What did the declassified documents reveal?

Cold Open. This episode presents a declassified United States Army record that compiles statistics on rockets launched from Gaza, Lebanon and Iran against Israel, and examines a reported correlation with the position of the planet Mars relative to the lunar node. The document was made publicly available through The Black Vault archive. Provenance. The record was released to the public via The Black Vault, uploaded as part of the “organized‑24‑2‑4‑4” collection. The declassification authority is the United States Army, and the material is provided under the Freedom of Information Act. The full text is accessible at the Black Vault URL. The Document. The opening paragraph reads in Arabic: “يرجى ملاحظة أن بيانات عام 2006 تشمل إطلاق الصواريخ من غزة ولبنان. بدأت الحرب بين إسرائيل ولبنان عام 2006 في 12 يوليو 2006 وانتهت في 15 أغسطس 2006.” It continues: “وتشمل بيانات عام 2024 إطلاق الصواريخ من غزة ولبنان وإيران. هناك نمط يحدث فيه أعلى تركيز لإطلاق الصواريخ ضد إسرائيل خلال سنة تقويمية عندما يكون المريخ ضمن 30 درجة من العقدة القمرية. ويحدث هذا بمعدل %70 iio‏ عام 2005.” The report notes: “في كل عام iio‏ عام 2005 كان الشهر الذي يحتوي على lel‏ إطلاق صاروخي لهذا العام هو الشهر الذي كان فيه المريخ ضمن 0 درجة من العقدة القمرية فى مرحلة ما.” A series of statistical tables follows, listing yearly totals of rockets launched against Israel and indicating whether the launch period coincided with Mars within thirty degrees of the lunar node. For example, the 2005 entry states: “تم إطلاق 25184 صاروخًا على إسرائيل بينما كان المريخ على مسافة 30 درجة من العقدة. في أي وقت آخر iio‏ عام 2005 تم إطلاق 11,982 صاروخًا على إسرائيل، أي 68 % من إجمالي الصواريخ التي تم إطلاقها على إسرائيل في عام 2005.” Subsequent years are presented in similar format, with yearly totals for 2006, 2007, up through 2024, each accompanied by a note on the Mars‑node alignment. The document includes a series of charts labeled “meta‑chart.com” that graph the monthly distribution of rocket launches for each year, with bars highlighted when the Mars‑node condition is met. Sources for the underlying data are cited at the end of the record, referencing the Jewish Virtual Library, the Israeli Ministry of Defense website, and a series of online reports from 2005 through 2024, each identified by a URL. Context. The Black Vault entry provides an editorial summary that frames the record as a statistical compilation drawn from open‑source intelligence and Israeli defense reports. The summary states that the data set aggregates rocket and mortar fire incidents reported by Israeli authorities, and that the analysis of planetary alignment was performed by an unnamed Army analyst. No additional commentary or interpretation is offered by the issuing agency. Outro. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For the full document, visit storyflo.com and the Black Vault URL at archive.org/download/organized-24-2-4-4/organized (24) (2) (4) (4)djvu.txt.

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Army: Cold Open.

◆ BLUF — The short version

Cold Open. This episode presents a declassified United States Army record that compiles statistics on rockets launched from Gaza, Lebanon and Iran against Israel, and examines a reported correlation with the position of the planet Mars relative to the lunar node.

Date: JUL 31 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Army: Cold Open. about?: Cold Open. This episode presents a declassified United States Army record that compiles statistics on rockets launched from Gaza, Lebanon and Iran against Israel, and examines a reported correlation with the position of the planet Mars relative to the lunar node.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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