A collection of eleven declassified cables offers a rare window into Project ARTICHOKE, a CIA program centered on advanced interrogation techniques, memory erasure, and involuntary behavior control during the early years of the Cold War.
The communications, dated between 1952 and 1953, reveal coordination between CIA field operatives and headquarters regarding human subjects and experimental psychological operations.
Though heavily coded and restrained in language, these cables confirm that live fieldwork was underway, and that the Agency was navigating both the scientific unknown and its own internal red lines.
"ARTICHOKE techniques were used… all necessary safeguards observed. Subject responded satisfactorily."
📍 Field Testing and Requests for Candidates
One cable outlines a plan to test ARTICHOKE procedures on a foreign individual of interest-described as "well-placed"-outside the U.S.
The tone is procedural but cautious.
Agency officers ask whether it would be feasible and legal to apply "special techniques" in coordination with a cooperating foreign government.
Other messages request access to "terminal" or "disposal" cases-individuals considered expendable-for use in higher-risk experimentation.
Some cables emphasize the need for tight security handling, chain of custody, and identity concealment.
"Have subject available for ARTICHOKE work overseas… advise on full clearance for extreme measures."
🧪 Experimental Techniques and Psychological Goals
The precise nature of the techniques isn’t detailed in these cables, but they reference:
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Use of hypnosis
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Chemical agents for amnesia or compliance
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Behavioral manipulation under duress
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Induced confusion or memory loss
The objective in many cases was to break down resistance and implant suggestions or extract information without subjects being aware of their cooperation.
One communication notes that a subject was tested under ARTICHOKE conditions and passed-a clear indication that results were being tracked and deemed operationally valuable.
🧳 Cross-Border Black Sites and Jurisdiction
A recurring theme is where the experiments could legally or discreetly take place.
Some messages discuss plans to move subjects overseas, where "restrictions" would be looser.
Others hint at inter-agency collaboration, likely with military or foreign intelligence partners, to secure locations for the work.
"Have full ARTICHOKE clearance… field station prepared to proceed. Require HQS authority."
📁 A Program That Didn’t Stay in the Shadows
These cables confirm what later investigations like the Church Committee would expose: that Project ARTICHOKE was not just theoretical.
It was tested, refined, and deployed-on real people, under real conditions, sometimes with fatal consequences.
They also show that senior officials were not unaware of the risks.
Several cables ask for repeated confirmation of clearances, legal coverage, and final sign-off-thin layers of accountability over deeply unethical acts.
