1 00:00:14,542 --> 00:00:17,999 Imagine trying to blast a dictator out of hiding 2 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,332 using heavy metal music. 3 00:00:20,333 --> 00:00:23,957 The priests and nuns of the embassy, 4 00:00:23,958 --> 00:00:25,166 they can't take it. 5 00:00:25,167 --> 00:00:27,249 They want Noriega there. 6 00:00:27,250 --> 00:00:31,749 They beg the US military to turn off this racket. 7 00:00:31,750 --> 00:00:34,749 Even the Pope gets involved. 8 00:00:34,750 --> 00:00:38,791 Or declaring war on emus. 9 00:00:38,792 --> 00:00:40,749 The emu is not a dumb bird. 10 00:00:40,750 --> 00:00:44,166 They split up and they start running in multiple directions. 11 00:00:44,167 --> 00:00:46,749 Some of them take fire and keep going. 12 00:00:46,750 --> 00:00:48,707 It's just so mind boggling. 13 00:00:48,708 --> 00:00:51,541 How about defeating a squad of guerrilla fighters 14 00:00:51,542 --> 00:00:52,667 with vampires? 15 00:00:54,250 --> 00:00:57,707 Lansdale has this idea of really learning the enemy 16 00:00:57,708 --> 00:01:00,249 and finding out about the superstitions 17 00:01:00,250 --> 00:01:02,416 that are popular in this culture. 18 00:01:02,417 --> 00:01:05,166 Instead of having a direct military confrontation, 19 00:01:05,167 --> 00:01:08,374 they're going to use psychological operations. 20 00:01:08,375 --> 00:01:10,041 These are the missions so shocking, 21 00:01:10,042 --> 00:01:12,457 they are truly unbelievable. 22 00:01:25,083 --> 00:01:26,207 During the Cold War, 23 00:01:26,208 --> 00:01:27,541 there seems to be no limit 24 00:01:27,542 --> 00:01:30,541 to how far the US will go to fight communism, 25 00:01:30,542 --> 00:01:33,332 but once you turn cats into super spies 26 00:01:33,333 --> 00:01:36,832 or capture the enemy using weaponized dolphins, 27 00:01:36,833 --> 00:01:37,833 what's next? 28 00:01:39,792 --> 00:01:42,749 It's the 1950s and somewhere deep inside Langley, 29 00:01:42,750 --> 00:01:44,832 the CIA's headquarters, 30 00:01:44,833 --> 00:01:47,707 the brain trust is hatching a plan. 31 00:01:47,708 --> 00:01:49,666 What better way to challenge 32 00:01:49,667 --> 00:01:53,124 the masculine, aggressive Soviet empire 33 00:01:53,125 --> 00:01:55,957 than to hit 'em where it hurts? 34 00:01:55,958 --> 00:01:59,166 The plan is as crazy as it is simple. 35 00:01:59,167 --> 00:02:00,416 What they're gonna do 36 00:02:00,417 --> 00:02:02,374 is take extra, extra large condoms 37 00:02:02,375 --> 00:02:05,166 that are clearly stamped "Made in America," 38 00:02:05,167 --> 00:02:08,499 and they're gonna re stamp them as size small. 39 00:02:08,500 --> 00:02:11,999 Then they're gonna drop them over Soviet territory. 40 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:13,874 The idea is upon discovering 41 00:02:13,875 --> 00:02:16,541 these American small condoms, 42 00:02:16,542 --> 00:02:19,124 they will see an extra extra large 43 00:02:19,125 --> 00:02:22,666 and they'll say, "That's an American small? Uh-oh." 44 00:02:22,667 --> 00:02:26,666 And it will break the Soviet fighting man's spirit, 45 00:02:26,667 --> 00:02:29,874 knowing that they are not as well endowed as the US of A. 46 00:02:29,875 --> 00:02:32,832 Overall, the idea is actually not too bad. 47 00:02:32,833 --> 00:02:35,374 It's cheap, it's easy to execute. 48 00:02:35,375 --> 00:02:38,500 This actually seems like a pretty good plan. 49 00:02:39,542 --> 00:02:41,416 Reportedly, the CIA is on the cusp 50 00:02:41,417 --> 00:02:42,874 of launching this mission 51 00:02:42,875 --> 00:02:45,374 when it finds its way to the ears 52 00:02:45,375 --> 00:02:46,791 of some of the higher ups 53 00:02:46,792 --> 00:02:48,999 and they hit the brakes on this; 54 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,416 they pull the plug. 55 00:02:50,417 --> 00:02:52,291 This just seems a little too bonkers, 56 00:02:52,292 --> 00:02:53,874 a little too crazy, 57 00:02:53,875 --> 00:02:57,542 and Operation Condom Drop is quickly put on the shelf. 58 00:02:59,417 --> 00:03:02,624 While this mission never actually gets up and running, 59 00:03:02,625 --> 00:03:04,791 the CIA does something even stranger 60 00:03:04,792 --> 00:03:07,667 to scare the hell out of communists in Southeast Asia. 61 00:03:09,917 --> 00:03:12,832 The Philippines has a somewhat complicated history 62 00:03:12,833 --> 00:03:14,416 with the United States. 63 00:03:14,417 --> 00:03:19,207 From 1898 to 1941, it's an American territory. 64 00:03:19,208 --> 00:03:22,374 But during World War II, Japan invades 65 00:03:24,208 --> 00:03:26,249 and they occupy the Philippines. 66 00:03:26,250 --> 00:03:28,291 In the aftermath of the Second World War, 67 00:03:28,292 --> 00:03:32,666 the country exists as a free democratic republic, 68 00:03:32,667 --> 00:03:35,291 but the United States has influenced there 69 00:03:35,292 --> 00:03:37,374 because the United States has interests there. 70 00:03:37,375 --> 00:03:39,374 Even though America claimed 71 00:03:39,375 --> 00:03:41,624 to give the Philippines its independence, 72 00:03:41,625 --> 00:03:44,957 they were still controlling the resources of the country. 73 00:03:44,958 --> 00:03:46,207 The United States, 74 00:03:46,208 --> 00:03:47,582 through the Central Intelligence Agency, 75 00:03:47,583 --> 00:03:50,082 is attempting to influence Philippine elections 76 00:03:50,083 --> 00:03:52,624 to ensure that they elect the right people- 77 00:03:52,625 --> 00:03:55,624 and the right people means not communist. 78 00:03:55,625 --> 00:03:58,374 But not everyone is happy about this arrangement 79 00:03:58,375 --> 00:04:01,208 and by 1950, all hell is breaking loose. 80 00:04:02,292 --> 00:04:04,832 There is a guerilla group, the Hukbalahap, 81 00:04:04,833 --> 00:04:08,041 and they have an agenda. 82 00:04:08,042 --> 00:04:11,082 They want to create a self-sufficient Philippines 83 00:04:11,083 --> 00:04:13,207 with no external influence, 84 00:04:13,208 --> 00:04:16,499 but they need to create a fighting force. 85 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:19,124 The Huks start working their way through the country, 86 00:04:19,125 --> 00:04:21,791 going to villages to recruit people; 87 00:04:21,792 --> 00:04:24,582 saying, "You can either join us or we will kill you." 88 00:04:24,583 --> 00:04:27,375 So naturally most people join up. 89 00:04:28,458 --> 00:04:30,541 And this method is working quite well 90 00:04:30,542 --> 00:04:34,416 because by 1950, there are 70,000 Huk revolutionaries 91 00:04:34,417 --> 00:04:35,916 that are willing to take up arms 92 00:04:35,917 --> 00:04:37,041 and they're going to take over 93 00:04:37,042 --> 00:04:39,041 the central government in Manila. 94 00:04:39,042 --> 00:04:41,249 Fearing the Philippines will turn communist, 95 00:04:41,250 --> 00:04:43,957 the US decides to intervene. 96 00:04:43,958 --> 00:04:47,082 The man who oversees this operation for the CIA 97 00:04:47,083 --> 00:04:48,874 is named Edward Lansdale, 98 00:04:48,875 --> 00:04:50,791 and he's an advertising guy. 99 00:04:50,792 --> 00:04:53,749 And he starts to think about creative, 100 00:04:53,750 --> 00:04:55,166 outside the box ways 101 00:04:55,167 --> 00:04:57,666 that they can maybe solve this problem. 102 00:04:57,667 --> 00:05:00,624 Instead of having a direct military confrontation, 103 00:05:00,625 --> 00:05:03,041 they're gonna use psychological operations. 104 00:05:03,042 --> 00:05:07,332 Lansdale has this idea of really learning the enemy 105 00:05:07,333 --> 00:05:10,041 and finding out about the superstitions 106 00:05:10,042 --> 00:05:12,082 that are popular in this culture. 107 00:05:12,083 --> 00:05:13,374 During their research, 108 00:05:13,375 --> 00:05:15,416 Lansdale and his men come across a being 109 00:05:15,417 --> 00:05:17,792 known as the Aswang vampire. 110 00:05:18,792 --> 00:05:21,582 The Aswang vampire presents itself 111 00:05:21,583 --> 00:05:25,291 as a beautiful woman with wings 112 00:05:25,292 --> 00:05:28,916 and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth; 113 00:05:28,917 --> 00:05:31,041 and she lives in the forests 114 00:05:31,042 --> 00:05:34,541 among the people where she can strike and get you. 115 00:05:34,542 --> 00:05:36,499 In the early 1950s, 116 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:38,457 the US brings this legend to life 117 00:05:38,458 --> 00:05:42,541 and Project Aswang officially kicks off. 118 00:05:42,542 --> 00:05:44,332 Just outside of a small village, 119 00:05:44,333 --> 00:05:46,582 there are 300 Huk fighters 120 00:05:46,583 --> 00:05:48,707 that have started an encampment 121 00:05:48,708 --> 00:05:51,541 with a mission to convince and persuade 122 00:05:51,542 --> 00:05:53,916 these villagers to join their cause. 