(To listen to the Steve Pieczenik interviews, click on “Steve Pieczenik Interviews” in the links category, found in the right-hand column of this site.)
Recently, Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik appeared on Coast to Coast AM and the Alex Jones show (multiple times) claiming that he knew for a fact that bin Laden died in 2001 of Marfan’s Syndrome and was suffering from kidney failure. Although the reports of bin Laden having kidney failure (and possibly Marfan’s Syndrome) were widely reported from 1998 to 2001, our government’s official take on the issue was that there was no evidence of bin Laden’s illness and that they would assume that he was well and alive until evidence proved otherwise. The purpose of this post, however, is not to debate the issue, nor is the purpose to prove whether bin Laden died in 2001 or in 2011 or whether 9/11 was a stand down / false flag operation as Pieczenik claimed. Rather, the purpose of this post is to investigate the credibility of Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, as there is not a lot of information on the web about him — at least there wasn’t prior to his most recent appearances on Alex Jones’ radio show, the first of which aired on May 3rd, 2011.
Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik was introduced on Alex Jones’ show as a former U.S. Navy Captain, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Nixon, Ford and Carter, senior policy advisor under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, George Schultz and James Baker. Also: “Dr. Pieczenik continues to consult the Department of Defense, received a council on foreign relations fellowship where he was recruited by Lawrence Eagleburger as deputy assistant secretary of state for management. In the position he created the office of combat terrorism… Dr. Pieczenik is the author/creator of 26 New York Times best-sellers. His experience is in government and international crisis management were the basis of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Richard Clark, and the website is stevepieczenik.com.” Pieczenik also worked under Reagan and Bush Sr.
Dr. Pieczenik also stated on Jones’ show: “I was a deputy assistant secretary under Nixon, Ford…..and Carter. I resigned under Carter because I disagreed with the way he handled the hostage situation. I came back under Reagan to take down the Soviet Union and I came back under Bush, Sr. to work on Cambodia.” and “I went to Harvard and M.I.T. at the same time… I got a psychiatric degree at Harvard and a PhD in international affairs… I was trained in psychological warfare, propaganda, counter intelligence, counter terrorism — I went right into the state department working for Lawrence Eagleburger…”
In the interview, Mr. Pieczenik stated that bin Laden died in Tora Bora of Marfan’s syndrome in 2001 and that he was told by a prominent general that 9/11 was a stand down and a false flag operation.
Because I wasn’t able to find much on the internet about Pieczenik and his accomplishments, the day after the first Jones’ interview (May 4th), I decided to search Google’s newspaper archives for more information. Coincidentally, some of the following newspapers, although still accessible, cannot be accessed by using the search terms “Pieczenik” or “Steve Pieczenik,” which are the terms I used on May 4th.
I plan on adding more links soon, but wanted to go ahead and post what I’ve found so far, for those who would also like to know more about Dr. Pieczenik. Some of the below referenced newspapers require payment to access their archives. For this reason, the articles have been separated into two sections: “free” or “paid”. All “free” newspapers can be linked to, free of charge, and can be found immediately following this paragraph. All “paid” newspaper articles are included below the “free” section, for the sake of reference.
Sincerely,
Vicki Robison
FREE ACCESS NEWSPAPERS
Steve Pieczenik is “Among the brilliant
and wise Americans I would call upon…”
05-24-1968 – “Cure Can’t Come First – Let’s Find the Cause” – Victoria Advocate
Among the brilliant and wise Americans I would call upon for my urgent report on those sick parts of America’s psyche that lead to drug addiction would be sociologists David Riesman, Amitai Etzioni and Christopher Lasch; historian James Billington; political psychiatrists Jerold Post and Steve Pieczenik; and international drug specialist Cherif Bassiouni.
~ ~ ~
“It really transcended what went on — Arab ambassadors saving Jewish lives at B’nai B’rith. It showed that in a crisis, we can all work together.” -Steve Pieczenik
03-12-1977 – “The Diplomats” – St. Petersburg Times
It was indeed strange bedfellows that formed an agreement to end the siege. As negotiator Steve R. Pieczenik, deputy assistant secretary of State for management, put it: “This was a pardigm of unusual cooperation between different agencies and countries. The ambassadors were just outstanding — sensitive, brave and extremely helpful. It really transcended what went on — Arab ambassadors saving Jewish lives at B’nai B’rith. It showed that in a crisis, we can all work together.”
