Difference between revisions of "False flag"

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(Extensive re-write, adds Lavon Affair, brief refence only to cases adequately covered at Wikipedia)
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====1954 Lavon Affair====
 
====1954 Lavon Affair====
  
The Wikipedia article barely mentions the single most notable and important example of this practice in its article on "False Flag Attacks", this being the so-called "Lavon Affair" by Israeli agents in Egypt in 1954. Israeli agents "recruited nine young Egyptian Jews] to stage terrorist attacks that, they thought, would be blamed on local insurgents and would discredit Nasser's rule" Jewish Review, 2004.<ref>[http://www.jewishreview.org/Archives/Article.php?Article=2004-08-01-717 "recruited nine young Egyptian Jews to stage terrorist attacks that, they thought, would be blamed on local insurgents and would discredit Nasser's rule"] Jewish Review.</ref> (The article on the affair at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavon_Affair WP Lavon Affair] is largely a fair representation, however).  
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The Wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag "False Flags"] barely mentions the so-called "Lavon Affair", now known to have been carried out by locally recruited Israeli agents in Egypt. (It can probably be described as the "most significant ever case of False Flag"). Israeli agents "recruited nine young Egyptian Jews to stage terrorist attacks that, they thought, would be blamed on local insurgents and would discredit Nasser's rule" (Jewish Review, 2004.<ref>[http://www.jewishreview.org/Archives/Article.php?Article=2004-08-01-717 Jewish Review: "recruited nine young Egyptian Jews to stage terrorist attacks] that, they thought, would be blamed on local insurgents and would discredit Nasser's rule" 2004.</ref>) Two named individuals served 7 year sentences in Egypt, five(?) served 13 years and two commmitted suicide.
  
While there were no deaths from the bombs placed in Egyptian, US and UK facilities in Alexandria and Cairo, the consequences for internal Israeli politics and international peace were very considerable and antisemitism was incited.{{fact}} Pinhas Lavon was wrongly blamed and forced to resign and the innocent Prime Minister Moshe Sharrat was replaced by one of the perpetrators, David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion went on to concieve and carry out many wanton provocations, including the 1956 attack on Suez, the mass-killing of Egyptian POWs and the first major destruction in Gaza in the years that followed.{{fact}} 6 years later, an internal Israeli inquiry led to David Ben-Gurion's resignation but Sharret and Lavon's reputations were never cleared. Two committed suicide before the trial, one of these was re-interred with honour at Mount Herzl in 1959.<ref>[http://www.meirmaxbineth.org Meir Max Bineth - Dedicated to his memory] re-interred in the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Hebrew with some English.</ref> Two named individuals served 7 year sentences in Egypt, and five(?) others served 13 years. In 2005 Israel publicly honored the surviving operatives and presented each with a certificate of appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the state, ending decades of official denial by Israel.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3065838,00.html#n "After half a century of reticence and recrimination], Israel ... honored ... agents-provocateur." Reuters, 30th March 2005.</ref>
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While there were no deaths from the bombs placed in Egyptian, US and UK facilities in Alexandria and Cairo, the consequences for internal Israeli politics and international peace were considerable and antisemitism was incited.{{fact}} Pinhas Lavon was wrongly blamed and forced to resign and the innocent Prime Minister Moshe Sharrat was replaced by one of the perpetrators, David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion went on to concieve and carry out a number of wanton provocations and killings, including the 1956 attack on Suez, the mass-killing of Egyptian POWs and the first major destruction in Gaza. Six years later, a secret internal inquiry led to David Ben-Gurion's resignation but Sharret and Lavon's reputations were never officially cleared.  
  
