Operation Northwoods: The Banned Government-Led Covert Operation Aimed to Mislead You

Operation Northwoods was the covert name for a series of 1962 Joint Chiefs of Staff suggestions aimed at creating a justification for a war on Cuba. The plot called for the Pentagon to launch a series of false-flag terrorist operations against US ships and aircraft, as well as Cuban refugees.

Skeptics of the official version of 9/11 were eager to refer to Operation Northwoods as proof of US military authorities’ determination to conduct false flag operations similar to 9/11/01.

False Flag Operations

For hundreds of years, false flag operations have altered the course of World history on many times. The phrase “false flag” refers to government-led covert operations that are aimed to mislead the general populace of their own country by making the operations seem to be carried out by other institutions, groups, or countries. The word “false flag” originated in naval warfare, where it refers to the display of a flag different than the belligerent’s genuine battle flag as a deception, or ruse de guerre, before to fighting the adversary.

If one follows the money in every false flag operation, one will see that those with the most to gain have always held critical military and civilian posts, not only to assure the mission’s success, but also to conceal the crime and reap the greatest benefit. This has been a defining characteristic of false flag operations throughout history. Hermann Göring, a prominent Nazi, famously stated: “Naturally, the ordinary people in Russia, England, America, and Germany do not desire war. That is comprehended. After all, it is the country’s leaders that set policy, and it is always easy to pull the populace along, whether in a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Whether they have a voice or not, the people can always be manipulated to do the leaders’ bidding. That is simple. All you have to do is inform them that they are under assault and blame the pacifists for their lack of patriotism and for endangering the nation. It operates the same way in every nation.”

The most typical kind of false flag operation is a government agency conducting a terrorist attack against its own citizens in order to falsely accuse an uninvolved entity (country/organization, etc.). The ensuing carnage generates a wave of public outrage and support for the administration and any action they propose. At least two millennia of history demonstrate that false flag operations combined with a generous dosage of propaganda and ignorance provide an excellent formula for perpetual conflict. They were as ubiquitous as they were pernicious throughout the twentieth century. From China’s Manchurian Event, to Berlin’s Reichstag Fire, to the fiction of Pearl Harbor’s’surprise’ assault, to the Tonkin Gulf incident that allowed the Vietnam War. False flag operations, such as the one that occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin and Operation Northwoods.

What was Operation Northwoods?

The Department of Defense was forbidden from carrying out Operation Northwoods. Many blame John F. Kennedy’s assassination on his ban. Northwoods was a false flag operation in which US Americans would be murdered and the assault would be blamed on Cuba. The purpose of Operation Northwoods was to garner public support for a US attack against Cuba.

Operation Northwoods was not limited to chicanery in which no one was really harmed. In part four of the plan, a fake Communist Cuban terror campaign included suggestions to, “sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the Unites States even to the extent of wounding in instances to be widely publicized.” Perhaps the “plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots” would not have injured or killed anyone. But perhaps they would have.

Ultimately, Operation Northwoods never went beyond this stage (“suitable only for planning”). No evidence suggests that any part of the plan was put into action by the Department of Defense. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to escape the feeling of creeping horror when you realize that such a plan was even considered at such high levels of the U.S. government.