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“…One of the most ‘brilliantly competent’ men in the field of terrorism was in the picture in Washington…is Dr. Stephen Pieczenik”
03-13-1977 – “Balking terrorists requires expertise”, by Mary McGrory – Eugene Register Guard
One of the most “brilliantly competent” men in the field of terrorism was in the picture in Washington. He is Dr. Stephen Pieczenik, a psychiatrist with degrees from Cornell and Harvard. He is a deputy assistant secretary of state for management. To the relief of his many admirers at State and at the White House, he was at Mayor Walter Washington’s command center from Wednesday night, working side by side with Police Chief Maurice Cullinane.
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03-13-1977 – “How experts can tame terrorists”, by Mary McGrory – The Pittsburgh Press
(Same article as above)
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“Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, deputy assistant secretary of state for management, who is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and an MIT-trained political scientist…”
04-02-1978 – “World’s leaders are ‘picked apart'” – The Tuscaloosa News
Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, deputy assistant secretary of state for management, who is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and an MIT-trained political scientist, recently traced the growing application of psychology to politics since Freud. … …Ruth Benedict’s book, “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword,” by focusing on face-saving needs of the defeated Japanese, was instrumental in molding Gen. Douglas macArthur’s occupation strategy, Pieczenik said…
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“The 34-year-old Pieczenik, who is fluent in five languages…has been credited with devising the negotiating strategy and tactics successfully used in dealing with the Hanafi Muslim seige of the B’nai B’rith headquarters and other buildings in Washington last year…”
04-21-1978 – “U.S. Scientist Aids in Moro Search” – St. Petersburg Times
Two weeks after the ambush kidnaping of Italy’s Aldo Moro, the Italian government asked for the help of Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist and political scientist in the U.S. State Department whose credentials and experiences are probably unique among officials handling terrorist situations. ¶ The 34-year-old Pieczenik, who is fluent in five languages and “understands” Italian, has been credited with devising the negotiating strategy and tactics successfully used in dealing with the Hanafi Muslim seige of the B’nai B’rith headquarters and other buildings in Washington last year, the 1976 Croation nationalist hijacking of a U.S. airliner to Paris, and the kidnaping of the son of Cyprus’ president in 1977. ¶ Pieczenik said in an intervew Wednesday that he returned recently after 10 cays consultation with the Italian government on the Moro case “convinced that all democratic nations are vulnerable, to such crimes,” including the United States. He said it is imperative that democratic nations work together “to combat such criminal acts as the abduction of Moro,” the 61-year-old former Italian prime minister. ¶ “I’m concerned that each new act of terrorism is becoming increasingly more impressive, in a dramatic sense, more and more daring in terms of directly confronting the legitimacy of political institutions in democratic societies,” Pieczenik said. ¶ “But equally, I hope that with international cooperative efforts, terrorism of this kind can be effectively curtailed.” ¶ Pieczenik, who was born of Russian-Polish parents in Cuba and reared in France, joined the State Department in 1974 as a consultant to restructure its Office for the Prevention of Terrorism. Two years later he was made deputy assistant secretary of state for management with other duties, such as setting up mental health services for Americans in remote areas abroad, as well as keeping tabs on national and international terrorism. ¶ “My aim is to minimize the psychological impact of the terrorists on both the government and the hostage, and to develop a deterrent strategy to foil their aims, to discourage further terrorist activity, and to maintain a tactical flexibility to get the hostage out alive if possible,” he said. ¶ He uses his psychiatric training from Harvard University to try to understand what the hostage is experiencing, as well as the political and personal motives of the terrorists and of government leaders. His political science education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is useful in understanding how each nation, and subsystems within it, respond to terrorism, and how the government and populace can be influenced to counteract the terrorists’ aims without use of force……
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“it was important to demonstrate that the Italian state
could function effectively in the presence of this crisis.” -Steve Pieczenik
04-24-1978 – “Moro crisis ‘handled well'” – Bangor Daily News
Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, deputy assistant secretary of state for management, said that the government concluded immediately after the ambush of Moro by members of the Red Brigades on March 16 that the action was aimed at destabilizing not only the governing Chritian Democratic Party but also the “nation-state of Italy,” and acted accordingly. ¶ He said that in strategy sessions of the cabinet under the minister of the interior, Frencesco Cossiga, which he attended as a consultant for two weeks, the consensus was that the terrorists hoped to provoke such repressive measures that conditions of civil war would develop. This led to the conclusion “it was important to demonstrate that the Italian state could function effectively in the presence of this crisis,” Pieczenik said in an interview. …
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“…It’s a way of dispatching our anxieties but it’s also telling us:
‘Hey, we’re in trouble.'” -Steve Pieczenik
12-21-1979 – “When hostages return ordeal won’t be over” – Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“This fear of death doesn’t come as the grim reaper. In fact, it often takes a very bizzare aspect,” Dr. Pieczenik points out. “It comes with little obsessive thought like, ‘Oh, my God, I forgot to turn off the stove.’ It’s a way of dispatching our anxieties but it’s also telling us: ‘Hey, we’re in trouble.'”