123 00:05:53,917 --> 00:05:55,207 This gives the CIA 124 00:05:55,208 --> 00:05:57,416 the opportunity to implement their plan. 125 00:05:57,417 --> 00:06:00,291 They start spreading the rumor among the villages 126 00:06:00,292 --> 00:06:02,707 around this concentration of Huk fighters 127 00:06:02,708 --> 00:06:07,041 that there is an Aswang nearby in the forest, 128 00:06:07,042 --> 00:06:09,041 and they know that as the rumor 129 00:06:09,042 --> 00:06:11,541 spreads through the villages, 130 00:06:11,542 --> 00:06:14,499 it's also gonna spread to the Huk fighters. 131 00:06:14,500 --> 00:06:15,707 A few days later, 132 00:06:15,708 --> 00:06:18,707 once Lansdale feels that the rumor 133 00:06:18,708 --> 00:06:21,374 has spread enough amongst the Huks, 134 00:06:21,375 --> 00:06:23,333 it's time for him to strike. 135 00:06:24,458 --> 00:06:26,332 CIA operatives begin stalking 136 00:06:26,333 --> 00:06:28,874 a Huk patrol in the dark forest. 137 00:06:28,875 --> 00:06:31,499 As the Huks are moving along a trail, 138 00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:35,207 the CIA operatives quietly wait for them to pass. 139 00:06:35,208 --> 00:06:38,082 As the last man in the patrol passes by, 140 00:06:38,083 --> 00:06:41,041 one of the operatives sneaks up behind him, 141 00:06:41,042 --> 00:06:44,125 snatches him off the trail and into the bushes. 142 00:06:46,292 --> 00:06:48,666 They end up killing this fighter 143 00:06:48,667 --> 00:06:51,750 and they puncture two holes in his neck. 144 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,374 And then they hang him by his feet from a tree 145 00:06:56,375 --> 00:06:58,291 and the blood in his body 146 00:06:58,292 --> 00:07:01,416 drains out via these two holes. 147 00:07:01,417 --> 00:07:04,207 When his comrades come looking for him, 148 00:07:04,208 --> 00:07:07,792 what they find is someone who, to all appearances, 149 00:07:08,875 --> 00:07:12,541 has been killed by an Aswang vampire. 150 00:07:12,542 --> 00:07:14,416 Once the rest of the squad gets wind of this, 151 00:07:14,417 --> 00:07:16,874 all 300 fighters flee. 152 00:07:16,875 --> 00:07:21,249 But then there's an even bigger, unexpected outcome. 153 00:07:21,250 --> 00:07:23,666 The villagers themselves feel like 154 00:07:23,667 --> 00:07:26,707 if the Aswang is targeting Huk fighters, 155 00:07:26,708 --> 00:07:29,707 the last thing I want to do is join the Huk. 156 00:07:29,708 --> 00:07:33,957 And eventually, without the support of the villagers, 157 00:07:33,958 --> 00:07:35,833 the Huk dissolves away. 158 00:07:37,667 --> 00:07:39,749 Definitely an effective strategy, 159 00:07:39,750 --> 00:07:41,499 but sometimes achieving a mission 160 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:44,291 means getting a little more down and dirty. 161 00:07:47,542 --> 00:07:50,374 British spies are often considered 162 00:07:50,375 --> 00:07:51,832 the best of the best 163 00:07:51,833 --> 00:07:55,249 and the creme de la creme are known as MI6. 164 00:07:55,250 --> 00:07:56,541 And during the Cold War, 165 00:07:56,542 --> 00:07:59,457 MI6 is really at its peak. 166 00:07:59,458 --> 00:08:01,249 Alongside NATO forces, 167 00:08:01,250 --> 00:08:03,374 MI6 launches a secret mission 168 00:08:03,375 --> 00:08:06,667 to gather information from Soviet-controlled East Germany, 169 00:08:07,417 --> 00:08:10,082 called Operation Tamarisk. 170 00:08:10,083 --> 00:08:11,541 It's not what you picture 171 00:08:11,542 --> 00:08:14,499 when you imagine a conventional espionage operation, 172 00:08:14,500 --> 00:08:16,624 where a agent is slipping into 173 00:08:16,625 --> 00:08:18,624 an office building at night 174 00:08:18,625 --> 00:08:21,166 and secretly using one of those little tiny spy cameras 175 00:08:21,167 --> 00:08:23,374 to photograph vitally important documents; 176 00:08:23,375 --> 00:08:25,749 that's not what happens in Tamarisk. 177 00:08:25,750 --> 00:08:27,166 To steal intelligence, 178 00:08:27,167 --> 00:08:30,541 MI6 exploits the struggling East German economy; 179 00:08:30,542 --> 00:08:34,624 especially a shortage in one vital consumer product. 180 00:08:34,625 --> 00:08:37,707 The Soviets are in an arms race with the United States. 181 00:08:37,708 --> 00:08:39,374 This is a very expensive arms race 182 00:08:39,375 --> 00:08:41,707 and the last thing they wanna spend money on 183 00:08:41,708 --> 00:08:44,416 are household items including toilet paper. 184 00:08:44,417 --> 00:08:45,916 Thanks to this, 185 00:08:45,917 --> 00:08:49,332 even soldiers are forced to improvise when nature calls. 186 00:08:49,333 --> 00:08:51,707 They start to realize that they're literally using 187 00:08:51,708 --> 00:08:53,624 any type of paper they can get their hands on. 188 00:08:53,625 --> 00:08:56,082 Now sometimes this could mean letters from home, 189 00:08:56,083 --> 00:08:58,457 it could mean receipts for supplies, 190 00:08:58,458 --> 00:09:03,291 but then sometimes it might also be classified documents. 191 00:09:03,292 --> 00:09:04,541 Word spreads quickly. 192 00:09:04,542 --> 00:09:05,749 The race is on to discover 193 00:09:05,750 --> 00:09:08,249 the communists' dirty secrets. 194 00:09:08,250 --> 00:09:11,499 In one mission, you have two British spies 195 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:14,457 who are hiding out near a firing range 196 00:09:14,458 --> 00:09:17,041 where the Soviet soldiers are practicing. 197 00:09:17,042 --> 00:09:20,832 They wait for the soldiers to finish up and then take off. 198 00:09:20,833 --> 00:09:22,791 The two operatives then move in 199 00:09:22,792 --> 00:09:25,374 and they go through the septic system. 200 00:09:25,375 --> 00:09:26,582 These British spies show 201 00:09:26,583 --> 00:09:28,791 a whole new level of dedication. 202 00:09:28,792 --> 00:09:31,541 They have to sort through the muck soil 203 00:09:31,542 --> 00:09:34,374 and everything else in order to find documents. 204 00:09:34,375 --> 00:09:35,416 They find a lot of what 205 00:09:35,417 --> 00:09:36,874 you would expect to be in there, 206 00:09:36,875 --> 00:09:38,666 but they also find the paper 207 00:09:38,667 --> 00:09:41,749 that the troops have been using to wipe themselves. 208 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:43,916 The agents take these papers back to an office 209 00:09:43,917 --> 00:09:47,041 to be cleansed, reassembled, and analyzed. 210 00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:49,999 What they find is a treasure trove. 211 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,374 There are cipher code translations, 212 00:09:52,375 --> 00:09:54,916 there are reports on troop morale. 213 00:09:54,917 --> 00:09:59,541 You've even got detailed instructions on troop movements. 214 00:09:59,542 --> 00:10:00,874 The mission is so successful, 215 00:10:00,875 --> 00:10:03,874 MI6 doubles down and sends spies 216 00:10:03,875 --> 00:10:07,916 to an abandoned Soviet military encampment at Neustrelitz. 217 00:10:07,917 --> 00:10:10,249 These two MI6 spies start digging 218 00:10:10,250 --> 00:10:11,707 their way through the latrine 219 00:10:11,708 --> 00:10:13,416 and what they come across 220 00:10:13,417 --> 00:10:16,374 is an entire military log. 221 00:10:16,375 --> 00:10:18,541 It contains valuable information 222 00:10:18,542 --> 00:10:20,874 about the latest Russian tanks in service 223 00:10:20,875 --> 00:10:22,832 and incredibly, includes a report 224 00:10:22,833 --> 00:10:26,041 on the weak points inherent in those tanks. 225 00:10:26,042 --> 00:10:28,207 Thanks to this unlikely intelligence source, 226 00:10:28,208 --> 00:10:30,374 the British create a tank busting missile 227 00:10:30,375 --> 00:10:32,249 that is still in use today. 228 00:10:32,250 --> 00:10:35,583 But even the strangest missions have an expiration date. 229 00:10:36,792 --> 00:10:39,000 Operation Tamarisk cannot last forever. 