Northwoods: Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba

This is a summary of a 13 March, 1962 memorandum from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, regarding justifications for US military intervention in Cuba. The plans were motivated by a desire, among military leaders to depose Castro. Castro had seized power a few years earlier to become the first communist leader in the western hemisphere.

The JCS was requested to give a description of pretexts which they considered would provide justification for US military intervention in Cuba. They hoped that these pretexts would lead to political decisions that would lead to military action. These pretexts would develop the international image of the Cuban government as being rash, irresponsible, alarming and an unpredictable threat to the peace of the western hemisphere.

At this time there were no Soviet bases in Cuba, no agreement binding the USSR to the defense of Cuba and Cuba was not a member of the Warsaw Pact. Therefore, to take advantage of these conditions, resolving this Cuban problem within a few months was a high priority for the JCS.

The plan's initial effort would be to provoke Cuban reactions using deceptive actions to convince the Cubans that an invasion would be soon coming. The US military posture during execution of the plan would quickly change from exercise to intervention if the Cuban response justified it so.

The plan would start in and around Guantanamo, to make it look as if Cuban forces were being offensive. This would include starting rumours by using clandestine radio and having friendly, uniformed Cuban saboteurs infiltrate and stage an attack on the base by blowing up ammunition, lobbing mortar shells and starting fires. They would start riots outside the base' main gates and cause general mayhem. Other staged friendly Cuban assault teams would approach from the sea sabotaging and sinking ships and burn the harbor with napthalene. All of these fake assault forces would be captured and appropriate funerals conducted for any mock victims.

The US would respond to this manufactured threat by executing their own offensive operations to secure water and power supplies, and continue by destroying artillery and mortar emplacements that threatened the base. Then the US would stage a "Remember the Maine" style incident by blowing up a US ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame it on Cuba. The presence of Cuban planes or ships investigating the sunken US ship would be used as evidence that they had been the attackers. The US media would report the staged activities causing national indignation.

Meanwhile, in Miami, a fake communist Cuban bombing terror campaign would be developed to point the finger at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the US. Sinking a boatload of Cubans enroute to Florida would also be widely publicized to increase indignation against Cuba. Arrests of Cuban agents complete with documents substantiating Cuban involvement would also project the idea of an irresponsible Cuban government.

Use of MIG type aircraft by US pilots could provide additional provocation. A US F-86 jet fighter could be modified to look like a Cuban MIG. US commercial air passengers could "witness" the MIG, especially if their pilot announces such a fact.

An incident could be created to demonstrate that a Cuban aircraft has attacked and shot down a civil airliner from the US while flying over Cuba. The passengers could be college students on a holiday using a chartered flight. A CIA aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base would be painted and numbered as an exact duplicate for a US civil registered aircraft (which would be converted as a drone). At a designated time the duplicate would be switched and loaded with the selected fake passengers. The two planes would rendezvous south of Florida where the passenger filled plane would descend below radar detection and go directly to an auxiliary field near Eglin AFB to evacuate the passengers and return the aircraft to its original status. The drone aircraft would continue to fly according to the flight plan. When over Cuba it would transmit a May Day message stating attack by Cuban MIG aircraft. The aircraft will then be destroyed remotely and International Civil Aviation Organization radio stations will deliver the news to the American people so the military doesn't have to "sell" it to them.

Similar to shooting down a commercial aircraft, another incident could be manufactured using USAF aircraft instead. This would make it look like communist Cuban MIGs had destroyed a US military craft over international waters in an unprovoked attack. The plan involved using 4 or 5 USAF F-101 jet fighters. These jets would be performing routine air defense exercise flights between southern Florida and twelve miles off the Cuban coast. On one of these flights, while near Cuba, a pre-briefed pilot, using an alias name, would straggle behind the other jets and broadcast that he had been jumped by Cuban MIGS and was about to crash into the sea. This pilot would then fly below radar detection and go directly to an auxiliary field near Eglin AFB, where the jet would be hidden and given a new tail number. The pilot would resume his identity and return to duty. Meanwhile, a submarine or boat would disburse F-101 parts about 15 to 20 miles off the Cuban coast and depart. The other pilots would return to Homestead and have a true story (as far as they knew) to report to the world.

The memorandum concludes by stating that covert efforts to foster a credible internal Cuban revolt would be impossible within 1962 and a Cuban "provocation" was required to justify positive US military action.

In March 1962 the plans were approved by all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and submitted to the defense secretary, Robert McNamara. However, the plans must have been rejected by the leadership and forgotten for nearly 40 years.

This memorandum is an example of the standard operating procedures of major world powers. Does understanding a document like this give insight into what may have happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that disappeared, without a trace, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing? In the future, will we find similar documents uncovering the truth behind "terrorist" events within the US?

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