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01-17-1980 – “Hostage” – The Spokesman-Review
(Same or similar to above article, dated 12-21-1979)
~ ~ ~
“Stephen Pieczenik, the brilliant psychiatrist who formerly
was U.S. State Department specialist on hostage taking…”
01-18-1980 – “We have ignored Soviet Paranoia” – Sarasota Herald Tribune
Stephen Pieczenik, the brilliant psychiatrist who formerly was U.S. State Department specialist on hostage taking, compares it to the time when, working with paranoid patients, he told one of them that he was going to get someone else in the room because he was frightened of him. ¶ The patient, Pieczenik said, not only understood but was relieved — the doctor had understood and grasped the danger he exuded. ¶ Nations are not at all unlike this, Pieczenik and many others say. Even terrorists become frightened of themselves and their propensities and their capabilities and eventually want someone to contain them. …
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“The psychiatrist, Steven PieczenIk, told NBC the physical
exam apparently had been only the “most cursory” of tests.”
03-13-1980 – “Film Shows Hostage Checkup” – News and Courier
The psychiatrist, Steven PieczenIk, told NBC the physical exam apparently had been only the “most cursory” of tests. “A quick touch of the stethoscope,” he said. ¶ He described the hostages on film — with the exception of Gallegos and Sickmann — as “listless, bereft of physical movement, emotional spontaneity.” …
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“…Steven Pieczenik, an authority on hostage psychology.”
04-04-1980 – “Hostages’ families – After five months of strain their nerves are frayed – Lewiston Morning Tribune
One psychiatrist who met with FLAG members is Steven Pieczenik, an authority on hostage psychology. In an interview, Pieczenik said that, in general, the hostages’ families suffer from an underlying psychological confllict. They are caught between gratitude for U.S. efforts to gain the hostages’ release and anger that these efforts have failed. As a result, he added, “one feels guilty if one doesn’t feel grateful.”
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“When the Iranian hostage crisis began, Pieczenik, who should have
been one of the first persons to be called in, was not even contacted.”
04-23-1980 – “Hostage Crises – Psychology of Politics is Needed”, by Georgie Anne Geyer – Youngstown Vindicator
…For Dr. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist, has for the last years been doing the most delicate and secret terrorist negotiating work for the State Department. ¶ The story of why he suddenly resigned (along with the No. 2 man) only days after the American hostages were taken in Iran is one of the most fascinating untold stories of the lengthening ordeal. For Pieczenik, who speaks five languages and has a genius for inter-cultural analysis and predictions, has successfully negotiated more than 500 hostage releases, often at considerable danger to himself. ….. When the Iranian hostage crisis began, Pieczenik, who should have been one of the first persons to be called in, was not even contacted. “I had to walk into the operations center on my own after 72 hours,” he related calmly. “It was like a Chinese fire drill — totally chaotic. All the top men in the State had no experience with this sort of thing. ¶ “Then, first, I was told to go with Ramsey Clark. I said, ‘Sending him shows you don’t understand Khomeini. The plane will never land. He’s not on Khomeini’s level — Khomeini perceives him as a clerk.’ They asked me, ‘How do you know better than we do?'” He smiled. Psychology makes it all clear. ….. ¶ I was talking with Pieczenik regularly by phone during this period, and the fact is that his judgements always turned out to be precisely right, while virtually all of the diplomatic judgments that were applied did not. He was right in predicting that, within 48 hours, there would be another embassy takeover — and there was. Again, it was not hard. There always is. ¶ He was right in predicting that Bani-Sadr would initially fall as foreign minister; that the Pakistani arms deal would not work out; that President Carter would back down from his state of the Union message (again, not hard) because it is simply part of his consistent pattern. ¶ “Every one of these things is predictable,” he says, “as was Jonestown. Remember when Idi Amin held 200 Americans hostage? Andy Young had just called him ‘crazy’ and I predicted, ‘within 24 hours, he’ll hold people hostage.'” …
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“Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik…resigned Nov. 7, 1979, over the
administration’s handling of the Iranian crisis.”
