Parapsychology in Intelligence: a personal review and conclusions: full transcription

Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions
Kenneth A. Kress, Central Intelligence Agency, McLean, VA

Originally published in Studies in Intelligence, Winter 1977 (classified). Declassified 1996. Republished with new postscript in Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 13, No. 1, 1999.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was deeply involved with assessing both the scientific merits and potential intelligence utility of the potpourri of phenomena called parapsychology in the early 1970s. Although nothing that would meet the rigorous test of science was ever achieved, there were tantalizing events and experiences that suggest the possibility of acute perceptions, either elicitation or parapsychological, in some individuals. This article summarizes selected highlights of the experiences of the author and others. The intent is to reveal some likely interesting and hopefully useful data and opinions.

Keywords: remote viewing, ESP, psychic phenomena, CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency has investigated the controversial phenomenon called parapsychology as it relates to intelligence collection. The author was involved with many aspects of the last such investigations. This paper summarizes selected highlights of the experiences of the author and others. The intent is not historical completeness. Files are available for those interested in details. Instead, the intent is to record some certainly interesting and possibly useful data and opinions. This record is likely to be of future benefit to those who will be required to evaluate intelligence-related aspects of parapsychology.

The Agency took the initiative by sponsoring serious parapsychological research, but circumstances, biases, and fear of ridicule prevented CIA from completing a scientific investigation of parapsychology and its relevance to national security. During this research period, CIA was buffeted with investigations concerning illegalities and improprieties of all sorts. This situation, perhaps properly so, raised the sensitivity of CIA's involvement in unusual activities. The "Proxmire Effect", where the fear that certain Government research contracts would be claimed to be ill-founded and held up for scorn, was another factor precluding CIA from sensitive areas of research. Also, there tend to be two types of reactions to parapsychology: positive or negative, with little in between. Parapsychological data, almost by definition, are elusive and unexplained. Add a history replete with proven frauds and many people instantly reject the subject, saying, in effect, "I would not believe this stuff even if it were true." Others, who must have had personal "conversion" experiences, tend to be equally convinced that one unexplained success establishes a phenomenon. These prejudices make it difficult to evaluate parapsychology carefully and scientifically.

Tantalizing but incomplete data have been generated by CIA-sponsored research. These data show, among other things, that on occasion unexplained results of genuine intelligence significance occur. This is not to say that parapsychology is a proven intelligence tool; it is to say that the evaluation is not yet complete and more research is needed.

Attention is confined to psychokinetics and remote viewing. Psychokinetics is the purported ability of a person to interact with a machine or other object by unexplained means. Remote viewing is akin to clairvoyance in that a person claims to sense information about a site or person removed from a known sensory link.

Anecdotal reports of extrasensory perception (ESP) capabilities have reached U.S. national security agencies at least since World War II, when Hitler was said to rely on astrologers and seers. Suggestions for military applications of ESP continued to be received after World War II. For example, in 1952 the Department of Defense was lectured on the possible usefulness of extrasensory perception in psychological warfare [1]. In 1961, the reports induced one of the earliest U.S. government parapsychology investigations when the chief of CIA's Office of Technical Service became interested in the claims of ESP. Technical project officers soon contacted Stephen I. Abrams, the Director of the Parapsychological Laboratory, Oxford University, England. Under the auspices of Project ULTRA, Abrams prepared a review article which claimed ESP was demonstrated but not understood or controllable [2]. The report was read with interest but produced no further action for another decade.

Two laser physicists, Dr. Russell Targ and Dr. Harold E. Puthoff, re-awakened CIA research in parapsychology. Targ had been avocationally interested in parapsychology for most of his adult life. Puthoff became interested in the field in the early 1970s after extensive work in quantum electronics.

