Operation Popeye: How the Americans Killed 100,000 Vietnamese with Climate Weapons

In recent decades, the planet has been hit by so many natural disasters that many are beginning to doubt their natural origin. There is increasing talk of a secret climate weapon that can cause hurricanes, earthquakes and catastrophic rainfalls. Such assumptions are probably justified, because humans have long since learned to influence the forces of nature. But no one has yet managed to completely subjugate them. Operation Popeye, carried out by the Americans during the Vietnam War, only confirms this idea.

After World War II, the world's most powerful nations began to rapidly rearm. Countries clearly saw the vulnerabilities of existing weapons, so the development of new ones began immediately. Scientists accelerated their work on improving nuclear weapons and creating jet aircraft. At the same time, research was underway in the field of climate weapons, which were considered a completely new direction.

The Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975, became a testing ground for new weapons. It was there that climate weapons were first used in real combat conditions. However, this method was not adopted immediately. By 1966, it became clear that conventional weapons were no match for the guerrillas, who masterfully used the jungle and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of supply routes for the troops. Then science came into play. The Americans decided that if they could not defeat the enemy by force, they could drown his infrastructure.

The secret experimental operation was named "Popeye" after the character of the popular American cartoon of the time. The project was headed by Dr. Donald Hornig, the US President's adviser on science and technology. The main goal of the operation was to spray chemical reagents into rain clouds to significantly increase the amount of precipitation.

Operation Popeye began on March 20, 1967. Its essence was simple, but frightening: with the help of chemical reagents, mainly silver iodide, the Americans caused rainfalls over Vietnam. These rains were supposed to wash away roads, flood fields and leave the guerrillas without food and weapons.

The technology was almost like something out of a science fiction movie. C-130 Hercules transport planes and F-4C fighters took to the skies during the rainy season, from March to November. They sprayed silver iodide into the clouds, which exploded into rain. According to sources, the amount of rain increased threefold, and in some places sevenfold!

The first experience of using climate weapons can hardly be considered successful. In October 1966, the US Air Force sprayed silver iodide over the clouds that the wind was driving toward the rebel positions. But events did not unfold as planned. Instead, a powerful downpour fell on the American special forces on the front lines. In just four hours, 23 centimeters of precipitation fell, which practically washed away the Yankees' positions.

Although the result was the opposite of what was intended, it became obvious that the system really worked. All that was left was to refine the calculations and monitor weather conditions more closely. After that, the tests continued in the east of Laos, in the area of the Bulawen plateau and the Kong River delta, where the civilian population also suffered from precipitation. The experiments were carried out for five years in a row - every rainy season, from March to November.

Operation Popeye lasted from September 1967 to July 1972 and was relatively successful, extending the monsoon season from the usual 30 to 45 days. Five years of continuous impact on the climate of an entire region is an experiment without precedent in human history. Over the course of the war, more than 5 million kilograms of silver iodide were sprayed from American aircraft.

Specially equipped WC-130A aircraft were used for the operation. The pilots regularly flew secret flights, spraying chemical reagents over the clouds of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The locals did not even suspect that experiments were being conducted on them. Accustomed to the constant hum of American aircraft high in the sky, they believed that if there were no bombings and toxic substances, then nothing dangerous was happening.

The climate weapon was not only effective, but also destructive. It is estimated that about 10% of Vietnam was flooded by the rainfall. Neighboring Laos, where there was no formal war, also suffered. Rainfall destroyed rice crops, depriving millions of people of food. Floods washed away roads, and overflowing rivers destroyed entire villages.

Floods have destroyed crops, washed-out roads have crippled supplies, and landslides and flash floods have claimed thousands of lives.

The Americans were able to achieve some strategic goals. The rains washed away the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, along which North Vietnamese troops were actively moving. This trail was a whole network of roads and paths in the jungle, invisible from the air and therefore practically invulnerable to American military aviation. The situation with the rebels' supplies became critical.

As is well known, nature does not forgive gross interference in its affairs. In 1971, the situation finally got out of control, and by the end of the summer, a catastrophic flood broke out. The harvest was completely destroyed, and dozens of settlements were washed away by streams of water. According to rough estimates, the elements took the lives of about 100 thousand people. The exact number of victims will probably remain unknown.

The monstrous consequences of the military experiment were captured in the photographs of Japanese documentary photographer Kyoichi Sawada. His most famous work is called "Escape to Rescue." It shows women from South Vietnam with three children trying to swim across a raging river. The photograph earned Kyoichi a Pulitzer Prize, after which the photographer found the family in the photograph and gave them half of the reward.

For a long time, Operation Popeye remained strictly classified. The US authorities categorically denied any involvement in the natural disaster. To divert suspicion, the Americans brought in renowned scientists. They claimed that the natural phenomenon called La Niña was to blame. Not everyone believed this, because such floods had never been observed in the known history of Southeast Asia.

In 1971, journalist Jack Anderson published an investigation in The Washington Post. Details later emerged in the Pentagon Papers and New York Times articles. The Nixon administration continued to deny everything, but the facts spoke for themselves. The public learned that their government was not just waging war, but interfering with natural processes on a global scale. It became one of the biggest scandals of the era.

Under public pressure, the Pentagon closed the program in 1972. And in 1977, the UN adopted the Convention banning the use of climate weapons. However, experts say that the document has loopholes, and interest in such technologies has not disappeared. It is unlikely that the convention has completely stopped the desire to use the forces of nature for military purposes. Most likely, the development of such technologies continues, but ordinary people do not realize what scientists and the military have already achieved. However, today this is openly discussed only in the context of conspiracy theories.

Do you believe that the natural disasters of recent years are purely natural phenomena, or could there be hidden technologies behind them? Share your thoughts in the comments!