Investigative reporter Dick Russell has been studying the mysterious assassination of President John F. Kennedy for more than 35 years. In his research, Russell has discovered unbelievable evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald was not only a "patsy," as he had proclaimed himself to be, but possibly even a brainwashed "Manchurian candidate," controlled lock, stock and barrel by the CIA. And Oswald may not have been the only mind-controlled puppet on the playing field; evidence has surfaced that may implicate Jack Ruby—Oswald's killer—and Luis Castillo, who may have been one of the real assassins in Dallas that fateful day.

It had begun in 1949 with Project BLUEBIRD, which soon became Project ARTICHOKE and evolved into MK ULTRA in 1953. The Cold War with the Soviet Union was going full steam, and CIA memos of the period indicate fears that certain "uncommon drugs" as well as hypnosis were being utilized by the communists. During the Korean War in the early 1950s, the term "brainwashing" was coined by an American journalist—and CIA agent—named Edward Hunter. "The Reds have specialists available on their brainwashing panels, drugs and hypnotism," Hunter warned. The fact that the Americans were delving into the same realm was a closely guarded secret.

Condensed and excerpted from
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins
by Dick Russell, with permission of
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., New York, NYThe Navy already had a program initiated in 1947 called Project CHATTER that was looking into various truth drugs for interrogation methods. The Army was interested, too, and in 1952, drew up a "Memorandum of Understanding" with the CIA. Under Project MKNAOMI, the Army Chemical Corps based at Fort Dietrich, Maryland, entered into covert research to aid CIA efforts. Between 1955 and 1958, the Army later admitted administering the powerful hallucinogenic LSD to nearly 1,500 soldiers and civilians, often without their knowledge. At least into the early 1960s, the CIA's own LSD testing was conducted at 86 U.S. and Canadian hospitals, prisons, universities and military installations, as well as on unwitting victims at domestic "safe houses" in Washington, New York and San Francisco.

The CIA was also keenly interested in the uses of hypnosis. A 1951 memo described several employees receiving "special private instruction" from experts in "H [hypnosis] techniques." The file, in question-and-answer format, was chilling:

Q—What percent of subjects can be subjected successfully to H techniques?
A—By the forceful or stage methods—85%. By the subtle or "relaxing" method—
95%.
Q—Can a person under H commit an act against his religious or moral scruples or against his training and upbringing?
A—Yes—[deleted] stated that anything could be done by a person under H including murder.
Q—Can a person under H be forced to commit suicide?
A—Yes. [deleted] only stated this could be accomplished indirectly but implied it could be done directly.
Q—How long can post-H suggestions be kept effective?
A—A long time—unknown periods—particularly if reinforced from time to time.
Q—Will an individual under H give up information he would not otherwise do?
A—Yes—apparently there is no limit to the amount of information that can be obtained given sufficient time.
Q—Can a really total amnesia be obtained in H—in post-H activity?
A—Yes—this apparently can be achieved regularly.