Sidney Gottlieb
 Sidney Gottlieb     (researcher, chemist) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 3, 1918 |
| Died | March 7, 1999 (Age 80) |
| Perpetrator of | Operation Midnight Climax |
| Interests | • LSD • Mind control |
An American chemist best-known for his involvement with the CIA's mind control program MKULTRA. | |
Gottlieb was born in the Bronx with the name Joseph Scheider. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. A stutterer from childhood, Gottlieb got a master's degree in speech therapy. He also had a club foot, but this did not stop him from practicing folk dancing, a lifelong passion.
In 1951, Sidney Gottlieb joined the CIA. As a poisons expert, he headed the chemical division of the Technical Services Staff (TSS). He became known as the "Black Sorcerer" and the "Dirty Trickster." He supervised preparations of lethal poisons and experiments in mind control.
Contents
MKULTRA
In April 1953 Sidney Gottlieb headed the secret Project MKULTRA which was activated on the order of CIA director Allen Dulles. Gottlieb organised the administration of LSD and other psychoactive drugs to unwitting subjects. He was involved in the financing of psychiatric research and development of "techniques that would crush the human psyche to the point that it would admit anything." He sponsored physicians such as Ewen Cameron and Harris Isbell in controversial psychiatric research that used unwitting humans as guinea pigs. Many people suffered serious adverse affects consequent on "research" financed by Gottlieb and the Rockefeller Foundation.
In March 1960, under The Cuban Project, a CIA plan approved by President Eisenhower and under the direction of CIA Deputy Director for Plans, Richard M. Bissell, Gottlieb came up with ideas to spray Fidel Castro's television studio with LSD and to saturate Castro's shoes with thallium so that the hair of his beard would fall out. Gottlieb also hatched schemes to assassinate Castro, including the use of a poisoned cigar, a poisoned wetsuit, an exploding conch shell, and a poisonous fountain pen.
He also tried to have Iraqi General Abdul Karim Qassim's handkerchief contaminated with botulinum. Less known was an operation within the CIA's Phoenix Program in Vietnam where a team of CIA psychologists performed mind control experiments on NLF suspects being detained at Bien Hoa Prison outside of Saigon.
Gottlieb is said to have played a role in funding investigation into paranormal phenomena, including "remote viewing".
Other Plots
Dr. Sidney Gottlieb also played a role in the CIA's attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. In the summer of 1960, Gottlieb transported "toxic biological materials" to the CIA station in the Congo, though a military coup deposed the Prime Minister before agents could deliver the virus [1].
See also
References
- Foster, Sarah (1998, November 19). "Meet Sidney Gottlieb — CIA dirty trickster". WorldNetDaily.
- Holley, Joe (2005, June 16). "John K. Vance; Uncovered LSD Project at CIA". Washington Post, Page B08.
- Jacobs, John (1977, September 5). "The Diaries Of a CIA Operative". Washington Post, A1.
- Kettle, Martin (2000, August 10). "President 'ordered murder' of Congo leader". The Guardian.
- Marks, John (1991). The Search for the "Manchurian Candidate". W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
- Mazur, Suzan (2005, January 29/30). "Tempelsman's Man Weighs In on the Murder of Patrice Lumumba". CounterPunch.
- Spartacus Educational. Bibliography: Sidney Gottlieb.
- Trento, Joseph J. (2001). The Secret History of the CIA. Prima Lifestyles.
An event carried out
| Event | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Operation Midnight Climax | New York Semantic Objects San Francisco Marin | A "free-wheeling illicit criminal" CIA project which filmed the effects of prostitutes dosing up victims with drugs such as LSD. |
