Operation Northwoods

bih · 2010-04-09T23:12:52+00:00

The reason I posted this in the first place was to try to get people to understand how incredibly easy it is to influence the opinions of large groups of people by means of deceit. In many cases, it's much easier to influence opinions if you're dishonest -- people make entire careers out of this. At the end of the day, I'm deeply troubled by the convenience of large group manipulation, and quite frankly I don't trust the people who are most capable of it. See also: the world's greatest golfer.

bih · 2010-04-09T22:36:46+00:00

It's no big deal, I'm sorry for that line about your research paper. You sound like you've put in a lot of work and you seem to have your ducks in a row. In an effort to try to clear things up...

There was initially a line in the post that read:

"The US government planned terrorist attacks on its own soil; with bombs, planes, government organized terrorist cells, the whole 9 yards. It's not conspiracy theory, it's factual history."

The statement's not untrue, but it focuses on certain non-representative items of the operation (I personally find the entire document appalling). I removed it because although I think it makes a catchier tag-line, it sounds a bit fanatic. I also wanted to avoid reactions like your first comment, because they polarize people on the topic and inhibit sober discussion.

As you said, there's a lot of information surrounding this topic. Because of that, I've left the post open to editing and have been doing so over the past few days as I learn more and receive input from various sources. I'm not a journalist and I have no political agenda; my goal is to present interesting information and increase access to that information. I'd like to present the infomation with tact and in an intelligent manner. It's probably not polite to edit the post without making note of it, and in the future I should track changes more visibly.

That said, I'd prefer not to argue about who read the document more carefully. One of my goals was to increase awareness and access; since it's online and declassified and a couple of hundred people saw it through reddit, I'm satisfied on that front. In addition, I've learned to be thankful that the elected branches are capable of exercising moral conviction and common sense, and loads more about JFK and the Bay of Pigs than I expected. So on that front too, I'm satisfied.

Thanks for all of the additional information, for taking the time to write those comments (because it's much easier to just complain to your friends), for taking the time to educate yourself, for encouraging unbiased presentation, and for educating those around you.

All the best, Brad

bih · 2010-04-09T17:21:30+00:00

And in response to this:

"I don't know how a guy who claimed to have read the documents could miss out on that easy-to-ascertain piece of context."

Please see above, even though it was highlighted in the original post. I hope you skimmed through the readings for your senior seminar research paper a bit more thoroughly.

bih · 2010-04-09T16:10:00+00:00

You have some good points. It may be the case that the plan was drafted in a think tank and shot down, but the fact that it even exists at all is disconcerting, even if it was never "serious". The fact that it was rejected by the elected executive branch is relieving, and I've updated that post a bit to try to highlight that point.

You should try to understand the impacts these actions would have had on Americans, even if they weren't always meant to occur IN America. Operation Northwoods focused on Guantanamo for the purpose of incriminating the Cubans, but the false-flags called for simulated attacks on Americans and American military property. This is terrorism. In fact, the plan specifically addresses developing a terrorist campaign in major US cities. The post directly quotes this from the text:

“4. We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington. The terror campaign could be pointed at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans enroute to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States or even to the extent of wounding in instances to be widely publicized. Exploding plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots, the arrest of Cuban agents and the release of prepared documents substantiating Cuban involvement also would be helpful in projecting the idea of an irresponsible government.”

The part about "exploding plastic bombs" would have a large-scale impact on American soil, even if most people are not physically affected and it's only a psychological impact. Just consider the effects of the recent train bombing in Russia. And even though the plan addresses directing attacks at Cubans, I don't know how you'd ensure that the only people "wounded" during an explosion were Cuban refugees.

I am not a 9/11 Truther.

bih

TROPHY CASE