CIA Project Cold Feet in 1961

The period after the Second World War was filled with tension between the US and the Soviet Union, as each superpower aimed for global leadership^[1]. Such tensions led to the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the leadership of President Truman^[2]. The CIA's primary function towards counterespionage was collecting and protecting secrets, unlike the FBI, whose approach involved catching spies and prosecuting them for law violations ^[3]. To acquire adequate intelligence against the Soviet Union, the US needed to increase the number of spies and went a step ahead by recruiting spies from the Soviet Union Military defectors^[4]. Additionally, collecting evidence and possible intelligence from the Soviet Union's abandoned stations in the Arctic was prioritized. According to Sheley (2015), abandoned Soviet drifting stations in the Arctic provided an extraordinary opportunity for the US Forces to collect and analyze intelligence about the Soviet operations in the Arctic^[5][6]. Such intelligence was used to assess the extent of the Soviet Union's meteorological, oceanographic, and acoustic research, which posed a greater risk to the US submarines passing under the Arctic ice. For instance, in 1962, the US sighted an abandoned Soviet Union drift station and named it the North Pole 8^[7]. Due to quick evacuation after the pressure ridge destroyed the runway, the US associated the hasty departure with the remains of helpful evidence and intelligence left behind by the Soviets^[8]. Therefore, the US Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), funded the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Intermountain Aviation to inspect the NP 8 station in search of intelligence and evidence left behind.

The Cold Feet Project refers to the Intelligence collection mission by the US CIA designed to acquire Soviet Union acoustic intelligence from abandoned drift stations in the Arctic. According to Hastedt (2010, 186), the Arctic was an underappreciated theater during the Cold War. In detail, due to fear of attacks on the North Pole, the US and the Soviet Union established numerous monitoring projects in the region. Ultimately, these superpowers used drift stations located in the Arctic for intelligence gathering, mostly acoustic submarine detection and oceanographic research^[9]. Since the stations were built on continuously drifting ice plates, in case their structural integrity was compromised, such stations were deserted, and personnel would be evacuated using planes. However, if the runway was significantly destroyed during the drifting, such individuals were at a higher risk of death due to the inability of planes to land and take off. Therefore, the US and the Soviet Union agents would abandon the insecure stations for new and more secure ones^[10]. Consequently, many stations were abandoned in the Arctic, and the US viewed them as ideal sources of intelligence about the Soviet Union powers and their next move in the Cold War period. 

Project Cold Feet used the Fulton Skyhook system to retrieve the two agents and any pieces of evidence that they had collected from the NP 8 station^[11]. Skyhook is a system of devices used by Great Britain and the US in the 1940s and 1950s to collect or pick up people and luggage from the ground using the airplane without landing^[12]. Using the system, the agents on the ground could deploy a helium balloon to lift a line approximately 500 feet into the air^[13]. The cargo or the person to be evacuated would then be strapped to the other end of the line^[14]. A person to be evacuated would then sit with their back facing the direction of the wind and their hands closed together to maintain balance. After the ground preparation, a low-flying and slow-moving B-17, with a particular skyhook device on its nose, would snag the lift line and sweep the attached cargo or person in the harness of the ground^[15]. Once scooped, people spread their arms and legs to avoid painful twisting or turning while airborne. The crew would then winch the cargo or person into the aircraft within a few minutes^[16]. The Fulton skyhook mechanism was a significant factor behind Project Cold Feet's success in the Arctic.

The research question for this study is, what were the objectives for Project Cold Feet, how were they achieved, and what was the significance of the findings in shaping the US during the Cold War? Therefore, the findings of this research will contribute to the existing knowledge on Project Cold Feet and its impact on US strategies during the Cold War. By understanding this operation's objectives, methods, and significance, policymakers and researchers can gain insights into how intelligence was collected during the Cold War and its implications for national security. In retrospect, Project Cold Feet was a covert operation during the Cold War by the United States aimed at gathering insight into Soviet activities in the Arctic region. Its findings were crucial in implementing and shaping the US strategy and maintaining a balance of power.

