The Phoenix Program’s history starts from the aftermath of World War II. The world grappled with the profound scars left by the conflict and the urgent need to adapt to a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. The horrors of the war, vividly etched into the global consciousness, served as a stark reminder of humanity’s capacity for both destruction and resilience. As nations rebuilt, the United States embarked on a path that would intertwine innovation with controversy, particularly through the recruitment of former Nazi scientists under Operation Paperclip. This initiative not only propelled technological advancements but also introduced morally ambiguous practices into American intelligence operations.
Among these was the Central Intelligence Agency‘s (CIA) Phoenix Program, a counter-insurgency operation developed during the Vietnam War. Officially known as the Phoenix Program, the CIA instituted a bloody campaign of exporting torture techniques across the world and into the hands of cruel regimes. The program aimed to dismantle the Viet Cong’s infrastructure through targeted assassinations, intelligence gathering, and psychological warfare. Its methods, rooted in techniques inherited from Nazi experiments, left an indelible mark on global intelligence practices and human rights discourses.
This article explores the origins and implementation of the Phoenix Program, tracing its influence across continents as it shaped the tactics of authoritarian regimes and fuelled debates on the ethical boundaries of state power. By examining case studies from Vietnam, Latin America, Iran, and the Philippines, we uncover the lasting impact of the Phoenix Program on international relations and the precarious balance between security and human rights.
The CIA instituted a bloody campaign of exporting torture techniques across the world and into the hands of cruel regimes, officially known as the Phoenix Program.
The Post-World War II Landscape
As World War II concluded, nations and governments rapidly adapted to the demands of a new era. The war’s horrors lingered in the global consciousness, with vivid memories of Nazi death camps, the firebombing of Dresden, and the decisive Operation Overlord landing on June 6th, 1944, still fresh in the minds of a war-torn yet hopeful world.
The Nazi regime, under Adolf Hitler’s vision of a “Third Reich,” unleashed systemic terror across Europe, employing brutal tactics reminiscent of the Herero genocide during Germany’s colonial period. The Nazis indiscriminately tortured and killed, conducting cruel experiments on the mind and body within their numerous death camps in Eastern Europe. Their pursuits in eugenics, mind control, and human genome manipulation aimed to forge a so-called perfect army for the Reich. (Source)
Operation Paperclip: A Faustian Bargain
When the Reich fell in 1945, the United States recognised the intellectual value of Nazi scientists, engineers, and doctors. To ensure post-war advantages, they launched “Operation Paperclip,” a project to recruit former Nazis, offering them jobs and new identities in exchange for their expertise for the U.S. military and government. A notable figure from this program is Werner von Braun, who designed the Nazi’s advanced V-2 rocket. His expertise in rocket technology and propulsion led him to head the National Air and Space Program, significantly contributing to the U.S. space program’s success in landing on the moon in 1969. Without the intellectual contributions of these former enemies, the trajectory of the U.S. space program remains uncertain.
However, the integration of Nazi scientists into the U.S. government also brought grievances and cruelty that permeated the intelligence community. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), formed in 1947 amidst tensions with the Soviet Union, adopted techniques rooted in Nazi ideology, particularly in psychological torture. These methods were propagated globally under the guise of relief and assistance programs. The most infamous example was the Phoenix Program during the Vietnam conflict, which exemplified the dark legacy of these practices.
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The Genesis of the Phoenix Program
Roots in Counter-Insurgency
The Phoenix Program, established by the CIA in 1967, served as an intelligence network in Vietnam, unifying all counter-insurgency operations, including police, military intelligence, and other CIA activities. This consolidation allowed the CIA to efficiently gather and extract information from high-value targets. The program’s strength lay in its adaptability, mirroring the flexibility of its adversaries. CIA agents and plain-clothes officers collaborated closely, regardless of differences in training and rank.
A significant component of the Phoenix Program was the Office of Public Safety (OPS), created in 1962 to train allied police forces globally. It quickly became a crucial tool for disseminating CIA torture techniques and combating communism worldwide. The OPS brought trainees from Latin America, Vietnam, and other countries to a secret training centre in Washington D.C., where U.S. officials instructed them in torture methods. In Vietnam, these trainees were subjected to “stringent wartime measures” aimed at defeating the enemy.
In 1971, a South Vietnamese trainee expressed the controversial nature of these methods in his thesis, stating,
“Despite the fact that brutal interrogation is strongly criticised by moralists, its importance must not be denied if we want to have order and security in daily life”.
This statement underscores the ethical dilemmas and harsh realities faced by those involved in the Phoenix Program, highlighting the complex interplay between security and morality during wartime.
