Operation Northwoods: The History of the Controversial Government Plan to Stage False Flag Attacks on Americans and Blame Cuba

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James Bamford's book Body of Secrets describes the documents and the surrounding atmosphere. The proposal was presented to Secretary of Defense McNamara on March 13, 1962, and apparently rejected. Was this an "out of control" proposal by military chiefs completely out of step with the Kennedy administration? Underwood Archives/Getty Images Cuba’s Prime Minister Fidel Castro and Soviet Union’s Premier Nikita Khrushchev embrace at the United Nations in New York, Sept 20, 1960. America's top military brass even contemplated causing U.S. military casualties, writing: "We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," and, "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation."

Memo from DoD/JCS Representative on Caribbean Survey Group to JCS: Justification for Military Intervention in Cuba, 9 Mar 1962 The only way we would have succeeded is by doing exactly what the Russians were doing all over the world, by imposing a government by tyranny, basically what we were accusing Castro himself of doing.”

The Plots Proposed By Operation Northwoods

Several other proposals were included within Operation Northwoods, including real or simulated actions against various U.S. military and civilian targets. The operation recommended developing a "Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington", which involved the bombing of civilian targets, which was to be blamed on the Cuban government to paint a false image of Fidel Castro and misinform the American public.

proposed US false flag operation against American citizens Operation Northwoods memorandum (13 March 1962) [1] General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, who was in charge as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff In the spring of 1962, a few months after the launch of Operation Mongoose with General Edward Lansdale at its head, an incredible proposal was put forth by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Operations Northwoods called for faked and actual terrorist actions against the U.S. to be conducted by the U.S., but done in such a way that they could be blamed on Cuba. This would provide a pretext for launching a full-scale military invasion of the island nation, and the removal of Fidel Castro. https://www.spaceflighthistories.com/post/that-time-castro-would-ve-been-blamed-if-a-mercury-mission-had-failed https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/11/19/military-had-plan-to-blame-cuba-if-glenns-space-mission-failed/24eb451e-bdb2-441a-9b83-c4e8aecd6aa1/ Media Advisory: National Archives Releases Additional Materials Reviewed by the Assassination Records Review Board, archives.gov, 11/17/97 [cached]Explore the wealth of reliable, verifiable information on 9/11, including several excellent documentaries, in our 9/11 Information Center available here.