by James Corbett
corbettreport.com
February 8, 2017
As Corbett Reporteers will know by now, the Central Intelligence Agency is one of the organs through which the deep state manipulates the overt government in Washington. It is not without good cause that the initials “CIA” have been said to refer to “Criminals In Action.”
And so the latest “release” of 930,000 documents from the CIA’s archives needs to be treated with a healthy dose of realism. Criminals generally do not advertise their criminality, let alone put those advertisements in neatly organized, web-accessible databases for the public to peruse.
For those not in the know, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12958 in 1995 mandating the automatic declassification of all historically valuable government records older than 25 years (with “exemptions” for all sorts of “national security” reasons, of course). This includes the CIA, which in 2000 set up a system called “CREST” (CIA Records Search Tool) that the public can use to browse its declassified documents.
One problem with CREST: It has only ever been available to researchers at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. This seemed rather unfair to researchers elsewhere, what with this being the internet age and these documents being electronic, so in 2005 people started agitating for internet access to these documents.
As the New York Times notes in its own recent puff piece on the archive:
“After journalists at MuckRock, a news site, filed Freedom of Information Act requests for access to the Crest database, the C.I.A. said in 2015 that it would take 28 years to publish. In 2015, the agency cut its estimate to six years, and said the documents would be delivered on 1,200 compact discs at the price of $108,000.
“Put off by what he perceived as stalling, Mr. [Mike] Best [a journalist and archivist] crowdfunded $15,000 to print, scan and publish files himself. In October, the C.I.A. said it would post the files.”
And now, here they are. So what’s in there, you ask?
Well, the first thing you’ll notice when you look at the establishment fake news reports on the archive is that they tend to fall into one of four categories:
- “Oh my gosh, UFOs and psychics, guys!”
- “Gee whiz, ain’t the CIA a funny old place?”
- “Here’s some newly-released documents that change our understanding of an historical event, and here’s how we’ll spin them to keep the narrative in line with what we’ve been telling you all along.”
- “Here’s an important document that we’ll tell you about, but we’re not going to link it!”
The first category of reports is understandable, as they’re the most attention-grabbing and click-baiting, even if they do little more than add a few documents to a story that is by now so well known that it was written up by the smarmy Jon Ronson and adapted for the screen with the help of the CFR stooge George Clooney.
The second category of reports is like the aforementioned New York Times piece or Wired‘s own guide to the archive. They note some of the “fun” documents (like a German recipe for invisible ink) and some of the “serious” documents (communications about detention and torture, for example) and then throw up their hands in the journalistic equivalent of a shrug. “Wow, guys, I guess it all comes out in the wash, huh? Now carry on with your daily lives!”
The third category is more insidious. It’s the route Ynetnews takes in its report on what CREST’s Kissinger archives reveal about the lead-up to the Yom Kippur War. To hear Ynetnews tell it, you’d think that the documents (which they only provide screen shots of, no links to) confirm the official take that this was an unprovoked surprise attack by the Arab aggressors against the innocent Israelis. Other outlets, however, come to the complete opposite conclusion from the same documents: “that Israel desired and planned for the war—despite the US asking them, more then [sic] once, not to pre emptively strike other nations.”
The fourth category is the exact type of shoddy nonsense that the dinosaur media still think they can get away with, as if pretending to be unaware that the internet age arrived two decades ago. Take this report from the Daily Fail on how a “Secret 1983 CIA intelligence report suggested America should encourage Saddam Hussein to attack Syria to secure oil pipeline to Med and Gulf.” The report is enlightening, especially in light of recent events, and notes how even two and a half decades ago the CIA was plotting against the Syrian government over (what else?) an oil pipeline closure. Even more interesting: The report was written by none other than Graham Fuller himself (yes, that Graham Fuller).
What this otherwise thorough report doesn’t do is give you a link to the actual document itself. What on earth could possibly be going through the minds of the editors at these dinosaur media institutions? Do they think the public is not able to handle access to the actual documents themselves? Do they think it might blow their “scoop” to give people actual access to the source document that they based the story on? Do they think you’re too stupid to be bothered to read an actual document instead of a report about that document?
Whatever the case, don’t worry. I looked it up myself. Here’s the link.