230 00:10:39,875 --> 00:10:41,249 As the eighties go on, 231 00:10:41,250 --> 00:10:42,541 the Russians are able to solve 232 00:10:42,542 --> 00:10:43,999 some of their economic problems, 233 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,332 the soldiers get some comfy toilet paper 234 00:10:46,333 --> 00:10:47,874 and no longer do British spies 235 00:10:47,875 --> 00:10:50,208 have to crawl into Soviet latrines. 236 00:10:53,375 --> 00:10:54,624 As crazy as stealing secrets 237 00:10:54,625 --> 00:10:57,249 from Soviet toilets might sound, 238 00:10:57,250 --> 00:10:58,874 Operation Tamarisk goes down 239 00:10:58,875 --> 00:11:01,957 as the single most effective intelligence operation 240 00:11:01,958 --> 00:11:04,167 throughout the entire Cold War. 241 00:11:08,500 --> 00:11:09,707 In ancient Egypt, 242 00:11:09,708 --> 00:11:11,041 cats are the embodiment of all things sacred, 243 00:11:11,042 --> 00:11:13,374 bringing good luck to all they come across. 244 00:11:13,375 --> 00:11:15,416 1700 years later, 245 00:11:15,417 --> 00:11:18,708 one Pope disagrees and takes action. 246 00:11:20,583 --> 00:11:22,541 It's the thirteenth century 247 00:11:22,542 --> 00:11:26,166 and from 1227 until 1241, 248 00:11:26,167 --> 00:11:29,832 Pope Gregory the ninth is the ultimate religious leader 249 00:11:29,833 --> 00:11:31,707 of the western world. 250 00:11:31,708 --> 00:11:33,332 He's the head of the Catholic church, 251 00:11:33,333 --> 00:11:34,999 his word is infallible, 252 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,333 no one is closer to God than Pope Gregory. 253 00:11:39,917 --> 00:11:43,041 And Pope Gregory is most definitely not a cat person. 254 00:11:43,042 --> 00:11:45,707 In fact, he believes that cats 255 00:11:45,708 --> 00:11:48,917 are the reincarnation of Satan himself. 256 00:11:50,875 --> 00:11:54,166 Just where does the Pope's strong opinion come from? 257 00:11:54,167 --> 00:11:58,457 Conrad von Marberg is Gregory the ninth papal inquisitor 258 00:11:58,458 --> 00:12:03,750 and his task is to extract confessions and punish heretics. 259 00:12:05,125 --> 00:12:08,707 Through the course of these torture interrogations, 260 00:12:08,708 --> 00:12:12,874 Conrad unearths a satanic cult in Mainz Germany 261 00:12:12,875 --> 00:12:15,707 that worships a half Lucifer, 262 00:12:15,708 --> 00:12:19,207 half cat-like devil being. 263 00:12:19,208 --> 00:12:23,499 They conduct a black mass in a satanic church 264 00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:26,833 around a statue of a giant cat 265 00:12:28,125 --> 00:12:30,458 who, after a while, comes to life 266 00:12:32,458 --> 00:12:34,082 and the followers go around 267 00:12:34,083 --> 00:12:35,792 and kiss the cat on the butt 268 00:12:38,375 --> 00:12:41,832 and then they have a giant orgy. 269 00:12:41,833 --> 00:12:43,041 Once Pope Gregory learns 270 00:12:43,042 --> 00:12:44,916 about this satanic cat cult, 271 00:12:44,917 --> 00:12:48,041 he issues an official decree in 1233 272 00:12:48,042 --> 00:12:50,666 condemning all cats to hell. 273 00:12:50,667 --> 00:12:53,249 Some people take this directive 274 00:12:53,250 --> 00:12:57,125 to mean that cats should be destroyed. 275 00:12:58,042 --> 00:12:59,624 Priests and peasants alike 276 00:12:59,625 --> 00:13:01,666 are enlisted in the shocking mission 277 00:13:01,667 --> 00:13:03,750 and the great cat hunt begins. 278 00:13:04,708 --> 00:13:06,624 Entire communities go on 279 00:13:06,625 --> 00:13:09,541 these brutal hunts to find cats 280 00:13:09,542 --> 00:13:10,999 and when they catch them, 281 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,707 they burn them alive 282 00:13:12,708 --> 00:13:15,166 or they toss them off of tall buildings. 283 00:13:15,167 --> 00:13:17,791 It's not just our furry friends being slaughtered. 284 00:13:17,792 --> 00:13:19,957 People who are harboring cats 285 00:13:19,958 --> 00:13:24,166 are branded Satan worshiping cat lovers 286 00:13:24,167 --> 00:13:28,791 and they too are subjected to torture and even death, 287 00:13:28,792 --> 00:13:32,041 simply for refusing to kill the cats. 288 00:13:32,042 --> 00:13:33,582 Pope Gregory's cat killing mission 289 00:13:33,583 --> 00:13:35,166 goes on for decades, 290 00:13:35,167 --> 00:13:38,541 but it's the cats who ultimately get the last meow. 291 00:13:38,542 --> 00:13:42,791 Around a century after Pope Gregory's war on cats, 292 00:13:42,792 --> 00:13:45,541 the bubonic plague rages through Europe, 293 00:13:45,542 --> 00:13:47,999 killing 25 million. 294 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,374 And the culprit? Rats. 295 00:13:52,417 --> 00:13:56,208 But you know who's particularly effective at catching rats? 296 00:13:57,458 --> 00:14:01,291 These cats that have been so mercilessly hunted, 297 00:14:01,292 --> 00:14:04,707 so cats begin falling back into favor. 298 00:14:04,708 --> 00:14:06,582 Lucky for all us feline lovers, 299 00:14:06,583 --> 00:14:08,666 cats make a triumphant come back. 300 00:14:08,667 --> 00:14:13,207 Today there are an estimated 600 million cats on the planet 301 00:14:13,208 --> 00:14:15,500 and I'm sure only some of them are evil. 302 00:14:16,250 --> 00:14:18,874 Unbelievably, 700 years later, 303 00:14:18,875 --> 00:14:21,582 another war is declared on a different animal; 304 00:14:21,583 --> 00:14:23,417 this time down under. 305 00:14:25,750 --> 00:14:27,499 It's just after World War I 306 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:29,957 and the Australian government decides to do something 307 00:14:29,958 --> 00:14:32,041 really special for Australian fighters 308 00:14:32,042 --> 00:14:33,749 that come home from the war. 309 00:14:33,750 --> 00:14:37,374 They give the soldiers a plot of land to become farmers 310 00:14:37,375 --> 00:14:40,624 and the 1920s are a great decade for that. 311 00:14:40,625 --> 00:14:44,041 Soon these veterans turned farmers are thriving 312 00:14:44,042 --> 00:14:46,458 until an unexpected rival swoops in. 313 00:14:47,167 --> 00:14:49,832 The emu is a flightless bird. 314 00:14:49,833 --> 00:14:53,082 They're six feet tall, about 120 pounds. 315 00:14:53,083 --> 00:14:57,499 They're really fast, but they're also really hungry. 316 00:14:57,500 --> 00:15:00,207 Australia's 20,000 emus begin feasting 317 00:15:00,208 --> 00:15:02,207 on the thriving new farmlands, 318 00:15:02,208 --> 00:15:04,957 causing millions of dollars in lost crops. 319 00:15:04,958 --> 00:15:07,082 If you're a farmer, typically what you might do 320 00:15:07,083 --> 00:15:09,916 is you might take your claim to the agriculture department, 321 00:15:09,917 --> 00:15:12,499 but these aren't only farmers, they're veterans; 322 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:16,707 so they decide to go to the Ministry of Defense. 323 00:15:16,708 --> 00:15:18,707 The farmers meet with George Pierce 324 00:15:18,708 --> 00:15:22,249 and their plan is to create an army of well-armed men 325 00:15:22,250 --> 00:15:26,541 to go out and significantly deplete the emu population. 326 00:15:26,542 --> 00:15:27,874 This doesn't exactly 327 00:15:27,875 --> 00:15:29,666 sit well with the government 328 00:15:29,667 --> 00:15:31,332 who reminds them that the emu 329 00:15:31,333 --> 00:15:33,916 is Australia's national bird, 330 00:15:33,917 --> 00:15:35,207 But Pierce is adamant and he says, 331 00:15:35,208 --> 00:15:36,916 "No, no, no, no. I have a plan. 332 00:15:36,917 --> 00:15:39,041 We're gonna use machine guns 333 00:15:39,042 --> 00:15:41,124 because that'll make the death quick and painless. 334 00:15:41,125 --> 00:15:44,499 And on top of that, this will be seen as a good act 335 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:47,583 to aid the veterans that fought in World War I." 336 00:15:48,917 --> 00:15:51,166 Apparently Pierce makes a strong case 337 00:15:51,167 --> 00:15:53,207 because parliament gets on board 338 00:15:53,208 --> 00:15:57,417 and officially declares war on emus in 1932. 339 00:15:59,875 --> 00:16:02,082 The program gets off to a roaring start 340 00:16:02,083 --> 00:16:04,374 when an Australian artillery officer 341 00:16:04,375 --> 00:16:06,207 by the name of G.P.W. Meredith 342 00:16:06,208 --> 00:16:08,249 goes out into an area called Campion 343 00:16:08,250 --> 00:16:10,666 for the purposes of exterminating 344 00:16:10,667 --> 00:16:12,207 the emu population there. 345 00:16:12,208 --> 00:16:13,207 With a herd of about 346 00:16:13,208 --> 00:16:14,874 a hundred emus in their sights, 347 00:16:14,875 --> 00:16:16,041 they begin firing. 