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Proposed Star Gate Management Strategy:
I .
Background
:
A. Congressionally Directed Action(s):
In early 1995,
Senate conferees directed the Central
Intelligence Agency
(CIA)
to transfer the
"Star Gate" program
from the Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA)
to CIA.
Specifically,
the conferees directed the transfer of ten
civilian billets and $500,000
in Star Gate program resources
by July
1,
1995.
The conferees'
language also adopted a
previous directed action to DIA relating to Star Gate
in
which the Senate Appropriations Committee requested a
technical review of Star Gate going back twenty years,
a
declassification review,
and establishment of
a cooperative
activity with the Russians
in parapsychology.
As directed,
a
status report on this transfer was presented by CIA to
appropriate committee staff during March and April.
However,
while the transfer status was reviewed and a program manager
was identified in those presentations,
by agreement,
presentation of
the management strategy for Star Gate was
deferred until September 30th.
This date was selected in
order
to allow CIA to complete the requested technical review
with an external blue ribbon panel commissioned by the
American Institutes
for Research
(AIR)
.
It was agreed by
interested staff members and CIA that CIA's
final proposed
management strategy would be based closely on AIR'S review.
B.
Program History,
Context of Review:
Star Gate
is a DIA program which involved the use of
paranormal phenomena,
primarily "remote viewing,"
for
intelligence collection.
During Star Gate's history,
DIA
pursued three basic program objectives:
"Operations,"
i.e.
using remote viewing
to collect intelligence against foreign
targets;
"research and development,"
or using laboratory
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studies
to
find new ways
to improve remote viewing for use
in
the intelligence world,
and finally,
"foreign assessment"
or
the analysis
of
foreign activities
to develop or exploit the
paranormal
for any uses which might affect our National
Security.
Prior to the advent of Star Gate
in the early
1990s,
DIA,
CIA,
and other government organizations,
conducted various other programs pursuing some or all
of
these objectives.
CIA's program began in 1972,
but was
discontinued in 1977.
DIA's direct involvement began later
and continued until Star Gate was transferred to CIA this
July.
During the
last twenty years,
all government programs
involving parapsychology have been viewed as highly
controversial,
high-risk,
and have been subjected to various
critical reviews.
This review is distinguished,
however,
in
two key respects. A totally external panel
of experts,
operating in an open forum,
with no equities concerning the
ultimate fate of Star Gate as a CIA program per
se,
conducted
the technical review.
Also,
in conjunction with this review,
the National Intelligence Council
(NIC)
provided oversight
during a fresh assessment of Russian programs
in
parapsychology
.
II.
Preliminary Declassification:
In compliance with the Congress ionally directed action
(CDA)
,
and in order to facilitate AIR'S technical review,
the
CIA declassified its past parapsychology program.
In
addition,
CIA worked with DIA to continue declassification of
Star Gate program documents,
a process which had already
begun at DIA in response to
the CDA.
At CIA's request,
DIA
also officially declassified the fact that
it had had a
parapsychology program.
CIA collected all relevant CIA and
DIA program files and constructed detailed bibliographies
of
those documents relevant
to the technical review.
CIA's
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Office of Research and Development
(ORD)
then contracted with
AIR,
based on AIR's long-standing expertise
in conducting
studies relating to behavioral science
issues,
in order
to
conduct
the technical review.
The bibliographies were
submitted to AIR which then made specific recommendations as
to which documents would be necessary for the review.
All
requested documents were declassified and transferred to AIR.
CIA then continued to study the long-range declassification
alternatives
for the remaining program files.
III.
Technical Review, Major Objectives:
ORD asked AIR to address a number of key objectives
during the technical review of Star Gate.
These included an
objective and comprehensive evaluation of
the research and
development
in this area with a focus on the validity of the
technical approach according to acceptable scientific
standards.
It also asked AIR to evaluate overall program
utility or
"usefulness"
to the intelligence community.
ORD
believed that
the controversial nature of past parapsychology
programs within the intelligence community,
and the
scientific controversy clouding general acceptance of the
validity of paranormal phenomena,
demanded that these two
issues
of utility and scientific validity be addressed
separately.
In addition,
AIR was asked to consider whether
any changes
in the operational,
or research and development
activities
of
the program might bring about improved results
if the results were not already optimal.
Finally,
AIR was
asked to advise CIA as
to appropriate strategies
for program
activity in the
future.
AIR was directed to base
its
findings on the data and information provided as
a result
of
DIA and CIA program efforts,
since
it was neither possible
nor intended that AIR review the entire
field of
parapsychological research and its applications.
AIR was
directed to assemble an objective panel
of experts
in order
to assist
in this review:
in fact,
AIR's commissioned
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reviewers consisted of
a leading proponent of parapsychology
actively involved in contemporary research and development,
and a well-known skeptic who has closely followed these
contemporary developments
.
IV.
Foreign Assessment:
The NIC provided oversight
to an assessment
of current
Russian parapsychology research and development.
