The 1973 CIA Intelligence Evaluation of Uri Geller: Analysis of Controlled Laboratory Experiments and Declassified Stargate Records

Context of the CIA Evaluation

In the early 1970s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) grew increasingly concerned about reports of Soviet progress in "psychotronics" and parapsychological research. To determine if human consciousness could be weaponized for intelligence gathering, the agency commissioned scientists at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), specifically Dr. Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ, to evaluate individuals claiming extraordinary mental faculties. This initiative eventually became part of the multi-decade program known as Project STARGATE.

Methodology and Observations

During an intensive eight-day evaluation in August 1973, Geller was subjected to controlled tests designed to eliminate the possibility of fraud or sensory leakage. One primary experiment involved "remote viewing" or "clairvoyance" of drawings produced by researchers in a separate, shielded room. Geller was placed in a double-walled steel room that was both light-tight and acoustically shielded. In one trial, a researcher at a remote location drew a cluster of grapes. Geller, isolated and without any communication, produced a sketch of a cluster of grapes that researchers noted was nearly identical in composition and count.

Official Findings and Data

Declassified intelligence memos (CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2) state that Geller "demonstrated his paranormal perceptual ability in a convincing and unambiguous manner." The reports detail that out of 10 target drawings, Geller achieved significant accuracy in several, with the odds against chance being calculated as astronomical. While skeptics later questioned Geller's stage performances, the CIA’s internal scientific review focused strictly on the data produced under laboratory conditions.

Legacy of the 1973 Studies

The documents now available through the CIA FOIA Reading Room and The Black Vault's comprehensive Stargate archive provide a rare glimpse into the intersection of Cold War espionage and parapsychology. These records represent an official recognition by the U.S. intelligence community that certain "anomalous mental phenomena" warranted sustained federal funding and scientific study. The program continued under various names (GRILL FLAME, SUN STREAK) for over 20 years, only being fully declassified in the mid-1990s.