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In 1975, Senator Frank Church’s mailbag overflowed with letters from concerned citizens.  As the Idaho Democrat led a special investigation of possible abuses and crimes committed by America’s intelligence agencies, many people wrote to urge him to look into other possible government conspiracies.  Some asked him to examine allegations that the CIA might have tried to assassinate foreign rulers. Others wanted him to find out if the agency had acquired special technology from aliens and was using it to control them through their television sets.

These letters in Church’s papers, which I found while researching Challenging the Secret Government, taught me an important lesson. It’s very difficult to evaluate the plausibility of conspiracy theories about US secret agencies because these agencies have, in fact, plotted and engaged in real and sometimes outlandish conspiracies. As a result, it requires some investigation to determine that some allegations about current CIA mind control programs are theories, but equally dubious-sounding projects – for instance, the CIA’s plot to kill Fidel Castro with an exploding seashell -- are documented facts.

Moreover, it’s important to remember that it’s not only people on the fringes of American politics who spread these theories. A “conspiracy theory” is the belief that two or more people have colluded in secret to do something illegal or improper.  Using this broad definition, we can see that conspiracy theories are sometimes propagated by officials at the very center of the U.S. government – and these “official” conspiracy theories can be just as harmful to the CIA and other secret agencies as the unofficial kind.

If we compare the “unofficial” conspiracy theories inspired by the Church committee to the “official” conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks, we can see the dangers posed by both kinds.  In each case, the CIA tried to protect its reputation and its power by refuting the theories – and in each case, it........

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