Project MKNAOMI: primary documents

The United States shall renounce the use of lethal biological agents and weapons, and all other methods of biological warfare. The United States will confine its biological research to defensive measures such as immunization and safety measures.

The Department of Defense has been asked to make recommendations for the disposal of existing stocks of bacteriological weapons. [...]

Mankind already carries in its own hands too many of the seeds of its own destruction. By the examples we set today, we hope to contribute to an atmosphere of peace and understanding between all nations.

I am extending the United States unilateral renunciation of biological weapons to cover toxins. Toxins are poisonous materials produced by living organisms but which are not themselves living organisms. Although sometimes classified as chemical rather than biological agents, I feel that it is essential for the United States to make clear its determination that toxins, which have unique characteristics not shared by many chemical agents, will be treated in the same manner as biological agents.

The Department of Defense will [destroy] all existing stocks of toxins for military purposes. [...]

SENATOR CHURCH: Director Colby, is it your testimony that despite the president's express order that these biological weapons be destroyed, the CIA held onto eleven grams of this shellfish toxin?

DIRECTOR COLBY: Yes, Senator. I regret to say that is correct. Following the president's order in 1970, the individual concerned decided on his own to retain this material, contrary to the order that had been given. He retained it at a facility in the Washington area. [...]

SENATOR CHURCH: [displaying the weapon] What is this device?

DIRECTOR COLBY: That is a dart gun. It was developed under the program you are investigating. It uses compressed gas to fire a dart [...] the dart is coated with a biological material which can be lethal. [...]

SENATOR CHURCH: And if this dart hits a person, it would kill them?

DIRECTOR COLBY: If it has the material on it, yes, Senator. [...]

SENATOR CHURCH: And there would be no trace of this in an autopsy?

DIRECTOR COLBY: The material was developed specifically because it would be very difficult to detect. [...]

DIRECTOR COLBY: The purpose of the program, as I understand it from the files, was to develop and maintain a capability to carry out certain covert operations. The materials were developed for possible use in various operational scenarios. I want to be clear that I did not run this program. I found it when I came into the Director's position and I reported it to this committee when I became aware of the materials in question. [...]

The Committee has found that the CIA maintained, and in some cases continued to use, materials developed under Project MKNAOMI after the presidential order requiring their destruction in 1970. The most significant finding concerns the retention of approximately 11 grams of shellfish toxin (saxitoxin) and 8 milligrams of cobra venom at a CIA laboratory in the Washington, D.C. area.

The saxitoxin alone, in the quantity retained, represented a sufficient amount to cause thousands of deaths. The retention was accomplished without the knowledge or authorization of the Director of Central Intelligence and in direct violation of the February 14, 1970, presidential directive. [...]

Project MKNAOMI had as its goals the stockpiling of severely incapacitating and lethal materials for the specific use of [the Technical Services Division]; to maintain in operational readiness special and unique items for the dissemination of biological and chemical materials; and to provide for the required surveillance, testing, upgrading and evaluation of materials and items in order to assure absence of defects and operationally sound performance. [...]

A 1967 CIA memorandum which was uncovered by the Committee contained evidence of at least three covert techniques for attacking and poisoning crops that had been tested under field conditions. [...]

The Committee found that elements of the MKNAOMI program continued to operate under different CIA components, including the Office of Security and Office of Medical Services, for special interrogation techniques into the 1960s, beyond the program's stated operational period and without the documentation that would normally accompany authorized programs. [...]

In April 1975, in anticipation of the Church Committee investigation, the CIA initiated an internal search for records relating to MKNAOMI. Two key files were retrieved from the Records Center. These files detailed project operations including covert support bases established for the dissemination of biological and chemical agents. [...]

The review found the files incomplete. Comprehensive evaluative statements on program outcomes were largely absent. The documentation did not provide a complete accounting of all materials developed, acquired, or disbursed under the program. [...]

Following the Committee's investigation, the CIA undertook a disposition review of remaining MKNAOMI materials and equipment. [This document addresses the transfer and disposal of those assets.] [...]