Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History (34 page)

And then, of course, there were the Canadians. We have reached out to many of the Canadians involved in this rescue operation to revisit the history. It was a wonderful experience to work with them to achieve a common goal. From Ken Taylor and his secretary Laverna, recently deceased, to Roger Lucy and on down through the working levels, it was a pleasure to work with our neighbors to the north. While we like to say that “Small Is Beautiful,” it is much,
much more. Canada is a true friend to America and I will never forget the pleasure of working with a foreign government that felt so much like my own.

Thanks, Canada!

Antonio J. Mendez

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Associated Press. “Embassy Escape: American Escaped During Takeover,”
Free Lance Star
(Fredericksburg, VA), November 14, 1979.

———. “9 Got Out of Embassy,”
Milwaukee Journal
, November 14, 1979.

Axworthy, Michael.
Iran: Empire of the Mind: A History From Zoroaster to the Present Day
. London: Penguin Books, 2007.

Bowden, Mark.
Guests of the Ayatollah
. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006.

“Canada to the Rescue,”
Time
, February 11, 1980.

Carter, Jimmy.
Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President
. New York: Bantam, 1982.

Christopher, Warren, Harold Saunders, Gary Sick, and Paul H. Kreisberg.
American Hostages in Iran: The Conduct of a Crisis
. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985.

Daugherty, William.
In the Shadow of the Ayatollah: A CIA Hostage in Iran
. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2001.

Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Mandate for Change
. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963.

Gwertsman, Bernard. “6 American Diplomats, Hidden by Canada, Leave Iran,”
New York Times
, January 30, 1980.

Harris, Les (director).
The Iran Hostage Crisis: 444 Days to Freedom (What Really Happened in Iran)
. Documentary. Canamedia, 1997.

Jordan, Hamilton.
Crisis: The True Story of an Unforgettable Year in the White House
. New York: Berkley Books, 1982.

Koob, Kathryn.
Guest of the Revolution
. Nashville: Nelson, 1982.

Laingen, Bruce.
Yellow Ribbon: The Secret Journal of Bruce Laingen
. New York: Brassey’s, 1992.

Mendez, Antonio J., with Malcolm McConnell.
The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA
. New York: Morrow, 1999.

Pelletier, Jean, and Claude Adams.
The Canadian Caper
. Toronto: Paperjacks, 1981.

Roosevelt, Kermit.
Countercoup: The Struggle for Control of Iran
. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979.

Sick, Gary.
All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter with Iran
. New York: Random House, 1985.

Triffo, Chris (director).
Escape from Iran: The Hollywood Option
. Documentary. Harmony Documentary Inc., 2004.

Vance, Cyrus.
Hard Choices: Critical Years in America’s Foreign Policy
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.

Wallace, Robert, and H. Keith Melton.
Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs from Communism to Al–Qaeda.
New York: Plume, 2008.

Wells, Tim.
444 Days: The Hostages Remember
. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985.

NOTES

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Revolution

11:
The final straw for the Eisenhower administration
: Eisenhower,
Mandate for Change
, p. 163.

12:
Upon meeting him, the shah famously said
: Roosevelt,
Countercoup
, p. 199.

14:
Even the U.S. Ambassador to Iran at the time
: Sick,
All Fall Down
, p. 94.

15:
Ironically, the shah was said to be somewhat nervous
: Ibid., p. 25.

15:
President Carter visited Iran and reassured
: Carter,
Keeping Faith
, p. 437.

16:
In a breakfast meeting at the White House
: Ibid., p. 455.

17:
As Graves stood by the window
: John Graves interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, p. 39.

18:
To complicate matters, the militants had chosen to launch
: Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 8.

18:
It seemed as if the students were just going
: Bill Belk interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, pp. 40–41.

19:
The plan was to occupy the embassy for three days
: Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 14.

19:
One lay down in one of the offices on his belly
: Bill Belk interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, p. 40.

20:
The last thing Laingen told Golacinski before signing off
: Laingen,
Yellow Ribbon
, p. 13.

20:
Don Hohman, an army medic
: Don Hohman interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, pp. 46–47.

20:
the militants had found the structure’s one weak spot
: Bill Belk interviewed by Wells, ibid., p. 53.

21:
Golacinski then asked Laingen over the radio if he could go outside
: Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 42.

21:
The order to do so had been slow in coming from Laingen
: Cort Barnes interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, p. 48.

21:
Besides housing the communications equipment
: Daugherty,
In the Shadow of the Ayatollah
, p. 108.

22:
Someone waved a burning magazine in front of his face
: Mark Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 58.

22:
Golacinski shouted through the metal door
: Ibid., p. 58.

22:
John Limbert, a political officer who spoke fluent Farsi
: John Limbert interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, pp. 66–67.

23:
Carter was “deeply disturbed but reasonably confident”
: Carter,
Keeping Faith
, p. 457.

Chapter 3: Diplomacy

46:
Then, on November 12, he cut off
: Sick,
All Fall Down
, pp. 266–67.

46:
In a speech given before a roaring crowd of supporters
: Jordan,
Crisis
, p. 54.

48:
One local radio station in Ohio
: Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 210.

48:
At another radio station in the Midwest
: Ibid., p. 243.

48:
Throughout the interview, Wallace
: Ibid., p 200.

49:
In a fit of frustration, Carter told his press secretary
: Ibid., p. 139.

49:
The imam was reported to have told the emissary
: Sick,
All Fall Down
, p. 263.

50:
Early on the militants were convinced
: Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 246.

50:
For instance, when NBC aired the Gallegos interview
: Ibid., p. 246.

51:
They seemed eager to believe any conspiracy theory
: Sick,
All Fall Down
, p. 38; Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 159.

51:
On another occasion, Colonel Dave Roeder
: Bowden,
Guests of the Ayatollah
, p. 318.

Chapter 4: Nowhere to Run

65:
Undeterred, the militants smashed through the glass
: James Lopez interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, p. 51.

66:
Before entering, he pulled out his pistol
: Ibid.; Harris,
The Iran Hostage Crisis
.

68:
After unlocking the door, Richard Queen
: Richard Queen interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, pp. 72–73.

69:
Morefield turned to him and explained
: Harris,
The Iran Hostage Crisis.

74:
On the morning of November 4, Koob
: Koob,
Guest of the Revolution
, p. 11.

75:
An Iranian voice came through the phone
: Ibid., p. 18.

76:
Koob tried hiding in a women’s bathroom
: Ibid., pp. 30–31.

77:
It was clear now that the Iranians were hunting down the Americans
: Victor Tomseth interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, p. 118.

77:
Tomseth had called the British chargé d’affaires
: Ibid.; author interview with Victor Tomseth.

77–78:
Finally, at about five o’clock, Joe called the British embassy
: Cora Lijek interviewed by Wells, ibid., p. 118.

81:
At the foreign ministry, meanwhile
: Laingen,
Yellow Ribbon
, p. 19.

81:
On the morning of November 6, they were told
: Wells,
441 Days
, p. 141.

81:
Tomseth had suspected that their phone conversations
: Author interview with Victor Tomseth.

84:
Sam had gotten the news
: Ibid.; Victor Tomseth interviewed by Wells,
444 Days
, p. 144.

Chapter 5: Canada to the Rescue

90:
In addition, a few days after the takeover
: Wells,
441 Days
, p. 226.