Zionist sources prefer not to call this incident "False Flag", but the term is used by ex-MK member Uri Avnery in his writings<ref>[http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10179 the army carried out a false-flag sabotage campaign against US and British targets in Egypt] designed to cause strife between Egypt and the West. Uri Avnery, Zmag.</ref><ref>[http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/about/1177150070 Haolam Hazeh ... an Israeli false flag operation in Egypt] Uri Avnery, Gush-Shalom.</ref> and is used in the book "Global Terrorism", 2004.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=dULlTAe_NwEC&pg=PA46&dq=%22false+flag%22+Israel+Egypt&sig=6fM1-s1fY7OLrJF2A99xcUHSL0g Israel even used 'false flag' operations] "In 1954 sympathetic Jews in Egypt used bombs and arson against US installations. The objective was for local Arab..." "Global Terrorism", 2004.</ref> Israeli sources were censored, on the rare occasions it was mentioned terms such the "unfortunate business" were used.<ref>''Moshe Dayan. The soldier, the man, the legend'', Teveth, Shabtai (1974) still refers to the Lavon Affair as the "unfortunate business" 20 years later. Quartet Books p.265</ref>
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The Wikipedia article on this affair at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavon_Affair Lavon Affair] calls it "disastrous for Israel in several ways" and fails to mention any effects on Egypt or Egyptian Jews, but is otherwise largely complete and trustworthy.
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=====Acknowledgement by Israel=====
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One of the perpetrators who had committed suicide was re-interred with military honour on Mount Herzl in 1959.<ref>[http://www.meirmaxbineth.org Meir Max Bineth - Dedicated to his memory] re-interred in the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Hebrew with some English.</ref>
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In 2005 Israel publicly honored "the surviving operatives" and presented each with a certificate of appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the state, ending decades of official denial by Israel.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3065838,00.html#n "After half a century of reticence and recrimination], Israel ... honored ... agents-provocateur." Reuters, 30th March 2005.</ref>
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=====Descriptive terms=====
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This significant terrorist campaign is always known as an "Affair". Zionist sympathisers are reluctant to describe it as a "False Flag" but the term is used by ex-Knesset member Uri Avnery in his writings<ref>[http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10179 the army carried out a false-flag sabotage campaign against US and British targets in Egypt] designed to cause strife between Egypt and the West. Uri Avnery, Zmag.</ref><ref>[http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/about/1177150070 Haolam Hazeh ... an Israeli false flag operation in Egypt] Uri Avnery, Gush-Shalom.</ref> and is used in the book "Global Terrorism", 2004.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=dULlTAe_NwEC&pg=PA46&dq=%22false+flag%22+Israel+Egypt&sig=6fM1-s1fY7OLrJF2A99xcUHSL0g Israel even used 'false flag' operations] "In 1954 sympathetic Jews in Egypt used bombs and arson against US installations. The objective was for local Arab..." "Global Terrorism", 2004.</ref> Israeli sources were censored, on the rare occasions it was mentioned terms such the "unfortunate business" were used.<ref>''Moshe Dayan. The soldier, the man, the legend'', Teveth, Shabtai (1974) still refers to the Lavon Affair as the "unfortunate business" 20 years later. Quartet Books p.265</ref>
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====1950 Baghdad bombings====
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The April 1950 bombings that helped panic most of the 150,000 Jews of Iraq to leave for Israel have never been claimed by the Zionists.
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The Wikipedia presents a large number of other reasons why the Jews would have wanted to leave and strongly implies that the existence of Israel, and the activities of the Zionists in Iraq did nothing to cause problems for the Jews. But in the article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_in_Iraq#Modern_Iraq_.281918_to_the_present.29 "Jews in Iraq"] (Oct 2011) it does say:<blockquote>
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The true identity and objective of the masterminds behind the bombings has been the subject of controversy.  A secret Israeli inquiry in 1960 found no evidence that they were ordered by Israel or any motive that would have explained the attack, though it did find out that most of the witnesses believed that Jews had been responsible for the bombings.<ref>Morris and Black, p93; Gat, p186-187.</ref><ref>[http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/demography.html article which mentions the bombings]</ref> The issue remains unresolved: Iraqi activists still regularly charge that Israel used violence to engineer the exodus, while Israeli officials of the time vehemently deny it.<ref>Morris and Black; Gat; ''passim''</ref> Historian Moshe Gat reports that "the belief that the bombs had been thrown by Zionist agents was shared by those Iraqi Jews who had just reached Israel".<ref>Gat, p177</ref> Sociologist Phillip Mendes backs Gat's claims, and further attributes the allegations to have been influenced and distorted by feelings of discrimination.<ref>http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~ajds/mendes_refugees.htm - FORGOTTEN REFUGEES</ref><br><br>
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Journalist Naeim Giladi's position that the bombings were "perpetrated by Zionist agents in order to cause fear amongst the Jews, and so promote their exodus to Israel" is shared by a number of anti-Zionist authors, including the Israeli Black Panthers (1975), David Hirst (1977), Wilbur Crane Eveland (1980), Uri Avnery (1988), Ella Shohat (1986), Abbas Shiblak (1986), Marion Wolfsohn (1980), and Rafael Shapiro (1984). In his article, Giladi notes that this was also the conclusion of Wilbur Crane Eveland, a former senior officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who outlined that allegation in his book "Ropes of Sand".</blockquote>
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Other accounts state that arms were stock-piled in synagogues by the Zionists and were shown to the Iraqi services by a captured member of the underground.
  
