How the United States Lost a Nuclear Device and Recovered an Indian Friend

AI Summary

The article recounts a secret 1965 CIA operation to place a nuclear-powered surveillance device on a Himalayan peak, conducted jointly with India's Intelligence Bureau during the Cold War. The device was subsequently lost, creating a diplomatic and nuclear security incident. The story is framed around how a casual conversation at a Washington cocktail party sparked the covert mission and its implications for U.S.-India relations.

It started at a Washington cocktail party, when an Air Force general listened to a mountaineer describe the view from Mount Everest — and decided the United States should put a surveillance device on a Himalayan summit.That offhand idea soon became a real-world operation.Late last year, ahead of the holidays, the New York Times ran a weekend article titled, “How Did the CIA Lose a Nuclear Device?” The story recounted a secret 1965 CIA mission carried out at the height of the Cold War with India’s Intelligence Bureau.This story’s roots, as with many espionage adventures, lay in a chance encounter The post How the United States Lost a Nuclear Device and Recovered an Indian Friend appeared first on War on the Rocks.