A couple of the most controversial and inflammatory words thrown about the alternative news community are False Flag. Every time something newsworthy and terrible happens, glory-seeking attention grabbers are making claims of a false flag attack to anyone who will listen. I would like to sit back, take a breath, and examine some of the things we know about the concept. What does it mean? Who would do such a thing? Do we have any examples of concrete evidence? When one hears a term over and over, it loses it's shock value. I think that is what has happened to alternative news. Too many conspiracy theories are claimed as fact with only speculation to back them up.

First of all, the term false flag comes from a time when ships would fly the identifying flag of their enemy and attack one of the ships from their own navy. This was the original propaganda. The approval of the people to go to war with another nation under false pretenses. Politicians and leaders desire war for reasons ranging from money being made from the economic activity that accompanies war, to the plans to topple legitimate governments in order to install leaders obedient to the conquering nation. Prompting a nation to agree to war is also done as a strategic maneuver, to maintain status as a military power in an area or to come to the defense of an ally. The attack on Pearl Harbor is one example.

It is estimated that 80-90% of the American people did not want to enter the WWII. President Roosevelt even ran his campaign on the promise that "Your boys are not going to be sent to any foreign wars." However, Roosevelt's advisers from the State Department were telling him that a victory by Nazi Germany in Europe would be a threat to the national security of the United States. The opportunity for war fell into his hands by way of the Japanese. On September 27, 1940 Germany, Italy, and Japan entered an agreement of mutual assistance called the Tripartite Treaty. Lieutenant Commander Aurthor McCullum sent a secret memo to Navy Captains Dudley Knox and Walter Stratton Anderson detailing eight acts the United States could carry out. McCullum first detailed a Europe that had been defeated by Germany and Italy, and only Great Britan stood in the way of complete dominance. He said that in addition to the war in Europe, the Axis Powers were fostering revolutions in Central America and stimulating the Japanese to perform aggressive acts in the Far East. His primary goal was not so much to enter the war, but to slow Japan's ability to assist the Axis in defeating the British. Great Britain's supply routes would be endangered if Japan were to attack Singapore while Germany came through the Balkans and attacked the Suez Canal. These are the final points and eight suggestions:

9. It is not believed that in the present state of political opinion the United States government is capable of declaring war against Japan without more ado; and it is barely possible that vigorous action on our part might lead the Japanese to modify their attitude. Therefore, the following course of action is suggested:

    A. Make an arrangement with Britain for the use of British bases in the Pacific, particularly Singapore.
    B. Make an arrangement with Holland for the use of base facilities and acquisition of supplies in the Dutch East Indies.
    C. Give all possible aid to the Chinese government of Chiang-Kai-Shek.
    D. Send a division of long range heavy cruisers to the Orient, Philippines, or Singapore.
    E. Send two divisions of submarines to the Orient.
    F. Keep the main strength of the U.S. fleet now in the Pacific in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands.
    G. Insist that the Dutch refuse to grant Japanese demands for undue economic concessions, particularly oil.
    H. Completely embargo all U.S. trade with Japan, in collaboration with a similar embargo imposed by the British Empire.

10. If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better. At all events we must be fully prepared to accept the threat of war.

In addition to carrying out acts of provocation against the Japanese, the United States had foreknowledge of the attacks of the attack itself as early as January 1941. Throughout the year thousands of Japanese diplomatic messages were intercepted and decoded. These critical communications were withheld from the Commanders of the Pacific Forces in Hawaii, Admiral Kimmel and General Short. They were subsequently demoted and forced into retirement for dereliction of duty. They were not even allowed a court-martial to defend themselves. Absolute proof of foreknowledge is in the text of a resolution by the 105th Congress exonerating these men. The following are excepts from S.J.RES.55:

"Whereas numerous investigations following the attack on Pearl Harbor have documented that Admiral Kimmel and Lieutenant General Short were not provided with the necessary and critical intelligence available that foretold of war with Japan, that warned of imminent attack, and that would have alerted them to prepare for the attack, including such essential communiques as the Japanese Pearl Harbor Bomb Plot message of September 24, 1941, and the message sent from the Imperial Japanese Foreign Ministry to the Japanese Ambassador in the United States from December 6-7, 1941, known as the Fourteen-Part Message"

"Whereas on October 19, 1944, a Naval Court of Inquiry exonerated Admiral Kimmel on the grounds that his military decisions and the disposition of his forces at the time of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were proper `by virtue of the information that Admiral Kimmel had at hand which indicated neither the probability nor the imminence of an air attack on Pearl Harbor'; criticized the higher command for not sharing with Admiral Kimmel `during the very critical period of 26 November to 7 December 1941, important information ... regarding the Japanese situation"

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The lesson we should take away from the Pearl Harbor attack is that yes, men in power will lie and cause acts of murder and war to achieve their ambitions. We must remain vigilant in our watch over our leaders. And yes, we must continue to expose the lies.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/McCollum_memorandum
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2000/12/robert-b-stinnett/december-7-194...
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:S.J.RES.55.IS:
http://www.pearlharbor911attacks.com/old/docs/RESOLUTION_66_USNA.pdf
http://www.kimmelfamily.net/Husband3.htm