Operation Treadstone

Operation Treadstone is an agency that features in the Jason Bourne series.

History

Treadstone is a fictional highly-classified, heavily-guarded secret program within the Central Intelligence Agency, its existence unknown to many, including numerous Deputy Directors. Situated in New York City, it is headquartered within a dilapidated hospital (Special Research Division training facility in the films) at 415 East 71st Street, reinforced with bullet-resistant glass and multiple security systems. The initial objective of Treadstone is the capture of the international assassin, Carlos the Jackal through the creation of the mythical assassin Cain.

In the films, Treadstone is headquartered in an office at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and consists of several agents around the world who are essentially assassins. The agents are deployed by Treadstone's directors at any time without permission or approval from the government. As sleeper agents, Treadstone field agents lead normal lives (piano teachers, businessmen, etc.) until "activated," where they can be dispatched on missions which following completion, allows them to return to their daily lives until activated again. In the films, access to Treadstone archives and files require a Level 5 Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Clearance or higher. Following the events of The Bourne Identity, Treadstone is shut down by its director, Ward Abbott.

Between 2002 and 2004, Operation Blackbriar is organized as a successor program to Treadstone. Blackbriar is headquartered in the CIA Deep Cover - Anti-Terrorism Bureau building in New York City. Building on the training and conditioning developed for Treadstone agents, Blackbriar deploys operatives around the world without government oversight, eliminating foreign nationals and US citizens perceived to pose an imminent threat to American national security. Following the events of The Bourne Ultimatum, Blackbriar is shut down with the arrest of its director, Noah Vosen.

Treadstone/Blackbriar Staff

• Ward Abbott - Played by Brian Cox. CIA deputy director and head of Operation Treadstone. Abbott funneled large amounts of money into Treadstone but chose never to discuss the details of Treadstone operations with its field director, Alexander Conklin, presumably to maintain plausible deniability. In Supremacy it was revealed that Abbott had been using Treadstone for corrupt purposes. He had arranged a deal with a Russian KGB agent turned businessman, assisting him in securing exclusive oil drilling rights in the Caspian Sea he arranged for Treadstone to murder a Russian politician who was threatening to disrupt their plans. When his arrangement came to be investigated by CIA agent Pamela Landy he tried to pin the blame on Bourne and the deceased Conklin and was forced to murder his assistant Danny Zorn to cover his tracks, however his role was uncovered and he committed suicide. In Ultimatum it was revealed that following the disbandment of Treadstone, Abbott had established Operation Blackbriar to build on Treadstone's successes.
• Alexander Conklin - Played by Chris Cooper. Director of Treadstone's operations at Langley. Conklin had a great deal of operational freedom in running the program and selecting targets. When Jason Bourne failed a mission to eliminate a target and lost his memory, Conklin focused all of Treadstone's resources in seeking to capture or kill him. He failed to do so, and was murdered by one of his own agents on the orders from Ward Abbott.
• Nicolette "Nicky" Parsons - Played by Julia Stiles. Field logistics coordinator for Treadstone in Europe, reporting directly to Conklin. In addition to this, Parsons monitored the mental health of Treadstone agents, including Jason Bourne. Seconded to assist Landy in The Bourne Supremacy, and reassigned to Madrid in the The Bourne Ultimatum.
• Daniel "Danny" Zorn - Played by Gabriel Mann. Assistant to Alexander Conklin and later to Ward Abbott following Conklin's death. Zorn became involved in the investigation into the deaths of two of Pamela Landy's agents in Berlin and was murdered by Abbott, who sought to keep his discoveries from implicating him.
• Noah Vosen - Played by David Strathairn. Director and apparent head of Operation Blackbriar, the successor program to Treadstone based in New York City. He is arrested at the end of The Bourne Ultimatum.
• Pamela Landy - Played by Joan Allen. CIA task coordinator, reports directly to the CIA Director. She does not know of the existence of Treadstone and asks for Level 5 SCI clearance from CIA Director Martin Marshall to investigate the murder of two of her agents in Berlin, who were apparently killed by Bourne.
• Tom Cronin - Played by Tom Gallop. Assistant to Pamela Landy, He believes in the innocence of Bourne and helps Landy to get the truth out about Blackbriar.
• Dr. Albert Hirsch - Played by Albert Finney. Mastermind behind the agent training program used in Treadstone and Blackbriar. He is arrested at the end of The Bourne Ultimatum.
• Neal Daniels - Played by Colin Stinton. CIA operative who assisted Hirsch in the agent training program. Later the CIA station chief in Madrid and newspaper source on Operation Blackbriar. Eliminated in Tangier on Vosen's orders.

