WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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[Music]


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in March of 1962 something disturbing


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crossed the desk of the US Secretary of


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Defense a proposal drafted by the Joint


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Chiefs of Staff sought permission for


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the unthinkable to Stage violent attacks


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on American soil to hijack civilian


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aircraft and even to blow up a us naval


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ship at Guantanamo Bay but here's the


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catch it was all fake a staged operation


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designed to frame Cuba the goal justify


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a US invasion of Cuba by any means


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necessary this plan codenamed operation


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Northwoods was never carried out but the


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mere fact that it was considered


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seriously by some of the most powerful


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military leaders in the country raises


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chilling questions why would those


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charge with prot in the nation devise a


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plan to terrorize their own citizens why


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was it deemed necessary to create a lie


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so big it would lead the US to


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[Music]


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war to understand why we need to


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rewind in 1959 a man named Fidel Castro


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a revolutionary with an affinity for


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cigars overthrew Cuba's usback dictator


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almost overnight Cuba turned into a


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communist state just 990 Mi off the


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coast of Florida causing American


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Business Leaders and politicians to


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panic the US feared that Castro would


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allow the Soviet Union to set up


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military operations right in America's


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backyard this wasn't just about ideology


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it was about proximity power and Profit


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the US reacted swiftly first they


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imposed a trade embargo but this


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backfired the Soviet Union stepped in


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buying Cuban sugar and keeping Cuba's


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economy afloat when economic pressure


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failed the US turned to more drastic


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measures enter operations of P later


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known as the Bay of Pigs invasion in


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1961 the CIA trained 1,500 Cuban Exiles


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to storm the beaches of Cuba and Spark a


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revolution against Castro but the


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operation was a disaster the invasion


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was over before it even began Castro's


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forces quickly overpowered the Exiles


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and the US government was left


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humiliated on the world stage with the


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Bay of Pigs and ruins JFK needed a new


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plan operation was born this time


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the strategy was sabotage blowing up


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Bridges destroying crops and causing as


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much chaos as possible within Cuba they


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even plotted to assassinate Castro


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multiple times how did the US plan to


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kill Castro you ask poison cigars


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exploding seashells heck even the


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American Mafia was recruited to help


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take him out but Castro like a Cuban


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James Bond survived every attempt


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frustrating the CIA in the military with


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all of these failures stacking up the US


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military's desperation grew The Joint


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Chiefs of Staff concluded that a


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fullscale invasion of Cuba was the only


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way to remove Castro but here's the


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problem the they needed public support


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and that's where operation Northwoods


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came into play The Plan called for fake


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attacks on US military bases and even


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American cities The Proposal suggested


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sinking boats filled with Cuban refugees


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bombing American buildings and even


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faking a Cuban jet shooting down an


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American airliner the goal was to spark


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outrage and make the American people


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demand War the more chaos the better but


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there was one person who stood in the


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way JFK he re rejected operation


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Northwoods outright recognizing it for


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what it was a dangerous and Reckless


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move that could plunge the us into


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unnecessary conflict yet this wasn't the


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end of the


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[Music]


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story later that year during the Cuban


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Missile Crisis US military leaders again


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urged JFK to take aggressive action this


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time recommending a nuclear strike


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against the Soviet Union JFK held firm


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and chose diplomacy over de Devastation


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narrowly avoiding nuclear catastrophe


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what if JFK had approved operation


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Northwoods how would history have


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changed if American citizens were


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deceived into supporting a war based on


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lies a successful Northwoods operation


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would have led to an allout invasion of


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Cuba the Soviets with their Alliance to


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Castro might have responded with


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military force pushing the world


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dangerously close to World War II


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Imagine The Fallout if the American


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public had discovered the truth that the


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their own government had orchestrated


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attacks on its own people to justify War


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trust in the government would have


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collapsed and the fabric of American


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democracy might have unraveled but


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here's what really happened JFK's


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rejection of operation Northwoods kept


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the US from spiraling into war with Cuba


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while tensions with Cuba remained High


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the country avoided the kind of internal


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deception that could have eroded public


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trust the Cold War continued but without


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the chaos that operation Northwoods


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would have brought it's unsettling to


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think that something like this was even


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considered could it happen again what if


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the US government faced with another


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seemingly insurmountable threat turns to


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similar tactics operation Northwoods is


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a reminder that we must remain Vigilant


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as we dive deeper into the what if


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scenarios we realize just how close the


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world came to a manufactured War a war


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that would have been waged on false


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pretenses with the American people none


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the wiser while history unfolded


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differently operation Northwoods remains


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a a shadowy reminder of how fragile the


