael served
on the board of e CiA-front organiza-
tion called the Human Ecology Fund
Thatbody r---1L---c?ochanneieci vari-
ous
? ? ?? of interest to IA
I MI
the Pacific was not classified.
various ocu:ments
Smithsonian's archives that were
marked "secret,"
"1 centilthat have ever wen
neveseen these ? I can't
you on that because it doesn't ?
...tomeasa
man, this was a wonderful break-
. I Li because it was a source of
s.-
moi_alytTE ...a. "no:
cal research- There is
evi ei:(o=fLT1311 VMS MVO 111
&
studies.
In October 1961 the CIA funded a
roiect "Ro Avian ectors
me at
hat s
I :41 I *. ? I
ut
MILITARY FUNDING for the
Pacific Ocean Bird Project came to
an end on lime 30, 1970, seven
months after President Richard
Nixon renounced the. use of biological
weapons.
On the sixth floor of the Smithso-
nian's Museum of Natural History,
the ornithology department, are
thousands of bird skins?terns,
boobies and shearwaters--researchers
brought back from the Pacific proj-
ect. They are stacked drawer on top
of drawer, cabinet on top of cabinet,
creating a scene reminiscent of the '
closing shot in "Raiders of the Lost
Ark"
Some scientists and researchers at
the Smithsonian were incensed over
the Pacific project. In a Nov. 17, 1969,
memo the National Museum of Natu-
ral History Senate of Scientists at-
tacked the project and reaffirmed the
Smithsonian's founding principles:
? "This issue is of such controversial
nature that the Senate officers will
keep themselves informed of develop-
ments to insure that neither this proj-
ect nor any other is allowed to affect
the scientific climate, access to data
and specimens, or the good name of
the Smithsonian Institution in na-
tional and international science. The
points are as follows:
"L The Pacific Ocean Bird Project,
with Philip Humphrey as
Principal Investigator . . .
t will terminate without reser-
vations of any sort on June
30,1970. Simultaneous termi-
nation of Philip Humphrey
as Research Associate in the
Department of Vertebrate
Zoology would also be viewed
with favor by the NMNH
National Museum of Natu-
ral History] Senate members
IV fal
mv .-1------menleased in
nmiectuninf ?
iest -A?FrecmanonA
fid'wrtn in
1970s. Thetrthere was a conon between
-
e IA spokesman.
, CARMICHAEL was succeeded in
19-S7171:533 ?nal-
Or at
ley was on cassfren
e orerunner o a 1983.
interview ev
said was certam
"The goal of the NMNH
Senate of Scientists regarding
any scientific project, past Or
present, in which SI [Smith-
sonian Institution] staff
members are involved is to
insure the complete, free ex-
change of scientific data,
specimens and publications
to all qualified scientists
throughout the world, regard-
less of sex, religion, ethnic
group or nationality. No
NMNH staff member shall
engage in research or seek
funds from any sources that
have any restrictive clauses in
it that violate the above prin-
ciples?'
The project was concluded.
But a final word belonged to
those responsible for storing
the safe containing docu -
merits on the project. In a
Feb. 12, 1971, letter to the
Defense Supply Agency,
Smithsonian General Counsel
Peter G. Powers wrote
, "When the Pacific Project
terminated on June 30, 1970,
it was necessary to find a
place to put the two drawer
1, Diebold container. It was
moved to 1242-24th Street,
N.W. and will be keit there
until such time as another
classified project is obtained
I by the Smithsonian."
I "By GOD, it would be
over my dead body if that
thing were ever cranked up
I again," said David Challinor,
who since 1971 has directed
, the Smithsonian's scientific
research efforts. As a result of
I the Pacific project and the
turmoil it caused, the Smith-
sonian
an Institution has, since
1970, inserted a clause into its
contracts specifically prohib-
iting classified work and re-
quiring all findings to be pub-
lished in the open scientific
literature.
Colima
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.
THE SMITHSONIAN'S DEFENSE CONTRACTS
IIN AN ALEXANDRIA OFFICE, miles from the
Mall and the familiar Castle, is a side to the 1
Smithsonian Institution few know exists. 1
Behind a door marked "Manpower Research I
and Advisory Services Snaithsonian Institution" works ,
Dr. IL Wallace Sinaiko. He is a Smithsonian researcher
working under a $190,000 a year contract with the
Office of Naval Research. His subject psychological
studies on how to enhance recruitment, re-enlistment
1 and quality of life in the volunteer Navy.
Sinaiko is one oi. several Smithsonian researchers
working with the Department of Defense; over the
past decade Defense Department contracts with the
Smithsonian have totaled $10 million. The
, Smithsonian has had contracts with many
, government agencies. With the exception of the
Pacific project, says the Smithsonian's assistant
secretary of science, none of the contracts were
i classified.
