Spanish CartoonOne of the better examples of a false flag operation is the sinking of the Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The Spanish were immediately blamed after the explosion. No one knows what happened. The most likely explanation is that coal dust ignited. This caused a fire that exploded the munitions in the ship. The Spanish had zero reason to get the US more heavily involved in the Cuban revolt.
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover investigated the explosion years later:
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover became intrigued with the disaster and began a private investigation in 1974. Using information from the two official inquiries, newspapers, personal papers and information on the construction and ammunition of Maine it was concluded that the explosion was not caused by a mine. Instead spontaneous combustion of coal in the bunker next to magazine was speculated to be the most likely cause. The Admiral published a book about this investigation, How the Battleship Maine Was Destroyed, in 1976.
The Wreckage of the MaineThe first official Navy report blamed a mine. A second report, done after the war when no propaganda was needed, concluded that it was an internal explosion. Oops.
As with 9-11, some concluded that the US Government sank its own ship. No one knows what happened.
The explosion provided the needed slogan and propaganda for war. It does not matter how the explosion occurred. It served the purpose of justifying the war. (I have blogged about the Spanish American War before.)
The Media frenzy was manipulated:
One of Remington's More Well Known WorksFrederic Remington, an artist hired by Hearst to provide illustrations to accompany a series of articles on the Cuban Revolution, soon became bored with seemingly peaceful Cuba and wired Hearst on January 1897:
"Everything is quiet. There is no trouble. There will be no war. I wish to return." To which Hearst's reply was: "Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war."
I had heard this story before but did not realize it was the famous artist Remington that Hearst hired. Propaganda is the purpose of Media, owned then as now by the wealthy.
The war was very popular among Protestants in America—just as war is popular among evangelicals today. The Spanish being Catholic made them suspect in the popular prejudice. Islam being opposed to Israel is the current template by which everything is viewed and justified. To oppose Israel is to oppose God, they say.
So here is the pattern we will see in the justification of war. An event is staged, or occurs and its importance exaggerated, and this is used to justify the desired war. The incident is used to inspire the patriotism of the masses, who will be needed to fight the war. This pattern will continue in the other incidents I will discuss.
The Front Page Of Hearst's New York Journal