Beirut, 1985: Terrorists are targetting Americans in a deadly series of attacks. Hundreds are dead. And now the CIA’s top man in the Middle East has been taken hostage. William Casey, the head of the CIA, decides to throw out the rule book and strike back. In a top-secret mission still denied by the American government, Casey allegedly sanctions the assassination of the men he believes is responible for the attacks on Americans. CIA Declassified s1e5: Beirut Bomb
1983, Beirut, Lebanon: The capital of this tiny Middle Eastern country is being devastated by years of conflict. Now American troops are arriving in the city. Their mission not to invade but to bring peace. Also in the city is a substantial CIA presence. Operating out of the US embassy, the agents are there to counter a growing problem in Beirut – terrorism. ibid.
As the classified CIA meeting is gathering, a white van is winding through the Beirut streets to the embassy. ibid.
The entire central section of the embassy collapses in the explosion, bringing down seven storeys of masonry and rubble. ibid.
200 people are wounded in the attack; 63 are killed; 17 of them American. ibid.
The van approaches the perimeter of the barracks. As a peacekeeping force, the marines’ weapons are not loaded. The face of the driver is visible to the guards as he aims the truck at the barracks. He is smiling. The truck rams into the base of the barracks and is primed to explode. It is the largest non-nuclear explosion since the Second World War. The entire building is levelled. ibid.
A Hezbollah car bomb targets the US embassy annex building: 24 are killed and 90 are injured. ibid.
The Iranians are running a car bomb school for Hezbollah terrorists. ibid.
‘It was totally an off-the-books operation.’ ibid. Bob Woodward
The blast kills 83 people, 283 lie wounded. The victims are mainly schoolgirls, woman and children. ibid.
It is Al-Qaeda’s first strike at America. Hundreds are killed by suicide bombs at two US embassies in Africa. CIA Declassified s1e6: Operation Celestial Balance
The terrorists are operating from a country [Kenya] that’s a no-go zone for the US. The top-secret mission: to infiltrate the most dangerous country in the world, deliver Operation Celestial Balance, and work with SEAL Team 6 to ensure that justice is done. ibid.
Nairobi, Kenya, 7th August 1998: Just after 10.30 a.m. a truck drives up to the US embassy, and instead of slowing at the barrier it accelerates. The final death toll is 12 Americans and 200 Kenyans. With over 4,000 injured. lmost simultaneously another suicide bomb explodes outside the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, the capital of the neighbouring country of Tanzania. ibid.
The CIA Nairobi station immediately get to work. ibid.
Kenya’s chaotic neighbour Somalia is the perfect safe haven for terrorists on the run. For years it’s been a no-go area for Americans thanks to the notorious Battle of Mogadishu five years earlier – the shooting down of a Blackhawk helicopter, and the drawn out rescue attempt that followed. ibid.
‘18 US Army Rangers were killed. Hundreds of Somalis died in that the US pulled out, and Somalia was left to its own devices for a number of years.’ ibid. comment
Suddenly a car explodes outside the hotel: 16 people are killed including 10 Kenyans and 3 Israelis; many more are injured. ibid.
Simultaneous coordinated attacks – the Al Qaeda signature. ibid.
The plot [plane into embassy] is foiled but it shows the CIA that al-Qaeda is maturing into a determined and well-resourced operation, and its protection in Magadishu is making it stronger every day. ibid.
The Warlords are now faking information and arresting innocent people just to keep the money rolling in. ibid.
It’s making the Americans even more unpopular on the streets of Magdishu. ibid.
Gang warfare erupts on the streets. ibid.
‘The Ethiopian Armed Forces invaded Somalia.’ ibid. comment
Operation Celestial Balance: The US Fifth Fleet is directed to wait off the Somali coast, silent miniaturized surveillance drones are launched to watch the roads running south out of Magadishu … Seal Team Six stationed on a nearby Destroyer now get their orders. The plan is simple: make an airborne assault … With a fix on [Saleh Ali Saleh] Nabhan, Seal Team Six moves and engages the Al Qaeda bomber, killing him. ibid.
