Inside the CIA's 'Wild West' era of secret human experiments

Lawmakers are preparing to revisit the CIA’s MKUltra program decades after most related files were destroyed. The renewed attention includes claims about disturbing mind-control experiments and covert biological testing. Operation Sea-Spray is cited as a 1950 effort in which bacteria were released over major US cities to assess vulnerability to biological attacks. The death of CIA scientist Frank Olson is also highlighted, with allegations that he was secretly dosed with LSD and later died after falling from a hotel window. Speculation about government coverups is tied to later settlements and nondisclosure agreements. Separate testimony claims intelligence officials seized boxes of JFK and MKUltra files during declassification processing, prompting oversight demands for their return.

"Among the programs Gentile highlighted was Operation Sea-Spray, a covert 1950 experiment in which the CIA released bacteria over San Francisco to study how vulnerable US cities would be to biological attacks. 'They sprayed... they covered San Francisco with bacteria,' Gentile said. 'They did it in New York, too.'"

"The conversation also turned to the death of CIA scientist Frank Olson, who plunged from a New York hotel window in 1953 after being secretly dosed with LSD by colleagues connected to MKUltra. Olson's death has long fueled speculation that the government covered up what really happened during the agency's early mind control experiments. 'If nothing happened, why did President Ford give them money and make them sign an NDA?' Gentile said of the government's later settlement with Olson's family."

"A hearing on MKUltra was previously set for May 13, but had been rescheduled days before. However, former CIA officer James Erdman testified in front of the Senate last week, claiming US intelligence officials seized '40 boxes of JFK and MKUltra files' that were being processed for declassification. House Oversight Committee members Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Eric Burlison of Missouri are standing by the whistleblower's claims that the CIA took secret files and marched into CIA headquarters in Virginia to demand the return of the files."

"The CIA's Wild West era of mind control, bioweapons and secret human testing is back in the spotlight as lawmakers prepare to revisit the notorious MKUltra program decades after the agency destroyed most of the files. AJ Gentile, host of The Why Files, who has built a massive audience dissecting UFO lore, government secrecy and hidden history, said Americans have forgotten just how disturbing the CIA's MKUltra experiments really were."

Read at Mail Online