More fun with Operation Northwoods

[Tracy Riddle]

http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb457/

Earlier this year, a mandatory declassification review request to the National Archives for Air Force records on the Cuban missile crisis produced a Joint Chiefs of Staff report, dated 28 October 1962, to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on "Alternative Actions if Build-up in Cuba Continues Despite Russian Acceptance of the Quarantine." Prepared just as the crisis was ending, but before the Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement had been announced, the Chiefs wanted the White House to be ready for action in the event that negotiations failed and "Soviet offensive weapons are not eliminated."

Chairman Maxwell Taylor suggested to Secretary of Defense McNamara a series of "direct and indirect" and "provocative" actions against Cuba (with their pros and cons). The Chiefs had been itching for an air attack and an invasion and may have believed a diplomatic failure would give the Pentagon a chance to take action. Therefore, they proposed indirect measures, such as pressures from the Organization of American States, and direct actions, ranging from an air blockade to covert operations to an all-out invasion. The proposed covert operations included the assassination of "leading Russians and Cuban communists." Moreover, the Chiefs suggested a series of "provocative" actions to induce Fidel Castro "to make a mistake" and give the United States an excuse to launch an attack. Among the provocations were harassments such as destroyer patrols around Cuba and inciting riots on the "Cuban side of the Guantanamo fence" by using base workers as "agents" and providing military aid to them.

Such proposals may not be too surprising to readers familiar with the history of the period. An infamous JCS proposal from earlier in 1962, "Operation Northwoods," suggested a variety of wild pretexts, disregarded by civilian policymakers, for a U.S. invasion of Cuba. Declassified by the Kennedy Assassination Review Board, Northwoods included proposals for phony "Cuban" terrorist attacks in U.S. cities and a "Remember the Maine" attack on a U.S. ship. Moreover, actual covert operations against Cuba, including Operation Mongoose and assassination plots against Fidel Castro and other foreign leaders during the early 1960s, were exposed years ago so comparable proposals from the JCS are less than revelatory. In this context, it made sense for declassification reviewers to release the 28 October report [See document 1A] in its entirety earlier this year, in a release of Air Force records on the crisis.

The story is more complicated, however, because a different copy of the same JCS report has gone through parallel declassification reviews. The second copy is in a special collection of Secretary/Deputy Secretary of Defense "sensitive records" on Cuba during 1961-1964. It was first released earlier in 2013 in a massively excised form, before the unredacted version in Air Force records had become available. Challenging the excisions, the National Security Archive filed an appeal with the National Archives. As a result of the appeal, reviewers at NARA gave some ground but nevertheless kept significant sections "secret" [See document 1B]. Many of the proposed "provocative" actions were excised along with the covert operations proposals, such as assassinations.

[Tracy Riddle]

Just discovered this free e-book (hat tip to the the JFKFacts website) about the history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It goes into quite a bit of detail about JFK's problems with the Pentagon:

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Docum...of-war.pdf

[Dawn Meredith]

http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb457/

Earlier this year, a mandatory declassification review request to the National Archives for Air Force records on the Cuban missile crisis produced a Joint Chiefs of Staff report, dated 28 October 1962, to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on "Alternative Actions if Build-up in Cuba Continues Despite Russian Acceptance of the Quarantine." Prepared just as the crisis was ending, but before the Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement had been announced, the Chiefs wanted the White House to be ready for action in the event that negotiations failed and "Soviet offensive weapons are not eliminated."

Chairman Maxwell Taylor suggested to Secretary of Defense McNamara a series of "direct and indirect" and "provocative" actions against Cuba (with their pros and cons). The Chiefs had been itching for an air attack and an invasion and may have believed a diplomatic failure would give the Pentagon a chance to take action. Therefore, they proposed indirect measures, such as pressures from the Organization of American States, and direct actions, ranging from an air blockade to covert operations to an all-out invasion. The proposed covert operations included the assassination of "leading Russians and Cuban communists." Moreover, the Chiefs suggested a series of "provocative" actions to induce Fidel Castro "to make a mistake" and give the United States an excuse to launch an attack. Among the provocations were harassments such as destroyer patrols around Cuba and inciting riots on the "Cuban side of the Guantanamo fence" by using base workers as "agents" and providing military aid to them.