07-08-1980 – Steve R. Pieczenik: “Modest men leave trail of chaos” – The Spokesman-Review
(Georgie Anne Geyer is on vacation. Her guest columnist today is Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, psychatrist, hostage negotiator and former deputy assistant secretary of state for management who resigned Nov. 7, 1979, over the administration’s handling of the Iranian crisis.) …
~ ~ ~
CBS & ABC consult Steve Pieczenik on hostage situation
12-30-1980 – “Hostages on film: Virtual snapshots in 14-month saga” – The Dispatch
… However, another psychiatrist, Dr. Steve Pieczenik, said on a separate CBS News program: “Their emotional status, their psychological response, is showing that they are coming to their end point, that they are tired, they are exhausted, and they would like to keep on hoping and believing but they just don’t have that much more to hope and believe on.” ¶ Pieczenik, speaking again on ABC News, said that many hostages were depressed and felt abandoned. However, Dr. Frank Ochberg, who appeared on the same ABC program, said that although he detected “a great deal of sadness,” he was less convinced than Pieczenik about the degree of the hostages’ depresssion. …
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01-19-1981 – “Ordeal will leave scars”, by Richard A. Knox – Youngstown Vindicator
…some of that anger has already emerged, in letters they have sent to families or newspaper editors back home. Judging from experience with others who have become pawns of hostile governments or terrorist groups, Pieczenik says, this resentment often takes the forms of tremendous “entitlement anger” directed at the government and sometimes at family members and friends. ¶ “They may become more irritable and demanding, sometimes alienating those close to them,” the psychiatrist noted. ….. “Every organ system has stress responses and that type of reaction doesn’t just stop within days or months after the hostage situation is resolved,” said Pieczenik. …..
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01-21-1981 – “Decompression: After the euphoria of their freedom fades, ex-captives may face psychological trauma” – Lewiston Morning Tribune
“The fear of death has a bizarre aspect and often comes with obsessional thoughts like, ‘Oh, my God, I didn’t pay the insurance bill,'” said Dr. Steven Pieczenik, a Washington psychiatrist who is an expert on hostage psychology. “It’s a way of displacing our anxieties, but it’s also telling us, ‘Hey, we’re in trouble.'”
~ ~ ~
01-22-1981 – “Despite Release, Hostages Not Home Free” – The Dispatch
Even as long as five years later, “anniversary reactions” may strike the former hostages, according to Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a Bethesda, Md., psychiatrist and a former deputy assistant Secretary of State who specialized in crisis management and combatting terrorism. …
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01-28-1981 – “Conflicts in Mental Reports Raise Questions on Captives”, by Philip Taubman – New York Times
Dr. Beahler confirmed reports by Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a former State Department psychiatrist, that the examination of the hostages at the American military hospital in Wiesbaden, West Germany, showed that many were experiencing the kind of disorientation associated with a sudden return from prolonged captivity. A limited number of former hostages, Dr. Beahler confirmed, have suffered some psychomotor retardation, which is manifested by a partial loss of memory, a shortened attention span and a general slowdown in behavior. ¶ Some of the former hostages are withdrawn, uninterested in social interaction and unable to enjoy their freedom, according to Dr. Pieczenik, who said that he was in informal contact with the State Department medical teams. ….. Along with depression, Dr. Pieczenik said, some former hostages were reported to be experiencing feelings of guilt and some hostility. The guilt, he said, was a natural response to being held hostage and having made statements or taken actions that might have jeopardized, or appeared to jeopardize, the safety of fellow hostages. …
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01-28-1981 – “Homecoming whirlwind puts 2 ex-captives in hospital” – The Milwaukee Journal
(Same as above New York Times article)
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~ ~ ~
01-28-1981 – “Confusion arises over state of ex-captives’ mental state” – The Dispatch
(Same as above New York Times article.)
~ ~ ~
Steve Pieczenik Blows Whistle
on State Department in 1981!