As you can see, there are some interesting documents in here. Nothing earth-shattering, no details about what really happened on 9/11 or anything like that, yet some genuinely interesting documents nonetheless. But we can’t rely on the dinosaur fake news establishment lying media to report on it for us.
That’s why I’m starting a new open source investigation for The Corbett Report community. In this investigation, members are encouraged to leave their own links to documents of interest and their interpretations of those documents. To leave your link, just sign in to the site and contribute in the comments section below. If you’re not yet a member of the site, please consider becoming one and help support and contribute to real, independent open source journalism.
Here’s the link to the CREST archive one more time in case you missed it.
Oh, and happy hunting!
James, thanks for giving us a heads up on the undertones and things to expect. Colin A. Ross gives an interesting anecdote about the CIA and their bungling when he personally went to retrieve 15,000 pages of mind control documents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29TZSBm-ggA&feature=youtu.be&t=6m15s
James, your last link points to a pdf, the database query page is here
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/collection/crest-25-year-program-archive
Thanks for pointing that out. The link has been fixed.
Personally, as a private “psychic” working in the private sector myself–and I know some of the world’s best psychics have before, and still currently do, assist law enforcement and government agencies in information gathering …Section 3.4 of Executive Order 12958 that James draws attention to, particularly the omissions referred to paragraph B part 1: “Reveal the identity of a confidential human source (like a psychic) or reveal information about the application of an intelligence source or method (like psychic findings and/or the ability or usage itself) or reveal the identity of a human intelligence source when the unauthorized disclosure of that source would clearly and demonstrably damage the national security interests of the United States (like a psychic that has worked for the government and could spill the beans)”
…Obviously this clause is not exclusive to psychics, but we certainly would fall under this criteria of needing to be protected for our own safety. Very cool. Great job, James!
Thanks for the links, James.
Michael Best, the man who was going to go to Maryland and digitize the entire archive himself, has been doing research on the records over at MuckRock. Here’s his latest:
Senate worried CIA’s psychic program was part of mind control plot
https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/feb/08/senate-worried-psychic-program-was-part-cia-mind-c/
CIA briefly considered softcore porn as a PR strategy
https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/feb/06/cia-briefly-considered-softcore-porn-pr-strategy/
Thanks for the links, James, I will leave my comments on the Muckrock search summary link below.
Here’s a link to all of MuckRock’s articles on the archive:
https://www.muckrock.com/project/the-rest-of-crest-100/#articles
Fantastic! Thanks for the links, James. This is a very deep subject, perhaps too detailed for a comment section, so I will try to keep it brief. I have a couple notes:
1) I think first and foremost, the articles written at Muckrock are a good example of author bias. We can see the author Beryl Lipton provides very little neutrality, as the title is a dead give-away as to her skepticism. Further evidenced by her use of quotes around the word “research” and the sarcastic crack about “wishing they had at least hired psychics with artistic skills.” –Her point on “no useful information brought in,” leaves much to be desired for her own neutrality as she is missing the point of the “research” in that the research was being conducted to see if such skills were even possible–which they are, even if “no useful information” was found.
…Furthermore, Lipton’s article is contradicted by 3 articles written by Michael Best which are much more objective perspective and in greater detail for someone looking to take this research seriously. For example, what Lipton leaves out is that this program was given tens of millions of dollars and was done for well-over 2 decades of research, that obviously spanned multiple Presidential administrations. …In the article “Senate Worried CIA’s Psychic Program was part of Mind Control Plot,” Best quotes one document that says: “…it does find that continued activity in this field may offer promise in applications to intelligence problems.” and that “thanks to Congress’s secretive support, these programs were kept running until at least the 90’s.” …In fact, Lipton’s sarcastic article also helps illustrate the point made in Best’s article: “CIA feared a widening psychic gap with the Soviets” where Best references the “weird” dimension of this research, and the potential ridicule that psychic are subject to and the segregation from peers that the nature of these types of gifts illicit in the general population. Indeed, Congressman Rose was correct in saying: “I am glad this is classified and should stay classified.” …Perhaps we can thank Ms. Lipton for illuminating that point.
To further my point, the report summarized in “CIA feared widening psychic gap…” by Mr. Best states: “Not only had the programs been successful, but they had been officially disbanded after the Agency’s primary “gifted individual” (Patrick Price) died and the the department in charge of the program had been disbanded in the wake of alleged assassination plots (against him).” …In fact, at the end of the article, Best goes on to say: “Despite the Agency’s program having been officially disbanded, some within DoD apparently suspected that the Agency was continuing the program “on an ‘unofficial’ basis.” –which I personally believe to be true.