Literature Review

Objectives of Project Cold Feet

After the Second World War, the Cold War kicked off between the US and the Soviet Union. Alongside propaganda, the superpowers competed for technological advantage in thermonuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, advanced human-crewed aircraft, and satellites^[17]. Due to the search for any possible fronts to over-compete the other, the US and Soviet Union powers extended to research and studies on the Arctic for any available military and scientific values^[18]. According to Nye (2020, n.d), the Arctic was valuable to the US and the Soviet armies during the Cold War for different reasons. First, both armies had their submarines pass under it and their bomber aircraft over the region. Moreover, both superpowers had radar stations in the Arctic to track each other’s planes and potential ballistic missile launches. Due to the competing acoustic and oceanographic research, the US figured out how to track Soviet submarines from their drift stations and raided the NP 8 to gain intelligence on whether the Soviet Union had learned the same trick against the US.

The Arctic had been a critical concern to the Air Force since 1954, when the DEW line was constructed. In the next three years, considerable budgets were focused on building a three-thousand-mile-long chain of radar stations stretching from Greenland to the Aleutian Islands^[19]. Therefore, the US desire for drifting stations waned as scientific studies in the Arctic remained irrelevant within the age of intercontinental ballistic missiles. On the other hand, Russia continued investing in drifting stations in the Arctic to around six stations by 1956. After the Second World War ended, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), a branch of the US Navy, became the principal agency supporting scientific research^[20]. During the Second World War, a fruitful partnership between scientists and military personnel led to the production of sophisticated weapons. The weapons made a significant contribution to the victory of the Allied Forces in 1945. Due to the Allied force’s victory, attributed to scientific research, ONR supported military research and had a significant interest in the Arctic. 

On May 19th, 1961, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) aircraft conducting an aerial magnetic survey over the Arctic Ocean sighted a Soviet station called North Pole 9^[21]. The station was buried too far into the impenetrable ice packs and could not be accessed through boats or Helicopters^[22]. Landing on the unstable Ice plate, with no runway, was a substantial risk, which made NP 9 significantly inaccessible^[23]. According to US ONR officials, NP 9 was recently abandoned after cracks and drifts of the ice surrounding the station rendered it completely inaccessible^[24]. The station was located on the eastern coast of Greenland. Due to the increased tensions between the US and the Soviet Union in the escalating Cold War, the US officers saw exploring the abandoned USSR drift station as a suitable opportunity to gain access to classified information, data, and top-secret equipment used by the Soviet Union to track US submarine activities.

According to Leary (1996), Arctic drifting stations were platforms where scientists could record data and conduct scientific research as they moved through the polar basin on top of ice packs. Due to the wartime pause after the Second World War, the Soviet Union embarked on Arctic research in 1948. Within three years, since 1948, the High Latitude Aerial Expeditions of the Northern Sea Route Commission placed scientific detachments at eighty-seven points on the ice pack^[25]. Consequently, Soviet Union researchers were able to conduct short-term observations capable of notable advancements in Arctic oceanography, terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, and gravimetry. The ultimate discovery from the period of drift stations was identifying the vast underwater chain of Mountains within the polar base, called the Lomonosov Range. Moreover, drift stations became a better option for the Flying Laboratory Method, which facilitated polar research only when the flying weather was good^[26]. Oceanographers have amassed adequate information about the Arctic Ocean and its nature. Therefore, the ONR’s interest in further oceanographic research faded in the late 1950s. Consequently, the US had a single Air Force drift station alongside many Polar stations by the Soviet Union. However, due to the advent of nuclear-powered submarines in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the US renewed its naval concern with the Arctic. 

How Project Cold Feet Objectives Were Pursued

Due to the inaccessibility of the drift station using boats and planes, the CIA resorted to Edison Fulton Jnr, the lifelong inventor of the Skyhook method of evacuation and aerial retrieval of cargo and people^[27]. Intelligence officers, Lt. Leonard LeShack of the USNR and Major James Smith of the USAF, were dispatched for a 72-hour intelligence collection and inspection exercise on NP8[28]. Major James Smith was a highly-trained paratrooper and Russian linguist with enormous experience working with the US’s previous drift stations. On the other hand, LeShack was a retired petroleum geologist and geophysicist who had spent around four months setting up a surveillance system on Air Force stations[29]. However, he was not a trained jumper. The two officers spent the summer of 1961 learning the Fulton Skyhook retrieval method[30]. The operation was scheduled for September that year, with clear weather and adequate daylight supply[31]. However, due to bureaucratic issues and delays in funding, the ONR leadership remained skeptical that the Fulton Skyhook system could be used successfully in live conditions. Although the financing was realized due to the consistency of the ONR’s Arctic program Dr. Max Britton, the narrow time window when the mission could be carried out was lost^[32]. Therefore, they had to wait until winter, the following March. 

