Beginning in about 2005, the CIA began secretly developing a ­custom-made Osama bin Laden ­action figure. The face of the figure was 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.

The goal of the short-lived project was simple: spook children and their parents, causing them to turn away from the actual bin Laden.

There’s a dispute over how many of the figurines, if any, were ultimately delivered. A person with direct knowledge of the project in China said hundreds of the toys — one of which was seen by The Washington Post — were made as part of a preproduction run and sent on a freighter to the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2006.

The CIA, naturally, disputes this, claiming only three were created, and that the CIA ultimately declined to deploy any.

Via Washington Post.