Pentagon Provocation Operations

Pentagon Provocation Operations
by William Norman Grigg
May 9, 2006

In the May 15 issue of The New American we examine "Operation Northwoods," a remarkable 1962 Pentagon proposal envisioning a variety of staged terrorist attacks to provide a pretext for war.

As tensions mount between the United States and Iran, there is a possibility that a similar triggering incident could be arranged by a recently formed Pentagon unit called the Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).

In 2002, the Defense Science Board (DSB) recommended the creation of the P2OG as a way of enhancing the human intelligence and covert operations capacity of the Pentagon — which, unlike the CIA, can conduct such measures without congressional oversight. “P2OG would launch secret operations aimed at ‘stimulating reactions’ among terrorists and states possessing weapons of mass destruction, meaning it would prod terrorist cells into action, thus exposing them to ‘quick-response’ attacks by U.S. forces,” reported the Asia Times on November 5, 2002.

From the disclosures in the so-called “Downing Street Memos,” we now know that at the time of that report, U.S. military operations intended to provoke the Iraq War were already underway during the summer of 2002. In similar fashion, according to Col. Sam Gardiner, U.S. Air Force (ret.), covert military operations have begun against Iran, despite the Bush administration’s insistence that it seeks a diplomatic solution.

“I would say — and this may shock some — I think the decision has been made and military operations are under way,” Col. Gardiner informed CNN International anchor Jim Clancy during an April 14 live interview. Col. Gardiner recounted a conversation with Aliasghar Soltaniyeh, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“I was in Berlin two weeks ago, sat next to the ambassador, the Iranian ambassador to the IAEA. And I said, ‘Hey, I hear you’re accusing Americans of being in there operating with some of the units that have shot up [revolutionary] guard units.’ He said, quite frankly, ‘Yes, we know they are. We’ve captured some of the units, and they’ve confessed to working with the Americans.’”