CIA DICTATING HOLLYWOOD FILMS
Early life and education
Pieczenik was born in Cuba of Jewish parents from Russia and Poland and was raised in France.[2] His father, a doctor from Dombrovicz who studied and worked in Toulouse, France,[3] fled Poland before World War II. His mother, a Russian Jew from Białystok, Poland,[3] fled Europe after many of her family members were killed. The couple met in Portugal, where both had fled ahead of the Nazi invaders.[3] Pieczenik was born in Cuba in 1943.[3][4] After living in Toulouse for six years, Pieczenik's family migrated to the United States, where they settled in the Harlem area[3] of New York City, New York.[5] Steve Pieczenik was 8 years old when his parents received their entry visa to the United States.[3]
Pieczenik is a classical pianist and wrote a full-length musical at the age of 8.[4]
Pieczenik is a Harvard University-trained psychiatrist and has a doctorate in international relations from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[3]
Pieczenik's autobiography notes that he attended Booker T. Washington High School in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Pieczenik received a full scholarship to Cornell University at the age of 16.[3] According to Pieczenik, he received a BA degree in Pre-Medicine and Psychology from Cornell in 1964, and later attended Cornell University Medical College. He attained his PhD in international relations from MIT while studying at Harvard Medical School.[4] Pieczenik claims to be the first psychiatrist ever to receive a PhD focusing on international relations.[5]
While performing his psychiatry residency at Harvard, he was awarded the Harry E. Solomon award for his paper titled: "The hierarchy of ego-defense mechanisms in foreign policy decision making".[3]
An article written by Pieczenik, "Psychological dimensions of international dependency", appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 132(4), Apr 1975, 428-431.[6]
Professional life
Pieczenik was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance and James Baker.[3] His expertise includes foreign policy, international crisis management and psychological warfare.[7] He served the presidential administrations of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush in the capacity of deputy assistant secretary.[8]
In 1974, Pieczenik joined the United States Department of State as a consultant to help in the restructuring of its Office for the Prevention of Terrorism.[2]
In 1976, Pieczenik was made Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for management.[2][5][9][10]
At the Department of State, he served as a "specialist on hostage taking".[11] He has been credited with devising successful negotiating strategies and tactics used in several high-profile hostage situations, including the 1976 TWA Flight 355 hostage situation and the 1977 kidnapping of the son of Cyprus' president.[2] He was involved in negotiations for the release of Aldo Moro after Moro was kidnapped.[12] As a renowned psychiatrist, he was utilized as a press source for early information on the mental state of the hostages involved in the Iran hostage crisis after they were freed.[13] In 1977, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Mary McGrory described Stephen Pieczenik as "one of the most 'brilliantly competent' men in the field of terrorism".[14] He worked "side by side" with Police Chief Maurice J. Cullinane in the Washington, D.C. command center of Mayor Walter Washington during the 1977 Hanafi Siege.[15] In 1978, Pieczenik was known as "a psychiatrist and political scientist in the U.S. Department of State whose credentials and experiences are probably unique among officials handling terrorist situations".[2]
On September 17, 1978 the Camp David Accords were signed. Pieczenik was at the secret Camp David negotiations leading up to the signing of the Accords. He worked out strategy and tactics based on psychopolitical dynamics. He correctly predicted that given their common backgrounds, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin would get along.[3]
In 1979, he resigned as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State over the handling of the Iranian hostage crisis.[4]
In the early 1980s, Pieczenik wrote an article for The Washington Post in which he claimed to have heard a senior U.S. official in the Department of State Operations Center give permission for the attack that led to the death of U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1979.[16]
Pieczenik got to know Syrian President Hafez al-Assad well during his 20 years in the Department of State.[3]
In 1982, Pieczenik was mentioned in an article in The New York Times as "a psychiatrist who has treated C.I.A. employees".[17]
In 2001, Pieczenik operated as chief executive officer of Strategic Intelligence Associates, a consulting firm.[18]
Pieczenik has been affiliated in a professional capacity as a psychiatrist with the National Institute of Mental Health.[19]
In 2011, Pieczenik began making appearances on The Alex Jones Show,[20] InfoWars.com, which led to numerous subsequent interviews.[21]
Pieczenik has consulted with the United States Institute of Peace and the RAND Corporation.[22]
Pieczenik began mentorship of Drew Paul, founder of Blabor.com.[23] Blabor.com is now the production company responsible for Pieczenik's web and media releases.[24][25]
As recently as October 6, 2012, Pieczenik was listed as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).[26] According to Internet Archive, his name was removed from the CFR roster sometime between October 6 and November 18, 2012.[27] Publicly, Pieczenik no longer appears as a member of the CFR.[28]
Pieczenik is fluent in five languages, including Russian, Spanish and French.[2][3][4]
Pieczenik has lectured at the National Defense University.[7]