“I was present. I heard it.” -Steve Pieczenik
02-17-1981 – “Coverup charged in death of U.S. envoy” – Spokane Daily Chronicle
WASHINGTON (UPI) — A former official is accusing the State Department of covering up the fact taht U.S. permission was given for the attack that led to the death of U.S. Ambassador Adolf Dubs in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1979. ….. Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a deputy assistant secretary of state for medical services at the time, said in an article he wrote for The Washington Post that he was in the State Department Operations Center on the day of Dubs’ death and heard a senior U.S. official give permission for the attack. ¶ His article sought to make the broader point that U.S. policy on terrorism was inconsistent and ineffective, thus contributing to further incidents. ¶ State Department spokesman William Dyess said officials involved in the Dubs’ kidnapping had been consulted and communication logs reviewed. ¶ “The allegation (by Pieczenik) is incorrect,” he said, “All concerned stressed the need for restraint as well as avoiding a precipitous assault.” ¶ Pieczenik, now in private medical practice after having resigned over a policy dispute, said, “It’s not surprising, that they deny it. I wish they would put one-fifth the effort into solving the problem as they put into covering up the incident.” ¶ “I was present. I heard it.” ¶ He said he talked with the official who he said authorized the assault and that he “was very worried” about the consequences. ¶ Pieczenik said he does not want to identify the official because he does not want the case to become an indictment of just one person, but to focus attention on the U.S. anti-terrorist policy, which he believes is ineffective.
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02-18-1981 – “Afghan claim denied” – The Phoenix
WASHINGTON (Reuter) — The U.S. state department Tuesday denied a published report that Afghan security forces had been given the go-ahead from a U.S. official to rush a Kabul hotel room where kidnapped ambassador Adolph Dubs was being held two years ago. ¶ Dubs was killed in the assualt Feb. 14, 1979. ¶ In a article, former deputy assistant state secretary Steve Pieczenik challenged the vew that the Soviet Union had ordered the attack: “At one point, a critical call came in from Kabul. Afghan troops and Soviet advisers were outside the Kabul hotel. The troops were poised to storm the room where Dubs was being held. Should they attack? ¶ “Astonishingly, the American official on the phone said yes — assault. As he hung up, a dispute broke out in the operations room. They can’t attack, said another official. Dubs is likely to be killed. Nothing will be accomplished.”
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02-18-1981 – “U.S. denies approving assault” – The Calgary Herald
In a article published Sunday by The Post, former deputy assistant state secretary Steve Pieczenik alleged an American official had given the assault approval.
~ ~ ~
The State Department was enraged by Pieczenik’s charge.
02-27-1981 – “What Responses to Terrorism?”, by Georgie Annie Geyer – Sarasota Herald-Tribune
In a comprehensive article published in the Washington Post, the State Department’s former chief terrorist negotiator. Steve Pieczenik, a psychiatrist specializing in international affairs, charged that we still have “no policy on terrorism.” Pieczenik ended up with these basic recommendations when terrorist situations occur. ….. Pieczenik wrote of one case that illustrates what happens when well-motivated but ill-trained people mix themselves in the eerie psychodynamics of terrorism. he wrote that during the capture by terrorists of the late American Ambassador Adolph Dubs in Kabul, Afghanistan, in February 1979, an American official here gave the wrong signal to assault the room where Dubs was being held, thus leading to his tragic death. ¶ The State Department was enraged by Pieczenik’s charge. After a “thourough investigation,” a spokesman said categorically that the report was “not correct.” And that, supposedly, was that. ¶ Except it wasn’t. Harold Saunders, outgoing assistant secretary of state for Middle Eastern affairs, spoke this week at a session on “After the Hostages, What?” He said, with an air of sadness, “The civilized world has a lot to do to figure out what it’s going to do the next time.” …..
~ ~ ~
05-19-1981 – “It’s time to get tough with the terrorists” – The Modesto Bee
“The biggest mistake the public can make is to think that this was the act of a madman,” Dr. Steve Pieczenik, a former State Department psychiatrist and a sepcialist on terrorism, notes. “It was the clear ideological act of an ideological terrorist.”
~ ~ ~
10-13-1982 – “Psychiatrists describe Kafkaesque Portfolio” – New York Times
”Secrecy and compartmentalization are essential to intelligence work,” said Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist who has treated C.I.A. employees. ”The problem is that those interests do not work well in a family setting.” ¶ Dr. Pieczenik and other therapists said that instincts developed by agents, such as ”obligatory paranoia,” were healthy on the job. Applied at home, however, they said, they can be destructive. ”A man who never tells his wife exactly what he does at work and lies to his children about his profession introduces an element of distrust and aloofness into the family,” said Dr. Pieczenik. ….. And security concerns present other problems. ”For someone who deals with highly sensitive intelligence information, group therapy is not likely to be the recommended treatment,” said Dr. Pieczenik.
