REUTERS ARTICLE, FROM DTA BASE SEARCH. 'SUPERPOWERS SAID STUDYING PSYCHIC PHENOMENA FOR MILITARY USE'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00791R000200230018-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 7, 1998
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: November 12, 1985
• Content Type: NOTES

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Approved For~e~'ease ~10~(~0~0~81~1T~RI~IA-RDP96-007918000200230018-3
Copyright 1985 Reuters, Ltd.
Reuters North European Service
NOVEMBER 12, 1985, TUESDAY, BC CYCLE
LENGTH: 832 words
HEADLINE: SUPERPOWERS SAID STUDYING PSYCHIC PHENOMENA FOR MILITARY USE
BYLINE: BY CHRISTOPHER HANSON
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, NOV 12
BODY:
MILITARY AGENTS WITH 'EXTRA-SENSORY PERCEPTION' (ESP) ARE PUT TO WORK READING
THE MINDS OF ENEMY GENERALS 5,000 MILES (8,000 KM) AWAY AND VISUALIZING SECRET
WAR PLANS LOCKED IN SAFES.
GOVERNMENT AGENTS WITH ANOTHER BIZARRE MENTAL POWER -- THE ABILITY TO MOVE
PHYSICAL OBJECTS WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM AND TO AFFECT THE PULSE RATES OF HUMAN
BEINGS -- USE THEIR SKILL TO SABOTAGE WEAPONS AND CAUSE HEART ATTACKS IN ENEMY
LEADERS.
SCIENTISTS USE A MACHINE TO EXTRACT A MYSTERIOUS FORM OF ENERGY FROM THE
BRAIN AND USE IT AS A DEATH BEAM.
THESE CASES FROM A HYPOTHETICAL MIND-WAR ARE THE STUFF OF SCIENCE FICTION --
BUT A U.S. DEFENCE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (DIA) REPORT EXPRESSES FEAR THAT A MAJOR
SOVIET 'PSYCHOTRONIC' RESEARCH EFFORT MAY BE DEVELOPING JUST SUCH MENTAL POWERS.
'SOVIET AND CZECH PSYCHOTRONIC RESEARCH ... HAS POWERFUL POTENTIAL FOR USE AS
AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON AGAINST GROUPS OF MEN AND LEADERS,' ACCORDING TO THE REPORT,
A COPY OF WHICH WAS PROVIDED TO REUTERS BY A PRIVATE SOURCE.
SOME SCEPTICS HAVE DISMISSED REPORTS ABOUT SOVIET PSYCHIC EXPERIMENTS AS
'DISINFORMATION' AIMED AT CONFUSING THE WEST. MANY MAINSTREAM SCIENTISTS REJECT
PSYCHIC RESEARCH.
EVEN SO, WASHINGTON IS BACKING ITS OWN RESEARCH INTO PSYCHIC PHENOMENA AND
THIS YEAR DOUBLED ANNUAL FUNDING TO ONE MILLION DOLLARS, SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE
WORKED ON U.S. PSYCHIC PROJECTS SAY.
SOURCES CLOSE TO THE U.S. EXPERIMENTS SAY THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
(CIA) ONCE FUNDED TESTS IN WHICH PSYCHICS, SITTING IN A LABORATORY AND GIVEN MAP
COORDINATES OF MILITARY BASES AND NUCLEAR PLANTS IN THE SOVIET UNION, DESCRIBED
THOSE SITES IN DETAIL THAT WAS CONSISTENT WITH CIA DATA.
A CIA SPOKESMAN WOULD NOT COMMENT ON WHETHER OR NOT SUCH TESTS HAD BEEN
CONDUCTED.
THE PENTAGON DENIES FUNDING PSYCHIC STUDIES AND A CIA SPOKESMAN TOLD REUTERS:
'WE HAVE NO ONGOING PROGRAMME FOR PSYCHIC RESEARCH.'
BUT A 1983 CONGRESSIONAL REPORT CONFIRMS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS FUNDED
PSYCHIC RESEARCH.
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euters th u o can e ice NOVEMBER 12, 1985
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SCIENTISTS RUSSELL TARG AND KEITH HARARY SAY THE CENTRE FOR U.S.-FUNDED
PSYCHIC RESEARCH IS SRI INTERNATIONAL, A PRIVATE INSTITUTE IN MENLO PARK,
CALIFORNIA. THEY DESCRIBE WHAT THEY SAY WERE THEIR GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENTS FOR
SRI IN A RECENT BOOK, 'THE MIND RACE'.