348 00:16:18,250 --> 00:16:21,541 Then the emus do something they're very good at. 349 00:16:21,542 --> 00:16:24,124 The emu is not a dumb bird, they're smart, 350 00:16:24,125 --> 00:16:26,332 and they split up and they start running 351 00:16:26,333 --> 00:16:28,791 in multiple directions in smaller groups, 352 00:16:28,792 --> 00:16:30,625 at 40 miles an hour! 353 00:16:32,292 --> 00:16:34,666 These emu are pretty freaking hard to hit. 354 00:16:34,667 --> 00:16:37,957 They blast into a pack of a hundred, they hit five. 355 00:16:37,958 --> 00:16:40,416 A handful of emus sadly do get shot, 356 00:16:40,417 --> 00:16:43,207 but some of them take fire and keep going. 357 00:16:43,208 --> 00:16:44,582 It's just so mind boggling 358 00:16:44,583 --> 00:16:48,458 that Major Meredith compares these emus to tanks. 359 00:16:49,708 --> 00:16:52,291 After the emus outsmart them at Campion, 360 00:16:52,292 --> 00:16:54,916 the army works on a different approach. 361 00:16:54,917 --> 00:16:57,249 They're going to mount the Lewis machine gun 362 00:16:57,250 --> 00:16:59,124 on the back of a Jeep, 363 00:16:59,125 --> 00:17:02,916 so they can travel at the same speed as the emu 364 00:17:02,917 --> 00:17:05,166 and fire from the back. 365 00:17:05,167 --> 00:17:06,333 Problem with this: 366 00:17:07,125 --> 00:17:08,375 it is rough terrain, 367 00:17:09,625 --> 00:17:12,082 so the Jeep is just bouncing up and down the whole way. 368 00:17:12,083 --> 00:17:13,541 Bullets fly everywhere. 369 00:17:13,542 --> 00:17:15,291 Emus are just like, "That's stupid," 370 00:17:15,292 --> 00:17:17,541 and they scatter once again. 371 00:17:17,542 --> 00:17:21,458 And again, the outcome is the same: mission failure. 372 00:17:22,542 --> 00:17:25,541 It's now emus two, Aussies nil. 373 00:17:25,542 --> 00:17:28,207 But the soldiers aren't ready to give up. 374 00:17:28,208 --> 00:17:30,207 Now, Major Meredith and his men 375 00:17:30,208 --> 00:17:31,582 think they've got these emus figured out. 376 00:17:31,583 --> 00:17:33,832 They know the guerrilla tactics of these emus. 377 00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:35,041 They know how they run, 378 00:17:35,042 --> 00:17:36,207 they know where they rest, 379 00:17:36,208 --> 00:17:38,749 they know what directions they spread in. 380 00:17:38,750 --> 00:17:40,207 And with this information 381 00:17:40,208 --> 00:17:42,207 they start carrying out these new missions 382 00:17:42,208 --> 00:17:45,249 and they start to show more success. 383 00:17:45,250 --> 00:17:47,374 Pierce goes back to parliament three weeks later, 384 00:17:47,375 --> 00:17:49,041 proudly touting that he and his men 385 00:17:49,042 --> 00:17:52,249 have killed almost 1000 emus. 386 00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:54,041 Parliament just kind of looks at him and goes, 387 00:17:54,042 --> 00:17:57,666 "Didn't you say there were 20,000 emus 388 00:17:57,667 --> 00:18:01,583 and you've only managed to kill a thousand of them?" 389 00:18:02,833 --> 00:18:04,624 They lambast him with insults, 390 00:18:04,625 --> 00:18:07,291 going so far as to even suggest that, 391 00:18:07,292 --> 00:18:10,082 maybe medals should be given to the emu? 392 00:18:10,083 --> 00:18:12,957 With an unbelievable amount of ammunition 393 00:18:12,958 --> 00:18:14,499 and manpower wasted, 394 00:18:14,500 --> 00:18:16,499 Parliament ultimately decides 395 00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:19,124 to give the victory to the emus 396 00:18:19,125 --> 00:18:22,417 and the mission is declared an unmitigated failure. 397 00:18:23,375 --> 00:18:25,624 After the emus win the war of 1932, 398 00:18:25,625 --> 00:18:27,707 they continue to wreak havoc on farmers 399 00:18:27,708 --> 00:18:29,416 and their crops for years. 400 00:18:29,417 --> 00:18:33,417 That is, until a worthy opponent appears: better fencing. 401 00:18:37,958 --> 00:18:39,041 On October 4th, 1957, 402 00:18:39,042 --> 00:18:40,749 the Russians successfully launched 403 00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:41,749 the first satellite into space. 404 00:18:41,750 --> 00:18:43,582 It's called Sputnik 1 405 00:18:43,583 --> 00:18:46,500 and the United States is not very happy about it. 406 00:18:50,208 --> 00:18:52,666 America at that time doesn't really like it 407 00:18:52,667 --> 00:18:55,041 when Russia beats us to the punch on anything, 408 00:18:55,042 --> 00:18:58,457 especially when it comes to space and weaponry. 409 00:18:58,458 --> 00:19:00,874 The biggest fear among us military brass 410 00:19:00,875 --> 00:19:05,832 is that next the Soviets will beat America to the moon. 411 00:19:05,833 --> 00:19:07,916 America has to do something 412 00:19:07,917 --> 00:19:09,374 to catch up with the Soviets, 413 00:19:09,375 --> 00:19:12,374 so NASA turns to the Air Force and said, 414 00:19:12,375 --> 00:19:13,791 "Hey, let's work together. 415 00:19:13,792 --> 00:19:15,332 We know it sounds crazy, 416 00:19:15,333 --> 00:19:18,124 but let's just think of every out of the box idea you can 417 00:19:18,125 --> 00:19:19,624 and let's get 'em." 418 00:19:19,625 --> 00:19:21,624 Instead of sending a man to the moon, 419 00:19:21,625 --> 00:19:26,207 the Air Force suggests something much more unbelievable. 420 00:19:26,208 --> 00:19:27,707 So the idea from the Air Force 421 00:19:27,708 --> 00:19:32,250 is to blow up an atomic bomb on the moon. 422 00:19:34,875 --> 00:19:36,457 As crazy as it sounds, 423 00:19:36,458 --> 00:19:38,374 the Air Force actually suggests 424 00:19:38,375 --> 00:19:40,667 that we send a nuclear weapon to the moon 425 00:19:42,042 --> 00:19:43,250 and create a mushroom cloud 426 00:19:43,375 --> 00:19:47,041 big enough for everyone to see all over the world. 427 00:19:47,042 --> 00:19:48,416 The crater that it leaves behind 428 00:19:48,417 --> 00:19:52,207 is going to be ongoing perpetual evidence of supremacy. 429 00:19:52,208 --> 00:19:53,832 They want everyone on Earth 430 00:19:53,833 --> 00:19:55,166 to look up at that thing 431 00:19:55,167 --> 00:19:57,250 and know that it is an American crater. 432 00:19:59,083 --> 00:20:01,374 What they want to do with this 433 00:20:01,375 --> 00:20:02,916 is send a warning sign, 434 00:20:02,917 --> 00:20:04,707 don't mess with us. 435 00:20:04,708 --> 00:20:06,791 Incredibly, NASA doesn't immediately 436 00:20:06,792 --> 00:20:08,624 shoot down the idea. 437 00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:11,166 In fact, they give it the green light. 438 00:20:11,167 --> 00:20:14,916 They call this mission Project A119, 439 00:20:14,917 --> 00:20:18,082 and they bring together this team of genius scientists, 440 00:20:18,083 --> 00:20:20,749 including a young graduate student 441 00:20:20,750 --> 00:20:22,916 by the name of Carl Sagan. 442 00:20:22,917 --> 00:20:26,082 They propose using a W25 warhead 443 00:20:26,083 --> 00:20:29,457 that has a 1.7 kiloton yield 444 00:20:29,458 --> 00:20:32,291 and they want to strap it to a ballistic missile 445 00:20:32,292 --> 00:20:34,292 and shoot it straight up to the moon. 446 00:20:35,125 --> 00:20:36,207 But before they can push 447 00:20:36,208 --> 00:20:38,707 the launch button on project A119, 448 00:20:38,708 --> 00:20:40,958 the government abruptly shuts down the mission. 449 00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:44,707 There are concerns that the weapon might misfire 450 00:20:44,708 --> 00:20:46,874 and come down somewhere in the United States- 451 00:20:46,875 --> 00:20:49,791 or worse yet, come down somewhere in Russia, 452 00:20:49,792 --> 00:20:52,625 triggering a nuclear response from the Soviet Union. 453 00:20:53,542 --> 00:20:56,374 And then we're in full scale war. 454 00:20:57,667 --> 00:21:00,166 This mission was obviously classified, 455 00:21:00,167 --> 00:21:02,249 so for a very long time, 456 00:21:02,250 --> 00:21:04,416 nobody knew how close we came 457 00:21:04,417 --> 00:21:06,708 to detonating a nuclear warhead on the moon. 458 00:21:08,375 --> 00:21:10,791 If trying to destroy the moon to best your enemy 459 00:21:10,792 --> 00:21:12,541 sounds a bit brash, 460 00:21:12,542 --> 00:21:15,874 why not do something a little more down to Earth? 