~ ~ ~
12-15-1982 – “‘Crazy’ Norman – One of a growing breed”, by Georgie Geyer – Youngstown Vindicator
“This may well be a belwether of what is to come in the future,” Dr. Steve Pieczenik, the psychiatrist who was for years the State Department’s major negotiator on terrorism, says of the Washington Monument indicent. “Both in the economic and in the nuclear freeze area, people feel more and more desperate to attract media attention required to articulate effectively their concerns and needs to an affable president who seems totally blind and deaf and appears publicly to be totally indifferent. ¶ “Who else will go on TV to say this is the only way to reach our affable president? How violent must behavior be to attract our affable president? What price will the nation pay?” …
~ ~ ~
”Many of my patients have been power brokers of one kind or another: lobbyists, politicians, lawyers. These people…just enjoy the hurly-burly of power for its own sake.” -Steve Pieczenik
03-08-1985 – “Seat of power and woe”, by Daniel Goleman – New York Times
Although there is no single psychiatric label for the problems it can cause, there is the kind of person whom some call the ”poweraholic,” who takes the thrill of power so seriously he or she becomes lost in its pursuit. ¶ ”For some, the thirst for power takes on the character of an addiction,” said Steve R. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist who has also been a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. ”Many of my patients have been power brokers of one kind or another: lobbyists, politicians, lawyers. These people are incessantly building a power base, forming alliances, typically with no specific goal in mind; they just enjoy the hurly-burly of power for its own sake.” ¶ One source of trouble for such people, Dr. Pieczenik says, occurs when the power-lover manipulates his wife and children the way he does everyone else. ”The sad part,” he added, ”is that they often realize they are doing this too late. By then the divorce is already in the works.”
~ ~ ~
03-09-1985 – “Power: It’s the single element that gives Washington its great appeal – The scope of heady aphrodisiac goes beyond the mere realm of politicians”, by Daniel Goleman, N.Y. Times News Service – Lawrence Journal World
(Same or similar to above New York Times article, dated 03-08-1985)
~ ~ ~
”national anxieties arise from states of balance-of-power
vulnerabiity.” -Steve Pieczenik
04-02-1985 – “Political forces come under new scrutiny of psychology” – New York Times
While Dr. Lebow and other political scientists have turned to cognitive psychology to analyze biases in international relations, a different approach is taken by those with a psychoanalytic bent. Typical of these efforts is the work of Steve R. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist who has been a deputy assistant secretary of state. ¶ ”Just as states of vulnerability in an individual lead to anxieties which are handled by ego-defense mechanisms,” Dr. Pieczenik said, ”national anxieties arise from states of balance-of-power vulnerabiity.” ¶ Writing in the American Journal of Psychotherapy, Dr. Pieczenik has argued that the perceptions of one country toward another are filtered by these defenses. The more threatening one nation perceives another to be, the more extreme the psychological defenses it will rely upon. ¶ The most extreme defenses include projection, where one perceives one’s own hostility to be coming from one’s enemy; distortion, in which one twists facts to make them more acceptable; and denial, where one ignores altogether discomforting facts. These extreme defenses, Dr. Peiczenik contends, were used toward China in the period when the United States refused to recognize its political existence. ¶ In the same period, Dr. Pieczenik said, the United States used less extreme perceptual distortions toward Taiwan, particularly idealization and fantasies of omnipotence, to maintain ”the fantasy that the idealized General Chaing Kai-Shek would one day return to mainland China and destroy the Communists.”
~ ~ ~
“We have become a nation of symbols instead of action.” -Steve Pieczenik
04-30-1985 – “Americans must pay heed to today’s holocausts, too” – Spokane Chronicle
Dr. Steve Pieczenik, the brilliant psychiatrist who was the leading negotiator in the state Department with terrorists and whose family suffered in the Holocaust, said: “We have become a nation of symbols instead of action. In denial and obsession with the past, we see a refusal to deal with the present. We don’t want to muster the willpower.”
~ ~ ~
04-30-1985 – “Attention Must be Paid – Today’s Holocauses”, by Georgie Anne Geyer – The Victoria Advocate
(Same or similar to above article dated 04-30-1985)
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–
~ ~ ~
06-22-1985 – “Sunday TV News Shows” – The Vindicator
CNN: Cable News Network’s “Newsmaker Sunday” features former Iranian hostages Moorhead Kennedy and Col. Lee Holland; psychiatrist Dr. Steve Pieczenik, and neuropsychiatrist Dr. Richard Restak, 10:30 a.m.