In 1959 the CIA is confronting a new enemy, Fidel Castro, the man who threatens to spread communism across America’s backyard. The US president, Dwight Eisenhower, wants him assassinated and the CIA is given the job. But they need someone who can break through his tight security. Their unlikely weapon a 19 year old woman named Marita Lorenz. This is the story of one of the most extraordinary CIA operations of them all. It will involve the Mafia, a Watergate burglar and Castro’s lover. CIA Declassified s1e9: Castro and the Cold Cream
‘Even if the imperalists prepare a blood drama for America, they will not succeed in crushing the peoples’ struggles. They will only arouse universal hatred against themselves. And such a drama will also mark the death of their greedy and carnivorious system.’ ibid. Castro
The CIA now initiates its plan to turn Marita into their assassin. ibid.
Since then there’s been an estimated 638 plots to kill Castro. ibid.
Guatemala, 1954: The Central Intelligence Agency launches an operation codenamed PBSuccess to overthrow the government that is threatening American interests in the region. It is the first ever mission of its kind. 500 rebels will face off against the President’s army of 6,000. The CIA has handpicked the next leader of Guatemala, and he is the head of the rebel force. CIA Declassified s1e10: The Deadly Phantom Coup
12 August 1953, Washington DC: A top secret meeting is convened at the White House. Its task – to deal with a brand-new security threat, a small country in Central America, Guatemala. Present are America’s most powerful men. ibid.
The decision is made – Arbenz must be removed … The plan is to secretly back an armed uprising against Guatemala’s freely elected leader Arbenz and topple him in a coup d’etat. ibid.
Declassified files now show that the president [Eisenhower] provide Dallas [CIA] with two brand new F4 47 bombers. ibid.
But the CIA still has one last trump card yet to play – psychological warfare. ibid.
Interviewer: So, Dave, October 3rd 1993.
Dave: A long time ago. A long time ago. But thre’s not a day goes by I can’t, something reminds me of Somalia. Surviving Black Hawk Down I: This is Not New York, Netflix 2025
On October 3rd 1991, US Special Forces condicted a raid in Mogadishu, Somalia. The targets were militia commanders loyal to Somali rebel leader, General Mohamed Farah Aidid. What occurred that day is officially known as the Battle of Magadishu. It is better known as Black Hawk Down. ibid.
[TV News] Humanitarian mission to Somalia has turned violent and deadly … 3 US helicopters were shot down … 12 Americans are dead, 78 wounded. ibid.
It was a small group of Americans fighting a city. ibid. US comment
The reality was, we were just kids. ibid.
One guy with an AK-47 can fuck your day up. ibid.
1991: The civil war started. Then everybody had a gun. Even young children … So I became a war cameraman. ibid. Ahmed Five
The Americans had us by the throat and they were strangling us. ibid. Somali comment
The helicopter started shooting and killing ... There’s no reason. ibid.
America came to help them but they are killing. ibid.
When we were bombarded by helicopters, we were enraged. ibid.
This thing [Black Hawk] came in hard, and it crashed into a huge plume of smoke and dust. ibid. US Ranger
It was no longer a raid. It was now going to be a rescue mission. Surviving Black Hawk Down II: A Wall of Lead, US Ranger
That area where I am filming, it’s full of civilian houses. Residents! But now it’s a battleground. ibid. Ahmed Five, cameraman
When there are children there, why are you firing? ibid. Ahmed
An insane amount of confusion and ambiguity. ibid. US Ranger
The Americans were killing everyone in sight. ibid. Somali
They can’t get the convoy to us. That’s when you realise you’re on your own. ibid. US Ranger
Little spikes of humanity in the centre of killing people over and over again. ibid.
There’s got to be a smarter way to do this. ibid.
Unfortunately, reality is not very good. Surviving Black Hawk Down III: No Way Out, US survivor
By sparing his life, it shows we are better than the Americans. ibid. Somali militia
They are jumping up and down on the crashed helicopter. ibid. Ahmed
It is not right. You should respect the dead. Even your enemy. ibid. Ahmed
We wasted our time. We wasted these lives. ibid. US Ranger