The Central Intelligence Agency once considered manufacturing Osama bin Laden dolls that had faces that peeled off to reveal scary faces beneath.
The dolls were supposed to be used in the war against terrorism, distributed to children in Afghanistan with the aim of frightening them and their parents, to turn them away from the hiding leader of al-Qaeda.
The face of the action figure was painted using a material that dissolved with heat. Once the paint melts and is peeled off, the Osama bin Laden doll reveals a demon-like face with black markings on the face and green eyes.
Development of the doll began in 2005, and even involved Donald Levine, the Hasbro toy company's former head who played a huge role in the creation of the hugely successful G.I. Joe action figures.
The CIA, however, decided to scrap the project, named "Devil Eyes," after three prototypes.
"The action figure idea was proposed and rejected by CIA before it got past the prototype stage," said CIA spokesman Dean Boyd.
"To our knowledge, there were only three individual action figures ever created and these were merely to show what a final product might look like. After being presented with these examples, the CIA declined to pursue this idea and did not produce or distribute any of these action figures. Furthermore, the CIA has no knowledge of these action figures being produced or distributed by others."
Boyd is referring to reports that hundreds of the action figures was made in a China factory and then shipped to the city of Karachi in Pakistan in 2006. The CIA refutes this claim as entirely false.
The Devil Eyes project stemmed from a plan to provide U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan materials that they could give to children to foster goodwill. The materials included toys and school supplies, with the CIA tapping Levine to help with the creation of the toys for boys.
"It appealed to [Levine] because it had nothing to do with actually hurting someone," said a source involved with the project. "It was the softer side of the CIA."
CIA officials then approached Levine to work with them for the Devil Eyes project, which the former Hasbro head eventually accepted. Levine created prototypes before deciding on a 12-inch action figure, of which the head was attached to a body that was already being produced in China. An artist in China created the doll's head using photographs of the former al-Qaeda leader.
The final prototype was packaged in a plastic-covered box, wearing the traditional garb, and presented to the CIA.
While the agency pulled the plug on the project, the CIA is in possession of at least one prototype at its headquarters. Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011 in Pakistan.