–
~ ~ ~
06-25-1985 – “What we learned from last time…”, by Georgie Anne Geyer – The Miami News
“The press has to start showing restraint and responsibility vis-a-vis hostage situations,” Dr. Steve Pieczenik, terrorist negotiator for the State Department, said. “They should also show some sensitivity to the pain that the hostages are feeling.”
–
–
~ ~ ~
06-30-1985 – “Hostages may succumb to Stockholm syndrome” – Anchorage Daily News
The hostages see their problem “through the eyes of the terrorist,” said Dr. Steve Pieczenik, a psychiatrist and an assistant secretary of state during the Iranian hostage crisis that ended in 1981. Pieczenik said he would be surprised if the TWA hostages were not angry at the United States and at Israel, which refused to meet the hijackers’ demand to release more than 700 Lebanese prisoners, mostly Shiites. ¶ “that doesn’t make them traitors…,” he said of the hostages. “That’s survival… You begin to think that way.”
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07-01-1985 – “Effects of captivity may linger a long time” – Lakeland Ledger
(Similar to above Anchorage Daily News article, dated 06-30-1985)
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–
~ ~ ~
“I gave the State Department a list of my candidates for the Unthinkable Salon. It included people such as…Steve Pieczenik… All have to be original thinkers, with no special agendas that would interfere with clear and honest thinking.”
07-06-1985 – Georgie Anne Geyer: “New approaches needed” – The News and Courier
An example of the future: The situation in the Philippines — with an aging and perhaps demented dictator, a despairing democratic opposition, an economy ravaged by the dictator’s greed, and a rampaging Marxist guerrilla movement — is nearly upon us. But the administration has not the faintest idea of what to do about it. ¶ After my conversation, I gave the State Department a list of my candidates for the Unthinkable Salon. It included people such as Brian Jenkins, the specialist on terrorism at the Rand Corp.; Professor Cherif Bassiouni, specialist on international law and the Islamic movements at De Paul University; Dr. Steve Pieczenik, psychiatrist and former terrorist negotiator at the State Department; John Bedrosian, terrorism specialist; Professor Marvin Zonis, specialist on Iran at the University of Chicago; and many others. ¶ All have to be unattached, at least at present, to the power structure. All have to be original thinkers, with no special agendas that would interfere with clear and honest thinking. ….. In one of our leading intelligence agencies recently, high officials told me of their excellent psychological analysts: “Yes, they’ve almost always been right; but we tend not to pay much attention to them.” ¶ That’s downright curious, isn’t it?
~ ~ ~
07-10-1985 – “We must learn to predict the problems” – The Modesto Bee
(Same or similar to above article from “The News and Courier”, dated 07-06-1985)
~ ~ ~
11-22-1985 – “Books of the Times” – New York Times
Plausible implausibilities (or vice versa) are even more of a feature of ”The Mind Palace.” The author, Steve R. Pieczenik, is a practicing psychiatrist who has been director of international activities at the National Institute of Mental Health, where he negotiated mental-health agreements with the Soviet Union, and he has written a story that makes extensive use of his knowledge of Soviet psychiatry. Most of it takes place in a psychiatric hospital in Moscow; most of the strictly medical scenes are engrossing and authentic-seeming. …..
~ ~ ~
“Historically, the bombing of cities like Dresden has increased
the national resistance toward the adversary.” -Steve Pieczenik
04-17-1986 – “Former diplomat offers warning” – The Courier
WASHINGTON (UPI) — A psychiatrist and former diplomat warns, “We’re going to see a worst-case scenario,” of “indiscriminate and riotous” killings ordered by Col. Moammar Khadafy in reprisal for the U.S. attacks on Libya. ….. Dr. Steve Pieczenik, who was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under presidents Carter and Ford and now has a private psychiatric practice, also said the attack Monday on the port cities of Tripoli and Benghazi will increase Libyan patriotism the same way Germans rallied against the allied bombing of Dresden in World War II. ¶ “Historically, the bombing of cities like Dresden has increased the national resistance toward the adversary,” said Pieczenik, who specializes in international affairs. ¶ Although Reagan describes Khadafy as the “mad dog of the Middle East, Pieczenik says Khadafy is more crafty than insane. ¶ “He is a very clever and savvy leader who uses erratic behavior in an effective and manipulative way. He’s a genius — and evil genius, so to speak — at using erratic behavior to achieve his ends.” ….. As a worst-case scenario, Pieczenik said, “You will have indiscriminate and riotous bombings, and innocent victims all over the world will die. There will be a worldwide fear of terrorism.”
