Oh, the conspiracy theorist in us all could have a field day with that one, particularly with the theories surrounding Pearl Harbour.
It could have been an attempt to confuse any interceptors until it was time to hit the target, or it could, [tin hat] Have been an attempt to get the Germans or Vichy French to counterattack US interests in order to bring the US into the war earlier [/tin hat]
I dare say there are a few things in the war that we still don't know the full facts about and possibility never will, quite frankly I wouldn't have been surprised if the tin hat theory I presented there was true, I certainly would have tried it if there was a possibility it would work because at that point Churchill would not have known the Battle of Britain would be won, indeed it was perhaps the very nadir of British morale at that time. France had fallen, the BEF (despite the fantastic Operation Dynamo) had been severely mauled and we were facing a force that far surpassed ours in many areas. We weren't to know that their high command would screw things up for them, or that Hitlers true ambitions lay in Russia. In July 1940 it was a case of "Well...that's it then...we're next. Better get ready for it." Of course, such information released now would heavily damage US/UK relations and so it's best kept locked away in Whitehall under the Official Secrets Act for another sixty years or so.
Of course, that's the Tin Hat in me speaking, and I look forward to a rational answer to your question