461 00:21:15,875 --> 00:21:18,707 This is the story of a property line dispute 462 00:21:18,708 --> 00:21:21,375 and a deadly mission to have a better view. 463 00:21:23,458 --> 00:21:26,541 On August 18th, 1976, 464 00:21:26,542 --> 00:21:29,124 over two decades after the conclusion of the Korean War, 465 00:21:29,125 --> 00:21:32,291 fifteen soldiers from the United States and South Korea 466 00:21:32,292 --> 00:21:35,499 enter the demilitarized zone, the DMZ. 467 00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:39,749 They enter a specific area of the DMZ called the JSA, 468 00:21:39,750 --> 00:21:41,874 Joint Security Area. 469 00:21:41,875 --> 00:21:43,374 The JSA is unique 470 00:21:43,375 --> 00:21:45,957 because it's the only space in the demilitarized zone 471 00:21:45,958 --> 00:21:49,707 where soldiers from the north and south can intermingle. 472 00:21:49,708 --> 00:21:51,582 In the middle of this neutral zone 473 00:21:51,583 --> 00:21:55,207 is a sprawling 100 foot poplar tree. 474 00:21:55,208 --> 00:21:56,582 South Korea and the United States 475 00:21:56,583 --> 00:21:59,249 need clear line of sight of the DMZ. 476 00:21:59,250 --> 00:22:01,374 North Korea could try to stage an invasion 477 00:22:01,375 --> 00:22:04,041 or you could have a citizen that's trying to defect. 478 00:22:04,042 --> 00:22:08,666 Its blocking the view of this particular area of the DMZ. 479 00:22:08,667 --> 00:22:10,624 The tree is an obvious security issue, 480 00:22:10,625 --> 00:22:14,457 so the South Koreans and NATO decide to chop it down. 481 00:22:14,458 --> 00:22:16,041 No big deal, right? 482 00:22:16,042 --> 00:22:18,416 As it turns out, to the North Koreans, 483 00:22:18,417 --> 00:22:20,041 it is a big deal. 484 00:22:20,042 --> 00:22:21,666 Here come the North Koreans, 485 00:22:21,667 --> 00:22:24,374 30 soldiers under the command of Senior Lieutenant Pak Cheol 486 00:22:24,375 --> 00:22:26,374 and he is known as Lieutenant Bulldog 487 00:22:26,375 --> 00:22:28,207 for his history of starting fights 488 00:22:28,208 --> 00:22:30,041 and scraps inside the JSA. 489 00:22:30,042 --> 00:22:32,957 Bulldog tells the working group they have to stop. 490 00:22:32,958 --> 00:22:34,166 This is a special tree. 491 00:22:34,167 --> 00:22:36,957 It was planted by their current leader, Kim Ill Sung, 492 00:22:36,958 --> 00:22:38,707 the founder of North Korea. 493 00:22:38,708 --> 00:22:40,624 Lieutenant Bulldog and his men 494 00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:43,707 pull out crowbars, clubs and axes. 495 00:22:43,708 --> 00:22:46,541 The South Koreans and Americans think they're bluffing, 496 00:22:46,542 --> 00:22:50,041 so they go ahead and proceed to cut down the tree. 497 00:22:50,042 --> 00:22:51,541 It isn't a bluff. 498 00:22:51,542 --> 00:22:54,875 Lieutenant Bulldogs shouts, , or attack, 499 00:22:56,250 --> 00:22:58,541 and the 30 North Koreans rush 500 00:22:58,542 --> 00:23:01,416 the fifteen American and South Korean allies, 501 00:23:01,417 --> 00:23:04,625 and a brutal bloody melee begins. 502 00:23:05,542 --> 00:23:07,124 Two US Army officers, 503 00:23:07,125 --> 00:23:10,374 Captain Arthur Bonifas and First Lieutenant Mark Barrett, 504 00:23:10,375 --> 00:23:12,332 are killed in the skirmish. 505 00:23:12,333 --> 00:23:14,166 This is the United States of America 506 00:23:14,167 --> 00:23:15,291 we're talking about here, 507 00:23:15,292 --> 00:23:17,374 so there has to be a response, 508 00:23:17,375 --> 00:23:19,416 but it can't be too much of a response 509 00:23:19,417 --> 00:23:22,541 because now we risk sparking a full-fledged war. 510 00:23:22,542 --> 00:23:24,874 However, we can't let North Korea get away 511 00:23:24,875 --> 00:23:27,707 with killing two US service members. 512 00:23:27,708 --> 00:23:29,541 President Gerald Ford decides on 513 00:23:29,542 --> 00:23:30,624 an appropriate response, 514 00:23:30,625 --> 00:23:32,624 Operation Paul Bunyan. 515 00:23:32,625 --> 00:23:35,291 They're simply gonna go and cut down the poplar tree, 516 00:23:35,292 --> 00:23:37,791 but bring a little security just in case. 517 00:23:37,792 --> 00:23:41,541 Sixteen US and South Korean soldiers return with axes 518 00:23:41,542 --> 00:23:45,541 and 60 special forces soldiers follow behind them. 519 00:23:45,542 --> 00:23:47,249 They also bring tanks 520 00:23:47,250 --> 00:23:50,416 and seven AH1 Cobra attack helicopters 521 00:23:50,417 --> 00:23:52,291 that are circling overhead, 522 00:23:52,292 --> 00:23:54,124 ready to strike. 523 00:23:54,125 --> 00:23:55,749 Gerald Ford also makes sure 524 00:23:55,750 --> 00:23:58,541 that there are ten thousand more soldiers stand in reserve 525 00:23:58,542 --> 00:24:01,041 with 12,000 more on the way. 526 00:24:01,042 --> 00:24:02,082 At that point, 527 00:24:02,083 --> 00:24:04,041 around 150 North Korean soldiers 528 00:24:04,042 --> 00:24:05,749 just stand there in silence, 529 00:24:05,750 --> 00:24:07,874 watching them from the other side of the bridge. 530 00:24:07,875 --> 00:24:10,457 Most notably, Lieutenant Bulldog? 531 00:24:10,458 --> 00:24:11,792 Nowhere to be found. 532 00:24:12,708 --> 00:24:14,457 About 42 minutes later, 533 00:24:14,458 --> 00:24:16,374 engineers lop off the top of the tree 534 00:24:16,375 --> 00:24:17,791 and the whole crowd, 535 00:24:17,792 --> 00:24:20,457 all of the assembled soldiers erupt in cheers. 536 00:24:20,458 --> 00:24:23,957 And as each subsequent limb falls, 537 00:24:23,958 --> 00:24:24,999 there's another cheer 538 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,041 from the South Korean and American side 539 00:24:27,042 --> 00:24:30,041 until all that remains is a 20 foot stump. 540 00:24:30,042 --> 00:24:32,749 They wanna leave this stump to remind everyone 541 00:24:32,750 --> 00:24:35,749 that there was a tree here and we got rid of it. 542 00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:37,166 Today, the site of the tree 543 00:24:37,167 --> 00:24:38,541 is marked by a stone memorial 544 00:24:38,542 --> 00:24:40,708 to Captain Bonifas and Lieutenant Barrett. 545 00:24:43,083 --> 00:24:45,249 And that's the story of how World War III 546 00:24:45,250 --> 00:24:48,833 was almost started over the chopping down of a tree. 547 00:24:54,042 --> 00:24:55,374 For thousands of years, 548 00:24:55,375 --> 00:24:56,707 music has been used as a military tactic. 549 00:24:56,708 --> 00:24:59,541 Drums, horns and singing have all been implemented 550 00:24:59,542 --> 00:25:02,583 to raise morale and even intimidate the enemy. 551 00:25:03,542 --> 00:25:06,457 But in Panama in 1989, 552 00:25:06,458 --> 00:25:09,166 it gets turned up to a whole new level. 553 00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:14,374 General Manuel Noriega is a shady fellow. 554 00:25:14,375 --> 00:25:16,041 Across the 1980s, 555 00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:19,041 he more or less becomes the defacto dictator of Panama. 556 00:25:19,042 --> 00:25:22,957 He begins to traffic drugs via Panama's military 557 00:25:22,958 --> 00:25:25,124 and he amasses a sizable fortune. 558 00:25:27,458 --> 00:25:29,166 By the late 1980s, 559 00:25:29,167 --> 00:25:32,666 Noriega is beginning to threaten 560 00:25:32,667 --> 00:25:35,666 the US monopoly over the Panama Canal, 561 00:25:35,667 --> 00:25:38,791 and the Panama Canal is the linchpin 562 00:25:38,792 --> 00:25:41,833 to American economic activity in the hemisphere. 563 00:25:42,875 --> 00:25:45,582 In 1989, when the country holds elections, 564 00:25:45,583 --> 00:25:49,457 he rigs the election and chooses to remain in power. 565 00:25:49,458 --> 00:25:52,041 This is the last straw for the United States 566 00:25:52,042 --> 00:25:56,707 and they demand that Noriega steps down. 567 00:25:56,708 --> 00:26:00,625 Noriega resists and now we have a showdown. 568 00:26:02,542 --> 00:26:04,666 On December 19th, 1989, 569 00:26:04,667 --> 00:26:08,041 President George H.W. Bush orders 26,000 troops 570 00:26:08,042 --> 00:26:11,542 to storm the capitol city and seize the dictator. 571 00:26:12,542 --> 00:26:14,041 The mission is called "Just Cause," 572 00:26:14,042 --> 00:26:16,582 and one of the first things the troops do 573 00:26:16,583 --> 00:26:20,082 is trying to choke off Noriega's escape routes. 574 00:26:20,083 --> 00:26:23,082 They seize his Lear jet, sees his boat, 575 00:26:23,083 --> 00:26:24,374 he has nowhere to go. 576 00:26:24,375 --> 00:26:26,041 He's cornered. 577 00:26:26,042 --> 00:26:28,999 That's when the general pulls a Hail Mary. 578 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,749 Noriega is a very crafty man, as we found out. 579 00:26:30,750 --> 00:26:32,541 I'm not sure exactly how it worked. 