In April of 1972, Targ met with CIA personnel from the Office of Strategic Intelligence (OSI) and discussed the subject of paranormal abilities. Targ revealed that he had contacts with people who purported to have seen and documented some Soviet investigations of psychokinesis. Films of Soviets moving inanimate objects by "mental powers" were made available to analysts from OSI. They, in turn, contacted personnel from the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and OTS. An ORD Project Officer then visited Targ who had recently joined the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). Targ proposed that some psychokinetic verification investigations could be done at SRI in conjunction with Puthoff.

These proposals were quickly followed by a laboratory demonstration. A man was found by Targ and Puthoff who apparently had psychokinetic abilities. He was taken on a surprise visit to a super-conducting shielded magnetometer being used in quark experiments by Dr. A. Hebbard of Stanford University Physics Department. The quark experiment required that the magnetometer be as well shielded as technology would allow. Nevertheless, when the subject placed his attention on the interior of the magnetometer, the output signal was visibly disturbed, indicating a change in the internal magnetic field. Several other correlations of his mental efforts with signal variations were observed. These variations in the magnetometer were never seen before or after the visit. The event was summarized and transmitted to the Agency in the form of a letter to an OSI analyst [3].

The Office of Technical Services took the first action. An OTS project officer contracted for a demonstration for a few days in August, 1972. During this demonstration, the subject was asked to describe objects hidden out of sight by the CIA personnel. The descriptions were so startlingly accurate that the OTS and ORD representatives suggested that the work be continued and expanded.

By October, 1972, I was the Project Officer. I was chosen because of my physics background to work with the physicists from SRI. The Office of Technical Service funded a $50,000 expanded effort in parapsychology [4]. The expanded investigation included tests of several abilities of both the original subject and a new one. Curious data began to appear; the paranormal abilities seemed individualistic. For example, one subject, by mental effort, apparently caused an increase in the temperature measured by a thermistor; the action could not be duplicated by the second subject. The second subject was able to reproduce, with impressive accuracy, information inside sealed envelopes. Under identical conditions, the first subject could reproduce nothing. Perhaps even more disturbing, repeating the same experiment with the same subject did not yield consistent results. I began to have serious feelings of being involved with a fraud.

About this time, a third sensitive subject, Pat Price, became available at SRI, and the remote viewing experiments, in which a subject describes his impressions of remote objects or locations, began in earnest.

The contract required additional management review. The initial review went from OTS and ORD to Mr. William Colby, then the DDO. Mr. Colby decided that the Executive Management Committee should pass judgment on this potentially sensitive project. An approval memorandum was written for the signature of the DCI, then Dr. James Schlesinger [6]. I was soon told not to increase the scope of the project and not to anticipate any follow-on. The project was too sensitive and potentially embarrassing. It should be tabled. It is interesting to note that OTS was then being investigated for involvement in the Watergate affair. As Project Officer, clearly my sense of timing had not been guided by useful paranormal abilities!

During the summer of 1973, SRI continued working informally with an OSI officer on a remote viewing experiment. The target was a vacation property in the eastern United States. The experiment began with the passing of nothing more than the geographic coordinates to the SRI physicists who, in turn, passed them to the two subjects, one of whom was Pat Price. No maps were permitted. The subjects came back with descriptions which were apparent misses. They both talked about a military-like facility. Nevertheless, a striking correlation of the two independent descriptions was noted. The correlation caused the OSI officer to drive to the site and investigate in more detail.

To the surprise of the OSI officer, he soon discovered a sensitive government installation a few miles from the vacation property. Pat Price, who had no military or intelligence background, provided a list of project titles associated with current and past activities including one of extreme sensitivity. Also, the code name of the site was provided. Other information concerning the physical layout of the site was accurate. Some information, such as the names of the people at the site, proved incorrect.

In the fall of 1973, a Statement of Work was outlined, and SRI was asked to propose another program. A jointly funded ORD and OTS program was begun in February, 1974 [8]. The author again was the Project Officer. The project proceeded on the premise that the phenomena existed; the objective was to develop and utilize them.