Lastly, in Best’s article: “CIA worried of widening psychic gap…” Best writes: “As a result of their programs, the the Soviets had “experience with a greater variety of research methods than have their US counterparts and have completed more of the critical experiments.” This led the report’s writer to conclude that, since the United States had successfully used these techniques for offensive intelligence collection, then the Soviet’s likely had as well.” …and to further illustrate the severity of this research, Best’s 3rd article “Veterans of the NSA’s Psychic Wars” Best is quoted as writing: “The report concluded grimly that “there is no known countermeasure to prevent such applications.””
…Certainly a field of research worth further investigation, based upon these findings.
2) And then lastly, James, just on a personal note: the way that Psychic information is received and attained by an individual is via a subjective perspective relative to the subject’s consciousness. So what that means is that symbolic imagery relative to the individual is how the information is received–which makes sense when you think about it. Information needs to be able to be realized by the person seeking the information and the best way to receive that information is by using a method of communication the individual can understand: which is their own symbolic imagination imagery.
For example, if you asked me: “Hey Dylan, I am going on a hike today, how does that look to you?”
When I close my eyes and look to see, I might see an image of a can of Coca-Cola, with dewy droplets beading down the side indicating it is “cold and fresh” can of Coke. …So what does that mean? Well, it’s subjective to observer. It might mean: “Hey man, it’s gonna be a hot day–bring lots of cold refreshing drinks with you and maybe some sunscreen” …or it might mean: “Hey man, make sure you fuel up with a high carb meal before you go” …or it might mean: “Hey man, you might get lost out there make sure you take some supplies in case something happens”
…The point being the message is received in symbolic imagery relative to the observer looking for insight.
And what institutions like BodyTalk have class called MindScape does, for example, is they give you a set of symbolic imagery, so that when you receive your information with a predetermined understanding of what the imagery already means, so you can interpret it better.
…Realistically, it is very hard skill to master, because the observer needs to retain a balance of neutrality in order to accurately interpret the symbols without getting excited with positive or negative bias. It literally can take decades to master the skill, and like I said, at the risk of ridicule by adults, many children turn off this skill before the age of 7 years old, right about the time they enter grade 1. …It’s a science and it just takes practice like any other skill, for example, when you wash the dishes, do the dishes you wash come out 100% clean 100% of the time? Or when you parallel park your car, do you perfectly align your car perfectly parked 100% of the time? …Of course not, it takes practice.
And sometimes psychic’s make mistakes just like anybody else does, yet they are ridiculed if they cannot predict lottery numbers (which are very hard, by the way. Much easier to read a living organism than reading a machine). This is why some of the worlds best psychic are old people because they have had decades of private practice.
The point is to receive the imagery in an unbiased context, so it can be difficult to ascertain the results on a consistent basis. …As far as psychic warfare goes, I have never personally tried it, nor do I wish to, so I unable to comment on it; But I can tell you most psychic’s prefer defense strategies rather offensive, because with a deep connection to Life that this type of work brings, most psychics understand the laws of karma and don’t really want to hurt anyone or anything.
3) Thank you very much for your CREST article today, James, there are tons and tons of reports on Remote Viewing alone. …Not counting other key words to search for like: Telepathy, Precognition, Clairvoyance, Intuitive Insight and other key words I will look for.
This has been a FASCINATING discussion, thank you my friend. Your time and contributions are appreciated and precious to many the world over. Keep up the AMAZING work. Until next time, let’s go Oilers!
Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran
“U.S. officials have long denied acquiescing to Iraqi chemical attacks, insisting that Hussein’s government never announced he was going to use the weapons. But retired Air Force Col. Rick Francona, who was a military attaché in Baghdad during the 1988 strikes, paints a different picture. “The Iraqis never told us that they intended to use nerve gas. They didn’t have to. We already knew,” he told Foreign Policy. According to recently declassified CIA documents and interviews with former intelligence officials like Francona, the U.S. had firm evidence of Iraqi chemical attacks beginning in 1983.”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/26/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-helped-saddam-as-he-gassed-iran/
Would mr. Hussein be provided with chemical weapons had he no intention to use them?