580 00:26:32,542 --> 00:26:36,541 General Noriega seeks refuge in an embassy- 581 00:26:36,542 --> 00:26:40,042 but not just any embassy, the Vatican's embassy. 582 00:26:41,083 --> 00:26:42,749 The troops can't enter 583 00:26:42,750 --> 00:26:45,582 because the embassy is part of the Catholic church 584 00:26:45,583 --> 00:26:48,291 and they are offering safe haven. 585 00:26:48,292 --> 00:26:50,791 American forces bang their heads together 586 00:26:50,792 --> 00:26:54,624 and decide on a plan that is as creative as it is loud. 587 00:26:54,625 --> 00:26:56,791 American intelligence knows 588 00:26:56,792 --> 00:26:59,582 that he is a lover of the opera 589 00:26:59,583 --> 00:27:00,999 and folks who love the opera 590 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,000 don't usually love heavy metal. 591 00:27:05,333 --> 00:27:07,958 Operation Just Cause changes its trajectory. 592 00:27:09,250 --> 00:27:10,791 They roll in a fleet of Humvees 593 00:27:10,792 --> 00:27:12,708 with giant speakers mounted to them. 594 00:27:13,792 --> 00:27:16,082 Then they start blaring rock music 595 00:27:16,083 --> 00:27:17,582 at deafening levels, 596 00:27:17,583 --> 00:27:20,082 attempting to blast the general out of hiding. 597 00:27:20,083 --> 00:27:23,041 The playlist is pretty perfect. 598 00:27:23,042 --> 00:27:27,082 It includes hits like "I Fought The Law" by The Clash, 599 00:27:27,083 --> 00:27:29,624 "We're Not Gonna Take it" by Twisted Sister, 600 00:27:29,625 --> 00:27:32,333 and of course, "Panama" by Van Halen. 601 00:27:33,417 --> 00:27:34,916 The idea is that Noriega is going 602 00:27:34,917 --> 00:27:36,499 to be completely unnerved 603 00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:38,749 by all the hardcore metal screaming 604 00:27:38,750 --> 00:27:39,957 that's coming out of these songs. 605 00:27:39,958 --> 00:27:41,541 They'll essentially drive him nuts 606 00:27:41,542 --> 00:27:43,332 and thereby drive him out of the embassy, 607 00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:46,457 and into the waiting hands of the US military. 608 00:27:46,458 --> 00:27:47,749 After three days, 609 00:27:47,750 --> 00:27:49,874 Noriega is not budging, 610 00:27:49,875 --> 00:27:52,916 but there's a second order effect 611 00:27:52,917 --> 00:27:57,124 on the priests and nuns of the embassy. 612 00:27:57,125 --> 00:27:58,374 They can't take it, 613 00:27:58,375 --> 00:28:00,666 they want Noriega outta there. 614 00:28:00,667 --> 00:28:04,916 They beg the US military to turn off this racket. 615 00:28:04,917 --> 00:28:07,332 Even the Pope gets involved, 616 00:28:07,333 --> 00:28:10,417 asking President Bush to knock this off. 617 00:28:11,625 --> 00:28:14,249 The Vatican Embassy tells Noriega 618 00:28:14,250 --> 00:28:15,666 that he needs to give up 619 00:28:15,667 --> 00:28:16,957 and if he doesn't give up, 620 00:28:16,958 --> 00:28:19,457 they're gonna simply move the embassy 621 00:28:19,458 --> 00:28:21,041 to a local Catholic high school, 622 00:28:21,042 --> 00:28:23,957 and the US would be free under these conditions 623 00:28:23,958 --> 00:28:25,917 to just walk in and take him. 624 00:28:27,333 --> 00:28:30,207 Finally, after 10 days of heavy metal torture, 625 00:28:30,208 --> 00:28:34,333 the general comes out, Bible in hand, and surrenders. 626 00:28:35,417 --> 00:28:36,749 Noriega is flown to Miami 627 00:28:36,750 --> 00:28:38,457 where he stands trial for drug trafficking. 628 00:28:38,458 --> 00:28:41,374 He is convicted and essentially is given a life sentence. 629 00:28:41,375 --> 00:28:44,874 Noriega was a ruthless authoritarian dictator, 630 00:28:44,875 --> 00:28:46,124 he was a hard criminal, 631 00:28:46,125 --> 00:28:48,333 but hard rock is what brought him down. 632 00:28:49,750 --> 00:28:51,124 While days of musical torture 633 00:28:51,125 --> 00:28:53,666 is enough to take down one dictator, 634 00:28:53,667 --> 00:28:54,916 there are other ways 635 00:28:54,917 --> 00:28:57,791 governments can mess with enemy minds. 636 00:29:00,583 --> 00:29:04,999 There is a quiet little hamlet in the south of France 637 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,749 and the local mail carrier in this village, 638 00:29:07,750 --> 00:29:11,250 Leon Armuniere is doing his regular postal route. 639 00:29:12,917 --> 00:29:16,250 Everything seems normal and then he starts to feel unwell 640 00:29:17,708 --> 00:29:19,541 and he falls off his bike. 641 00:29:21,583 --> 00:29:23,332 He starts screaming. 642 00:29:24,542 --> 00:29:26,707 He's yelling that his body is on fire, 643 00:29:26,708 --> 00:29:28,374 that he's physically shrinking in size 644 00:29:28,375 --> 00:29:31,250 and that massive snakes are coiling around him. 645 00:29:32,583 --> 00:29:34,832 So when Leon is taken to the hospital, 646 00:29:34,833 --> 00:29:36,916 he's actually put into a straight jacket 647 00:29:36,917 --> 00:29:39,374 and confined for his own safety 648 00:29:39,375 --> 00:29:42,292 because he is experiencing hallucinations. 649 00:29:43,583 --> 00:29:45,291 But it's not just the mailman. 650 00:29:45,292 --> 00:29:47,707 All across town people are embarking 651 00:29:47,708 --> 00:29:49,500 on this long strange trip. 652 00:29:50,833 --> 00:29:53,374 There's a report of a 20-year-old man 653 00:29:53,375 --> 00:29:54,832 who tries to drown himself, 654 00:29:54,833 --> 00:29:57,875 screaming that his belly is being eaten by snakes. 655 00:29:59,792 --> 00:30:02,541 You have a man who says, "I'm a plane!" 656 00:30:02,542 --> 00:30:05,207 And then just proceeds to jump out of the window, 657 00:30:05,208 --> 00:30:08,875 fall three stories and break both of his legs. 658 00:30:09,750 --> 00:30:10,916 And by the time it's all over, 659 00:30:10,917 --> 00:30:13,332 300 people have been affected by it. 660 00:30:13,333 --> 00:30:15,749 30 of them have been committed to asylums 661 00:30:15,750 --> 00:30:17,499 and seven are dead. 662 00:30:17,500 --> 00:30:20,874 So what's behind all this unusual behavior? 663 00:30:20,875 --> 00:30:23,082 Doctors believe it's actually from bread 664 00:30:23,083 --> 00:30:24,999 ingested by the townspeople, 665 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,707 from one bakery in particular. 666 00:30:27,708 --> 00:30:30,291 They suspect that some of the rye 667 00:30:30,292 --> 00:30:33,707 was impacted by a fungus called ergot, 668 00:30:33,708 --> 00:30:36,707 and now they believe that fungus is at work. 669 00:30:36,708 --> 00:30:38,457 Part of this theory makes sense, 670 00:30:38,458 --> 00:30:40,832 ergot does cause hallucinations. 671 00:30:40,833 --> 00:30:42,666 What's strange, though, is that there hasn't been 672 00:30:42,667 --> 00:30:45,957 an ergot outbreak in France since 1816, 673 00:30:45,958 --> 00:30:48,167 so it's a little suspect as a theory. 674 00:30:49,333 --> 00:30:51,875 There's another very strange possibility. 675 00:30:53,167 --> 00:30:56,041 In the early 2000s a journalist named Hank Albarelli 676 00:30:56,042 --> 00:30:59,666 is researching a book about Edgewood Arsenal. 677 00:30:59,667 --> 00:31:00,999 Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland 678 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,666 was a US military test facility 679 00:31:03,667 --> 00:31:06,666 that ran between 1948 and 1975. 680 00:31:06,667 --> 00:31:09,707 And normally, Edgewood is conducting these experiments 681 00:31:09,708 --> 00:31:11,707 on soldiers who volunteer. 682 00:31:11,708 --> 00:31:13,082 The testing included 683 00:31:13,083 --> 00:31:18,167 the effects of mustard gas, PCP and LSD. 684 00:31:19,125 --> 00:31:20,166 During his research, Albarelli claims 685 00:31:20,167 --> 00:31:22,124 to find a top secret document 686 00:31:22,125 --> 00:31:24,583 that was buried by the director of Edgewood Arsenal. 687 00:31:26,042 --> 00:31:29,041 The document states that the Pont-St-Esprit incident 688 00:31:29,042 --> 00:31:31,957 is not the result of a hallucinogenic fungus, 689 00:31:31,958 --> 00:31:35,624 but in fact, CIA placed LSD 690 00:31:35,625 --> 00:31:37,582 inside the dough of this bread 691 00:31:37,583 --> 00:31:40,041 to see what the result would be on the people 692 00:31:40,042 --> 00:31:41,791 of this small French town. 693 00:31:41,792 --> 00:31:43,041 But why would the CIA 694 00:31:43,042 --> 00:31:44,957 carry out a top secret mission 695 00:31:44,958 --> 00:31:47,125 to make a bunch of French people hallucinate? 