 
==International Law, with examples==
 
==International Law, with examples==

Revision as of 14:46, 1 November 2011

This article was originally lifted in its entirety from the Wikipedia article here and used at the basis for a balanced article written to a Neutral Point of View, within which significant examples are presented in accordance to their historical importance. Please remove this notice when the article has been written to Reliable Sources.

False flag attacks are carried out in ways calculated to deceive the victim as to the nature of the perpetrator, conventionally (though not necessarily) by a device such as flying false colours. Operations of this nature have sometimes been used in commerce and politics.

Important examples inadequately covered at WP

1954 Lavon Affair

The Wikipedia article on "False Flags" barely mentions the so-called "Lavon Affair", now known to have been carried out by locally recruited Israeli agents in Egypt. (It can probably be described as the "most significant ever case of False Flag"). Israeli agents "recruited nine young Egyptian Jews to stage terrorist attacks that, they thought, would be blamed on local insurgents and would discredit Nasser's rule" (Jewish Review, 2004.[1]) Two named individuals served 7 year sentences in Egypt, five(?) served 13 years and two commmitted suicide.

While there were no deaths from the bombs placed in Egyptian, US and UK facilities in Alexandria and Cairo, the consequences for internal Israeli politics and international peace were considerable and antisemitism was incited.[citation needed] Pinhas Lavon was wrongly blamed and forced to resign and the innocent Prime Minister Moshe Sharrat was replaced by one of the perpetrators, David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion went on to concieve and carry out a number of wanton provocations and killings, including the 1956 attack on Suez, the mass-killing of Egyptian POWs and the first major destruction in Gaza. Six years later, a secret internal inquiry led to David Ben-Gurion's resignation but Sharret and Lavon's reputations were never officially cleared.

The Wikipedia article on this affair at Lavon Affair calls it "disastrous for Israel in several ways" and fails to mention any effects on Egypt or Egyptian Jews, but is otherwise largely complete and trustworthy.

Acknowledgement by Israel

One of the perpetrators who had committed suicide was re-interred with military honour on Mount Herzl in 1959.[2]

In 2005 Israel publicly honored "the surviving operatives" and presented each with a certificate of appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the state, ending decades of official denial by Israel.[3]

Descriptive terms

This significant terrorist campaign is always known as an "Affair". Zionist sympathisers are reluctant to describe it as a "False Flag" but the term is used by ex-Knesset member Uri Avnery in his writings[4][5] and is used in the book "Global Terrorism", 2004.[6] Israeli sources were censored, on the rare occasions it was mentioned terms such the "unfortunate business" were used.[7]

1950 Baghdad bombings

The April 1950 bombings that helped panic most of the 150,000 Jews of Iraq to leave for Israel have never been claimed by the Zionists.