Before many months had passed, difficulties developed. The rigor of the research became a serious issue between the ORD project officers and SRI. An ESP teaching machine experiment, a four-state electronic random number generator, produced a subject who averaged a statistically very significant 29 percent for more than 2,500 trials against an expected 25 percent. I had the Office of Joint Computer Services redo the data analysis. The conclusion was that "no evidence of non-randomness was discovered" and there was "no solid reason how he was able to be so successful [11]." I further ordered the subject to be re-tested. He averaged more than 28 percent during another 2,500 trials. The ORD Project Officers maintained there must be yet another flaw in the experiment or analysis, but that it was not worth finding.

Concurrent with this deteriorating state of affairs, new Directors of ORD and OTS were named again. The new Director of ORD said he could not accept the reality of paranormal functioning, but he understood his bias. Support for the project was vanishing rapidly.

As these pressures mounted, the first intelligence collection operation using parapsychology was attempted. The target was the Semipalatinsk Unidentified Research and Development Facility (URDF-3). The experimental collection would use our best subject, Pat Price. I reviewed the photos of URDF-3 and chose two features which, if Price described them, would show the channel at least partially working: the tall crane and the four structures resembling oil well derricks. It was agreed that if Price described these structures, I would have him sign a secrecy agreement and collect more relevant intelligence details.

Price was given only the geographic coordinates, a world atlas map marked with the approximate location of URDF-3, and told it was a Soviet research and development test site. Overnight, he produced a drawing of a large crane. Price mentioned it was a "damned big crane" because he saw a person walk by and the person only came up to the axles on the wheels. This performance caught my attention.

When the decision was made to make Price witting, I decided to test him. My branch chief and I sat in a conference room while Targ and Puthoff brought a smiling Pat Price into the room. I was introduced as the sponsor, and I immediately asked Price if he knew me.

Yes.

Name?: Ken Kress.

Occupation?: Works for CIA.

Since I was then a covert employee, the response was meaningful. After having Price sign a secrecy agreement, I rolled out a large version of the URDF-3 photograph and asked if he had viewed this site.

Yes, of course! Why didn't you see the four derricks? Wait, I'll check.

Price closed his eyes, put on his glasses, he "sees" better that way, and in a few seconds answered: "I didn't see them because they are not there any more." Since my data were three or four months old, there was no rejoinder.

In a few weeks, the latest URDF-3 reconnaissance was checked. Two derricks were partially disassembled, but basically all four were visible. In general, most of Price's data were wrong or could not be evaluated. He did, nevertheless, produce some amazing descriptions, including buildings then under construction, spherical tank sections, and the crane. Two analysts, a photo interpreter at IAS [12] and a nuclear analyst at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories, agreed that Price's description of the crane was accurate. The nuclear analyst wrote that either the subject "actually saw it through remote viewing, or he was informed what to draw by someone knowledgeable of URDF-3 [13]." But since there was so much bad information mixed in with the good, the overall result was not considered useful.

As a check on my own objectivity, I asked for a critique from a disinterested consultant, a theoretical physicist with broad intellectual background. After reviewing both the field and the CIA data, his conclusion was: "a large body of reliable experimental evidence points to the inescapable conclusion that extrasensory perception does exist as a real phenomenon, albeit characterized by rarity and lack of reliability [14]." This judgment by a competent scientist gave impetus to continue serious inquiry.

A final challenge was issued by OTS management: do something of genuine operational significance. Price was chosen. An intriguing idea was selected from audio collection systems: Price was to visit two foreign embassies by remote viewing, locate the coderooms, and come up with information that might allow a member of the audio team to determine whether Price was likely to be of operational use. Price was given exterior photographs and the geographic coordinates of the embassies.

In both cases, Price correctly located the coderooms. He produced copious data, the location of interior doors, colors of marble stairs and fireplaces, that were accurate and specific. As usual, much was also vague and incorrect. Regardless, the operations officer involved concluded, "It is my considered opinion that this technique, whatever it is, offers definite operational possibilities [15]."

