Dark History Operation Popeye

Weather CAN be weaponized! The rumors are true! Ninetoes delves into the history of when weather was weaponized during the Vietnam War.

Hey there, history lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ. Today, I am looking at Operation Popeye. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

When I was a kid in the 1970s, one of the biggest conspiracy stories out there was how the Soviet Union was manipulating the weather to make the United States weaker. Anytime hurricanes pounded the coast, or tornadoes tore through the Midwest, we would hear “It’s the Soviets!” I once asked my father if it was possible to manipulate the weather, and he replied: “We are not God, son.”

As it turns out, man can manipulate the weather, and it was done during the Vietnam War in Operation Popeye. A group of top scientists, meteorologists, and military strategists got together to manipulate the weather and prolong the monsoon season over key sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The initial testing for the cloud seeding was conducted in Okinawa, Guam, the Philippines, Texas, and Florida in a hurricane study program called Project Stormfury. Pilots released silver iodide and lead iodide crystals into clouds. The crystals would combine and create rain. Once implemented, weather 3was being manipulated over Southeast Asia in areas like Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It was sponsored by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the CIA. The problem with this is that Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird had denied such technology existed before congress.

The objectives for the cloud seeding were to disrupt the supply chain for the North Vietnamese army along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The road surfaces were softened, and this caused landslides; river crossings were washed out, and this was done during the monsoon seasons from 1967-1972. The monsoon season lasted from March until November. That is eight months of constant rain that was man-made.

The operation started on March 20, 1967. The 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew three C-130 Hercules aircraft, and two F-4C Phantom aircraft flew two sorties per day from Udon Thani Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. Their slogan was “Make mud, not war.”

This operation did give the United States armed forces a great advantage, but it was also considered controversial on both sides. Ethical considerations about using weather as a weapon were debated and inevitably prohibited by international law.

Until the next time, I wish you successful research.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

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