The Wikipedia presents a large number of other reasons why the Jews would have wanted to leave and strongly implies that the existence of Israel, and the activities of the Zionists in Iraq did nothing to cause problems for the Jews. But in the article on "Jews in Iraq" (Oct 2011) it does say:

The true identity and objective of the masterminds behind the bombings has been the subject of controversy. A secret Israeli inquiry in 1960 found no evidence that they were ordered by Israel or any motive that would have explained the attack, though it did find out that most of the witnesses believed that Jews had been responsible for the bombings.[8][9] The issue remains unresolved: Iraqi activists still regularly charge that Israel used violence to engineer the exodus, while Israeli officials of the time vehemently deny it.[10] Historian Moshe Gat reports that "the belief that the bombs had been thrown by Zionist agents was shared by those Iraqi Jews who had just reached Israel".[11] Sociologist Phillip Mendes backs Gat's claims, and further attributes the allegations to have been influenced and distorted by feelings of discrimination.[12]

Journalist Naeim Giladi's position that the bombings were "perpetrated by Zionist agents in order to cause fear amongst the Jews, and so promote their exodus to Israel" is shared by a number of anti-Zionist authors, including the Israeli Black Panthers (1975), David Hirst (1977), Wilbur Crane Eveland (1980), Uri Avnery (1988), Ella Shohat (1986), Abbas Shiblak (1986), Marion Wolfsohn (1980), and Rafael Shapiro (1984). In his article, Giladi notes that this was also the conclusion of Wilbur Crane Eveland, a former senior officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who outlined that allegation in his book "Ropes of Sand".

Other accounts state that arms were stock-piled in synagogues by the Zionists and were shown to the Iraqi services by a captured member of the underground.

International Law, with examples

Naval warfare

The Wikipedia section here says that "This practice was considered acceptable in naval warfare, provided the false flag was lowered and the national flag raised before engaging in battle" and covers (as at Oct 2011) the following: "Auxiliary cruisers" in both World Wars, Q-ships, the German commerce raider Kormoran sinking the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney in 1941, the use of a Kriegsmarine Ensign in the St Nazaire Raid and the destroyer Campbeltown made to resemble a German destroyer.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

Wikispooks admins will not interfere without good reason as long as this notice is in place.

Air warfare

The Wikipedia section here states that aircraft must always be correctly marked by nationality and their military nature. There are no incidents reported.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

Wikispooks admins will not interfere without good reason as long as this notice is in place.

Land warfare

The Wikipedia page here states that International Law permits approach of an enemy in his uniform, but it must be discarded before shooting.

Deception of other forms (eg false use of the Red Cross) are known as perfidy and are forbidden.

The only example given (and the one on which International Law is based) is Operation Greif. Otto Skorzeny had ordered his men to infiltrate behind American lines in American uniforms but was cleared by the military court at the Dachau Trials.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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As pretexts for war

The Wikipedia page here covers a few incidents of False Flag Attacks used as pretexts for war eg 1931 Mukden incident, the Gleiwitz incident on August 31, 1939, and the 1953 overthrow of Mohammed Mosaddeq. Also the 1962 Operation Northwoods plot intended to excuse an attack on Cuba.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

Wikispooks admins will not interfere without good reason as long as this notice is in place.

Pseudo-operations

The Wikipedia page here covers a few more incidents of False Flag Attacks.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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Espionage

The Wikipedia page here includes under "False Flag Attacks" cases where communist authorities have used spies posing as peace-campaigners to discover secrets.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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Dirty War

The Wikipedia page here includes more "False Flag Attacks".

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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Non-state operatives, terrorism

The Wikipedia page here includes more "False Flag Attacks" carried out either by or against non-state operatives, eg the Reichstag Fire and actions during the Algerian Civil War. It alleges that some of the "Chechen Bombings" of the 1990s were actually carried out by the Russian state.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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Elections

The Wikipedia page here includes more "False Flag Attacks" carried out either by or against non-state operatives, eg shootings in the Caucasuses in 2008.

