In 1997, the CIA publicly celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. At this commemorative event, an old spy who had retired for seven years was awarded the CIA's "Pioneering Pioneer Award" and was nominated for the 50th anniversary of the US intelligence community. One of the stars, and was authorized to decipher the story of his spy career. This is also the first time that the CIA has authorized a declassified senior operations officer to publicly tell about his spy career. This spy is Tony Mendez, the protagonist of "Argo". Mendez is an artist. Although he has spent 25 years in the CIA, his life's interest is painting. Before the release of Ben Affleck's film, Mendez and Matt Baglio co-launched a film titled "Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in The book "History" created momentum for the film. This book fully tells the story of the rescue of six American hostages. Mendez’s legendary experience was only authorized to be deciphered in 1997. Before deciphering, although many media had vague knowledge of the inside story, they were mostly vague and could not fully obtain the entire plan. The reference materials in this article are from Mendez’s memoirs. And some spy memoirs of the CIA. 1. The name "Argo" is also a fake movie title in history. This name has two meanings. One is about Greek mythology, and the other is an abbreviation. Mendez recalled it with joy. 2. During the meeting, when the State Council asked who was ridiculing the officials of the State Council, the people told Mendez that after the fall of Pahlavi, many of Pahlavi’s cronies were rescued. In fact, the group of six escaped in the film. Before leaving the embassy, Mendez had just rescued a senior intelligence source "close to the Iranian royal family" and returned to the United States. 3. In the film, the State Council and the CIA discussed a lot of evacuation plans, which are very similar in history. At that time, they also proposed to hire smuggling groups. A billionaire in Texas also rescued two of his employees in this way. The billionaire also agreed to help the CIA and told the CIA that if there is a problem when applying for a budget, he can first Pay the money, and the CIA will return him after the incident. 4. Mendez was inspired by watching "Battle of the Apes". At the meeting, Mendez talked about this plan. Someone immediately refuted that it was too high-profile and it was easy to reveal his identity. In fact, this is the key to Mendez's entire plan, Mendez Explained: "The current situation in Tehran is extraordinary. In that case, why don't we design an unusual cover identity. Everyone can't imagine a sane spy would use this cover identity." 5. John Chambers is indeed the first non-government employee to receive an intelligence medal. Although Lester Siegel played by Alan Arkin is fictional, in reality there is indeed a "Siegel" who helped Mendez and played a significant role. 6. Studio Six in the film was produced in only 4 days in history. After the operation was successful, Studio Six completed its historical mission. It is said that Studio Six Six received a lot of scripts, one of which was from Spielberg. 7. When the plan was running, in order to strive for truth, advertisements were advertised in magazines such as Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter. The major media in the United States were indeed blinded, thinking that there was really a new movie to be filmed. 8. The original book of "Argo" is Roger Zelazny's "Lord of Light" (Lord of Light), this book is still available on Amazon. 9. Jack Kirby, played by Michael Parks, is the partner of Stan Lee. The two created Spider-Man, Hulk and Iron Man together. Historically, Jack Kirby did draw the comics and design drawings of "Argo". 10. In the film, the man who met Mendez in Istanbul was a legendary CIA spy. This man was airdropped to the European War and fought with the Resistance Army during World War II. This man was still active in Tehran after the successful operation, serving as a military Prepare for rescue operations. 11. In the film, a group of teenagers puzzles in Tehran. This is one of the two things Mendez worries most in history, because Mendez brought a high-level intelligence source to the United States before the action. Once these teenagers succeed, Mendez will face exposure. 12. The second thing Mendez worries about is the two-page entry and exit application form. This is a measure of entry and exit inspection during the Pahlavi dynasty. Fortunately, according to the spy report at the airport, it is now relatively loose and has not been restored. It was so strict before. 13. In addition to Mendez, there is another CIA spy who participated in the operation. This person can speak German, Spanish, and Arabic. His cover status is a sponsor. 14. The Canadian government once held a cabinet meeting. For humanitarian purposes, it agreed to issue blank passports to the six American diplomats trapped in the Canadian embassy. This was an unexpected surprise. The CIA applied for six blank passports and asked for more blank passports. Two passports were given for use by the CIA's escorts. The Canadian government approved the application and approved six spare passports. However, they did not agree to issue passports for the two CIA agents because the Canadian government was unwilling to provide cover for professional spies. 15. The evacuation equipment was first sent to the Canadian embassy in Tehran, Ken When Taylor and the secretary checked the documents, they found that the date on the Iranian visa was wrong. The reason was that the staff had misinterpreted the Shia Persian calendar. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and this small error is easy to correct. 16. At that time, a reporter did vaguely touched that six U.S. embassy staff ran away. It was a guess based on the hostage list released by the State Department. Later this reporter confirmed his guess and the Canadian government requested that the report be delayed until the rescue. It will be released after the operation is over. In return, the Canadian government agreed to let this reporter publish exclusive news after the rescue operation is over. 17. When Mendez and another spy went to the Canadian embassy when they first arrived in Tehran, they did not know that Iran had changed the name of the street where the Canadian embassy was located. The two went to the wrong place and went to the Swedish embassy, outside the Swedish embassy. The policeman on guard still did not understand what the two said, and the two asked again in German, Arabic, and Spanish. The policeman still did not understand. It happened that a young man who spoke fluent German passed by and pointed the way for the two. Mendez suspected that the young man was probably a member of the Revolutionary Guards, and the two of them were unpredictable and showed no flaws. 18. When Mendez was about to leave in the movie, the CIA informed that the Mendez operation had been cancelled. In fact, this happened before Mendez went to Tehran. When he was about to leave, Mendez received a telegram from the director saying that he should be suspended because President Carter wanted to be there. After listening to the whole plan, Mendez was really nervous at the time, because Carter was a person who paid special attention to details and was likely to cancel the plan. But half an hour later, the CIA sent a telegram to Mendez: The president just approved the plan, you can Went to Tehran for a mission, good luck to you. 19. When Mendez left the embassy with the group of six, the soldier who smashed all the equipment was nicknamed "sledgehammer." In reality, when preparing to close the embassy, this soldier wielded a 12-pound sledgehammer to remove All the things that needed to be saved and taken away were destroyed, thus earning this nickname. 20. At the end of the film, the Revolutionary Guards chasing Mendez at the airport did not happen in history. It was still relatively smooth at the time. Except for mechanical failures and aircraft delays, the inside of the airport told Mendez that this was only a minor malfunction, and it would take an hour. Repaired, this waiting time was hailed by Mendez as “one of the hardest times in life”. At that time, everyone was extremely nervous. Fortunately, the plane was repaired quickly. When the plane left over Iran, everyone lifted it up. A wine glass, this is known as "the history of spies
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