Doc 0000144999

. - ,. ....._._ .. ...... .~ .. ~ .... "'.:~- ---·- Chief, Security I\c:.carch Staff 30 July 1953 Chief, Technical Branch ARTICHOI{E Conference, 15 July 1953 1. On Thursday, 15 July 1953, between 2:00 and 3:15PM, an ARTICHOKE Conference was held in the SO Conference Room 2065 I Building. Present at this Conferen~.c '~'~.X.~~~~~ •· w....:r.:~~-~ anr:r~i?e'Mia\I~Acttitsaw~i.+S:mt-~~'5!~~ ~representing SO;~~~~~representinr, TSS;!:}..' ::l 'fi'ittll~Jiill representing the Medical Staff;~~-~~ . :r~~~~enting the Director's Office and OSI; andlii~'i#;;t:~rll ~~representing DDP. 2. opened the Conference by introducing~ ~l'l'l~.~""-~~m~a. rn:~ as the DDP representative • . 3. ~~ stated the Sidetcne Delay machine had been delivered by "'7[;:4£,,.~~;a of Chicaao to~ andt~~. .. -~ 0 ~ of the Technical Branch and others of'SO had examined the rnachine. ~stated that the examination had· been of a general nat~re and~~had agreed to·turn the Sidetone Delay Device. over to us as soon as the paper work was completed. ze:r~ex­ plained that after certain studies and tests were made by the Technical Branch IRB, the device would be turned over to TSS !or their study and any tests they cared to' make in connection with · this device. · 4. Several newspaper clippings which bore directly on ARTICHOKE matters were displayed. ~~~the~ dbcusse~ the situation of a former Agency official who had become a chronic; alcoholic and who, at the present time, was undergoing operative treatment in Dallas, Texas, for a p.Osf!ible brain tumor. This individual had called the Agency prior to the operation and warned that when given certain types of anes- thetics (sodium pentothal) previously he had been lmown to talk coherently. The matter was taken care of by placing an SSD representative in the operation room and by bringing the various personnel participating in the operation under the Secrecy Agree ~ent. it':t~~ stated that the subject did talk extensively under the influence of sodium pentothal and revealed internal problems o! the Agency. ~~added that he was acquainted with the details in the case. \7~,._~~ ---.-.-~ ... - ·. -; ... --- . · . 5. ;::--~"""lr~ then commented th<1t ,ois t),•e ~ -ol- - t - '• - 1 - n~ - ~na c.. been a su~. cc of r;r~.;. concern to himself awl other$ ::! operation:; work and sta'ted he hoped that the AR TICHOKS dfortn to produce some method that would perhaps cuarantec arnnr::sias on the parts of those knowing of Agency opcr<ttions in The image displays the title "THE BLACK VAULT" in large, stylized white lettering against a dark, gradient background. To the left of the text is a graphic representation of a vault door with intricate locking mechanisms and a bright blue light emanating from it. The text below the title describes the document's origin from "The Black Vault," an online database of declassified government documents, specifically mentioning the MKULTRA/Mind Control Collection and providing a URL for access. There are no photographs, handwritten annotations, official stamps, forms, diagrams, tables, or visual evidence of experimental procedures. The page's visual content is primarily text and a symbolic graphic. '• - 1 - n~ - ~na c.. been a su~. cc of r;r~.;. concern to himself awl other$ ::! operation:; work and sta'ted he hoped that the AR TICHOKS dfortn to produce some method that would perhaps cuarantec arnnr::sias on the parts of those knowing of Agency opcr<ttions in vital :;pc,~s would be successful. He stated that some individuals in thr; Agc:n cy had to know tremendous amounts of information :-.nc if any way could be found to produce amncsias for this ty?e of infc.rma tion -- for instance, after the individual had left the Ag~nc;· -- it would be a remarkable thing • .liliif~Dil"timii stated the ne<:d for "' amnesias was particularly great in operations work.~~~· and~~ both explained that work was continually being clone in an' effort to produce controlled amnesias by various means. 6. 1!#:~21'111 ~alled attention to the fact that at the · preceeding conference.~~ had advanced the idea o! testing new methods, new chemicals and new .techniques (a..."ld cof.:.:. binations thereof) on certain carefully selected employees of the Agency, probably individuals in the Training groups. ~ ~pointed out also the matter \'.('as scheduled !or cEsc·..:ssion ·au · at this time. A discussion followed in \vhich hands we:-e in agreement that i! the testing could properly be protect~d e.:1d controlled and if it were thoroughly governed by the Medical Staff that the work would be of extreme value both from ar: ex perience point of view for those tested and from a research point oi view f.or ARTICHOKE.