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Argo Rewrites History and Leaves Canada Slighted
Sheardown, a crucial figure in the story, was cut completely from the film. One of the rescued American diplomats, Mark Lijek, spoke highly of Sheardown and emphasized his importance. “Without his enthusiastic welcome we might have tried to survive on our own a few more days. We would have failed.”
Sheardown contacted Taylor and a quick cable was sent to Ottawa. Immediately, Canadian diplomats, led by Prime Minister Joe Clark, began working tirelessly to protect the six Americans seeking refuge. This happened at great personal risk to both Sheardown and Taylor. If an Iranian member of the staff had tipped off someone on the outside or if the Americans had been spotted through a window, terrible things could have happened to them. In the film, the Americans stay in one place, however Taylor and his colleagues moved them around Tehran to avoid detection.
In the film, the CIA created all the plans to get the Americans out of Iran. In reality, it was Ottawa that prepared everything they needed to exit the country. Though Mendez created the film crew identities for the Americans, Taylor believed the cover did not need to be that intricate. “Tony Mendez, as courageous and ingenious as is his character, was only there for a day and a half. After three months of intensive preparation for the operation…I think my role was somewhat more than just opening and closing the front door of the embassy,” said Taylor.
When the time came to remove the Americans from Iran, the CIA made things difficult. The first complication came with their maps of Tehran. The CIA labeled the Swiss Embassy as the Canadian Embassy and the agents had to pretend to be lost tourists asking for directions from the Iranians.
Then on the morning of the operation, Mendez missed his alarm and overslept which put the whole endeavor an hour behind. Finally, the CIA agent who dated the fake Canadian passports misinterpreted the Farsi calendar and had the Americans leaving the country before they arrived. It was a Canadian with a knowledge of Farsi who spotted the error.
On the day of the exit, the departure was much less dramatic than pictured in the movie. According to one of the escapees, the Iranian customs officials stamping passports at the Tehran Mehrabad International Airport did not even double check the fake passports. After a brief mechanical delay the plane took off and the Americans soared out of Iranian airspace.
Canadians played a vital role in the events surrounding the escape of the hostages from Iran. As acclaimed as the movie is, it is obvious that it isn’t as historically accurate as many believe. Though Taylor admitted Argo was fun and thrilling as a movie he concluded by stating, “in general it makes it seem like the Canadians were just along for the ride. The Canadians were brave. Period.”
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