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Operations and Controversies
Brutal Techniques and Leadership
The Phoenix Program crafted a sophisticated ladder of intelligence from rural Vietnam to the head intelligence office in Saigon, largely due to the strategic vision of Peter DeSilva, the CIA station chief in Saigon. DeSilva aimed to replicate the Viet Cong’s brutal techniques, instituting an equally harsh system. Local thugs, under the guise of “Provincial Reconnaissance Units” or PRUs, initiated systematic torture in the Provincial Interrogation Centres across each province. This approach was intended to break the enemy’s will and gather critical information, but it also led to widespread human rights abuses.
K. Barton Osbourn, a military intelligence official with the Phoenix Program in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, described horrific procedures, including inserting a dowel into a captive’s ear until it was hammered into their brain, and the sexual and electric exploitation of men and women prior to their death. Osbourn testified that these procedures were outlined in the Defense Collection Intelligence Manual, issued during training. His testimony revealed the systematic nature of the brutality and the extent to which these practices were institutionalised within the program.
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Atrocities in Bien Hoa
Chilling accounts of CIA atrocities in South Vietnam, particularly at the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital in Saigon, have been documented. In 1966, Dr. Lloyd H. Cutter and two other psychiatrists were sent with an electroshock machine from the Technical Services Division of the OPS to test depatterning exercises on the brain. Utilising the Phoenix ladder, Viet Cong prisoners were subjected to excessive shock treatments, receiving 60 shocks daily for a week. None survived, and the CIA doctors returned to the United States without results. This incident highlights the extreme measures taken in the name of intelligence and the tragic loss of life that resulted.
In 1968, based on a journalist’s account, a CIA team and a doctor flew to the hospital and implanted “tiny electrodes” in captives’ brains. By changing frequencies, they could induce defecation and vomiting. When attempts to provoke violence among captives failed, Green Berets, following CIA orders, shot the men and burned their bodies in the hospital courtyard. These actions further illustrate the lengths to which the program went in its pursuit of control and information, raising profound ethical questions about the methods employed.
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Casualties and Testimonies
In 1970-1971, William Colby, chief of pacification in Vietnam, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Phoenix Program had killed 6,187, or over 12% of the 75,000-strong Viet Cong, in 1969 alone. Days later, Colby reaffirmed to the Senate Committee that the Program had killed 20,587 Viet Cong “suspects” since 1968. The South Vietnamese government countered with a figure of 40,994 since 1968. These statistics reveal the scale of the program’s impact and the significant loss of life associated with its operations.
Colby’s recollection of casualties up until 1971 was as follows:
“I believe that the figures in mid-1971 that were testified to at the time were some 28,000 had been captured, some 20,000 had been killed, and some 17,000 had actually rallied by that time. Obviously, the program has been going on since then, and those figures are larger today”.
His testimony provides insight into the program’s reach and its role in the broader conflict, as well as the continued controversy surrounding its legacy.
According to the same release as Colby’s testament, the Phoenix Program was fully integrated into the South Vietnamese police forces in 1972, and all U.S. assistance to the Phoenix Program through the Department of Defense subsequently ended. This transition marked the end of direct U.S. involvement but left a lasting impact on Vietnam’s security landscape, reflecting the complex legacy of the Phoenix Program and its enduring influence on counter-insurgency strategies.
Project X: The Expansion of Counter-Insurgency in the Phoenix Program
The Birth of Project X
While the U.S. was fighting the Vietcong in Vietnam, U.S. officials understood that more needed to be done to combat the perceived threat of communism. To achieve this, counter-insurgency operations around the world were bolstered, and efforts were increased. This led to the creation of the Latin American prototype of the Phoenix Program, known as Project X. Although one could argue it is merely an extension of the Vietnamese Phoenix Program, it is rather a synthesis and revision of techniques and practices used in Vietnam. Project X began sometime in 1965-1966 and existed, as a confidential Pentagon memo states, “to develop an exportable foreign intelligence package to provide counterinsurgency techniques learned in Vietnam to Latin American countries”.
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Public Revelation and Controversy
The American public first became aware of Project X and its influence in Latin America in 1970 when an OPS advising officer, Dan Mitrione, was executed by Tupamaro rebels in Uruguay. It was revealed by a Cuban double agent that Mitrione, a father of nine, was a mastermind of torture and its dissemination through his role in the OPS in Uruguay. His motto was reportedly, “The right pain in the right place at the right time,” and he believed that premature death during torture meant that the technique had failed.