~~~~ stated.t::at it was his ide.a that staif employees (in Training} be care!ul:y I ' ' screened and that they be·tested on a voluntee.r basis with any ' J new or untried chemicals or techniques provided that t:,.e :\-fedical · Sta!f was gi.;en complete authority to determine whether cr not such testing was safe. ~-i>J?r~~ ·insisted that prctection, of Agency personnel would be paramount in such matte::-s and on!.y after certification by the Medical Staff and the Medical Stu! I completely handling the chemicals or drugs in question co~ld the testing then be carried out. It was suggested by agreement ·among all hands that the matter be taken up with certain ~ey officials in the Training Branch as to whether or not they con sidere~d- t~e matter feasible and sound and~~=~ stated he and~would approach the Training offi~ials. It was further agreed that after this had been done The document appears to be a page from a declassified report, likely a memorandum or meeting minutes, with a date stamp of "30 July 1953". The majority of the page is filled with typed text detailing a conference and related matters. There are several instances of heavily redacted text throughout the document, obscuring names and specific details. Handwritten annotations are present in the top right corner, circling the number "245", and in the bottom right corner, with the handwritten notation "53-186". There are no visible photographs, stamps, forms, diagrams, schematics, organizational charts, tables, or visual evidence of experimental procedures, equipment, or facilities. The page displays a typewritten document with several handwritten annotations. There are multiple black redactions obscuring parts of the text, primarily in paragraphs 5 and 6. One redaction appears as a long, dark horizontal block near the bottom right of the page, with a smaller, similar redaction to its left. In the lower right corner, a handwritten number "53-187" is visible above the word "COPY," which is also typewritten. The overall impression is of a heavily processed and redacted document, typical of declassified government records. No photographs, diagrams, or forms are present. by agreement ·among all hands that the matter be taken up with certain ~ey officials in the Training Branch as to whether or not they con sidere~d- t~e matter feasible and sound and~~=~ stated he and~would approach the Training offi~ials. It was further agreed that after this had been done and basic de~ails ironed out, the matter should then be taken up at the pro?.er level with the top administrative people of the Agency for approval. .. , ~)-J~7 ~.:· . \?f . .. s.. .;:· ;.. - ~·. " .. " .. " . '"'; . ~ :· ..... 1.':.:.....:.·~ :.~:b;: .· .. . . . . ...~ 8. At this point in the conference, tli:Z~o!i~clistrilmte·d a. paper entitled "J~RTICHOI<:E; Restalctl1cnt of Program"· dated 16 July 1953 and signed b~...;!--fa!?*\'i-.!'i;1~;~ ~~~ cxpliiined that the paper had been prcparcd .. at the direction of ~-~?CD and ,.;as being distributed to all hnnds for their , stu<ly and comment. ~then stated that the pc>.per ·' . -~ set forth in general a restatement of the ARTICBOKE program an9 · redefined certain proposed work in connection with the project. ~~stated he wan~ed to make certain that the ARTI-:- · . CHOKE n"lission was entirely sound and we were ha"ndling with the _pr~pi;!r.::.'Briority the val"ious broad fields v1e were studying. C:,?-:;:~Bt'~ also stated he wanted to find out, in the opinion ·of those assembled, whether or not the work was going too far or not .far enough or i£ it were properly in line. ~\li'J:''§"t''it'f'£3,"oo'o~ • 1 stated it was his principal desire to make certain the entire ARTICHOKE group and all participating divisions completely and totally backed the ARTICHOKE work.~~~~ cond~1ded by stating that he hoped at the next meeting we would have a full discussion concerning the ARTICHOKE work and that if any of. the participating 'groups or individuals present had any ideas or suggestions that they.would b·e taken up at this time. 9. Foll~wing~~dis.cussion, r.:4~~ stated that TSS was making successful progress in items of in terest to ARTICHOKE. ~~~stated that in connection with the·~ · \ - : = · -: : s . • ~~ W , r ~ i ~" r 1 . -~ · A p ~ . ~ . l . ! O .tt W ••" ~ P ~ . i "• • · • > ·. . · ~ '. ~ -: ~ 4 · -: : s . • ~~ W , r ~ i ~" r 1 . -~ · A p ~ . ~ . l . ! O .tt W ••" ~ P ~ . i "• • · • > ·. . · ~ '. ~ -: ~ 4 some progress was being made and h%t'"t"7{.:~·~~ ~auld ~vork with the Surgeon General's Office in this connection. £;,~~'?~-further stated that<~:~ intended to talk with all doctors that he could reach that were involved in medical decisions. in the case and~~~· would a~terl}?~. to assemble and study the medical histo:-ies, L""l addition,_&.~~ will, in the future, approach the principal in the case if a ...... proper and suitable cover can be established to permit~~C~~ to do this. 10. ~then briefly ~eported for OS! and dis cussed the matter of the communication contemplated with the ~{~officials engaging in work somewhat parallel to that of ARTICHOl~E. ~~'1!1 explained in some detaii the b~ck.