Submitted by Peter Markus:
The True Story Behind Operation “˜Argo”™ to Rescue Americans From Iran
by Antonio Mendez, Matt Baglio
The Daily Beast
September 17, 2012
The true story behind the new movie “Argo” about how CIA operatives posing as a Hollywood production rescued 6 Americans hiding in Iran during the 1979 embassy crisis. An excerpt from Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio”™s new book, Argo
On Nov. 4, 1979, thousands of Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 66 Americans hostage, including three CIA officers. The crisis lasted 444 days””a drawn-out drama dubbed “America Held Hostage” on television. But during the tumult, six American consular officials managed to slip by the Iranian mob.
As they hid out in the homes of two Canadian diplomats, the Secret Six dreamed up escape plans worthy of Robert Ludlum, and perhaps just as outlandish.
That is, until the CIA appeared with a plan even crazier than anything they had imagined: a scheme to have them pose as a crew of politically clueless filmmakers from Tinseltown scouting locations for a sci-fi film. Continue reading “The True Story Behind Operation Argo”