Argo: Most Audacious Rescue In History

The book, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History, written by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio, is a first-hand account of the dangerous but successful mission, aided by Hollywood and the Canadian government, to rescue six US diplomats from Iran after they escaped the US embassy during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Even though this is a non-fictional story, it still has themes. This story about courage and problem-solving conveys many important messages to the reader. The most meaningful message that Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio are trying to convey to the reader is that no matter how difficult it seems to solve a certain problem, you can solve any problem as long as you put your mind to it, and are confident

in what you are doing.
The book begins with a brief history of Iran, and an explanation of the tensions between Iran and the United States. On November 4, 1979 Iranian militants, angry with the Unites States’ support of the Shah, stormed the United States compound in Tehran, Iran. Americans inside originally were calm, and some were even annoyed, but they soon realized the seriousness of the issue. Americans began destroying documents, and the marines put on their riot gear. But there were so many militants that they soon took control of the embassy. However, during the attack, 12 diplomats in the embassy managed to escape out a back door during the attack. Out of these 12, six were caught, but the other six managed to escape. The escaped American diplomats hide in the homes of two Canadian diplomats, and are sheltered by the canadian government.
Meanwhile, Antonio Mendez, an artistic, top-level CIA officer and father of three, hears about the attack. He receives orders to find a way to get the Americans home. Mendez had previous experience in exfiltrating certain individuals, and has learned a lot from these missions. In some parts of the book, Mendez flashes back to these previous missions. He begins to focus his attention on devising the perfect plan to successful exfiltrate the americans out of Iran. It came to him that over the years, the CIA had seemed to recognize the similarities between Hollywood and spying, for both had to do with perception and disguise. He realizes that the CIA sends agents to Hollywood to work on film sets to improve their work as spies. This leads Mendez to come up with a brilliant idea. Mendez decides to enter Iran and disguise the diplomats as a Canadian production team scouting locations for a fake sci-fi film called “Argo.”
Antonio Mendez then works out the details to make the scheme more believable. With the permission of the Canadian government, he creates fake Canadian passports for the diplomats. He creates an advertisement for the movie, writes a script, and staffs a production company named Studio Six in Los Angeles, California just in case suspicious Iranian officials start to poke around. Playing the part of the Hollywood producer for the movie, Antonio Mendez enters Iran with another agent. He meets with the escapees and prepares them for the most important role in their lives. He prepares their disguises, and helps them embrace their new identities. They frizz their hair, unbutton their shirts, and become “more flamboyant, edgier, sexier.” The diplomats and Antonio Mendez successfully complete their mission and return home to the United States safely. Months later, the rest of the US hostages in the embassy are released, after 444 days of captivity. The CIA kept silent about its involvement in the rescue of the six americans, and gave the credit to the Canadiens. However, even with the CIA’s involvement, the operation would not have been possible if it were not for the help of Canada.
Getting the six American diplomats out of the hostile and chaotic revolutionary Iran seemed like an impossible mission. However, Antonio Mendez knew that with hard work and perseverance, he could accomplish the mission. Early in the mission, Antonio Mendez doubts that the plan to disguise and exfiltrate the diplomats will work. “With the six Americans we were basically dealing with untrained amateurs who were hiding out in a city seething with hatred for westerners. It would take all the resources we had to figure this one out” (Mendez and Baglio 121). In this quote, Antonio Mendez realizes how hard it will be to get the Americans out of Iran. He knows that this is a life or death mission for these diplomats, and they are not trained spies. They are at risk of cracking under the overwhelming pressure of the mission. However, Mendez also recognizes that they must use all resources available, and continues to persevere towards completing the mission. Instead of complaining that the mission is impossible, he uses his brain to come up with a solution. He talks to the diplomats individually to help them with their disguises and ease their worries. This teaches the reader that you can do anything if you do not give up, and have faith in what you are doing.
The main lesson in Argo is developed by the author in more ways than one.

Another way the message is portrayed is during one of Antonio Mendez’s flashbacks. Mendez recalls when he was recently in Iran to help rescue a high-priority agent he calls “RAPTOR.” Mendez disguises RAPTOR and escorts him all the way to the check-in counter at the airport, and then waits to make sure he gets on his plane. But he soon realizes that RAPTOR has disappeared. Mendez looks for him, and finds him in the men’s bathroom. “I grabbed him by the elbow and hustled him out of the bathroom. As we hurried across the departure lounge and toward the gate, a few Revolutionary Guards gave us sideways glances but otherwise didn’t seem to care” (Mendez and Baglio 119). In the end, RAPTOR returned home safely. RAPTOR cracked under the pressure, and did not have full faith in his disguise and the mission. If it were not for Mendez pulling him out of the bathroom, RAPTOR could have been caught because he did not believe in the mission. Mendez worked hard on the disguise and believed that the mission would succeed, but unfortunately, RAPTOR did not. This teaches the reader that as long as you have faith in what you are doing, you can accomplish what you thought was

impossible.
Another example of how the author develops the theme is in a similar flashback. In this flashback, it is Antonio Mendez’s first exfiltration, and he must exfiltrate a high-level KGB officer code-named NESTOR. However, this exfiltration was particularly difficult. “We were especially worried about security controls at the airport. Because of the manhunt going on, the airlines were requiring that all passengers reconfirm their flight in person before leaving the country” (Mendez and Baglio 125). Facing serious challenges, Antonio Mendez and the other agents worked their way around this problem instead of giving up. Jacob, another agent, knew the situation the best, and decided that he would take NESTOR through the airport himself. This was dangerous because NESTOR could compromise Jacob, but it solved the problem because Jacob could confirm his reservation for NESTOR. In the end, NESTOR safely escaped. This teaches the reader that even if something may seem impossible, you can never give up, because there is always a possible solution to the problem.
Another example of how the author portrays the lesson to the reader is when Antonio Mendez is presenting the different options for exfiltration to the american diplomats. He presents the options of posing as American teachers and Canadian nutritionists. But he also displays his confidence in the Hollywood movie plan. “‘I’ve managed a lot of these kinds of operations in the past,’ I said. ‘And I’m confident that the Hollywood option will work.’” (Mendez and Baglio 242). In this quote, Antonio Mendez is trying to convince the american diplomats that the Hollywood option is the best option. His confidence in the Hollywood plan is really the key to the success of the operation. The Hollywood plan might not have been used if Mendez was not so confident in it, and the diplomats might not have escaped. This teaches the reader that what seems difficult, can be accomplished as long as you are confident in what you are doing.
One final example of how the author develops the theme and conveys his message is when Antonio Mendez is in the airport, helping the diplomats escape. As he watches the diplomats become the Hollywood producers they are playing, he has full faith in the diplomats. “We were in the moment. They appeared to have listened to everything I had told them in our rehearsals. All right, I thought. They can do this” (Mendez and Balio 268). In this quote, Mendez realizes that all is hard work is starting to pay off. He believed in his plan, and now he believes in the diplomats. He is proud of them for listening to him, and for really playing the part. He knows they can do this. Because Antonio Mendez never gave up and was confident in the success of the operation, he achieved what many called difficult and even impossible.
In conclusion, Antonio Mendez wrote the book not only to tell the story of six american diplomats hiding out in Iran during the hostage crisis, but to also teach the reader that anything is possible with hard work and confidence. He portrays this message by telling the story of the exfiltration of the six american diplomats, as well as other infiltrations that he was a part of. All the infiltrations seem to have one thing in common: the key is in confidence and perseverance. In the book, the author is trying to teach the reader that although some things may seem impossible, these things can be accomplished as long as you never give up and have faith in what you are doing.