Does our government carry out false flag operations? The average conspiracy theorist yells a resounding "YES." But how do you know? Because you read it somewhere? Because the last terrible thing that happened surely looked like it, or there was an emergency drill nearby? Sometime the best answers come from asking questions and not just believing a story because we like the source that told it.

Let's go back in time and try to see what the government track record is concerning false flag attacks. The earliest one I have heard of was the sinking of the USS Maine. Going back to the 1800's we find that the US was interested in the desire by Cubans for independence from Spain. Many Americans were sympathetic to their cause. There was an unsuccessful insurrection between the years of 1868 and 1878. The Cubans again revolted in 1895. Many wrongs were said to have been committed by the Spanish government, including herding the civilian population together and allowing over 100,000 people to starve to death. Fearing for the lives of Americans living in Cuba, the US sent the battleship USS Maine to anchor near Havana with the reluctant clearance from Spain. That seemed to have a calming effect on the situation.
One evening in February, 1898 there was an explosion on the Maine. 266 souls were lost with the ship. Spanish officials and civilians aboard the ship "The City of Washington" aided the survivors. Although there were five tons of powder on board, an investigation concluded the ship exploded from a blasting device under the ship. The inquiry declined to lay blame on the Spanish, but the press did that job for them. This caused the public to rally even more for a confrontation with Spain. On the 21st of April President McKinley ordered a blockade of Cuba, and Spain responded by declaring war on the United States on 23 April 1898. A later investigation found the most probable cause of the explosion to be the spontaneous combustion of the powder on board.

Was this a false flag attack? Although I have heard for years that it was, I would have to disagree. Would the war have occurred without the Maine disaster? Probably so, but this was a factor in hurrying it along. Was it obvious that the ship blew up because it was a powder keg waiting for a spark? It may be obvious to us today because of later investigations, but wasn't to the people of the day.

This account reflects the official version of what happened. We only know that the situation was taken advantage of by the US to begin a war. There are other instances that are more clear about the willingness of the government to lie and murder to sway public opinion. Some of these will be addressed in my next blog. Stay tuned. More to come.

1. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq71-1.htm

2.http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m2/maine-i.htm