False Flag Operations
False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. Numerous conspiracy theories have developed suggesting that false flag operations have been carried out throughout the 20th century, and the secrecy of the true nature of the events have been maintained by successful cover-ups. The following are some attacks that are believed by some to be examples of false flag attacks:
- The Great Fire of Rome was blamed on early Christians, but many people both then and now believed that Emperor Nero deliberately set the fires to make room for his palace that was subsequently built in the area.
- On February 27, 1933, the German parliament, the Reichstag building, was subject to an arson attack; this is seen as the pivotal event for the appropriation of authoritarian power by the government of Nazi Germany. Several leading German historians concluded that the fire was a secret Nazi operation for which the Nazis then blamed a communist. "Along with Communist propagandists, serious scholars have been ranged on the side of the proponents of the Nazi conspiracy theory"
- Pan Am Flight 103 conspiracy theories.
- Columbine conspiracy theories.
- Former GRU officer Aleksey Galkin, former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko and other defectors from the Russian government and security services have asserted that the 1999 Russian apartment bombings, which precipitated the Second Chechen War, were false flag operations perpetrated by the FSB, the successor organization to the KGB.
- Many 9/11 conspiracy theories, which allege that the United States government conducted the 9/11 attacks or knew beforehand the attacks would happen but deliberately did nothing to prevent it in order to drastically alarm and sway public opinion to favor war. 9/11 conspiracy theories also suggest other conspirators were involved.
- 2004 Madrid train bombings.
Read more about this topic: List Of Conspiracy Theories
Famous quotes containing the words false, flag and/or operations:
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—Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)
“What is Americanism? Every one has a different answer. Some people say it is never to submit to the dictation of a King. Others say Americanism is the pride of liberty and the defence of an insult to the flag with their gore. When some half-developed person tramples on that flag, we should be ready to pour out the blood of the nation, they say. But do we not sit in silence when that flag waves over living conditions which should be an insult to all patriotism?”
—Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)