Such proposals may not be too surprising to readers familiar with the history of the period. An infamous JCS proposal from earlier in 1962, "Operation Northwoods," suggested a variety of wild pretexts, disregarded by civilian policymakers, for a U.S. invasion of Cuba. Declassified by the Kennedy Assassination Review Board, Northwoods included proposals for phony "Cuban" terrorist attacks in U.S. cities and a "Remember the Maine" attack on a U.S. ship. Moreover, actual covert operations against Cuba, including Operation Mongoose and assassination plots against Fidel Castro and other foreign leaders during the early 1960s, were exposed years ago so comparable proposals from the JCS are less than revelatory. In this context, it made sense for declassification reviewers to release the 28 October report [See document 1A] in its entirety earlier this year, in a release of Air Force records on the crisis.

The story is more complicated, however, because a different copy of the same JCS report has gone through parallel declassification reviews. The second copy is in a special collection of Secretary/Deputy Secretary of Defense "sensitive records" on Cuba during 1961-1964. It was first released earlier in 2013 in a massively excised form, before the unredacted version in Air Force records had become available. Challenging the excisions, the National Security Archive filed an appeal with the National Archives. As a result of the appeal, reviewers at NARA gave some ground but nevertheless kept significant sections "secret" [See document 1B]. Many of the proposed "provocative" actions were excised along with the covert operations proposals, such as assassinations.

Understanding what was proposed to JFK in "Operation Northwoods" together with the word from PNAC about a "new Pearl Harbor" is a big key to understanding what did NOT happen on 9-11. I have not yet read Body of Secrets but it's on my to get list.

Dawn

[LR Trotter]

Just discovered this free e-book (hat tip to the the JFKFacts website) about the history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It goes into quite a bit of detail about JFK's problems with the Pentagon:

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Docum...of-war.pdf

I believe the date was 9/12/62, while a 10th grade student attending HS just 2 blocks from the approximate mid-way point of a JFK Motorcade along Houston's Main Street that was about 6 miles from Rice University Stadium to the Rice Hotel at 909 Texas Avenue at Main Street, I had the good fortune to see US President John F Kennedy. What I remember most, besides his "tan", was a small airplane circling overhead pulling a banner that read, "Enforce The Monroe Doctrine". As we all know, October 1962 was just a few weeks away.
::

[Ken Garretson]

Lemnitzer, signer of Northwoods document, turns up again on the Rockefeller commission in '75 "investigating the CIA". Later it was supplanted by the Church committee. Also on the Rockefeller commission we find David Belin, former staff attorney on the Warren commission.

I came across this reference while reading an article here
http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/jfk-...t-matters/

Which is a LN article about how WC got it right.

In the article, reference is made to testimony before the Rockefeller commission by two MD's who "explained" the "back and to the left" movement as not possibly being from a bullet to the head from the front. "Stuff of hollywood" ;-)) "Spinal stiffening" etc.

So I was curious and stumbled upon the connection of Lemnitzer to Northwoods, and subsequently to the Rockefeller Commission, formally called "United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States.

[Tracy Riddle]

James Bamford: "In Lemnitzer's view, the country would be far better off if the generals could take over." (Body of Secrets)

"Lemnitzer had worked with Allen Dulles during World War II, and was part of Dulles' Operation Sunrise, the separate surrender of German forces in Italy by SS General Karl Wolf. Lemnitzer had helped to assemble the first stay-behind networks of the Gladio type…President Ford asked Lemnitzer to join the agitation of the Committee on the Present Danger, a retread of a CIA front group from the early 1950s. The CPD was the private-sector arm of CIA Director George Bush's Team B…" (Webster Tarpley, Synthetic Terror)

[Peter Lemkin]

James Bamford: "In Lemnitzer's view, the country would be far better off if the generals could take over." (Body of Secrets)

"Lemnitzer had worked with Allen Dulles during World War II, and was part of Dulles' Operation Sunrise, the separate surrender of German forces in Italy by SS General Karl Wolf. Lemnitzer had helped to assemble the first stay-behind networks of the Gladio type…President Ford asked Lemnitzer to join the agitation of the Committee on the Present Danger, a retread of a CIA front group from the early 1950s. The CPD was the private-sector arm of CIA Director George Bush's Team B…" (Webster Tarpley, Synthetic Terror)

