Re: So they're actually...

I knew about the MKUltra but I never knew it by its name.

Here is another program. This time, it was a set of covert operations. Look up the Phoenix Program. There was a young fellow who flew an O-2 (a small propeller airplane) in support of night operations in various non-combatant countries bordering Vietnam. These night operations were occasionally "TWEP" (if I recall correctly: Terminate With Extreme Prejudice.) Basically, "This is the file on So-and-so. Kill him." That would be assasination and, as I understand it, a war crime. This young fellow ended up being shot down by small arms fire (it was a bird strike, actually) and just before a medical discharge, was told that it was his duty to NEVER release information regarding any of the operations. No reporter talks, no idle chat, no memoirs, no book deals.
"Testifying in court?"
"That will never happen."

http://www.petester.com/html/AC022.html
Similar aircraft.