Return-Path: <sentto-279987-2548-1001913759-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Sun, 30 Sep 2001 22:25:07 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 31753 invoked by uid 510); 1 Oct 2001 05:24:08 -0000 Received: from n33.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.83) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 1 Oct 2001 05:24:08 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-2548-1001913759-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.1.223] by ei.egroups.com with NNFMP; 01 Oct 2001 05:23:58 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 1 Oct 2001 05:22:39 -0000 Received: (qmail 24056 invoked from network); 1 Oct 2001 05:22:38 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.142) by 10.1.1.223 with QMQP; 1 Oct 2001 05:22:38 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta3 with SMTP; 1 Oct 2001 05:23:57 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id WAA20296 for iwar@onelist.com; Sun, 30 Sep 2001 22:23:57 -0700 Message-Id: <200110010523.WAA20296@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 22:23:57 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Inside.the.CIA's.Directorate.Of.Science.and.Technology] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sunday, September 30, 2001 By Martin A. Lee, Special to The Washington Post THE WIZARDS OF LANGLEY Inside the CIA's Directorate Of Science and Technology By Jeffrey T. Richelson Westview. 416 pp. $30 During the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962, a CIA antenna mounted on a destroyer near Florida transmitted deceptive signals to make it appear as though a U.S. fighter plane was about to enter Cuban airspace. A Cuban pilot thought he had the American aircraft "in sight." But as he prepared to shoot down the intruder, a CIA technician flicked a switch and the "ghost aircraft" suddenly vanished from the Cuban's radar screen. The ability to project phantom airplanes onto enemy radar is among the numerous accomplishments Jeffrey T. Richelson discusses in The Wizards of Langley. Spanning a half-century of covert machinations, this is the first book to chronicle the CIA's extensive efforts to exploit science and technology for espionage purposes. Since the late 1940s, CIA scientists have created state-of-the-art tools to support a wide range of cloak-and-dagger activities, including lock-picking and bugging devices, disguises that could alter an agent's voice and physical appearance, and exotic murder weapons such as exploding sea shells and .22 caliber cigarette pistols. Spy paraphernalia of this sort conjures up lurid images from James Bond movies. But real-life routines were considerably less romantic for members of the CIA's Directorate of Science & Technology (DS&T), which focused primarily on collecting and analyzing information. The DS&T "made an enormous contribution to U.S. intelligence capabilities and national security," according to Richelson. It engaged in underwater as well as aerial surveillance and was instrumental in building and operating the U-2 and A-12 spy planes. Top-secret CIA projects with colorful code names such as WHALE TALE, BLACK SHIELD and NICE GIRL provided crucial data on Soviet nuclear armaments, missile launch facilities, chemical and biological warfare research and more general scientific developments behind the Iron Curtain. Still, there were some major blunders. CIA analysts failed to predict the first atomic bomb test by the People's Republic of China in 1964. But this setback seemed to galvanize the experts in the DS&T, who designed the first spy satellites that enabled the U.S. government to snoop on its adversaries from the heavens. High-resolution imagery generated by the CIA's successful space reconnaissance program resulted in an intelligence bonanza for Washington. Despite constant bureaucratic wrangling and bitter turf wars with the military services, the DS&T remained "at the cutting edge, substantially in advance of what was being done in either the private sector or other parts of the government," says Richelson. He credits the DS&T with several innovations that have aided modern medicine, including lithium batteries for heart pacemakers and technology that assists in breast cancer detection. While these practical benefits are notable, the CIA's scientific endeavors also had a nasty underside. The author recounts various misdeeds of the Technical Services Staff, a "very spooky" outfit that tested drugs on unwitting American citizens in the 1950s and early 1960s. Some of the seamier aspects of this story have been documented in other studies of the agency (including my own book Acid Dreams). Army biochemist Frank Olson, an early casualty of these reckless experiments, plunged to his death from a New York City hotel window two weeks after he drank a cocktail spiked with LSD at a CIA gathering. After a 22-year cover-up, CIA officials declared that Olson had committed suicide. But recent forensic evidence suggests that he may have been pushed out the window after a struggle with unknown assailants, a possibility that Richelson does not mention. A databank maintained in the agency's Office of Research and Development monitored and catalogued worldwide progress in pharmacology research. This office also pursued a futile quest to harness psychic powers for the "remote viewing" of Soviet military installations and other targets. In addition, the CIA tried to turn animals into intelligence assets. One ill-fated scheme, known as "Acoustic Kitty," entailed wiring a cat with transmitting equipment so that it could function as a mobile listening post. In the post-Cold War era, the CIA has been grappling with the information explosion triggered by the Internet and a plethora of digital telecommunications. CIA scientists have pioneered data mining and retrieval systems, language translation machines and microwave technology that greatly increases the speed at which computers operate. The agency is currently providing venture capital to commercial firms such as SafeWeb, which has developed software that allows people to use the World Wide Web without leaving traces of the sites they have visited. Richelson's book offers a rare glimpse into a vital aspect of U.S. intelligence. At times, however, his writing suffers from the sheer volume of detail he presents, and the amoral tone of the narrative can be disconcerting. He notes, for example, that CIA technicians facilitated plans to mine Nicaraguan harbors during the Reagan administration, without indicating that this covert operation violated international law. From a purely technical standpoint, the achievements of Langley's wizards are impressive. But spy satellites will never completely supplant the need for reliable intelligence from human sources ‹ as the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington earlier this month tragically have reminded us. And scientific prowess, no matter how formidable, cannot guarantee wise policy choices. € Martin A. Lee is the author of "Acid Dreams" and "The Beast Reawakens." © 2001 The Washington Post Company ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get your FREE VeriSign guide to security solutions for your web site: encrypting transactions, securing intranets, and more! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UnN2wB/m5_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:53 PST