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04-17-1986 – “Psychologist predicts ‘riotous’ death spree” – The Bulletin
(See above article from “The Courier”, dated 04-17-1986)
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06-09-1987 – Commentary: “Who’s law did Bakkers break?” – Ellensburg Daily Record
Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, former State Department psychiatrist and keen observer of human nature, recently described his feelings to me, and they closely paralleled mine. “What you see in the evangelical scandal is a malign cynicism in which these people beg for money from others, manipulate hope on that basis and then turn around and lead a totally different kind of life,” he said. “It illustrates the ultimate depravity in our society.”
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08-11-1991 – “End of captivity unleashes whirlwind of new traumas” – New York Times
Dr. Steve Pieczenik, a psychiatrist who served as a deputy assistant secretary of state dealing with hostages, noted that great changes are likely to have occurred in the family structure. ¶ “The wife left behind has taken over all family functions, becoming more independent, assertive and aggressive,” he said. ….. Dr. Pieczenik said the released hostages who do best tend to be those who are older and have had previous experience in dealing with serious life stresses. Important personal characteristics include ego strength, a strong spiritual life, a sense of belonging and something meaningful to return to in the way of a job, he said.
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08-11-1991 – “Readjustment to freedom can be challenge”, by Jane E. Brody – N.Y. Times News Service – Record-Journal
(See above article from New York Times, dated 08-11-1991)
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PAID ACCESS NEWSPAPERS
03-12-1977: 3 Islamic Diplomats Bridge Gap to Gunmen; Diplomats Bridge Gap to Gunmen To Persuade Them to Surrender, by Ben A. Franklin and David Binder – New York Times (PAY)
He named Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for … In an interview today, Dr. Pieczenik. 33 years old, said that he had been …
03-14-1977: Experts Impress Long Wait on Terrorists, by Mary McGrory – The Sun (PAY)
He is Dr. Stephen Pieczenik, a psychiatrist with degrees from Cornell and Harvard. He is a deputy assistant secretary of state (or management. …
03-21-1977: First Aim of FBI’s Hostage Squad: Save the Lives – Los Angeles Times (PAY)
Working in cooperation with Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a psychiatrist who is deputy assistant secretary of state for management, Mullany suggested a …
04-20-1978: Called by Italy in Moro Case – Los Angeles Times (PAY)
Pieczenik said in an interview Wednesday that he returned recently after 10 … Pieczenik, who was born of Rus- sian-Polish parents in Cuba and reared in …
04-23-1978: Italy is praised for its crisis stance – New York Times (PAY)
… statesman was kidnapped for clear political purposes without any specific demands and an almost nonexistence of communications,” Dr. Pieczenik said. …
1981-01-21: The hostages; their lives; their families – and the days ahead – Boston Globe (PAY)
On the other hand, the government “will be obligated to these hostages for their well-being for many, many years,” said Dr. Steve Pieczenik, a Washington, …
1988-01-04: Media Excesses Alarm TV Analysts – Chicago Tribune (PAY)
Elsewhere, Steve Pieczenik, former deputy assistant secretary of state for crisis management, asserts that “most people in government are very frightened by …
1991-08-12: Family ties grow stronger during ordeal – USA Today (PAY)
… yet they get portrayed as heroes even though they see themselves as victims, ” says Maryland psychiatrist Steve Pieczenik, who set up a hostage survival …
Sheep Pee! 
DAN SEVERN
May 9, 2012
Thank you very much for your hard work in researching and bringing it all together on your blog. I still don’t what to believe on this Pieczenik character. The fact that he thinks Jeb Bush would be a good president concerns me. It also is disturbing that no one has made single comment on this blog considering it’s already a year old.
Joe D.
January 19, 2013
Because “they” don’t like to argue “conspiracy fact.”
Great work!
Satyavira
July 18, 2012
However disturbing a Jeb Bush presidency would be, i’m willing to cut Pieczenik stack in the simple fact that he is openly saying that 9/11/01 was a false flag, deception and deceit.
riccardo nova
August 24, 2012
Great job !!!!! Thanks !!!
Influence Freedom
September 19, 2012
Thank you for the hard work on researching the Steve Pieczenik.
doug
September 21, 2012
i guess im the second to comment and yes, thanks for the research. Pieczenik,s name became know to me today when reading Veterans today. Lots of troubling rumors in an article there concerning false flag events ,the USS Enterprise and the start of ww3 being predicted.
yikes!
eric shoesmith
March 25, 2013
He sounds like a man who has enough of the lies, as he says.