Operation PopEye was a project carried out by the US Airforce during the Vietnam War 1967-1972. This was a ‘military cloud seeding project’ to control the weather,  it was a highly classified program that attempted to extend the monsoon season o by the Secretary of the State Henry Kissinger and the CIA without the authorization of the Secretary of Defence over specific areas of ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’, to disrupt North Vietnamese military supplies by softening road services and causing landslides.

The former US Secretary of Defence ‘Robert S McNamara was well aware that there may be objections raised by the Internal Science Community./he sent a memo to the President  saying that “such objections had not in the past been a basis for prevention of military activities considered to be in the interests of the US National Security”

The Chemical Weather Modification Program’ was conducted from Thailand over Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and allegedly sponsored by Henry Kissinger and the CIA. Melvyn Laird who had categorically denied Congress that a program for the modification of weather for use as a tactical weapon ever existed.

The Report titled ‘Rainmaking In SEASIA outlines the use of ‘lead iodide’ and Silver Iodide deployed by aircraft in a progr the days of rainfall by approximate am that was developed in California at the Navel Air Weapons Station at China Lake and  testing took place in Okinawa, Guam, Philippines and Texas, this was a ‘Hurricane Study Program’ called ‘Project Storm Fury”The objectives of Operation Popeye was to increase rainfall in carefully selected areas to deny the Vietnamese enemy using supply trucks using the roads, where not only did they cause floods, landslides but prevented river crossings.  The goal was to extend to days of rainfall by approximate 30 to 45 days during each monsoon season

The 54th Reconnaissance Squadron carried out the operations using the slogan ‘Make Mud Not War’, these operations started 20th March 1967 and continued through the rainy seasons which are March to November. This continued until 1972.  Operation Cloud Seeding March 1967- until 1972. Three C130 Hercules Aircraft and two F-4C Phantom aircraft were based at Udon Thani Royal Airforce Base in Thailand they flew two ‘sorties’ per day’ (missions). The aircraft were officially on ‘weather reconnaissance missions, the aircraft crews as part of their normal duties also generated weather report data. The crews were all from the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, they were rotated on a regular basis from Guam, Inside the Squadron, the Rainmaking Operations were code named ‘Motorpool’

March 1971 there was a public revelation as ‘Operation PopEye was exposed by Jack Anderson through his column called Intermediary ComPatriot.  Also Operation PopeEye had a brief mention in the ‘Pentagon Papers’ and a July 3rd 1972 article in the New York Times ‘. Operations in Laos ceased two days after this article was published

A Weather Modification Hearing took place by the US Senate sub-committee on Oceans and International Environment and on Foreign Relations March 20th 1974. The US Government published documents ‘Keeger Edward C..Foreign Relations of the US 1964-168 Volume XXV11. Laos United States Government Printing Office 1998.

REFERENCES:

1)Rainmaking used as weapon in South East Asia ‘Daytona Beach Morning Journal Florida. The New York Times New Service 19/5/1974.

2) SEASIA Rainmaking Report Dept of Defence 1974 archived from the original retrieved on 12th June 2009

3)Project Storm Fury pdf Report US Dept of the Navy Mat 1974 archived from the original retrieved February 1st 2014

4)ENMOD and the US Congress ‘Sunshine Project’.org archived from the poriginal 27/8/2009 Retrieved 25th July 2009

5)The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. A political and Social and Military History. ABC-CL102011 Page 921By Us Over The Weather -Willthomas.net. Archived from the original 23rd February 2007 Retrieved  25th July 2009

6) The Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition Volume 4. Chapter 2. US Ground Strategy and Force Deployments 1965-1968 pp 227-604 3rd section-mtholyoko edu. Archived from the original on 12th June 2009 Retrieved 25th July 2009

7)Seymour M Hersh July 3rd 1972. Rainmaking is used as a weapon by US cloud seeding in Indo-China is said to be aimed at hindering troop movements and suppressing .

8) Transcript of the US Senate Hearing on Weather Modification 20th March 1974

9) Operation Motorpool Gallery

10)Dr Edwin X Berry 1969 Trip to the Philippines ‘Operation PopEye archived 11/5/2021 at ‘wayback machine’ (berry now at www.climatephysics.com

DEFINITIONS:  Weather Modification is an act of intentionally altering, manipulating the weather.   * Cloud Seeding is a method that condenses clouds to cause rainfall