Top 7 Bizarre CIA Programs
When it comes to governmental agencies - few match the outreach, sophistication and efficacy
of the American Central Intelligence Agency.
Their reputation for cutting-edge programs and intel-gathering capabilities is surpassed
by next to none - but, on the same hand - with great power comes great paranoia.
Over the years, the CIA has accompanied brilliant programs with some absolutely mind-blowingly
bizarre initiatives, Let's take a look at seven of the wildest and strangest CIA programs
ever proposed.
Number seven - The "Acoustic Kitty" project.
Founded in the 1960's, "Acoustic Kitty" was the name of a reported twenty-million dollar
top secret initiative that involved using household cats as recording devices.
If that sounds a bit confusing - it's because it is.
Using a group of specially trained felines, veterinarians implanted small microphones,
antennae and batteries into their tails with the purpose of letting them loose into the
Russian Embassy to spy.
Banking on the fact that the unaware cat would stick around a group of communist officials
long enough to beam their intel-steeped conversations back to the agents, the idea was clearly a
bit of a stretch.
To make things worse, the first cat sent into the field was promptly killed by a taxi before
a single recording could even be made.
Number six - "Operation Gold".
Foreshadowing the modern world, this early CIA initiative aimed at spying on phone lines
was launched in 1953 and nicknamed Operation Gold as a joint effort between the CIA and
the British MI6 to gather intel from the Soviet Headquarters located in East Berlin.
Requiring over six months of planning and a massive, painstakingly-crafted 450 meter
long tunnel to be constructed - the underground junction aided officials in recording almost
50,000 calls over the span of a year.
However - there was just one small problem.
A mole in British intelligence tipped off the KGB about the plans long before the tunnel
had even been completed - resulting in the Soviets feeding them wrong information the
whole time.
After its raid in 1956, it caused seriously significant repercussions.
Number five - "Project Pigeon".
Rightfully earning its place as one of the most absurd governmental programs of all time,
this WWII-era initiative was born when behavioral psychologist B.F.
Skinner was enlisted to train pigeons to be used as makeshift missile guidance systems.
Given an initial funding of $25,000 to get up and running –The projects goal was to
train the bird to act as a pilot of the device, guiding the missile using their training and
instincts to fly towards the intended targets.
Although he found some minor success and made a small amount of promising progress, the
program was eventually shut down on account of its ridiculous details.
Number four - "Operation Northwoods".
In the height of the Cold War (when fears ran rampant and communism was the largest
public threat), a special program named Operation Northwoods was the subject of proposal in
the early 1960's.
Basically amounting to a plan of violent domestic terrorism with the intent of blaming the attacks
on Cuba, the American government planned a series of bombings, hijackings, riots and
other violent spectacles with the intent on shifting public opinion to allow for a military
removal of Fidel Castro from power.
Drafted and signed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the bill made it as far as to JFK's
desk before being rejected by the President.
Enjoying top-secret status for decades, the heinous proposal didn't leak to the public
until 1997 when Kennedy assassination documents were released.
Number three - The Stargate Project.
Used as a blanket term for a wide array of related initiatives executed between the 1970s
and 1990s, The Stargate Project's central objective was to investigate the scientific
probability of "remote viewing", or what is explained as psychic abilities such as clairvoyance,
future prediction or other X-Men-like superpowers.
Enlisting upwards of twenty-two subjects at any given time, the tests yielded some conflicting
results.
Although many subjects DID manage to test close to 15% higher than normal controls - findings
usually revealed a disappointing 20% success rate across the board.
Despite some correctly predicted major world events such as violent attacks or hostage
situations - the oft-wrong program was officially cancelled for good in 1995.
Number two - Project MK-ULTRA.
Serving as one of the creepiest and most uncomfortable examples of governmental power, Project MK-ULTRA
was a top-secret CIA program that was introduced in the early 1950's dealing with chemical
interrogation and mind control techniques.
The terrifying details included drugging, delivering psychological stress tests and
cruel and unusual interrogation techniques to test brain functions in a behavior-controlled
environment.
Although the grand majority of information about the project remains classified to the
day, details about unwilling civilians being forced into drug, shock and violent therapy
is wide-spread, fueling conspiracy theories for decades.
Although the program was shut down in the 1970's, rumors that it still exists persist
to the day.
Number one - The Bay Of Pigs Invasion.
Initially designed as a bold attempt to overthrow the then communist leader Fidel Castro in
1961, The Bay Of Pigs Invasion is widely considered one of the most absurdly wasteful and ludicrous
CIA initiatives to ever have existed.
In order to eliminate any tie to the US government, the plan entailed that a group of trained
Cuban exiles would execute a series of attacks.
After a few diversionary air strikes, a group of troop transports landed on a Bay Of Pigs
beach and unloaded 1,300 exile guerrillas - initially meant to rendezvous with a band
of paratroops.
The plan went horrifically wrong, with almost all of the men being killed or captured - the
remaining survivors were only freed after a $53 million exchange a year after the event.
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