Nevertheless, as time passed, a new, up-to-date, but abandoned Soviet drift station was discovered. The new station was in a more accessible location than the previous station, NP 9, and was named the North Pole 8, NP 8^[33]. After the new sighting, Captain Cadwallader and the ONR shifted their priority to the new site. Consequently, the ONR set up an operation base at the Royal Canadian Air Force at Resolute Bay, about 600 miles away from the location of NP 8. Several days were spent using the aircraft C-130, trying to search for the accurate coordinates of the area, but all searches were unsuccessful. This led to Cadwallader temporarily suspending the Arctic operations^[34]. However, on May 4th, 1962, the station was relocated again, but at this time, the funding allocated for Operation Cold Feet had run out^[35][36]. As a result, Cadwallader turned to the CIA and the Intermountain Aviation company, which was working with Robert Fulton for his skyhook retrieval technology. Support from DIA and the Intermountain Aviation Company led to the reignition of the Project Cold Feet. DIA contributed funds amounting $30000, while the Intermountain Aviation Company contributed skyhook-equipped aircraft B-17 and C-46 support aircraft^[37]. On May 26th, the equipped aircraft and the crew arrived in Point Barrow in Northern Alaska, the New Home base for Operation Cold Feet. Alongside Cadwallader, James Smith, and LeShack, the team included CIA pilots Connie Siegrist and Doug Price. William Jordan, a specialized navigator, was also part of the crew^[38].

The Project Cold Feet started on May 27th, 1962^[39]. Notably, the officers parachuted onto the station since no plane could land on the drifting ice plate. However, getting them off was a unique challenge, but they used the skyhook mechanism as the only unique solution applicable^[40]. Therefore, using the mechanism, the men were evacuated using a B-17 bomber, where they were attached to a 500-foot line and pulled into the plane as it was moving at 125 knots^[41]. The cold feet project was completed after three days due to delays caused by bad weather, massive fog, and fierce arctic winds of 30-knot speed^[42]. The success of the mission is attributed to luck and skilled flying. As a result of the project, evidence and intelligence, such as a cache of documents, photos, and related equipment, provided proof that the Soviet Union was ahead of the US in meteorology and arctic oceanographic research. 

The B-17 aircraft was stacked with several fuel tanks, and the crew departed to NP 8 under the guidance of Jordan[43]. Siegrist and Price flew to the North for about four hours at an altitude of 8000 feet. However, they could not locate the station after reaching the position and doing several searches of squares of ten and five miles[44]. The unfortunate event was associated with the unrelenting daylight of the Northern Hemisphere during summer, rendering Navigator Jordan unable to use the moon or Venus to orient the crew. Additionally, the station could not be located due to poor visibility as the sky was forbiddingly dusky grey, according to Pilot Siegrist. Ultimately, the crew was forced to return to Point Barrow after a whopping thirteen hours in the air. Unfortunately, the second-day search was also fruitless, what navigator Jordan calls the carbon copy of the first day. However, on the third day, a P2V aircraft from Patrol Squadron One in Kodiak was called to assist and departed two hours before the B-17 aircraft^[45]. The P2V aircraft had more advanced radar equipment, which was located NP 8, after sighting a large tractor that had been left out of the base^[46]. After the location was sighted, the coordinates of NP 8 were relayed to B-17. Smith and LeShack then dropped for the 72-hour mission on the station, collecting equipment, data, and making observations.

The first retrieval process was scheduled on May 31st, 1962, but upon reaching the place where the aircraft had dropped Smith and LeShack three days earlier, the crew found the Arctic weather had worsened^[47]. Due to warmer temperatures, the fog was drawn from the ice pack below, compromising visibility. The weather forced the crew to return to Point Barrow without their targets. On the third day of retrieval, with the assistance of P2V aircraft, the crew finally located Smith and LeShack, about 70 miles southeast of where Navigator Jordan had estimated^[48]. Although the weather conditions were rough, the pick-up procedure kickstarted despite strong winds, thick fog, and limited stability. Smith and LeShack prepared their skyhook equipment on the ground and first attached their cargo, full of the evidence in the form of equipment, film, photos, and samples found in the station^[49]. The canvas bag carrying the cargo was harnessed to the air. LeShack was the first to be retrieved^[50]. However, due to strong winds, he was lifted in the air in a tangled position, and it took around six to seven minutes to winch LeShack successfully into the aircraft. Smith was picked and winched aboard, marking the first successful military aerial evacuation using the Skyhook technology^[51].

