How Many Cups #29: San Francisco Becomes An Experiment For CIA Bioweapons
yes, you read that correctly
A Coffee, But Double Check What’s In It First
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“At least eight United States cities and military installations were subjected to simulated biological warfare attacks by Army scientists between 1950 and 1966.” - San Francisco Chronicle
Talk about grabbing the reader from the opening line. Although it buried my lede, the sentiment remains as frightening as it does shocking. I’ve long been obsessed with bringing CIA operations to the forefront of our American consciousness, in the hopes that us naturally conspiratorial citizens can recalibrate our bullshit meter away from QAnon pipedreams and towards the machinations of those who actually hold power. This should help.
Back in 1950, the CIA wanted to test the impact of germ warfare. The Cold War scare was taking a foothold in the States, and those who graduated from World War II were looking for ways to continue their clandestine careers. San Francisco, along with other unlucky sites, was selected as a location to carry out this experiment.
In September of that year, the CIA released Serratia Marcescens into the bay area, believing that it could not affect human beings. This bacteria would be monitored and traced to track its spread and then determine how feasible it would be for an adversary to mimic this type of warfare with a deadly bioweapon.
Over the course of six days, U.S. Navy minesweeper ships conducted Operation Sea Spray. Then, the bacteria was traced with scientific precision. It was observed that Serratia - known for producing reddish spots and coloring where it grew - reached as far as inland suburbs.
“In little more than a month, one man was dead and five other patients were infected and suffering from chills, high fever and a general malaise. Before the outbreak ran its course and disappeared: five months later, 11 cases of infection were found.”
Of course, the bacteria made its way inside the bodies of local San Franciscans. Indeed, doctors as local hospitals began to notice how patients were producing urine with a red hue to it.
Consider the case of Edward Nevins, a retired pipefitter who was in his mid-70s. After entering a local hospital, it was determined that the bacteria was in not only his urine, but his bloodstream as well. The antibiotics administered to Nevins failed to work, as it did with all other documented patients. By November 1st he would be dead, suffering fever and chills along the way.
Years later, Nevins’ family sued, only to have a judge rule that Edward’s infection could not be effectively linked to Operation Sea Spray. Still, there is enough circumstantial evidence to connect the two.
Similar tests were replicated, one at Fort McClellan in Alabama and another in the Florida Keys. In 1951, Alabama recorded 139 cases of pneumonia. That figure would more than double in 1952, the year the experiment was initiated in the state. The same held true in the Keys, which showed “a startling ten-fold increase” in pneumonia, including a rising death total from four casualties in 1951 to 30 in the following year.
“Sources at the Oakland lab, now called the Naval Biosciences Laboratory and which was headquarters for the San Francisco tests, said that Serratia could cause pneumonia, particularly in infants. Newsday found that in at least two instances, an Army test was associated with a peculiar rise in pneumonia cases.”
Indeed, it appeared as though both the Army and the CIA knew the potential fatality of Serratia. Nevertheless, they went through with the experiments, even going so far as to release the bacteria in the New York City subway systems.
Interestingly, the CIA releases a bevy of documents each year. Rather, they are forced to via legislative action. What makes these stories so remarkable is the lack of media attention they receive. How puzzling it is to know that the most popular deep state fables told in this country revolve around vaccine microchips and pedophilac traffic rings, while in-your-face sources exist revealing a much darker, much more real Truth.