CIA hatched 'Devil Eyes' doll plot to counter Osama bin Laden's influence

Adam Goldman/The Washington Post


Adam Goldman/The Washington Post

In addition to drones, satellites, spies, snitches, and mobile tracking devices, the CIA devised a plot to wage war on al-Qaeda in Pakistan with… toys. And to do so, they sought the help of the Hasbro executive who helped create G.I. Joe.

Specifically, an obliquely Satanic figure of Osama bin Laden. In 2006, the spy agency sought the help of a toymaker in China and developed three prototypes of anOBL action figure doll.

The project is said to have been killed before any of the dolls shipped to South Asia. Adam Goldman in the Washington Post:

Beginning in about 2005, the CIA began secretly developing a custom-made Osama bin Laden action figure, according to people familiar with the project. The faces of the figures were painted with a heat-dissolving material, designed to peel off and reveal a red-faced bin Laden who looked like a demon, with piercing green eyes and black facial markings.