Following that evaluation, OTS management issued four decisions: (1) ORD concluded the research was not productive or competent and dropped research support to SRI; (2) the operational utility of the capability was considered questionable but deserving further testing; (3) all operations-oriented testing with the contractor was stopped, and a personal services contract with Price was started; (4) since I was judged a positively biased advocate of paranormal functioning, the testing and evaluation of Price would be transferred to a more pragmatic OTS operations psychologist.

The OTS psychologist then tasked Price against a Libyan site described only by geographic coordinates. Price described new construction consistent with an SA-5 missile training site [17]. The Libyan Desk officer revealed that an agent had reported essentially the same story. A second set of coordinates was passed to Price. He returned a report describing a guerrilla training site and a related underwater sabotage training facility on the sea coast, similar to a collateral agent's report. The Libyan Desk officer escalated the requirement to the plans and intentions inside those buildings [18]. The second requirements list was passed to Pat Price. Price died of a heart attack a few days later, and the program stopped. There have been no further CIA-sponsored intelligence collection tests.

In August, 1973, parapsychology was discussed with several members of DIA. The DIA people were basically interested in the Soviet activities in this area, and expressed considerable interest in our own fledgling results. DIA remains interested on a low priority basis.

The Army Materiel Command learned of CIA interest in the paranormal. We discovered the Army interest was generated by data which emerged from Vietnam. Apparently certain individuals called point men, who led patrols into hostile territory, had far fewer casualties from booby traps and ambushes than the average. These point men had a loyal following and greatly helped the morale of their troops. The Army gave extensive physical and psychological tests to a group of unusually successful point men and came to no conclusion other than perhaps that paranormal capabilities may be the explanation. After a few more follow-up meetings, the Army Materiel Command was never heard from again.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had a hostile response to the subject area. The SRI contractors and I went to a briefing where we had a several-hour confrontation with an assemblage of hostile DARPA people who had been convened especially to debunk our results. After a long, inconclusive, emotional discussion, we left.

The Navy reviewed part of the work and became interested. Minor funding was provided to SRI by Navy to replicate one of SRI's earlier experiments under more controlled conditions. The experiment was replicated. Then the Navy asked SRI to repeat the same experiment under different conditions. An effect was observed, but it was not the same as the previous observations. About this same time, the Navy became very concerned about this research being "mind warfare"-related. Funding was stopped.

The active funding for parapsychology shifted to the Air Force's Foreign Technology Division. The Air Force project is attempting to evaluate whether signals and communications can be sent and received by paranormal functioning. Also aircraft and missile intelligence which can be verified is being gathered and evaluated. To date, the results are more consistent than those seen during the CIA research, but still they are mixed. Some simple experiments seemed very impressive and conclusive. The more complex experiments are difficult to assess.

Director Turner revealed publicly that CIA has had operational interest in parapsychology [21]. There is a less positive aspect to open interest and publications. Before adequate assessment was made by CIA and others, we may have allowed some important national security information out into the public domain. It is my opinion that, as it relates to intelligence, sufficient understanding and assessment of parapsychology has not been achieved. There are observations, the original magnetic experiments at Stanford University, the OSI remote viewing, the OTS coderoom experiments, and others done for the Department of Defense, that defy explanation. Coincidence is not likely, and fraud has not been discovered. The implication of these data cannot be determined until the assessment is done.

If the above is true, how is it that the phenomenon remains controversial and receives so little official government support? This state of affairs occurs because of the elementary understanding of parapsychology and because of the peculiarities of the intelligence and military organizations which have attempted the assessments. There is no fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of paranormal functioning, and the reproducibility remains poor. Past and current support of parapsychology comes from applications-oriented intelligence and military agencies. The people managing such agencies demand quick and relevant results. Unless there is a major breakthrough in understanding, the situation is not likely to change as long as applications-oriented agencies are funding parapsychology.