Significance of the Project Cold Feet

The official CIA statement of Project Cold Feet was that it was a great success, as documents and the equipment retrieved from the drift station showed great insights into the Soviet Union’s advanced oceanographic and meteorological research^[52][53]. It also confirmed the ability of the station to operate silently, indicating the Soviet Union’s commitment to acoustical work^[54]. Additionally, according to Captain Cadwallader, the greatest achievement of Project Cold Feet was proving that the skyhook aerial retrieval system could be used in live environments with dangerous terrain. Leary (1995, 107) posits that the greatest accomplishment of Project Cold Feet could be the practical success of the para drop and aerial retrieval system in recovery and conduct of intelligence in areas inaccessible through landing or docking. Following its success in Project Cold Feet, the skyhook retrieval system was repeatedly used by the CIA in the following operations up to 1996, when the Air Force Special Operations Command stopped using the skyhook system^[55]. 

At the end of Project Cold Feet, the mission’s primary purpose was significantly achieved. According to Leary (1996, 148), the project’s primary purpose was to uncover information about the activities of the Soviet Union drift stations. Based on the statement of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) review in November 1962, Project Cold Feet offered the US Navy first-hand observations of the extent, nature, and sophistication of the Soviet Union Arctic research program^[56]. In essence, while on the NP8, LeShack and Smith had taken extensive notes on the state and equipment they found on the station and collected over three hundred photographs. Moreover, the officers brought eighty-three documents and twenty-one pieces of equipment. According to the ONR Review statement, the evidence from retrieved materials gave a clear picture of the life and activities of the Soviet Union officers aboard NP8^[57]. As a result, the US intelligence analysts acknowledged that Soviet oceanography and meteorology programs were well developed and possibly carried out with high efficiency. Additionally, most of the equipment used by the Soviets in the Arctic region was superior to the US equipment^[58]. Moreover, the weather program of the Soviets combined surface observation and upper-air surroundings, which made the program extremely complete and, respectively, superior to the US meteorological programs in the US drift stations. 

Furthermore, though inconclusive, evidence from NP 8 showed that the Soviets were involved in acoustic research. Smith and LeShack found no hydrophones but recovered four notebooks that had information and diagrams of acoustical significance^[59]. Additionally, the two officers observed many batteries scattered on the ice all over the station. A diesel generator was also mounted on rubber tires to minimize vibration and sound output for an effective, silent running necessary for acoustical experiments. Lastly, on the physical appearance of NP8, the station looked unsanitary and austere. Still, it was evident that the Soviets engaged in highly developed, sophisticated, successful, and highly efficient scientific research programs^[60]. The data and evidence amassed from NP8 were a tremendous step toward evaluating the Soviets’ activities on Arctic drifting stations. Alongside the evidence and intelligence gathered, Leary (1996, 148) also commented on the successful deployment of Fulton’s Skyhook aerial retrieval systems under live environments and very challenging circumstances. Such circumstances include stronger Arctic winds and poor visibility, despite which the pick-ups were successful. 

The Soviets had sophisticated oceanographic, meteorological, and acoustic equipment, which convinced the US Air Force that the Soviets were tracking American submarines^[61]. Additionally, the Soviets were developing new techniques to hunt the American subs under the ice. Woodcock (2007, n.d) further articulates that the seven-day mission in the Arctic provided valuable intelligence to the US on the Soviets' advanced acoustic detection of submarines passing under the Arctic basin^[62]. Furthermore, the intelligence exposed the Soviets' Arctic anti-submarine warfare techniques. According to the CIA, all the achievement of raiding the abandoned NP8 is acknowledged by the small team of dedicated professionals who planned and executed Project Cold Feet for their courage, persistence, and resourcefulness. Moreover, Leary (1995, 107) posits that courtesy of Project Cold Feet, the ONR learned of the silent operations by the Soviets in the Arctic, confirming the importance the Soviet Union attached to acoustical work. Also, Cadwallader concluded that the successful raid of the abandoned Soviet drift stations showed that the Soviet Union’s acoustic, meteorological, and oceanographic research was superior to the US. Therefore, the Soviets had long experience in the Scientific field, essential to the Soviet Union government as a competitive edge during the Cold War.   

