Duemling manages CIA-Canada brainwashing crisis as Deputy Chief of Mission

DCM navigates political fallout from secret CIA funding of controversial psychiatric experiments.

Date: 1976-1980

While serving as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in Ottawa under Ambassador Tom Enders, Robert W. Duemling acted as the lead U.S. official managing the diplomatic fallout from the "Orlikow Affair," a long-running political crisis stemming from the earlier revelation that the CIA had partially funded controversial psychiatric "psychic driving" experiments in Montreal.

Details:

  • The issue concerned experiments conducted by Dr. Ewen Cameron in the early 1960s. The CIA, interested in the research on brainwashing techniques, secretly funneled a small amount of funding to Dr. Cameron's project.
  • The funding was exposed years later, leading to a "huge political out-cry in Canada" with accusations that the "long arm of the CIA was destroying Canadian citizens."
  • As DCM, Duemling's role was to manage the embassy and consulate structure for Ambassador Enders. This included being the "principal conduit for the dialogue between the two Governments on how to handle this whole situation" when the Orlikow crisis became a persistent diplomatic headache.
  • He was responsible for managing communications as the U.S. and Canadian governments navigated the political crisis, with the CIA maintaining that its small contribution was being unfairly blamed for the entirety of Dr. Cameron's controversial research.

Significance: This entry details a key experience in the career of Robert W. Duemling before his appointment as Ambassador to Suriname. His role as the point man for a highly sensitive, long-running political crisis involving past CIA covert funding demonstrates that he was a trusted manager of complex and delicate issues. This experience handling a "political football" for a powerful and influential figure like Ambassador Tom Enders honed his skills and reputation, which would have been seen as valuable preparation for his subsequent, challenging post in Bouterse-led Suriname.

Source:

"Interview with Robert W. Duemling." Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, 1989.

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