Operatives

Treadstone operatives are highly capable assassins who leave no trace of their existence. Conklin states that while anyone can carry out an assassination, Treadstone agents are meant to be "invisible" in a way that the murders can never be traced back to the agency. Nicolette Parsons says:

According to Nicolette Parsons, operatives did not make mistakes or attacked random targets. There was always a specific objective and target for them. Treadstone operatives were trained in numerous forms of killing techniques along with being proficient at using firearms and sharpshooting. They were also skilled at using explosives, operating vehicles and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The agents are also observed to have excellent observational skills, physical stamina, escape and evasion abilities, and the ability to think quickly and calmly in stressful situations. In addition, they possess a profound understanding as to how security and counterintelligence agencies operate and how best to defeat them.

Treadstone

• Jason Bourne - Played by Matt Damon. Treadstone's operative based out of Paris, France. Also known as John Michael Kane. He is the only operative to have survived. In the books, Bourne is Treadstone's only operative, posing as the assassin Cain.

• The Professor - Played by Clive Owen. Treadstone assassin based out of Barcelona. He is killed by Bourne during a confrontation in the woods surrounding Marie's stepbrother’s house. Speaks with Bourne about the side-effects of the Treadstone training before succumbing to his wounds.

• Castel - Played by Nicky Naude. Treadstone agent based in Rome. Castel attacks Bourne in his Paris apartment, and the two engage in a brutal fistfight. When Castel realizes he has lost, he commits suicide by hurling himself off a balcony to prevent Bourne from interrogating him.

• Manheim - Played by Russell Levy. Treadstone agent based out of Hamburg. One of the agents assigned to kill Bourne in the first film, Abbott later orders him to kill Conklin. His final fate is unknown, although it is assumed he was killed, since he is never seen (or mentioned) in any of the sequels.

• Jarda - Played by Marton Csokas. Treadstone agent apparently based out of Munich. After the events of the first film, he and Jason are supposedly the only two Treadstone agents left. Following the death of his girlfriend Marie, Bourne visits Jarda in his Munich apartment to try and find out why Treadstone have apparently begun pursuing him again. Jarda attacks his foe and in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, Bourne kills him.

Blackbriar

• Paz - Played by Edgar Ramirez. Blackbriar agent based out of Naples. Assigned by Noah Vosen to take out Bourne, Paz is the only known Blackbriar assassin still active as of the end of the third film although it is inferred that there are others.

• Desh Bouksani - Played by Joey Ansah. Blackbriar agent based out of Casablanca. Desh was sent to kill Neal Daniels, Jason Bourne and Nicky Parsons in Tangier on order from Noah Vosen. Desh kills Daniels, but is later killed by Bourne.

Physical / psychological effects

Operatives of the fictional Operation Treadstone typically suffer from chronic headaches, which seem to never go away. They are consistently tired, due to the stresses of their job and have sensitivity to bright lights.

The most dramatic effect is amnesia. This was only experienced once, by Jason Bourne. Amnesia was extremely rare and considering their regular circumstances should not have happened. However, Bourne was shot and drifted in a body of water for an extended period of time, lost consciousness, and when his consciousness returned he subsequently described symptoms of amnesia. He lost his entire memory, including his name, origin and profession, but retained his skills and abilities, including languages, fighting skill, and day to day tasks. He also retains an almost instinctive ability to perform well in combat situations. By the end of The Bourne Supremacy, he has regained parts of his memory, mostly those related to the most emotionally charged of his past actions (i.e. his assassination missions). At the end of The Bourne Ultimatum, he regains his memory entirely, telling Dr. Hirsch "I remember. I remember everything."

Areas of Operation

In the movies, it is shown that there are agents operating in Barcelona, Spain, Hamburg, Germany, and Rome, Italy. However, since those agents were going to Zürich, Switzerland, it can be assumed that only those agents around Zürich were activated. It cannot however be assumed that Treadstone has operatives activated around the world as only European and North African agents are referred to in the books and the films.

Members

•  :

Appearances

• Bourne Ultimatum:

External Link

• Bourne Wiki Entry
• Bourne Wiki Entry

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