Operation Northwoods, The 1960s Government Plan To Fake Terrorist Attacks On The U.S.

In 1997, the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board released a pile of records from the Kennedy era. Among them was a 1962 document titled “Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba.” The memorandum concerned something called Operation Northwoods, a plan to create fake attacks on “friendly” defected Cubans, U.S. military bases, and U.S. citizens — all designed to appear conducted by Cuba. This action, known as a “false flag” operation, would be used to garner the public and political support necessary for direct military intervention against Cuba. And the plan wasn’t some crackpot scheme devised by a minor official – it was sent from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara.