The 1999 movie The Matrix is based on the premise that everyday life is a dream and that the real world–one where comatose humans serve as energy sources for alien robots–is a closely guarded secret. Keanu Reeves’s character discovered the truth and was offered a choice: take a pill and forget everything, or see "just how far the rabbit hole goes."
This week I am offering readers a similar choice: skip over today’s column or venture with me down that rabbit hole. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In light of current headlines, examination of 45 year-old Operation Northwoods is more pertinent now than ever. De-classified documents available at George Washington University Library reveal the CIA’s plot to justify Fidel Castro’s overthrow–regime change–and conduct military operations against Cuba.
One of the document’s headings "Incidents to establish a credible attack," describes how Cubans friendly to the United States would be planted inside the base at Guantanamo Bay posing as hostile saboteurs. Shelling the base, causing "some damage to installations" was also suggested. Undoubtedly the most telling scenario was: "Sink ship near harbor entrance. Conduct funerals for mock-victims."
Even more sinister, however, were the CIA’s plans to wage a terror campaign against Cuban refugees in the United States, pinning the blame on Castro and his sympathizers to further justify an invasion of Cuba.
"We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated)" the document reads. "We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States even to the extent of wounding to be widely publicized." Exploding plastic bombs in "carefully chosen places" was another course of action.
Operation Northwoods included further provocative tactics, including the use of MiGs by U.S. pilots to drop "Cuban" leaflets bolstering the Communist underground in the Dominican Republic and other neighboring countries. Invasions of airspace by these fake MiGs would rally other Caribbean nations to support the U.S. against "Cuban" aggression.
Several pages were devoted to a plan "...to create an incident which will demonstrate convincingly that a Cuban aircraft has attacked and shot down a civil airliner en route from the United States to Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama or Venezuela." Hijacking was also suggested.
Any of this sound familiar?
Most of us have heard the conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 attacks: a missile hit the Pentagon and timed explosives brought down the Twin Towers. These "theories" – which in all likelihood originated in some government agency–were planted in order to distract the "fringe Left" and others from finding the truth.
After all, what better way to conceal the truth than to circulate not one, but two diametrically opposed and equally far-fetched scenarios to explain how over 3,000 Americans were murdered on September 11, 2001. The idea that Flight 93 was repainted and still in service somewhere is just as nutty as finding Mohammad Atta’s miracle passport lying on top of World Trade Center rubble. And both stories conveniently ignore Israel’s connection to the attacks.
Between August 26 and September 11, 2001, a group of speculators, identified by the American Securities and Exchange Commission as Israeli citizens, sold "short" a list of 38 stocks–including those of insurance companies and airlines–expected to fall in value as a result of the pending attacks.
On Sept. 6, 2,075 put options–a bet on a drop in the worth of stocks–were made on United Airlines. On Sept. 10, 2,282 put options were recorded for American Airlines, which could have yielded the speculators as much as $2 million to $4 million.
Recently, new security system developed by an Israeli company was tested at Knoxville’s airport, designed to measure travelers’ biometric responses–blood pressure, pulse and sweat levels. Each machine will run the U.S. a cool $200,000.
They’re still profiting from 9/11.
By November 2001, 60 Israelis who had been working at mall kiosks or posing as art students throughout the U.S. were detained for visa violations. This number is in addition to the 140 Israelis who were detained prior to 9/11 as part of a suspected espionage ring. Nearly all had served in the Israeli army with specialties in either explosives or intelligence, although Carl Cameron of Fox News quoted a senior investigator into the attacks as stating "Evidence linking these Israelis to 9/11 is classified."
These cases were separate from the arrests of five Israelis who were caught filming the World Trade Center attack as it happened while laughing, giving each other high-fives and dancing–a story verified by the Washington Post, The Palm Beach Post and by ABC News. Now safely back in Israel, four of the five have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the United States for false arrest.
On October 12, 2001, Mexican authorities arrested two Israelis carrying weapons and explosives inside San Lazaro, Mexico’s congress. If the Israelis had succeeded in carrying out an attack, it would have presumably been blamed on Muslim terrorists in order to gain Mexico’s cooperation in the "war on terror."
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the 9/11 attacks as "very good." Moments later he added, "Well, it's not good, but it will generate immediate sympathy."
Sympathy and justification for unprecedented U.S. aggression against countries that don’t recognize Israel.
So when another "Fort Dix Six" are nabbed for an alleged terror plot, or the next time a "pro-Western" official is assassinated in Lebanon, a church is bombed in Gaza or Iraq, or a "shoe bomber" is arrested on an airplane, remember the deception of our own government and whose interests it serves to keep fomenting the bogus "War on Terror." Ask yourselves if radical Islam is the real enemy. It is imperative that all of us ask these questions, no matter how far down that rabbit hole it takes us.