­ ground of the.~letter and then passed out copies of the OS! reply to the ~~"}~officials for study by the group. During a general-discussion that followed, rlf/~;Jijt=J pointed )3-11:6- ,· .. -, ... .• OUt t h ~t Wur 1; . · 1 ng Wl · t~ I. lC ~ ~-.: ~ .~' ~ ::> ~ #._ SC • l Cntl · r· l C pCO? 1 C • bllL b C . VCT)' <!.Uvant.-.gcous since he stated that thci::_"'-~-;-g~r:m. government pc:::-mittcd certain <'.ctivitics which were not pc:::-mittecl by the United Stat<:s government (i.e~ cxpe rimcnts on anthrax, etc.). 11. Following this, ~~-stated·that he felt that i! the P.RTICHOl<E organi;.~ation would set up a list of require ments for information, he would survey the possibilities of the transr.-1ission of these requirements to the various field stations and the various desks in the operations end. :L-~Y~}t~ also sugg~st~~;,;t po~r,}.~qui_remer.t sent to_the Security Officers both mt;. .. -=~and~{\.-·.-.:- .. m1ght be product1ve of good results. la;~~t~ and·4,:.ti.""":'.t ..t in£o'rmed ~~~they regarded his ideas as sound and would assemble a list of requirements and · give them to him in the immediate future. ll.f/1~.#-disc~ssed briefly certain interesting aspects o! the delivery _of food by the U. S. Government to East Germany with the possible charges ,-,{ food poisoning, etc. which the Soviets woul? ma."\;;e against free !bod. .. - ,- 14. ~ h " ' 1: f 1 ~ "~ a ~ ~ ~ The document appears to be a typed report with handwritten annotations and obscured content. There are two instances of obscured content, one near the top of the page and another in the middle, which appear to be redacted text. There are also handwritten additions in the margins, notably "53-188" and "COPY" located in the bottom right corner. The page contains numbered sections, indicating it is part of a larger document, likely meeting minutes or a report. While the text discusses a program called "ARTICHOKE," there are no visual elements directly depicting people, locations, equipment, or experimental procedures, only the written record of them. briefly certain interesting aspects o! the delivery _of food by the U. S. Government to East Germany with the possible charges ,-,{ food poisoning, etc. which the Soviets woul? ma."\;;e against free !bod. .. - ,- 14. ~ h " ' 1: f 1 ~ "~ a ~ ~ ~ made the _concluding statement of the conference by pointing out that in general the ARTICHOKE "l.vork was quite well defined but often the "by-products" of ARTICHOKE experimentation and research would be c£ interest to many di- · visions throughout the Agency. ~$~w'-tSC::;aQ.~~plained that where a discovery was made through the ARTICHOKE efforts a.nd did not ap?lY to the ARTICHOKE work immediately that discovery whether chemical or otherwise would be given at once to the pro perly interested division o! the Agency. -l?'_._J;.·~\9~~ ·!If. ·;:u. .~ ...... ~. 8kU-ri&--...··;::.;;....;.. .~~-~~~~- ,. .. ~~ COPY. ... ................_..-.-. .:.-.' ~ _.::-~""'7";_,...._ :+""'.~,......_,. ~ ~.... · "'··"!".•-_. :.. _,.,4... ............ ~~~-r~~~~~~~~"·~~~ . . . .. . ·. ...... ..:..:... .......... ~~--~---- .. . -; .... ;{ -~----:-.::::----------------··- )5. The rnccti. ~ <tdjourncd <1t ;lJli"roxirn~.tcly 3 · 1 -·• a.!tcr Thui·sc.!::J.y, 20 August 1953, had been selected as the time of th'! next meeting. The meeting will Le held .:ts usual in the SO Con- £crcncc Roorn. ' .. - ~-~ ~- ··>C.• t.·- .. ... The document is a typed page with several visible redations and some handwritten annotations. The redations are blacked-out sections of text, primarily appearing as dark rectangular blocks across the page, obscuring specific words or phrases. There's one handwritten annotation in blue ink, "53-189," in the lower right quadrant, and below it, the typed word "COPY" appears. The page contains numbered sections, with text discussing an organization named "ARTICHOKE" and its activities related to information requirements, experiments, and food delivery. No photographs, diagrams, or evidence of experimental procedures are visible. The provided page is primarily text-based, with no photographs of people, locations or equipment. There are no handwritten annotations, signatures, or official stamps. There is no visual evidence of experimental procedures, equipment, or facilities. However, there are two instances of obscured content. One is a horizontal black redaction across a line of text in the upper half of the page, and another is a heavy, smudged black mark in the lower half of the page. The text itself refers to a meeting that adjourned, the date of the meeting, and the location for the next meeting. A handwritten designation "COPY 53-190" appears in the lower right corner.