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Media Articles - 1990s

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3 December 2002
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ABC News Nightline
(United States)

February 14, 1992


"A Conversation with David Miscavige"
(the current leader of Scientology)


[beginning of extract]

TED KOPPEL: You were talking before about Narconon, right? Narconon operated in Oklahoma, correct? The state of Oklahoma said illegitimate group, tossed you out.

DAVID MISCAVIGE: Well, there you go, now we're going to bring up a new allegation. The state of Oklahoma...

TED KOPPEL: Well, isn't it true?

DAVID MISCAVIGE: ...no, they didn't, they didn't toss it out. It's still there and that's in the court system. In fact, what happened, Ted, is that various doctors came in to testify. The leading drug rehabilitation experts in the country came in to testify...

TED KOPPEL: Well, who was...

DAVID MISCAVIGE: ...let me finish.

TED KOPPEL: ...who was opposing it? Who was trying to get it out?

DAVID MISCAVIGE: The psychiatrists. The mental health board. The leading doctors across the country, Forrest Tennant, another gentleman whose name doesn't come to mind right now, testified in behalf. All the testimony on the efficacy of Narconon program was all in favor of it. Studies have been done, governmental studies in Spain, in Sweden, found Narconon to be the most effective drug rehabilitation program in those countries. One man came in, a psychiatrist, he made statements about the program, that man was also on record as stating... and it's a man named Dr. Jolyan West... out at UCLA, he stated that living a drug free existence is an antiquated position in today's society. The judge in that case ruled that having that man talk about our drug rehabilitation program is similar to asking Saddam Hussein to report on the treatment of the Kuwaitis in Kuwait.

TED KOPPEL: So why is it still in the court system?

DAVID MISCAVIGE: The mental health ward is the one who ruled on it, and we couldn't understand the findings because all the testimony was positive. Both health inspections they passed, and then at the last minute these mental health people denied it...

TED KOPPEL: Just...

DAVID MISCAVIGE: Hang on, I gave you the story, though. You want to know?

TED KOPPEL: Sure.

DAVID MISCAVIGE: Just like the FDA, just like that, we get a level playing field, Ted, it always comes out. You're bringing up Narconon now, but you know...

TED KOPPEL: No, you brought it up, that's why I raised it.

DAVID MISCAVIGE: ...well, I didn't bring up the Oklahoma matter.

TED KOPPEL: That's correct.

DAVID MISCAVIGE: And you brought that up.

TED KOPPEL: That is correct.

DAVID MISCAVIGE: You want... you know, if you... I could have been on here two years ago and you would have brought something up, and it's over now. There have been these cases, but in the end, we come out on top, and I'm telling you, Ted, there are a group of people on this planet who find us to be a threat to their existence, and they will do everything in their power to stop us. And that is the mental health field. I didn't pick a war with them. You can ask them if they feel this way, and they will tell you that.

[end of extract]

[Note: Miscavige's closing comments are very significant: they are an almost direct paraphrase of L. Ron Hubbard's secret 1969 directive that Scientology should take over the mental health field. See Hubbard, "Intelligence Actions - Covert Intelligence - Data Collection", 2 December 1969)