University:
University of Wyoming
Course:
POLS3270 | Governments and Politics of the Middle East
Academic year:

2023
Views:

130

Pages:

1
Author:

Allison B.

Allison Brown Government and Politics of the Middle East Eric Nigh April 2, 2022 Extra Credit Film Response – Argo (2012) Argo opens with a brief summary of the history of Iran, including the US-engineered coup that disposed of Mohamed Mossad and put in Reza Shah, the abuses that he perpetrated, and how that led to hatred of the Shah’s main sponsor, the US, and an Islamic revolution. During the revolution, Iranian militants storm the United States embassy in Tehran. They take most of the embassy staff hostage, but the Canadian Ambassador takes in some who escaped. The CIA asks Tony Mendez, one of their “exfiltration experts”, or operative, to come up with a plan to help the fugitives escape from Tehran and get across the border. Mendez suggests creating a cover story that the fugitives are a Canadian film crew looking for locations for a science-fiction film. Mendez goes to Hollywood and finds a production company, script, and theme for a fake film. However, the Iranian revolutionaries discover that some American Embassy staff escaped, and start looking for them. Mendez enters Iran pretendingArgo’s he is assistant producer and goes to the Iranian Ministry of Culture to establish his cover by asking for a permit to film. At the Canadian ambassador’s house, Mendez meets up with the six Americans. The Canadian Ambassador provides all six with Canadian passports and Mendez gives them cover stories to learn. Mendez learns that the US is planning a military strike to rescue the hostages, CIA orders him to cancel the escape, but he proceeds. Facing a failed operation, the CIA agrees to help him, as a failed escape will be worse than no escape. But they’ve already canceled the airline tickets and have to scramble to get them reauthorized, with the fugitives standing in line at the airport. After various close calls in the airport nearly prohibiting them from leaving Iran, they are able to board the plane and take off with Iranian police forces chasing down the runway. In the US, the CIA gives all the credit for the rescue of the Canadians in order to hide their involvement. Looking atArgo as a film, similar toZero Dark Thirty and others,Argo, though based on a true story, is not a documentary. In the real story of Argo, the CIA operation, the British and New Zealand embassies didn’t refuse to help, and in fact, the British took the fugitives in first, before handing them to the Canadians as they were under threat themselves, as the Iranians also overran the British embassy. The CIA also didn’t cancel the operation and the escape, and Mendez didn’t go against orders to bring the diplomats back. And the daring escape at the end of the film was less climatic with the New Zealand Ambassador driving the group to the airport, where they walked through airport security with no problems.