President John F. Kennedy rejected the Operation Northwoods proposal immediately without any debate.

While the military brass approved the plan, the civilian government stopped it in its tracks. The document was presented to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. When it reached President John F. Kennedy, he shut the whole thing down. There was no debate or compromise. Kennedy refused to authorize any of the proposed actions, meaning the terrifying plan remained just a set of ideas on paper and was never put into action.