You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough

[Jan Klimkowski]

I agree. This is similar to my beef with Acid Dreams, which while it does contain useful information, ends up portraying MKULTRA as too much of a failed experiment, and one based on psychedelics which somehow escaped.

Techniques for controlling the behavior of the individual have by no means failed, and neither are they mere historical artifacts. MKULTRA is alive and well.

We have to be able to promote awareness of this fact without also dipping into every poisoned well of information- and there are many out there...

Austin - I wouldn't describe Acid Dreams or You have used me as a fish... as "poisoned wells". There's much of interest in these works, including invaluable source material. My own position is that I disagree with the ultimate conclusions, but regard those wells as far more provocative and challenging than most other material in this area.

In fact, my position is probably a both/and one, and I could amend my quote above as follows:

Whilst the military-industrial complex continued its dream of directly controlling the individual mind, it also turned to ever more sophisticated forms of mass propaganda - such as the manipulation of the historical record and the shaping of contemporary reality as presented through network television news & current affairs.

There is also a tension between differing agencies/organisations/agendas. One group might be most interested in a "truth serum" or a means of "implanting false memories" in an individual. Another group would concentrate on mass incapacitation, be it of an enemy on a battlefield or a civilian population in a French village.

However, I absolutely agree that the "MK-ULTRA" dreams were not a failure, and were not abandoned.