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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Civilian usage

The Wikipedia page here includes more "False Flag Attacks" carried out by businesses, special interest groups, religions, political ideologies (eg Scientology) and campaigns for office (eg New Hampshire 2006).

If you have published evidence of further cases wrongfully rejected at Wikipedia by bias, please add them. (You may wish to populate this section from the current Wikipedia entry at the same time).

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See also

Wikipedia offers other concepts on similar lines:

  • Black propaganda
  • Casus belli
  • Covert operation
  • Front organization
  • Inside job
  • Joe job, a similar online concept
  • Mimicry
  • State terrorism

Wikipedia offers these other examples:

  • 1962 CIA Operation Northwoods, a Plan to blame Cuba for a Terrorist attack in order to get a pretext for 'justified' War of aggression after USA funded and organized failed Terrorist attack known as CIA Operation Mongoose.
  • 1953 CIA Operation Ajax, overthrow of the Prime Minister of Iran and his replacement with the Shah.[13]
  • 1939 Shelling of Finland by Joseph Stalin and USSR in order to get pretext for 'justified' war of aggression named Winter War
  • 1933 The Reichstag Fire, Hitler's pretext for suspending the Weimar Constitution, may have been false flag.
  • Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw (Flemish neo-Nazi group preparing false flag attacks)
  • Bologna massacre
  • Canuck letter
  • Celle Hole
  • CIA PBSUCCESS ([USA]) Operation for overthrowing the Arbenz government in Guatemala in 1954
  • CIA Project Cherry (USA non-stop assassination project to kill Norodom Sihanouk, Prince, and later King of Cambodia)
  • Gleiwitz incident - 3rd Reich Nazis Operation Himmler in order to get pretext for 'justified' war of aggression against Poland with USSR day after that - named Fall Weiß
  • Kommandoverband Jaguar German army unit conducting deep reconnaissance in Soviet uniforms
  • Lavon Affair Israeli attempt to plant bombs in Western targets in Egypt, in blaming Arab elements
  • Marxist-Leninist Party of the Netherlands (fake party set up by the Dutch security service)
  • Masada Action and Defense Movement ("Zionist" group bombing Arab targets in France, really French white supremacists)
  • Operation Jaque
  • Special Activities Division
  • The Plaza Miranda Bombings in the Philippines, which led to Ferdinand Marcos's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
  • The strategy of tension in Italy during the 1970s, when right-wing Italian, Spanish, Greek, and CIA agents caused various terrorist acts in Italy, which were publicly laid to Communist terrorist groups that were actually fakes, and to the Red Brigades who were actually innocent of these particular crimes

Notes

  1. Jewish Review: "recruited nine young Egyptian Jews to stage terrorist attacks that, they thought, would be blamed on local insurgents and would discredit Nasser's rule" 2004.
  2. Meir Max Bineth - Dedicated to his memory re-interred in the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Hebrew with some English.
  3. "After half a century of reticence and recrimination, Israel ... honored ... agents-provocateur." Reuters, 30th March 2005.
  4. the army carried out a false-flag sabotage campaign against US and British targets in Egypt designed to cause strife between Egypt and the West. Uri Avnery, Zmag.
  5. Haolam Hazeh ... an Israeli false flag operation in Egypt Uri Avnery, Gush-Shalom.
  6. Israel even used 'false flag' operations "In 1954 sympathetic Jews in Egypt used bombs and arson against US installations. The objective was for local Arab..." "Global Terrorism", 2004.
  7. Moshe Dayan. The soldier, the man, the legend, Teveth, Shabtai (1974) still refers to the Lavon Affair as the "unfortunate business" 20 years later. Quartet Books p.265
  8. Morris and Black, p93; Gat, p186-187.
  9. article which mentions the bombings
  10. Morris and Black; Gat; passim
  11. Gat, p177
  12. http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~ajds/mendes_refugees.htm - FORGOTTEN REFUGEES
  13. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror Stephen Kinzer, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.