The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2012 51 Some 30 years later, I had the opportunity to take part in what I call a history- faking exercise concerning those dramatic events, as a consultant for production of the new film “Argo.” The movie tells the story of how the Central Intelligence Agency masterminded our exit during that crisis. It’s a fine story, no doubt. But, while in 1980 the CIA used Hollywood to help fool the Iranians during our escape, this time around the ways of Holly- wood fooled me. In the end, I have no hard feelings because the people I worked with and the project itself were both impressive. “Argo” is wonderful entertainment, if less than accurate history. Here’s what happened. Letting the Cat Out of the Bag When we landed safely in the United States in January 1980, the media called our escape the “Canadian Caper” because we had been hidden for almost three months by Canadian embassy staff and exited Iran using Canadian passports. The details of our departure from Iran were kept purposely vague for nearly two decades. Suddenly, in 1997, the Central Intelligence Agency announced that our escape had been planned and implemented by Antonio (Tony) Mendez, who had recently retired from a senior position in the Office of Technical Services. The publicity was part of the CIA’s 50th-anniversary celebration, and Mendez was one of 50 recipients of awards for pioneering work. The recognition was deserved and overdue, but no one had thought to tell the Canadians it was coming. For nearly 20 years before that, the Canadian ambassador to Tehran at the time, Ken- neth Taylor, had worn the hero’s mantle. When we left Iran, there was justified fear that the slightest hint of CIA involvement would com- plicate efforts to negotiate a release of the remaining 53 U.S. hostages. So the Ameri- can and Canadian govern- ments asked Ambassador Taylor to take full credit for the “exfiltration.” Taylor quickly became a symbol of pride for Canadians and was feted all across the United States. As the years passed and the event faded frommemory, he was able to lead a more nor- Mark Lijek, a Foreign Service officer from 1978 to 1996, was serving in Tehran when militants took over the U.S. embassy. Subsequent posts include Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Warsaw and Frankfurt, as well as State Department assignments. After leaving the Foreign Service, he and his wife, Cora, traded roles, with Mark becoming a stay-at-home dad while Cora worked. He is active in civic and community affairs, and has recently completed an e-book about his Iran experience, The Houseguests: A Memoir of Canadian Courage and CIA Sorcery (see marklijek.com) . He and Cora served as consultants on the film “Argo,” which comes to theaters on Oct. 12. In January 1980, the media called our escape the “Canadian Caper” because we had been hidden for almost three months by Canadian embassy staff and exited Iran using Canadian passports. This facsimile of the fake Canadian passport used by the author was created by his son. Michael F. Lijek