696 00:31:48,583 --> 00:31:49,791 This is during the Cold War. 697 00:31:49,792 --> 00:31:50,916 This is a time when there are 698 00:31:50,917 --> 00:31:52,499 all kinds of experiments happening 699 00:31:52,500 --> 00:31:55,082 and Pont-St-Esprit may have been a place 700 00:31:55,083 --> 00:31:56,332 where they just thought 701 00:31:56,333 --> 00:31:58,582 they could quietly pull off an experiment 702 00:31:58,583 --> 00:32:00,416 and see how it went. 703 00:32:00,417 --> 00:32:02,707 It is worth noting that the skeptics say that, 704 00:32:02,708 --> 00:32:05,541 well, if you ingest that much LSD, 705 00:32:05,542 --> 00:32:07,416 the effects should be immediate. 706 00:32:07,417 --> 00:32:09,332 There shouldn't be a delayed response. 707 00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:11,332 So the jury's still out as to whether 708 00:32:11,333 --> 00:32:14,041 this is an example of just tainted flour 709 00:32:14,042 --> 00:32:16,749 or if it was some sort of covert PSYOPs mission 710 00:32:16,750 --> 00:32:18,332 that was carried out by the CIA. 711 00:32:18,333 --> 00:32:20,417 We may never actually find out the truth. 712 00:32:26,542 --> 00:32:29,291 On a cold February morning in 1942, at 6:30 AM, 713 00:32:29,292 --> 00:32:31,041 the Canadian city of Winnipeg 714 00:32:31,042 --> 00:32:34,999 wakes up to what might just be their worst nightmare. 715 00:32:37,083 --> 00:32:38,957 Air raid sirens are blaring, 716 00:32:38,958 --> 00:32:40,332 bombs are going off, 717 00:32:40,333 --> 00:32:41,582 and as they leave their houses, 718 00:32:41,583 --> 00:32:43,832 they hear a cacophony of machine gun fire 719 00:32:43,833 --> 00:32:45,749 that seems to be getting closer. 720 00:32:45,750 --> 00:32:49,583 By 9:30 AM, it all turns quiet. 721 00:32:50,958 --> 00:32:52,499 Over the Winnipeg radio, 722 00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:55,041 it's announced that their mayor, their government, 723 00:32:55,042 --> 00:32:58,125 have just surrendered to the Nazis. 724 00:32:59,125 --> 00:33:01,082 They see a sight they never expected: 725 00:33:01,083 --> 00:33:03,124 hobnailed jackboot Nazis 726 00:33:03,125 --> 00:33:05,249 marching past Portage and Main, 727 00:33:05,250 --> 00:33:07,249 the main intersection in Winnipeg. 728 00:33:07,250 --> 00:33:09,041 This is a crazy moment. 729 00:33:09,042 --> 00:33:10,832 You have tanks on every street corner, 730 00:33:10,833 --> 00:33:13,624 the Nazi flag hanging at City Hall. 731 00:33:13,625 --> 00:33:14,666 But don't worry, 732 00:33:14,667 --> 00:33:15,874 this isn't something you missed 733 00:33:15,875 --> 00:33:18,207 after you fell asleep in history class. 734 00:33:18,208 --> 00:33:20,999 The Nazis never really invaded Winnipeg. 735 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:22,707 It's all part of a mission 736 00:33:22,708 --> 00:33:24,958 to keep Canadians on their toes. 737 00:33:26,375 --> 00:33:29,166 It's part of a massive Canadian propaganda operation 738 00:33:29,167 --> 00:33:30,957 that's supposed to awaken Canadians 739 00:33:30,958 --> 00:33:33,166 to the potential danger of Nazi threats. 740 00:33:33,167 --> 00:33:35,332 They call it "If Day." 741 00:33:35,333 --> 00:33:37,707 This is actually the largest military mobilization 742 00:33:37,708 --> 00:33:39,707 in the history of the province of Manitoba. 743 00:33:39,708 --> 00:33:44,708 3,500 men in German uniforms take to the city streets. 744 00:33:46,042 --> 00:33:49,374 The Nazis are actually reservists and volunteers 745 00:33:49,375 --> 00:33:54,041 dressed in costumes and gear provided by Hollywood studios. 746 00:33:54,042 --> 00:33:55,374 And these young soldiers 747 00:33:55,375 --> 00:33:58,082 are taking their Nazi acting seriously. 748 00:33:58,083 --> 00:34:01,582 They board up synagogues, they burn books, 749 00:34:01,583 --> 00:34:03,749 they go into shops, they go into restaurants, 750 00:34:03,750 --> 00:34:05,124 they go into schools 751 00:34:05,125 --> 00:34:07,707 and they verbally abuse and accost people. 752 00:34:07,708 --> 00:34:12,041 This is what life would be like under Nazi occupation. 753 00:34:12,042 --> 00:34:14,041 By 5:30 PM, the prisoners 754 00:34:14,042 --> 00:34:15,291 along with Winnipeg's mayor, 755 00:34:15,292 --> 00:34:18,916 are released and the staged occupation is over. 756 00:34:18,917 --> 00:34:21,332 The genesis of this idea for If Day 757 00:34:21,333 --> 00:34:24,041 comes from the Greater Winnipeg Victory Loan Committee, 758 00:34:24,042 --> 00:34:26,416 who believes that using fear 759 00:34:26,417 --> 00:34:29,749 will be the best motivation for getting people 760 00:34:29,750 --> 00:34:31,124 to contribute to the war effort. 761 00:34:31,125 --> 00:34:32,374 And it works. 762 00:34:32,375 --> 00:34:34,791 Within days, 3 million Canadian dollars 763 00:34:34,792 --> 00:34:36,166 are raised in war bonds. 764 00:34:36,167 --> 00:34:38,667 Within weeks, you're talking about $65 million. 765 00:34:40,125 --> 00:34:42,749 This is one of the greatest fundraising schemes 766 00:34:42,750 --> 00:34:43,792 ever put together. 767 00:34:45,417 --> 00:34:48,416 Not all missions need to frighten or destroy. 768 00:34:48,417 --> 00:34:51,374 Some missions are there to make people feel good inside. 769 00:34:51,375 --> 00:34:53,374 And for a mission like this to work, 770 00:34:53,375 --> 00:34:55,417 all it takes is a sweet tooth. 771 00:34:57,375 --> 00:34:59,207 It's post World War II. 772 00:34:59,208 --> 00:35:01,249 Germany has been split in half 773 00:35:01,250 --> 00:35:04,041 and so has the city of Berlin. 774 00:35:04,042 --> 00:35:05,707 In June of 1948, 775 00:35:05,708 --> 00:35:09,082 Joseph Stalin orders the closure of the transit road 776 00:35:09,083 --> 00:35:11,374 which connects West Berlin, 777 00:35:11,375 --> 00:35:13,707 across communist East Germany, 778 00:35:13,708 --> 00:35:15,499 to West Germany. 779 00:35:15,500 --> 00:35:19,374 Since nothing can be delivered by rail or by truck, 780 00:35:19,375 --> 00:35:21,541 the only means of getting supplies 781 00:35:21,542 --> 00:35:24,707 to 2 million people in the city of Berlin is the air. 782 00:35:24,708 --> 00:35:27,624 The United States needs to get supplies 783 00:35:27,625 --> 00:35:28,624 to the people in Berlin, 784 00:35:28,625 --> 00:35:32,083 so they create Operation Berlin Airlift. 785 00:35:33,042 --> 00:35:35,166 A 27-year-old American pilot, 786 00:35:35,167 --> 00:35:36,541 Colonel Hal Halverson, 787 00:35:36,542 --> 00:35:38,624 is involved in Berlin Airlift; 788 00:35:38,625 --> 00:35:41,207 and as Halverson is reporting for duty 789 00:35:41,208 --> 00:35:43,082 at Templehof Air Force Base, 790 00:35:43,083 --> 00:35:45,625 he sees these kids on the other side of a fence. 791 00:35:46,583 --> 00:35:49,374 The kids are poor, they're hungry, 792 00:35:49,375 --> 00:35:51,291 and they really strike at Hal's heart; 793 00:35:51,292 --> 00:35:53,166 so he wants to give them something 794 00:35:53,167 --> 00:35:54,791 to ease their suffering 795 00:35:54,792 --> 00:35:56,207 and he reaches into his pocket 796 00:35:56,208 --> 00:35:58,916 and all he has is two pieces of gum. 797 00:35:58,917 --> 00:36:00,874 So he gives that to them. 798 00:36:00,875 --> 00:36:03,916 They're so excited to have these two pieces of gum 799 00:36:03,917 --> 00:36:05,666 that it plants a seed in his mind, 800 00:36:05,667 --> 00:36:08,250 and he comes up with a really unique idea. 801 00:36:09,208 --> 00:36:10,457 Hal wants to use his plane 802 00:36:10,458 --> 00:36:13,542 to bomb the children with candy. 803 00:36:14,792 --> 00:36:15,749 So he talks to people 804 00:36:15,750 --> 00:36:17,957 and spreads his message around the base 805 00:36:17,958 --> 00:36:22,166 about his mission to airdrop treats to these children 806 00:36:22,167 --> 00:36:23,666 and everybody is on board. 807 00:36:23,667 --> 00:36:26,499 They give them all the candy they have. 808 00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:29,707 So he and his fellow servicemen get together 809 00:36:29,708 --> 00:36:31,249 and they have a little craft night. 810 00:36:31,250 --> 00:36:34,249 They basically create these little candy parachutes. 811 00:36:34,250 --> 00:36:36,541 They use handkerchiefs that they tie, 812 00:36:36,542 --> 00:36:38,082 and at the bottom of their little knot, 813 00:36:38,083 --> 00:36:40,791 they have pieces of candy. 