Operation Treadstone (or usually just Treadstone or Treadstone Seventy-One) is a fictional top-secret program of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Jason Bourne books and movie series, which is replaced by the more powerful operation, Operation Blackbriar, in The Bourne Ultimatum.
Overview
Treadstone is such a heavily guarded secret that several Deputy Directors of the CIA have no idea that it even exists. In the books, Treadstone's headquarters are located in New York City. It looks simply like a dilapidated house, but in reality it is a fortress, having bullet resistant glass and multiple security systems. It is, in this context, a top secret operation to trap the international assassin, Carlos the Jackal, by creating a mythical assassin called Cain.
In the films, Treadstone is headquartered in an office at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. In the films, Treadstone consists of several agents around the world that are, at the basic level, assassins. They may be 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". At this point, they can be quickly deployed on assassination missions after which they return to their daily lives until called upon again. In the movies, access to Treadstone archives and files require a Level 5 Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Clearance or higher. Following the events of the first film, Treadstone is shut down by its director, Ward Abbott.
Between 2002 and 2004, Operation Blackbriar is organized as a successor program to Treadstone. 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.
Treadstone/Blackbriar Staff
- Ward Abbott - Played by Brian Cox. CIA deputy director and head of Operation Treadstone. Abbott chose never to discuss what Treadstone did with its field director, Alexander Conklin. Instead, Abbott funneled black funds into Treadstone. He commits suicide in Supremacy.
- Alexander Conklin - Played by Chris Cooper. Director of Treadstone's operations at Langley. He was murdered on orders from Ward Abbott following his failure to capture or kill Jason Bourne.
- 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. It is implied in The Bourne Ultimatum that she may have had a relationship with Jason Bourne prior to his amnesia.
- Daniel "Danny" Zorn - Played by Gabriel Mann. Assistant to Alexander Conklin and later to Ward Abbott. He is later murdered by Abbott.
- Noah Vosen - Played by David Strathairn. Director and apparent head of Operation Blackbriar, the successor program to Treadstone based in New York City.
- 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 very capable assassins. They leave no trace of their existence. Conklin states that while anyone can carry out an assassination, Treadstone agents are meant to be "invisible". Nicolette Parsons says:
They don't make mistakes. They don't do random. There's always an objective, always a target.
Treadstone operatives are trained in numerous killing techniques. They are very proficient at using firearms, sharpshooting, using explosives, operating vehicles, and hand-to-hand combat. Treadstone 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.
Treadstone
- Jason Bourne - Played by Matt Damon. Treadstone's operative based out of Paris, France. Also known as John Michael Kane. In the books, Bourne is Treadstone's only operative, posing as the assassin Kane.
- 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
- Manheim - Played by Russell Levy. Treadstone agent based out of Hamburg. Assigned to kill Bourne in the first film, but Abbott later gives him the job to kill Conklin.
- 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. Bourne visits Jarda in his Munich apartment for information; Jarda attacks his foe and in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, Bourne kills Jarda.
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.
- 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
Treadstone operatives 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. 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. As 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).
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 agents are referred to in the books and the films.
See also
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