As the Cold War escalated between the US and the Soviet Union, the role of the CIA changed from solely intelligence search and analysis to conducting covert operations^[63]. According to Rider (2016, n.p), the CIA was objectively formed to coordinate, correlate, and evaluate intelligence information. However, it also performed other activities associated with intelligence collection to maintain national security. During the period, covert operations were indispensable tools for the containment of the other forces, as the Cold War was primarily a conflict for the balance of power[64]. Examples of the Covert operations in which the CIA was involved during the Cold War were propaganda, political, economic, and paramilitary covert actions. In detail, propaganda entailed disseminating information, facts, lies, and rumors to influence public opinion and manipulate the masses’ attitudes and actions[65]. Other covert actions were directed towards supporting friendly political groups, weakening the adversary’s economies through sanctions, and secret military operations such as creating ballistic missiles[66]. The tension between the US and the Soviet Union after the Second World War led to the legitimization of covert operations as standard instruments and tools of foreign policy, leading to their increased deployment^[67]. Therefore, Project Cold Feet was designed to amass intelligence useful in disseminating propaganda and creating international polarization against the Soviet Union. The US wanted to accuse the Soviet Union of continued military operations and overt offenses against the Allied Powers, despite the end of the Second World War^[68]. Thus, raiding abandoned Soviet Union drift stations was a strategic action to collect intelligence and evidence of the Soviets' operations in the Arctic.

Discussion

Acoustic research was a critical paramilitary advantage during the Cold War. According to the Merriam-Webster definition, acoustics refers to the science of production, control, transmission, reception, and sound effects. Underwater acoustics became a natural target of many researchers due to its usefulness in detecting activities and abnormalities under the water. This is because ship traffic is a significant source of the ocean ambient noise, producing a sound signal which could be used to trace submarines during the heightened tension between the US and the Soviet Union^[69]. In the early 1950s, the Sound Surveillance System was used to track Soviet submarines and their potential threat. The US Navy used the SOFAR channel to detect submarines while in hundreds of miles away by listening to the sound they generate while underwater^[70]. After scientists found that the ocean could allow low-frequency sound to travel long distances, SOFAR channel technology was discovered towards the end of the Second World War. The SOFAR channel was given a highly classified name, the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS)^[71]. The system entailed the placement of hydrophones at the bottom of the sea and connected to processing centers located on the shores, where Naval Bases were sited. For instance, in 1953, 40 hydrophones were installed within a 1000-foot horizontal array, with a sea depth of 1440 feet on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas^[72]. The SOSUS technology could detect US submarines after various tests, making it a valuable tool for the US Navy. 

Despite being able to detect the Soviets' submarines in the Arctic using the SOSUS technology, the US was worried whether the Soviet Union also had a similar technology that could detect and track the US Submarines. Curiosity and uncertainty were the primary reasons behind Project Cold Feet by the US CIA to collect intelligence that could provide insights into the Soviet Union’s advancement in acoustic research. Additionally, the US sought evidence on the meteorological and oceanographic technology of the Soviet Union, which could be found in the abandoned drifting station, NP 8. Alongside the need for intelligence, the CIA also had an additional objective of learning whether the Fulton Skyhook aerial retrieval method could be used in the Arctic for future expeditions. In connection to this objective, Major Cadwallader postulated that perhaps the main achievement of the Project Cold Feet was the confirmation that the Skyhook retrieval method could be used in life environments and inaccessible areas with hostile weather and visibility. 

