The Sunshine Project
Information Pointer - 2 May 2007
http://www.sunshine-project.org
New Non-Lethal Papers Document 1990s US Research Program
It was an epic battle between two really, really wierd hombres. It was waged, in part, through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. It revealed important information about US "non-lethal" chemical and biological weapons research and 1993 ruminations on preemptive war and proliferation of nuclear and other weapons. Some of the information has been lost, likely forever, but a new FOIA request has unearthed old documents of historical interest in chemical and biological weapons, all because of a strange rivalry between two strange men.
If you are only interested in the documents click to see them now.
If you are interested in where they came from, and some commentary on their content, read on.
On one side was John Alexander, a zealous US Army Colonel (ret.), veteran of the Vietnam War's notorious Phoenix Program, and holder of a PhD in "Death Studies". A believer in psychokinesis, Alexander promotes intelligence gathering with specialists trained in a "psychic" pseudoscience technique called "remote visioning" and - no joke - is a CIA consultant and widely-known proponent of so-called "non-lethal" warfare. Now living in Las Vegas, Alexander and spoon-bending colleagues including Gen. Albert Stubblebine were featured in the recent book The Men Who Stare at Goats.
The Colonel's opponent: Habib Azadehdel, probably not his real name, an Armenian-born conspiracy theorist living in Nottingham, England. Azadehdel, possibly a former operative of the Shah of Iran, is a researcher and liberal user of pseudonyms ranging from Julian Phillips to Cassava N'Tumbo. Azadehdel's daring and illegal overseas exploits as an orchid smuggler for Kew Gardens, and other clients, were portrayed in the book Orchid Fever. Azadehdel was also the subject of a 2004 short film, The Mythologist.
Both men share a strong interest in UFOs and, at least in Alexander's case, alien abductions and farm animal autopsies allegedly performed by flying saucer crews. They had squabbles with one another in the field of "UFOology". By some accounts, the origin and object of the battle between the two men was the woman who is now John Alexander's wife, Victoria, herself no stranger to touch-free spoon bending and little green aliens.
Whether it was rivalry over a woman or that Azadehdel was genuinely concerned that Alexander needed to be exposed as a US government disinformation plant in the "UFO community", the two developed a bitter enmity.
The field of battle: The Freedom of Information Act. From 1990 through 1997, Azadehdel filed 52 FOIA requests (under the pseudonym Armen Victorian) with Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where Alexander led the US government's "non-lethal" weapons research effort. Alexander strenuously fought them, seeking intervention from DOD in Washington to prevent release of some records. Some correspondence related to Alexander's resistance has been released by DOE, other parts - some of which appear to be genuine - can be found on the internet. The battle also played out in articles - by both parties - on listservers and in outlets such as Lobster Magazine and other conspiracy and UFO theory media.
Unfortunately, the files on 46 of Azadehdel's FOIA requests no longer exist courtesy of a National Nuclear Security Administration paper shredder. A new Sunshine Project FOIA rescued the remaining six from a similar fate.
The FOIA records include important historical information on the US "non-lethal" weapons effort, led by Alexander at the time. These include discussions about parlaying government bioremediation research into a US biological weapons program to develop microbes to attack infrastructure and military materials. This illegal avenue of US "non-lethal" weapons research has been previously demonstrated in other government documents; but has never been acknowledged by the US government.
The records also include early ruminations (1993) by a Los Alamos nuclear nonproliferation expert on preemptive war and, citing interest from Paul Wolfowitz, the possiblity of using "non-lethal" weapons in interventions intended to stop proliferation. The nuclear guy, however, was no sucker for the "non-lethal" monniker, noting that if the US used such weapons in preemptive strikes that "The highest payoffs would probably be prior to the engagement of major lethal force." Which is precisely what NGOs have been saying, and the government has been denying, for years: Military "non-lethal" weapons systems are frequently for use as multipliers of lethal force, and not for use saving any adversary or bystander's life.
The records also reveal the existence of three classified 1993 US Department of Energy studies on microbial (i.e. biological) and chemical "non-lethal" weapons, for which the Sunshine Project today requested Mandatory Declassification Review.
All of the materials are now available online, as follows (in PDF format):
1) The entire 523 page file provided by DOE. (Warning: 43 megabytes, repetitive.)
2) Alexander, John B. Potential Non-Lethal Policy Issues, LANL document number LA-UR-92-3773, 28 September 1992.
3) Anonymous. Non-Lethal Technology Overlap (marked: "Rough Draft"), Los Alamos National Lab, c. 1992-1993.
4) Pilat, Joseph F. Responding to Proliferation: A Role for Nonlethal Defenses?, LANL document number LA-UR-93-1506, 22 April 1993.
5) Bowden, J.A. Non-Lethal Defense Options for Future Conflict, LANL document number LA-UR-93-3044, 20 August 1993.
6) Alexander, John B. A Proposal for Non-Lethal Force Development, LANL document number LA-CP-94-0190, 22 August 1994.
7) Alexander, John B. Nonlethal Antimateriel Application of Superacids and Other Very Aggressive Chemical Agents, LANL document number LA-CP-94-0203, 19 September 1994, prepared for NATO Agard Study AAS-40.