Among the dozens of convects with the military,
' the Smithsonian has conducted a study of dolphins
with a Navy grant, an Air Force study of the
Demilitarized Zone in Korea focusing on "diseases of
: man transmitted by animal vectors," and a 1966-1968
Army study on mosquitoes as vectors of disease in -
Southeast Asia.
Throughout the early 1960s, the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), a network of
observatories funded in part by NASA, did work for
the U.S. Air Force as part of the observatory's routine
Satellite Tracking Program. A memo in the
Smithsonian archives reads: ". . . At NORAD's
request, several Soviet satellites have been tracked
and on occasion, reduced films have been sent to
USAF.. : . Several SAO personnel travelled to
NORAD (Colorado Springs) to consult on operational
and communication techniques.. . ." -
A December 1972 report nous: "Cosmos 520 (1972
72-A) was tracked for four days by special request of
the US. Air Force."
In one instance, the SAO request was dedined by a
foreign researcher. On Nov. 11, 1964, an Indian
scientist wrote from an observatory in that country:
"While we shall be too happy to track such NORAD
satellites in which SAO or other agencies, including
NORAD, may have a scientific interest, it would put
us in a rather embarrassing situation if we were asked
to track NORAD or any other satellites on behalf of
military agencies. . . You will appreciate that as a
young scientific institution in a non-aligned country it
would be best for us to keep away from such
1 controversies."
Much Defense-related work was initiated in the
da w man's
secretary 964. e t ? eep y a ut
issues of natio interest. mi manarcuives
contam armi e 's file
rt of the
cal and Unconventional
artare to ch and Develo ment Board."
ne reports were oestroyed by the Defense
nartment
cian 1963 Carmichael served as a
director o t e uman og ), a
$ ? ' ?
an inventory
t re era
6
to
save
secret re
el
rts
Ca
?
mets. ?e
u one
? III
rOU
Or.
1953
chol
S.
re
It
VISO
???
14 'IN
research board funded by the Central In
o
Acco
or
en
Part
ormer
and a conduit for a variety
the
V.
1,1
et
em
?
ore.
oyes who
WOr
D secrecy
:J "'GS
? ? :
ence
ro
ects ?
to two
e fun
ant not to
? :
:ii 5
V. al 11
A former executive director of the HEF said
Carmichael "was bro t on because he had a
tastic e. Any of that caliber wo not be
in_mly_t_-1t e_
image we wanted to project." A former CIA employe
sai . .:e ev: uar: -01 ? ?ro. ?
I Ut ? ? not participate in any ? : ?
activity on the HEF was in a a rsonal
: 19 1:
its
'S
city, an not as a mi
written on Smithsonian steno and Carmichael's
man official_ However
one etter avii
appointment
a
S. sell
? ? ??
cites numerous meetings wi
1. 91 al:*
man
V
tie un er 0

on its own bircl stu. re to
197'7 e inl man was
'Me links between the CIA's
mi mans. 23,1977
a / attorney to m
: ?
.5
1.0
met W'
?
S. ?
??? ?;?man s . e ? em
acco-"-- to an internal memo. -------They were told that '
, "ttierwas official mithsonian role" altho
as a resear ? .7 7.. nut ojganarai co:vs7rved=ed
someone tar. - . : .
hat inform_ ati?111ewas leased in a 1977 . ?
Smi nian tenle___It thesta =named "someone"
associatedith thsonian was
e it s orme__L?,--secreterv.
- _"r ? ei-THI C?e ye rn tP------tt----ca--Comitiasonian more
information- On Nov. 7, 1977, e unsel
cii on eV t new v ? ..ve ocuments
. evidenced some type of involvement, direct or .
ce.
?
was working
weimons.
'are rter
ro and the
ma
uire
IA-
:55
le
?
ut
:11$
ut
?
than officials
WOr
Cionlinuoti
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000302600001-3
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000302600001-3
64
sponsored research in the 1950s and 1960s into various
aspects of human behavioral controL" Lapham wrote
the Smithsonian askinp "whether you believe the
identity of the Smithsonian should continue to be
protected against disclosure by this Agency."
The Smithsonian chose not to release the new
information. In a Nov. 18, 1977, letter to the CIA,
Ripley wrote: "Because the Smithsonian in no way
participated in this program, I believe it would be
unfair and improper to disclose the institution's name
in connection with it. . It would, I believe, be a
tragic disservice to the people of the United States
and the world snould the Smithsonian's ability to
carry out its co essional mandate of 'increase and
OW e among men ma
Therefore I request that the CentralIntehigence
7iich?t disclose the SmIthsonlan-mune-ib sai'y
context as being involved in Agency-sponsored
research into human behavioral contra"
No has been released under a Freedom of
orma on Act request to the CIA filed by The
Washington Post in 1982 asking about links between
the agency and the Smithsonian. The request is still
being processed, says the CIA. ?Ted Gup
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000302600001-3