Understanding the Arctic and the Soviets' activities in the region was a significant step toward the US winning the Cold War between the Allied and Soviet Union forces. That is why, despite the riskiness associated with the abandoned stations, where planes could not land, or ships could not dock, the US CIA invested in finding an alternative method to parachute in intelligent officers to the station for a 3-day operation. However, this came with relief after a second abandoned station, NP 8, which was in a more accessible position than the earlier sighted NP 9, was discovered. Moreover, funding by the CIA on ONR, months after the stipulated month for operation, September 2021, passed, reignited Project Cold Feet. Therefore, the new funding from the CIA, sighting a new and more accessible NP8, and deployment of the Fulton Skyhook method of aerial cargo and human retrieval made the project’s ideal objectives of intelligence collection and analysis achievable. Ultimately, since the B-17 could not locate the NP8 station alone, the deployment of the P2V aircraft also helped significantly in finding the new station during the dropping of the officers and retrieval of the amassed evidence and the agents after the operation. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Project Cold Feet was a successful CIA expedition in the Arctic. Through the above systematic literature review, the objectives of the project Cold Feet were adequately achieved. First, due to the escalating tension between the US and the Soviet Union and competition over oceanographic, meteorological, and acoustic research on the Arctic, the US CIA was determined to raid the abandoned Soviet drift station NP 8 for possible intelligence. Accordingly, Smith and LeShack, the two agents who were dropped at the drift station, conducted a 3-day operation, collecting available data in the form of photos, films, documents, and other equipment that could provide insight into the Soviets’ operation at the North Pole. At the end of the operation, the agents retrieved sources of intelligence, which confirmed to the US that the Soviet Union engaged in acoustic research. Therefore, they also had acoustic systems that could detect the US submarines beneath the Arctic Ocean. Secondly, the US CIA conducted the operation or project Cold Feet to estimate the Soviets’ advancement in oceanographic and meteorological research. At the end of intelligence analysis, it was clear that the Soviet Union had meteorological and oceanographic technology superior to that of the US. Therefore, the US could invest in meteorological research for its success in the Cold War in the Arctic region. 

Additionally, testing the success of the Fulton Skyhook aerial retrieval method in life conditions was achieved. As noted in the earlier sections, drift stations were abandoned by both superpowers if they were no longer accessible through landing by plane or docking by ship. The stations were built on drifting ice packs, and with time, such plates would develop cracks due to the drifting ridge, interfering with the station’s integrity and components, such as the runways. Therefore, NP 8 could not be accessed through landing or docking, and the CIA agents had to be deployed through para-drops. Similarly, during the retrieval day, the agents, together with the collected equipment and pieces of evidence that could generate intelligence on Soviet operations in the Arctic, were to be retrieved through the Skyhook Mechanism. Consequently, despite the bad weather, strong Arctic wind, and poor stability, the cargo was first sky hooked and winched to the aircraft, followed by LeShack, and, lastly, Major Smith. Therefore, all three objectives of the Project Cold Feet were amicably achieved at the end of the mission. 

Concerning the findings of Project Cold Feet and their significance in shaping the US strategies in the Cold War, this paper concludes the following. First, as postulated above, the intelligence collected showed that the Soviets engaged in acoustic research that enabled them to detect any activities by the US submarines at the North Pole. Secondly, the US became aware that its opponent, the Soviet Powers, had more sophisticated meteorological and oceanographic research technology. Therefore, to match and outcompete the Soviet Union, the US had to invest in acquiring more advanced meteorological and oceanographic research technologies. Additionally, with the intelligence achieved from NP 8 and the proof of the skyhook aerial retrieval mechanism’s success, in life environments, the US Cold War tactics after Operation Cold Feet significantly changed.  

In detail, in the 1960s, the US employed other covert operation strategies, such as propaganda and paramilitary secret strategy, to balance power. For instance, the US started recruiting spies within the Soviet Union's allies. The most common method used to recruit spies for the US involved recruiting an individual who has served in a high-ranking position of the Soviet Union government or Military. The spies provided credible and essential information to the US about the Soviet Union’s activities and affairs. For example, the information about Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization speech to the Twentieth Party Congress and the Sino-Soviet split came to light for the US through spies. After the significant success of intelligence retrieval using spies, the US sought to recruit former Soviet Military, intelligence, and diplomatic personnel who had defected to the US spy team. Illustratively, a GRU officer, Oleg Penkovsky, offered 5000 photographs to the US before being arrested during the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, dealing with spies and defectors required keen verification of the information and evidence they provided to the US. 

Moreover, the US deployed other covert action programs around the globe. For instance, propaganda through pro-United States political parties and publications led to changes in political ideologies in many countries worldwide. Such propaganda is attributed to the attempted coups in Indonesia, Guatemala, Chile, Cuba, Panama, and Iran. Additionally, such covert programs led to the attempted assassinations of Fidel Castro, Patrice Lumumba, General Rene Schneider, Rafael Trujillo, and Ngo Dinh Diem.