Completing the puzzle Lemnitzer became the head of NATO, where he there IMO picked-up his Gladio Projects and assets and turned them against all kinds of targets of democracy - and pointed the USA and its Allies toward fascism and a Deep Political State [deeper than before]. It is my take that Lemnitzer [along with May and likely others] in the JCOS [then current or removed by JFK] were part of the 'engine' that drove the JFK Assassination. They had others do the dirty work and were not the only 'engine' for the Assassination, IMO. Northwoods has, with minor variants been carried out multiple times - likely with a negative template in BOP [designed to fail at the end to blame and set-up JFK for refusing the original format]; in Dallas; with RFK and others; on 9-11; in the various Gladio operations in Europe. In some ways the Generals [and those who they REALLY work for] DID take over!!!!

[Drew Phipps]

Here's an interesting bit: Lemnitzer was accompanied to Switzerland by an English Major General named Terrence Airey, to meet with Dulles, as part of Operation Sunrise. Only it wasn't called Operation Sunrise, it was called Operation Fritzel. Lemnitzer and Airey had a cover story of two Irish businessmen going to Switzerland to buy a German Dachsund (named Fritzel). The Soviets found out about the meeting and complained about being cut out. (Our pal Averell Harriman was the guy that notified the Soviets that they were being left out.) The mission failed, Airey claimed that HE didn't get a meeting with SS Gen. Karl Wolff. However, Dulles and Lemnitzer might have cut the Brits out too. It became known as Operation Sunshine, and Wolff did in fact surrender the German forces in Italy 6 days before the rest of the Nazis. Apparently Wolff wound up with friends in high places, receiving light sentences at Nuremberg and later war crimes trials, and also was persuaded to testify against his fellow Nazis. (After the war, Maj. Gen. Airey was a known member of the CFR, and also the chairman of the European Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.)

You gotta wonder if Dulles and Lemniter actually did find a German dog to buy.

[Scott Kaiser]

Just discovered this free e-book (hat tip to the the JFKFacts website) about the history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It goes into quite a bit of detail about JFK's problems with the Pentagon:

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Docum...of-war.pdf

I believe the date was 9/12/62, while a 10th grade student attending HS just 2 blocks from the approximate mid-way point of a JFK Motorcade along Houston's Main Street that was about 6 miles from Rice University Stadium to the Rice Hotel at 909 Texas Avenue at Main Street, I had the good fortune to see US President John F Kennedy. What I remember most, besides his "tan", was a small airplane circling overhead pulling a banner that read, "Enforce The Monroe Doctrine". As we all know, October 1962 was just a few weeks away.
::

"Enforce The Monroe Doctrine" very interesting you say this.

[LR Trotter]

Just discovered this free e-book (hat tip to the the JFKFacts website) about the history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It goes into quite a bit of detail about JFK's problems with the Pentagon:

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Docum...of-war.pdf

I believe the date was 9/12/62, while a 10th grade student attending HS just 2 blocks from the approximate mid-way point of a JFK Motorcade along Houston's Main Street that was about 6 miles from Rice University Stadium to the Rice Hotel at 909 Texas Avenue at Main Street, I had the good fortune to see US President John F Kennedy. What I remember most, besides his "tan", was a small airplane circling overhead pulling a banner that read, "Enforce The Monroe Doctrine". As we all know, October 1962 was just a few weeks away.
::

"Enforce The Monroe Doctrine" very interesting you say this.

Although almost 52 years, it just doesn't seem that long ago. The N/E corner of Main @ Holman, I stood on a single raised step on a church side door, possibly an after service exit, porch area. It was like all of a sudden the limousine approached, and setting above the back seat on the trunk area was JFK. I don't recall any other passengers, aside from front seat SS Agents, but there may have been. That church single doorway and porch/landing was still there the last time I rode the Metro-Rail that passes by there now. And, a familiar sight in those days were small planes pulling advertising banners, except this one was political. "Enforce The Monroe Doctrine", yes that is what it read.

::bluebaron::