LETTER. SUBJECT: PROPOSED DECLASSIFICATION OF SRI S ASSOCIATION WITH CIA: REMOTE VIEWING INVESTIGATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030004-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 12, 2003
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: June 1, 1995
• Content Type: MF

Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
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SUBJECT: Proposed Declassification of SRI's Association
With CIA: Remote Viewing Investigations
G?r~gry~
1. CIA's Office of Research and Development has been tasked by Congress
to review and declassify a twenty-year-old research program which SRI
conducted under contract to CIA. This program involved investigations into
the use of paranormal phenomena to collect foreign intelligence. We believe
that the association between SRI and CIA was classified SECRET during the
contract period which lasted from about 1972 to 1976. The purpose of this
letter is to inquire as to whether SRI has any specific objections to
declassification of this association, or to the declassification of the
identity of the investigators involved in the research.
2. There are several reasons why we recommend declassification of the
SRI association with CIA. CIA would like to conduct a Congressionally
directed review of all past remote viewing efforts in an unclassified forum
using uncleared expert behavioral and social scientists. These scientists are
already familiar with SRI's work during the early 1970s and cannot possibly
avoid concluding that CIA sponsored SRI to perform this work. Attempts to
prevent such a conclusion would be futile and possibly counterproductive in
managing the reviewers. Three of the primary SRI employee-investigators have
published widely in the open literature on their efforts in this area
(Hal Puthoff, Russell Targ, and Edwin May). Therefore, SRI's investigations
involving the paranormal are well documented in the open literature.
3. CIA is now responding to an inquiry under the Freedom of Information
and Privacy Acts from a former SRI employee and project investigator, Russell
Targ, about his own work performed for CIA while he was at SRI. We would like
to release the requested information but cannot do so without implicating SRI's
previously classified association.
4. It also may be worth considering that CIA has several current
contracts with SRI in which the association is unclassified. At least one of
these is with the office of Research and Development, with whom the original
paranormal investigations were performed. Therefore, we do not see that any
equities in our association will be compromised.
5. Finally, Congress has asked requested CIA to declassify this program
work to facilitate the establishment of cooperative efforts with international
investigators. When overall program declassification takes place, we believe
that all interested parties will realize the early CIA efforts had to have been
conducted at SRI. It would be cumbersome indeed for to SRI to have to
continually deny the obvious speculation about this former association.
Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
 Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
SUBJECT: Proposed Declassification of SRI's Association with CIA: Remote
Viewing Investigations
6. Please advise us as to your concerns, if any, regarding our
declassification of your paranormal research efforts with CIA. For further
information regarding this and other related issues, please contact 1 :1 S G11
S G1 Bin ORD He will be managing the declassification and review.
SG1I
Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
 Approved For Release 2003/04/18: CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
SUBJECT: Proposed Declassification of SRI's Association with CIA: Remote
Viewing Investigations
Distribution:
Orig. - Addressee
1 - Front Office ORD Chrono
1 - IEPG/ORD
1 es
DST/OR (17 May 1995)
Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
 Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0
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Approved For Release 2003/04/T8 : IA-RDP96-00791 R000200030004-0