EOTO #2 False Flags

"False Flags" are negative events or actions taken that are intended to be blamed on someone else for political or military gain. They are often brought up by conspiracy theorists to say that any variety of negative events were taken to blame others, such as terrorist attacks or shootings. These explanations are usually the result of confirmation bias, in which their beliefs cloud their judgement. An example of the more truthful version of a false flag is the sinking of the USS Maine in Cuba, which was blamed on the Spanish and used as an inciting incident for the Spanish-American War in 1898.

As for the conspiracy theorists' use of this term, the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th was believed by some to be led by antifa to undermine President Trump's support. This term has been used for a long time, with its origins beginning in the 1800s when it meant an enemy ship (pirates for example) would fly an allied flag to trick their enemies. It first appeared in 16th century anti-Roman Catholic propaganda that said Catholics pretend to be faithful.

The term in and of itself is a very distasteful practice that often works as an excuse for war or as means to defame an adversary. Another example of a false flag was in World War I, where the German cruiser SMS Cap Trafalgar was disguised as the British HMS Carmania. Unfortunately, the first ship it ran into was the HMS Carmania, making the disguise completely useless against the real ship, leading it to be sunk.

False flags were often used during and before World War II, such as when the Japanese blew up their own railway in 1931 in 1931 to justify invading China's Manchuria. Or when the British sent a ship filled with explosives that they disguised as a German vessel to blow up a German harbor. Finally, Nazis disguised themselves as Polish troops and attacked a German outpost in Gleiwitz in 1939, acting as a reason for the Nazis to invade Poland.

As for some more recent examples, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad accused the Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of faking a report about a chemical weapon attack. He also accused the U.S. of ordering them to falsify the report, which gave the U.S., the U.K., and France an excuse to launch air raids on Syria.

Another is how, in the past few weeks, Venezuela has been suggested as a possible assailant on ExxonMobil's oil-drilling site in Guayan. The U.S. has already promised "consequences" if Venezuela does attack its neighbor. 

Overall, false flags are dangerous tools that can be used as an excuse for conflict between countries and/or important officials. When there is already so much conflict brewing between the U.S., China, and Russia, it is not the time for these false flags to come into play. It would be terrible for a large scale war to start simply because of a false accusation or self-inflicted invasion.