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truth can be who needs James Bond when


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your government has its own wild spy


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schemes poison cigars Mafia Hitmen and


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fake attacks on home soil it sounds like


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a bad action movie but in the world of


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politics and power the truth is often


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Stranger Than Fiction operation


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Northwoods was sheld but let's not fool


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ourselves into thinking this was the end


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of questionable government schemes the


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world of intelligence and Military


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strategy is often murkier than we'd like


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to believe after all when the stakes are


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high and Global superpowers are vying


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for dominance the line between right and


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wrong tends to


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[Music]


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blur let's be clear an invasion of Cuba


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following operation Northwoods would


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have triggered a domino effect the


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Soviet Union would not have stood idly


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by while its communist Ally was attacked


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the Cuban Missile Crisis which in our


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timeline narrowly avoided nuclear war


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might have escalated far beyond tense


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negotiations had the US proceeded with


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this fabricated pretext for Invasion


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Soviet retaliation could have sparked a


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full-blown nuclear exchange a


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confrontation between two nuclear


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superpowers would have spelled


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Devastation not just for Cuba and the us


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but for the entire world but history


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didn't unfold that way JFK's rejection


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of Northwoods arguably saved us from


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this nightmare scenario while tensions


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between the US and Cuba remained high


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they didn't spiral out of control in the


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way they could have the decision to


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reject operation Northwoods was not just


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a tactical one but a moral stand it


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forced America's leadership to find


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other ways of addressing the Cuba


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problem though many of these strategies


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such as covert sabotage under operation


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were hardly clean yet the world


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was spared the devastation of nuclear


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war but here's another question to


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consider could this type of false flag


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operation be greenlit today let's face


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it


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we live in an era of unprecedented


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information control where governments


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have more sophisticated ways to shape


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narratives what was once a classified


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memo stamped top secret can now be done


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in real time through cyber attacks


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social media manipulation and other


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subtle forms of misinformation why go


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through the trouble of blowing up a ship


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when you can just hack into social media


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and plant stories that achieve the same


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effect misinformation can shape public


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opinion more easily than ever before the


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challenge we face today isn't just the


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potential for a Northwoods likee


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operation it's recognizing when we're


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being played and let's not forget just


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because Northwoods didn't happen it


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doesn't mean the US stopped trying to


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kill Castro exploding cigars poisonous


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wet suits even a seashell bomb the CIA


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got creative with their assassination


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attempts it's almost like they rated a


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bad James Bond movie for ideas you've


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got to wonder what the planning meetings


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look like okay team we're running out of


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ideas to kill this guy anyone got a


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crazy new plan exploding seashell genius


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let's do it but Castro like some kind of


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communist Houdini always managed to


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dodge the cia's best lay traps in the


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end Castro outlasted at all


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assassination plots economic embargos


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and even the collapse of the Soviet


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Union he remained a thorn in the US's


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side for


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[Music]


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decades so what if Northwoods had


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happened maybe the us would have taken


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him out but maybe not if history tells


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us anything it's that Castro had an


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almost comical knack for survival but


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beneath the absurdity of exploding


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cigars and poison milkshakes lies a much


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darker reality Northwoods wasn't just a


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wild idea thrown out in desperation it


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was seriously considered by the highest


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levels of government and while JFK


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stopped it the proposal raises


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disturbing questions about the power


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held by those in charge both them and


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now what happens when the public trust


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is eroded how far will governments go


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when they believe the ends justify the


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means these are the questions that


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linger when we look back at Northwoods


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and while the operation was scrapped the


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mindset that created it remains could


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another Northwoods happen in the 21st


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century could modern conflicts be shaped


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by staged events false flags and


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deception on a grand scale it's not out


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of the question history shows us that


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when tensions Run High and political


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Stakes are even higher governments can


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resort to Extraordinary Measures to get


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what they want so what's the takeaway in


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the world of international politics


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things are rarely as they seem


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governments even Democratic ones can and


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will manipulate the narrative when it


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serves their interests as Citizens it's


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our job to stay vigilant to question the


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stories we told and to remember that


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sometimes the truth is buried beneath


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layers of deception operation Northwood


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serves as a warning from history a


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reminder of the dangers that lurk behind


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closed doors what if JFK had said yes


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how different would the world be today


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as we reflect on these what ifs one


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thing is clear history is shaped by


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choices and sometimes the choice not to


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act is the most powerful one of all if


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you want to dive into more untold


00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.069
stories hit that subscribe button and


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buckle up for more Journeys into the


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unknown until next time keep questioning


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and remember sometimes history is


00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:29.060
Stranger Than Fiction


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[Music]