AN SRI SPOKESMAN DECLINED TO COMMENT ON FUNDING SOURCES.
TARG AND HARARY SAY THAT FOR 13 YEARS SRI HAS CARRIED OUT A MULTI-MILLION
DOLLAR SERIES OF U.S. GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENTS IN 'REMOTE VIEWING', WHICH THEY
DESCRIBE AS 'THE PERCEPTION OF EVENTS, OBJECTS OR PEOPLE WHICH ARE HIDDEN FROM
THE FIVE SENSES.'
IN THESE EXPERIMENTS, THEY SAY, A PSYCHOLOGIST WOULD SIT WITH A 'PSYCHIC'
SUBJECT IN A LABORATORY, WHILE ANOTHER SCIENTIST WOULD STAND AT AN UNKNOWN SITE,
SOMETIMES THOUSANDS OF MILES (KM) AWAY. THE SUBJECT WOULD ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE
THE SITE, OF WHICH HE HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE.
IN MANY CASES, THE SCIENTISTS SAID, THESE DESCRIPTIONS -- OF OBJECTS AS LARGE
AS CLOCK TOWERS AND AS SMALL AS PINS -- WERE REMARKABLY ACCURATE, THE EVIDENT
RESULT OF SOME TELEPATHIC MENTAL PROCESS NOT YET UNDERSTOOD.
TARG TOLD REUTERS SOVIET SCIENTISTS HAVE SHOWN GREAT INTEREST IN THEIR
RESEARCH, HAVE MET THEM IN THE UNITED STATES AND INVITED THEM TO THE SOVIET
UNION FOR TALKS. THE RUSSIANS WERE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN WHETHER A WAY COULD
BE FOUND TO SCREEN OFF SECRETS FROM PSYCHIC INTRUSION.
THE DIA REPORT, 'SOVIET AND CZECHOSLOVAKIAN PARAPSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH', IS
BASED LARGELY ON SOVIET SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE AND DESCRIBES A LARGE-SCALE
KREMLIN PROGRAMME INCLUDING MIND-OVER-MATTER EXPERIMENTS, A FIELD KNOWN AS
PSYCHOKINESIS.
IT SAID IN ONE SET OF EXPERIMENTS A SOVIET PSYCHIC STOOD IN A LABORATORY
BESIDE A FROG'S HEART WHICH HAD BEEN SURGICALLY REMOVED AND KEPT BEATING
ARTIFICIALLY. 'AS SHE CONCENTRATED ON CONTROLLING ITS BEAT, ...THE RATE OF
CONTRACTION INCREASED OR DECREASED AT HER COMMAND (AND) FIVE MINUTES AFTER THE
EXPERIMENT BEGAN SHE STOPPED ITS BEAT ENTIRELY,' THE REPORT SAID.
HER ABILITY 'MIGHT BE USED AGAINST HUMAN TARGETS,' IT SAID. THE REPORT SAID
SOVIET SCIENTISTS HAD REPORTED ON EXPERIMENTS IN WHICH PSYCHICS MOVED OR
LEVITATED OBJECTS THROUGH MIND-POWER.
IT SAID IN OTHER EXPERIMENTS REPORTED BY SOVIET SCIENTISTS PSYCHICS
HYPNOTIZED PEOPLE HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY BY TELEPATHY.
MUCH SOVIET RESEARCH DESCRIBED IN THE REPORT DEALS WITH A THEORY THAT PSYCHIC
ABILITIES STEM FROM A FORM OF BRAIN ENERGY THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED. SOVIET
SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED A MACHINE THEY SAY CAN EXTRACT ENERGY FROM THE BRAIN,
AND REPORT THAT FLIES EXPOSED TO A BEAM OF SUCH ENERGY 'DIED INSTANTLY.'
'IF {SUCH) DEVICES CAN KILL INSECTS AT PRESENT, THEIR POTENTIAL ... AFTER
REFINEMENT AND ENLARGEMENT MAY WELL BE FOR KILLING MEN,' THE REPORT SAID.
THE 1983 CONGRESSIONAL REPORT SUMMARIZED IN THIS WAY THE OBJECTIONS OF
MAINSTREAM SCIENTISTS TO PSYCHIC RESEARCH:
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Reuters th u o can e v c NOVEMBER 12 1985
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'POORLY CONCEIVED METHODS, INCLUDING INADEQUATE CONTROLS, FAULTY EQUIPMENT
... EXPERIMENTAL BIAS, SELECTIVE TREATMENT OF DATA, AND GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND
THEORETICAL INCOMPETENCE.'
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