Congressional Investigation and Aftermath
Starting in 1971, a congressional investigation into the OPS brought to light claims that it was proliferating torture manuals, programs, and training around the world. By 1975, Congress cut funding for all police and prison training abroad, effectively abolishing the Office of Public Safety. However, Congress never investigated the primary source of this information and training: the CIA. The CIA escaped reform and scrutiny and had already shifted its main arm of torture dissemination to the Army’s Military Advisor Program, which had the same reach as the OPS did.
Continued Influence and Exposure
The dissemination of such content came to a halt under President Jimmy Carter’s humanist administration, during which he put a stop to all covert actions by the CIA and other agencies. Latin America remained under the radar regarding CIA-taught torture until 1988, when a New York Times exposé highlighted CIA-taught torture in Honduras under the command of Colonel Gustavo Alvarez Martinez. The correlation between the CIA and the Honduran government’s torture practices lies in the almost word-for-word similarities between the Kubark interrogation manual, produced in the 1960s as a result of MKULTRA by the CIA, and the Honduran Human Resource Manual drafted in 1983.
Shadows of Control: The Phoenix Program in Iran
The 1953 Coup and Establishment of Control
In 1953, the CIA, in collaboration with the Israeli Mossad, orchestrated a coup in Iran to reinstate the pro-Western Shah. Over the next 25 years, the CIA played a critical role in maintaining his control. A pivotal moment came in 1959 when the CIA was involved in the reorganisation of the Iranian secret police. They were instrumental in the formation of the Savak, the most brutal of the secret police squads, training the unit and its interrogators using Nazi torture techniques inherited through Operation Paperclip, directly after WWII. (Source, source)
The Role of the CIA and Savak’s Brutality
Jessie Leaf, a former CIA analyst, recalled:
“Although no Americans particularly participated in the torture, people who were there [were] seeing the rooms and being told of torture. And I know the torture rooms were all toured and paid for by the U.S.A.”.
This statement highlights the CIA’s clear dissemination of not only torture techniques but also the provision of entire torture rooms and funds to support such practices. In the 1970s, as opposition to the Shah grew, the Savak intensified its cruel treatment and torture of dissidents.
The Shah’s Justification and the Cycle of Repression
In an interview with Le Monde, the Shah stated:
“Why should we not employ the same methods as you Europeans? We have learned sophisticated methods of torture from you. You use psychological methods to extract the truth: we do the same”.
The widespread use of torture by the Shah’s regime ultimately contributed to his own demise. Student protestors continued to dissent and protest, leading to more arrests and torture by the Savak. This cycle resulted in the Iranian government holding over 50,000 political prisoners by the late 1970s.
The Fall of the Shah and the Aftermath
By 1979, an Islamist movement successfully overthrew the Shah and the pro-Western Iranian government. By relying on arrest, torture, and the forced will of the Iranian people, the Shah inadvertently orchestrated his own downfall. The CIA-crafted torture, intended to maintain peace and suppress dissent, ultimately fractured the legitimacy and reception of the Shah and his government, paving the way for the revolution that followed.
The Phoenix Program and Theatrical Torture: The Philippines Under Marcos
The Regime of Ferdinand Marcos
From 1972 to 1986, the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos became a notorious example of a regime employing CIA-influenced torture techniques. Marcos, a ruthless autocrat, utilised torture as a central tool to maintain his grip on power. The Filipino approach to torture was notably theatrical, with torturers assuming the role of grand inquisitors, presenting themselves as omnipotent forces of salvation. This dramatised method not only aimed to extract confessions but also to instil a pervasive sense of fear and submission within society. (Source, source)
Psychological Manipulation
In this cruel drama, victims were made to feel utterly powerless, led to believe that confessing to crimes—whether real or fabricated—was their only path to salvation. The language used by torturers was key to this psychological manipulation. Phrases like “you leave me no choice,” “because you choose not to cooperate,” and “you are just making it worse for yourself” shifted the blame onto the victim, reinforcing their feelings of helplessness. This method of psychological manipulation had profound effects, causing victims to view their tormentors as omnipotent forces, breaking their spirits and instilling fear throughout the broader society.
The Torture of Father Edgardo Kangelon
Father Edgardo Kangelon, a Catholic priest, became a target of government torture amid rumours that the Catholic Church was harbouring Communists. Over two months, he endured not only minor physical abuse—such as punches and kicks—but also relentless verbal degradation concerning his sexuality, past, and faith. The psychological torment continued until he succumbed to pressure, naming other church officials as Communist agents. His 25-page memoir exposed the theatrical methods of his torturers, revealing striking parallels with the CIA’s Kubark manual. These similarities suggested CIA involvement in the Philippines’ torture program, highlighting a broader strategy of psychological manipulation.