814 00:36:40,792 --> 00:36:45,082 On July 18th, 1948 Operation Little Vittles, 815 00:36:45,083 --> 00:36:47,666 or Little Food, takes flight. 816 00:36:47,667 --> 00:36:49,791 They see a group of children down below 817 00:36:49,792 --> 00:36:51,666 and then they start throwing 818 00:36:51,667 --> 00:36:54,999 their little parachute candies out of the window. 819 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:59,707 And they drop onto absolutely delighted children below. 820 00:36:59,708 --> 00:37:02,749 They are screaming, "Candy is falling from the sky." 821 00:37:02,750 --> 00:37:05,999 This is like a rare moment of joy in a time of war. 822 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,457 News of the heroic mission reaches the US 823 00:37:08,458 --> 00:37:12,832 and Halverson is quickly dubbed the Berlin Candy Bomber. 824 00:37:12,833 --> 00:37:15,082 And when the candy makers hear about this, 825 00:37:15,083 --> 00:37:16,541 they want to join in. 826 00:37:16,542 --> 00:37:18,874 So they begin making candy for this mission 827 00:37:18,875 --> 00:37:20,707 and donating it to Hal. 828 00:37:20,708 --> 00:37:23,666 By the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, 829 00:37:23,667 --> 00:37:28,416 American troops had dropped 250,000 handkerchiefs of candy, 830 00:37:28,417 --> 00:37:32,458 totaling about twenty three tons of sweet, sweet treats. 831 00:37:37,792 --> 00:37:39,124 Throughout history, many leaders have demanded 832 00:37:39,125 --> 00:37:40,124 victory at all costs. 833 00:37:40,125 --> 00:37:41,749 In the case of one mission, 834 00:37:41,750 --> 00:37:45,999 all costs translates to something completely unexpected 835 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:47,500 and very expensive. 836 00:37:49,708 --> 00:37:54,291 It's March, 1968, and Soviet submarine K-129 837 00:37:54,292 --> 00:37:59,250 is on patrol around 1500 miles northwest of Hawaii, 838 00:38:00,417 --> 00:38:02,707 when an unknown catastrophic accident happens 839 00:38:02,708 --> 00:38:04,374 and the submarine and its wreckage 840 00:38:04,375 --> 00:38:06,874 sink to the floor of the Pacific, 841 00:38:06,875 --> 00:38:08,541 three miles deep. 842 00:38:08,542 --> 00:38:10,874 Using sonar, the US picks up signals 843 00:38:10,875 --> 00:38:12,874 from this sunken submarine 844 00:38:12,875 --> 00:38:14,707 and becomes very intrigued. 845 00:38:14,708 --> 00:38:16,874 This is the height of the Cold War. 846 00:38:16,875 --> 00:38:18,166 It's a nuclear submarine, 847 00:38:18,167 --> 00:38:20,166 it's armed with nuclear weapons. 848 00:38:20,167 --> 00:38:23,374 If the United States could somehow get to this submarine, 849 00:38:23,375 --> 00:38:25,124 the intelligence they could gather would be huge. 850 00:38:25,125 --> 00:38:26,374 How they operate, 851 00:38:26,375 --> 00:38:27,499 understanding what their weaknesses are, 852 00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:29,499 how they can be targeted, 853 00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:32,624 this is a massive treasure that they could plunder. 854 00:38:32,625 --> 00:38:35,666 President Nixon approves a CIA task force 855 00:38:35,667 --> 00:38:38,832 to begin work on getting the sub out of the water. 856 00:38:38,833 --> 00:38:41,207 So the CIA starts building the plan 857 00:38:41,208 --> 00:38:44,207 that they will dub Project Azorian. 858 00:38:44,208 --> 00:38:48,416 The CIA goes out and hires a company called Global Marine 859 00:38:48,417 --> 00:38:50,832 and they put together a terrific plan. 860 00:38:50,833 --> 00:38:54,582 They want to essentially build a giant claw 861 00:38:54,583 --> 00:38:56,541 just like those arcade games 862 00:38:56,542 --> 00:38:59,416 that reaches down and picks up the toy, 863 00:38:59,417 --> 00:39:01,374 and pulls it back up. 864 00:39:01,375 --> 00:39:03,499 But this is no stuffed toy 865 00:39:03,500 --> 00:39:06,374 and retrieving a vessel this big and deep 866 00:39:06,375 --> 00:39:08,582 has never been done before. 867 00:39:08,583 --> 00:39:11,041 This is 1700 tons, 868 00:39:11,042 --> 00:39:12,666 three hundred twenty feet long 869 00:39:12,667 --> 00:39:15,457 that you have to get in one grab. 870 00:39:15,458 --> 00:39:16,791 You basically have to bring 871 00:39:16,792 --> 00:39:19,249 the whole thing up to the surface together. 872 00:39:19,250 --> 00:39:20,874 To keep this mission on the down low, 873 00:39:20,875 --> 00:39:25,041 the CIA asks for help from an unexpected patriot. 874 00:39:25,042 --> 00:39:26,499 For a cover story, 875 00:39:26,500 --> 00:39:27,957 they enlist none other 876 00:39:27,958 --> 00:39:31,624 than famed eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes 877 00:39:31,625 --> 00:39:35,082 to say that he's building this ship in Long Beach 878 00:39:35,083 --> 00:39:36,791 as a mining research vessel. 879 00:39:36,792 --> 00:39:39,499 Now using Hughes is the perfect cover 880 00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:41,707 considering that Hughes has, in the past, 881 00:39:41,708 --> 00:39:44,124 already spent millions of his dollars 882 00:39:44,125 --> 00:39:46,374 on a sea plane that only flew once 883 00:39:46,375 --> 00:39:49,207 and it earned the nickname the Spruce Goose. 884 00:39:49,208 --> 00:39:50,999 And it works. 885 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:52,916 For five years, no one questions 886 00:39:52,917 --> 00:39:55,291 why Hughes would be building such a thing. 887 00:39:55,292 --> 00:39:57,332 In the summer of 1974, 888 00:39:57,333 --> 00:40:00,457 the Hughes Glomar Explorer set sail 889 00:40:00,458 --> 00:40:03,541 on her covert mission from Long Beach, California. 890 00:40:03,542 --> 00:40:05,707 So the Glomar Explorer gets to the spot 891 00:40:05,708 --> 00:40:09,291 and they essentially park right on top of it. 892 00:40:09,292 --> 00:40:10,707 They slowly begin lowering 893 00:40:10,708 --> 00:40:13,832 the giant claw device named the Clementine. 894 00:40:13,833 --> 00:40:17,124 It takes three weeks to get just in the right spot 895 00:40:17,125 --> 00:40:18,124 to pick up that sub. 896 00:40:18,125 --> 00:40:20,082 And once they start to lift it, 897 00:40:20,083 --> 00:40:21,666 it takes eight whole days 898 00:40:21,667 --> 00:40:24,332 for them to bring this sub to the surface. 899 00:40:24,333 --> 00:40:26,416 Unfortunately, the vessel breaks apart 900 00:40:26,417 --> 00:40:27,832 before it's out of the water, 901 00:40:27,833 --> 00:40:32,041 leaving just a 38 foot section of the bow intact. 902 00:40:32,042 --> 00:40:33,957 But the CIA, not deterred. 903 00:40:33,958 --> 00:40:36,249 They start making plans to try to go back 904 00:40:36,250 --> 00:40:37,624 and pick up the rest of the sub. 905 00:40:37,625 --> 00:40:41,707 The CIA is committed to covering up this mission 906 00:40:41,708 --> 00:40:43,207 because it doesn't want 907 00:40:43,208 --> 00:40:44,916 another escalation of the Cold War. 908 00:40:44,917 --> 00:40:47,167 But a year later, the mission is revealed. 909 00:40:48,208 --> 00:40:49,832 In February, 1975, 910 00:40:49,833 --> 00:40:51,749 the LA Times breaks the story 911 00:40:51,750 --> 00:40:55,249 and it includes some damning details. 912 00:40:55,250 --> 00:40:58,541 They pour $800 million into it, 913 00:40:58,542 --> 00:41:01,499 and that's about five billion dollars today. 914 00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:04,207 With their cover blown, Project Azorian, 915 00:41:04,208 --> 00:41:07,457 one of the most expensive missions of the entire Cold War, 916 00:41:07,458 --> 00:41:09,166 is officially sunk. 917 00:41:09,167 --> 00:41:11,124 American taxpayers are irate. 918 00:41:11,125 --> 00:41:14,291 Irate that the CIA wasted so much of their money, 919 00:41:14,292 --> 00:41:16,749 irate about the failure of the mission 920 00:41:16,750 --> 00:41:19,083 and irate about the secrecy itself. 921 00:41:21,708 --> 00:41:23,957 It takes determination, bravery, and commitment 922 00:41:23,958 --> 00:41:26,916 to complete a mission no matter what its intended purpose. 923 00:41:26,917 --> 00:41:28,666 Whether it's declaring war on emus 924 00:41:28,667 --> 00:41:30,499 or blowing up the moon, 925 00:41:30,500 --> 00:41:32,707 these missions are all so shocking, 926 00:41:32,708 --> 00:41:34,833 they are truly unbelievable.