This
recently concluded assessment was conducted largely by DIA
Star Gate program officers on special,
temporary assignment
to CIA.
These officers conducted their assessment under the
direct supervision of both the National Intelligence Officer
for Science and Technology,
and the CIA's Office of
Scientific and Weapons Research.
Their assessment was
reviewed by various officers of the NIC and CIA but
it was
not coordinated within CIA or the Intelligence Community.
The recommendations relating to future assessment of
foreign
parapsychology research and development are closely based on
this assessment.
V.
Proposed Management Strategy:
Based on the general conclusions
of AIR'S completed
technical review regarding utility and scientific validity,
the NIC's assessment of Russian parapsychology,
discussions
with various CIA elements having declassification authority,
and after conducting additional discussions with Star Gate
customers,
CIA now proposes
a management strategy for the
Star Gate program.
That strategy
is presented below in the
form of key recommendations.
It includes recommendations
addressing the future of all three program elements:
operations,
research and development,
and foreign assessment
It also includes a proposed allocation of
future program
resources consistent with the CDA's objectives relating
to
declassification.
Attached to these recommendations
is
the
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summary of
the AIR final report and the DI's position after
reviewing the NIC's assessment.
A.
Key Recommendations:
1.
Terminate remote viewing operations within the
intelligence community.
The American Institutes
of Research,
after
interviewing multiple current users
of remote viewing,
concluded that
"...the information provided by remote
viewing is vague and ambiguous,
making it difficult if
not impossible for the technique
to yield information of
sufficient quality and accuracy for actionable
intelligence
.
.
Terminate research and development relating to remote
viewing within the intelligence community.
The American Institutes
for Research,
after
assessing its blue-ribbon panel review of CIA and DIA
sponsored research spanning over twenty years,
concluded
that
"...it remains unclear whether the existence of a
paranormal phenomenon,
remote viewing,
has been
demonstrated.
The laboratory studies do not provide
evidence regarding the sources or origins of the
phenomenon.
.
.
This does not mean that research in parapsychology
is not
important or that
it should not continue
in the
public domain,
but
it does argue strongly that despite
significant past investment over many years,
government-
sponsored programs have not been successful
in proving
the existence of remote viewing as
a paranormal
phenomenon
.
3.
Perform a comprehensive declassification review of
all DOD and CIA program file to prepare them for
official transfer to the National Archives.
It was stated in the CDA that
" The Committee also
believes
that
the
time has come for a re-evaluation of
the classification of the existence of this effort as
well
as
the results
that have been obtained over
time.
In addition,
it was directed that
"The DCI's
declassification committee should review the history and
nature of this program
to determine what parts of it may
be declassified and be converted into an open world
activity. "
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Full declassification review will require an
allocation of resources given the volume and diversity
of the records
in question.
The records relate
to a
least
five different programs including Star Gate,
Grill
Flame,
Center Lane,
Sun Streak,
and SCANATE.
The
eventual release of these records will allow public
examination of twenty years of government-sponsored
research efforts
in parapsychology.
• Apply no resources to the assessment of foreign
developments in parapsychology.
After overseeing the recent assessment of Russian
programs,
The CIA Directorate
of
Intelligence in
consultation with the NIC states
that
"Among the areas
of science and sociological change we are monitoring,
we
view developments in parapsychology as a relatively low
threat
to
the United States and,
consequently,
as a low
priority among all
the threats we are trying
to monitor
and assess.
In addition,
the DI stated that
"In none of
this Russian research do we see credible evidence of
developments
that could significantly add
to
the threat
that Russia currently poses
to US national security .
B.
Proposed Resource Allocations:
Further Declassification, Archiving,
FOIA request processing:
Since Star Gate was officially transferred to CIA on
July 1st,
1995,
under EO 12958 CIA is now responsible
for
records management as though
it were
the originating Agency
of
the Star Gate program files.
These program records
actually consist of
43 document boxes of diverse program
material relating to at least
five past CIA and DOD
parapsychology programs at various government agencies
including SCANATE,
Sun Streak,
Center Lane,
Grill Flame,
and
Star Gate.
The records are highly diverse,
including
documentation of operations,
training,
internal memoranda,
assessments,
program reviews,
etc.
They span a period of time
from the early 1970s
to
1995.
Some of these records remain
sensitive due to sources and methods of other intelligence
organizations and operations which are discussed.
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The Congressionally Directed Action requests a
comprehensive declassification review of these program
records.
We believe this review should involve the
declassification,
transfer,
and eventual release of
appropriate records
to the National Archives.
The CIA's
Review Declassification Team believes
that
four person-years
will be required to accomplish this
task.
An estimated $400K
in each of FY96 and FY97 also would
be needed for contract
labor and capital investments
in
computer hardware and software necessary to allow scanning
and text searching of
the documents
in question.
In
addition,
it will be necessary to reproduce all transferred
records consistent with the standards
for permanent records
set by the National Archives.
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