Collective Trauma: The Practice of “Salvaging”
A chilling aspect of government repression in the Philippines was the public display of tortured bodies, a practice known as “salvaging.” This tactic extended trauma beyond individual victims to the entire society. Passersby became unwilling participants in the spectacle, forced to confront the gruesome consequences of governmental and societal actions. This practice led to the emergence of “salvaging” in the Filipino-American dialect, reflecting the grim reality of extrajudicial killings. Such public displays served as a constant reminder of the regime’s power and the fragility of individual safety, embedding fear and compliance within the social fabric.
Parallels to Modern Society
Contemporary America echoes the normalisation of violence in the Philippines, as police frequently kill unarmed individuals. The hypothetical adoption of euphemistic language like “cleanup” to describe these acts underscores the deep-seated trauma and desensitisation within society. For instance, the phrase “New York police ‘cleaned up’ three men today, suspected of nothing” illustrates how such practices become embedded in societal consciousness. This collective trauma is challenging to address and even harder to eradicate, as it affects individuals in deeply personal ways, leaving lasting scars on the social fabric.
The Colonel and the RAM
Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, the CIA intensified its counter-insurgency operations in Asia, implementing programs and techniques in the Philippines, a former colony and ally. CIA involvement traces back to 1978 when a human rights newsletter reported that Lieutenant Colonel Rolando Abadilla, a top torturer for President Marcos, was studying at the Command and General Staff School in Kansas. Another newsletter claimed that Abadilla’s protégé, Rodolfo Aguinaldo, was also set to study under the CIA in the United States.
Many of the torturers in the Philippines were young graduates from the Philippine Military Academy. This created significant implications for both the government and society, leading to destabilisation. These empowered young officers tortured anyone, including priests, journalists, politicians, and even military officials, viewing society through a distorted lens.. Their training reinforced the idea that anyone could be an enemy, granting them a sense of authority and omnipotence. This mentality led to the formation of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), founded by some of these officers. RAM played a pivotal role in the destabilising coups of the 1980s, further contributing to the country’s political turmoil.
Torture Backfires on Marcos
By instituting torture, Marcos, like the Shah, played a key part in his own demise. The very forces he empowered to maintain control eventually turned against him. The coups led by RAM destabilised the country and eventually spurred a guerrilla-like campaign against the government by underground RAM forces, which included terror bombings and shootings. Marcos relied heavily on CIA-crafted and disseminated torture techniques, which ultimately cost him the overall stability of his regime. The omnipotent role he prescribed to young officers allowed them to see through the thin veil of civil society, leading them to violently exert their will on it, just as they had done to countless individuals.
The legacy of torture in the Philippines under Marcos illustrates the profound impact of psychological and physical violence on both individuals and society. The involvement of external forces like the CIA further complicated the dynamics, embedding a culture of fear and compliance that had lasting repercussions. The eventual backlash from within the military highlighted the inherent instability of a regime built on such foundations, serving as a cautionary tale of the destructive power of state-sanctioned violence. The theatrical nature of the torture, coupled with its psychological manipulation, left deep scars that continue to resonate in the collective memory of the nation.
The Eagle Extinguished?
The proliferation of the Phoenix Program during the Vietnam conflict not only led to the creation of CIA-crafted torture programs like Project X but also contributed to the deterioration of American-allied governments abroad. This was particularly evident in Iran before 1979 and the Philippines in the 1980s, where state terrorism and abuse became rampant.
The CIA, initially using the Office of Public Safety and wartime channels in Vietnam, successfully disseminated torture techniques derived from MKULTRA findings and Nazi methods from World War II. The Phoenix Program, with its intricate intelligence network, ensured no one was safe from its reach. This led to Project X, an offshoot that spread to over ten Latin American countries.
By training personnel from allied nations such as Iran and the Philippines, CIA-crafted torture found a global foothold. However, instead of stabilising these regimes, it further unravelled them. In Iran, a vicious cycle emerged: dissidence led to brutal torture, which in turn fuelled more dissidence, escalating until revolution erupted. The Shah’s regime, reliant on CIA-influenced torture, ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own repression.
In the Philippines, the adoption of CIA torture techniques created a radical military echelon that plagued the nation for nearly a decade. The formation of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) by young officers, trained and emboldened by these methods, led to destabilising coups in the 1980s. This exclusionary military elite tormented daily life, further destabilising the government and society.
The legacy of these programs highlights the destructive consequences of state-sanctioned violence. Instead of securing regimes, the implementation of such brutal tactics only expedited their downfall, underscoring the inherent instability and ethical failures of using torture as a tool of governance.