Since the passage of time allows the release of more historical information about the CIA's involvement in parapsychological research, I offer a few additional remarks and details not included in the original article.

Consider first the appeal of psychics to intelligence collection. All human intelligence assets, spies, begin by providing information and data which must be evaluated or vetted. A psychic, such as Pat Price, appears and asserts, as he did to me, that he tracks all the Soviet submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles and daily updates their positions on a world map. This information, if true, is clearly of great importance. The possibilities: is the information bogus from a well meaning but feckless individual? Is it a dangle, real information supplied by others so that a psychic double agent ingratiates himself and eventually returns even more important information to his handlers? Is it a new, overlooked capability? Is it a technique that can be used to penetrate other intelligence organizations?

Given the range and mix of possibilities, what is a responsible response? Most such extraordinary claims are immediately rejected because they include incredible ancillary claims such as extraterrestrial contacts, forced brain implants, and other delusional characteristics. When particularly important information is offered and there are no obviously delusional characteristics and the resources required for evaluation are modest, perfunctory dismissal is not so easily done. Because of the continuing desire to solve intractable problems, the Intelligence Community is always vulnerable to offers of help on the most difficult issues.

I attempted both a rigorous, science-based and pragmatic utility-oriented investigation of parapsychology for the CIA, spurred by the need to solve hard problems and some latent concern that the U.S. was overlooking something important. While on this quest, I did observe one effect I wish to highlight now. It was a demonstrable fact that psychics could convince professional intelligence operators of the genuineness of their powers.

One example was a remote viewing by Pat Price of an official foreign facility which we were sure had only been seen by a select group of our people. Pat provided overwhelming detail about the interior layout and design to an experienced operations officer, "Frank." While watching the session between Pat and Frank, it was clear that it was fraught with the potential for elicitation. Frank and Pat chatted like two old men discussing remembrances of their long ago, boyhood school days. Pat would say he liked the subdued red and green decor surrounding the stairs and Frank would respond that he also was impressed with the lavish use of Italian marble. After several hours of such exchanges, Frank provided a very positive assessment. Frank was sure that Pat was either there or could remotely, mentally access the facility. My conclusion was that the data did little to elucidate psychic powers, but it was clear we could use Pat to convince some experienced operators that his powers were real. This seemed like a vulnerability result worth knowing.

Consider the second assertion: the motives of psychics clashed with mine and taught me, too late, to be very wary of psychics. In the late 1970s, several years after the project was terminated, I got a secure line call from a person who identified himself as an FBI agent. He suggested that I should be prepared for a spate of publicity about the remote viewings of Pat Price. Pat had died a few years before and I was surprised that somebody had leaked information about these defunct activities.

The FBI agent explained that Pat Price was a member of an organization that was recently raided for documents indicative of illegal activity. The raid produced hundreds of files and papers. One such file included debriefings of Pat Price about his CIA remote viewing projects. The debriefings were a detailed record of the intelligence objectives I had given Pat and results that Pat provided to me. The files revealed the meeting places as well as all the names of those present. My esteem instantly rose for my colleagues who had used first names only in all meetings with Pat. As the file made clear, Pat, who had signed an official secrecy agreement, would immediately go to his superior in the organization after sessions with me and divulge everything. As far as I know, the documents were never read by anybody who publicized them and the organization never used them.

With all the vicissitudes of investigating paranormal phenomena, I can look back on this period as a unique part of my career with guarded satisfaction. The project was fascinating and frustrating, in equal proportions. The times demanded a measured investigation that I helped to organize and manage. Me, I remain a skeptical agnostic. More skeptical as time advances, but careful to note that even if paranormal phenomena are entirely bogus, some individuals are surely able to instill the belief in unexplained capabilities. How they do this and what are the vulnerabilities to such enticements is worth knowing.