I think Susan Lindauer discussed some details on that “not knowing” construct. IIRC the US ambassador basically told Saddam that they don’t want to know about what is he going to do to Iranians and reportedly crickets could have been heard from left and right during that conversation.
John Perkins also offers some information which puts Saddam’s story in the proper context. His example is the one which really ties everything together.
Provided you have enough gas, every problem must look like something that can be fixed with gassing.
Q: What’s the worst thing about The Corbett Report?
A: Becoming a Corbett Report junkie.
Hi. I’m Jason, and I’m a CorbettReportaholic.
I’m just never happy. The authentic Machiavellian news and context is far juicier and delicious than anything else Hollywood, Washington or the Big Apple can pump out. And it’s pure evil makes me sad. I don’t know how but James Corbett (and team?) keep pumping out storms of thorough thoughtful, and logical flows of information, inspirations, and insights. The torrent is so overwhelming I can’t keep up. This makes me anxious. On the occasions when I do catch up I yearn for more, repeatedly clicking refresh searching for a new one. This makes me desperate.
Fortunately it’s not fatal. You’ll quit before I ever do.
PS. InfoGalactic copied corporate Wikipedia and are forking it to be free of the “fringe” and “fancruft” censorship. I pitch in a bit here and there but I’m not a writer, journalist, or encyclopedia-ist. IG will keep “official” perspectives for full reference and add “independent” ones. Feel free to contribute and even help me on this article I started last week that Wikipedia will never allow: https://infogalactic.com/info/Truther
PPS. I feel better saying “corporate” and “independent” rather than “mainstream” and “alternative” because they are not mainstream anymore and we are not an alternate option like turning the channel – we are independent and free, or at least determined to be.
PPPS. I have “Truther.bit” and “Antiestablishment.bit” if anyone would like to help set up, start, contribute, collaborate, take over, etc. I’d even be happy to have them point at TheCorbettReport.bit or .com if you like.
PPPPS. James, if it’s not my human or browser error, I think the video page link to consolidate comments to this article points to its own page.
Free falling buildings were quite obvious from the get go, too.
I have heard a few people suggest DARPA and the US Government created the Internet as a voluntary spy grid, however from searching CREAST it appears that the CIA had no clue back in the 1980s that the Internet would become the big thing it is today.
The term “Internet” (short for Internetworking – a network of networks) has been used to describe the Internet at least as far back as December 1974 in this standards document.
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc675
Yet over 10 years later after the Internet has been adopted by many academic institutions and military users the CIA stole the term “INTERNET” as project name for one of their own Satellite networking projects which had nothing to do with the DARPA Internet.
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01418R000200110047-9.pdf
It seems to me that in the 1980s people in the CIA regarded the “Internet” to be a cool sounding name but otherwise unimportant to them.
I think the Internet was one of the DARPA failed projects and facebook and Google were meant to be the emergency fix for the mess they created.
Interestingly, even the CIA had to worry about if they scrambled the signals (which originality came from public sources anyway) would they be suspected of doing something wrong?
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01418R000200110013-6.pdf
Because David Miscavige operates on lying, spying, extortion and “bullying until you break”, I believe Scientology obtained tax exempt status via extortion. Any government official who tries to investigate the kidnappings, beatings, or “The Hole” is sure to catch hell. Scientology has incredible tax free financial wealth. At one time the Florida Flag Base church was raking in more than a million per week in donations.
Former reporter for the “Houston Chronicle,” Pete Brewton tells of one of the most momentous stories of the past 50 years and how it has been suppressed by the establishment media and the Congress. Pete’s book “The Mafia, CIA and George Bush,” shows the incredible complexity of the relationships in the operation of the destruction of hundreds of Savings and Loans at the hands of the CIA and the Mafia, stealing many billions of dollars in the process, and leaving the taxpayers to bailout the banks. Big names at the state and national levels of power are involved, including Lloyd Bentsen, the Bush family, and power brokers in Houston. People such as Kenneth Keating and Don Dixon, who are mentioned prominently in the press in connection with the S & L debacle, were merely front men or “cutouts” for the main movers. Keating and his ilk only took millions; the CIA and the Mafia looted billions.
http://911blogger.com/news/2008-09-22/mafia-cia-and-george-bush-1992
(My note: Incredible detailed information in the link. –HRS)