by Joël van der Reijden
 December 4, 2005

from ExposureOfHiddenInstitutions Website

 

Le Cercle is a secret transnational intelligence and direct action group, that, according to all accounts, is funded by the CIA. We only know the dates and places of a handful of Circle meetings (1), which were attended by about a hundred persons at a time. Before the 1990’s, it was called Cercle Violet, or initially, Cercle Pinay, in both cases after its (French) chairman. In later times, chairmanship of Le Cercle went on to the British.

 

The Pinay Circle used to fight the spread of communism worldwide, at all costs, even in our own backyard. This threat largely ceased to exist when the USSR collapsed and the role of the Circle had to change. Today, its members are probably talking about "Al-Qaeda infiltration" instead of "communist infiltration", although looking at the people involved with the Circle, I wonder how many actually believe in the ’War on Terror’ as a tool to spread "freedom" and "democracy". We will get to that later.

Circle members Nadhmi Auchi (together with Prince Andrew at the Anglo-Arab Organization),

Zbigniew Brzezinski, Giulio Andreotti, Lord Lamont, and Frank Wisner, Jr.
 

In 1980, German intelligence chief Hans Langemann described the Circle as:

"... the Circle consists of a loose gathering of various conservative and anti-Communist politicians, publicists, bankers and VIPs that meets some twice a year in various parts of the world. Its origins stem from the former French Prime Minister Antoine Pinay. The Circle, which still exists today, also invites guest speakers... One recent development is the establishment within the Circle of a command staff or of an inner circle which then works out particularly suitable means for action on current political questions."

We first heard about the Pinay Circle in 1975, when about 1500 internal pages from the British Institute for the Study of Conflict (ISC) were leaked to Time Out Magazine. Later, in 1980 and 1982 (#37), Der Spiegel made references to this group and the involvement of Frans Joseph Strauss with it (Der Spiegel and Strauss were sworn enemies ever since the 1962 ’Spiegel Affair’). The articles of Der Spiegel were based on internal memos from Hans Langemann, who was chief of security of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior and Director of Security during the 1972 Olympics. Looking at the few papers that have been published, it appears that Langemann was informing persons within the German government about the clandestine efforts of the Circle to get Franz Joseph Strauss elected.

 

How they ended up on the desk of Der Spiegel seems to be unknown. After Der Spiegel published this information, a few intelligence magazines and newsletters like Lobster and ’Intelligence’ became interested in this group. Lobster Magazine wrote its first article about this group in 1985, followed by a couple of other articles in the years following. After that, Lobster would sometimes find tidbits of new information they shared with their readers. Since the late 1990’s, information about this group has become more accessible due to the introduction of the internet and scandals surrounding Jonathan Aitken and Nadhmi Auchi.

According to Lobster in 1986, the Pinay Circle was created in 1969 by Antoine Pinay, Jean Violet, and Otto von Habsburg. Their exact source is unclear. It could be ’Intelligence’, the original Time Out article, or author Roger Faligot (2). Anyway, this date has indirectly been disputed in 2003 by The Observer who suggested that the Circle was created in the 1950’s, again by Antoine Pinay (right), but this time with the German chancellor Konrad Adenauer (who died in 1967) (3). Because the earlier Lobster article seems to have been based on some of the original ISC documents, and because they name a specific year, I consider this source the most reliable.

 

However, looking at the Stay-Behind networks, it’s likely that there have been earlier Circle-like meetings. In any case, there’s no doubt that all the earlier named people were working together in the 1950’s and 1960’s in building up a United Europe, allied with the United States. Pinay and at least representatives of Adenauer were visiting Bilderberg and Jean Violet was already working for Habsburg on projects like the Académie Européenne de Sciences Politiques (ultraconservative Pan-European society). They also shared another very interesting commonality, they were all faithful Catholics. And not just that; Pinay, Habsburg, and Adenauer were members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) (4).

 

Pinay, Habsburg and the less prominent Jean Violet have also been accused of involvement with Opus Dei (5). This is all the more interesting because Joseph Retinger, who recruited Bernhard and others to set up Bilderberg, was another Vatican agent; a Jesuit and likely a Knight of Malta (6/7). At the end of WWII, the Knights of Malta have been involved with smuggling nazis out of Germany with the help of the OSS (later CIA), an organization they themselves helped to establish (7). In turn, the CIA funded the covert anti-communist war in Europe, including:

  • Radio Free Europe

  • the Economist

  • the European Council of Princes

  • the Gehlen Organization (8/9)

  • the Stay-Behind networks (10)

  • the Pinay Circle

  • the overall European movement

A lot of this money was funneled through American Committee on United Europe (ACUE), which was established at the direction of:

  • Duncan Sandys

  • Joseph Retinger

  • Allen Dulles

  • William Donovan

Dulles and Donovan were top CIA chiefs and Knights of Malta, Retinger a Vatican agent, and Duncan Sandys a son-in-law of Churchill. Besides the CIA’s clandestine efforts, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Institute were the prime sponsors of the ACUE (11).

Undoubtedly, a case can be made that the communist empire was ’evil’. One only has to read books like Rummel’s ’Death by Government’ or Solzhenitsyn’s ’The Gulag Archipelago’. On the other hand, another case can be made that the recruitment of nazi spy chief Reinhard Gehlen hasn’t done the East-West relations any good. These days it is quite clear that this Circle member has been exaggerating the communist threat to justify his own existence (12). Then there is another unanswered question about the role of western companies and individuals who have been selling the USSR all the technology it needed to become a super power (13). Why was this allowed to happen? Why hasn’t this been recorded in the history books? And how many members of the Pinay Circle were involved or aware of these dealings? Plenty of questions that will remain for now.

The other prominent force in Le Cercle is the British throne and the City of London. Undoubtedly, the British played a role in creating the Pinay Circle, but only in more recent years their influence can be seen. Antoine Pinay and Jean Violet have already been named as chairman, probably the first and second. In different news articles of later years, three other persons have been named as chairman of Le Cercle. First, Julian Amery (14), followed by his protégé Jonathan Aitken (15), and finally Lord Norman Lamont (left) (16), who is still the chairman of Le Cercle today.

 

These three persons have in common that they have all been made members of the Queen’s Privy Council (17), which in itself sends a pretty clear message across of who’s involved. It also turns out that the father of Julian Amery has been one of the most crucial persons in establishing Israel, while at the same time conceiling his whole life that he was a Jew. Appointed to the War Cabinet by Round Table & Pilgrims Society member Lord Alfred Milner, Leopold Amery was the author of the final draft of the Balfour Declaration, which was sent to Lord Lionel de Rothschild. It committed Britain to the establishment of a Jewish ’National Home’ in Palestine. Leopold was also a key player in creating the Jewish Legion, the forerunner of the Israeli Defense Force (18). Today’s chairman, Lord Lamont has been a long time director of N.M. Rothschild and Rothschild Asset Management.

 

All three men have a very interesting history and you can find more details further down in this article or on the membership page. It might also be interesting to note that Queen Elizabeth II is head of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the protestant counterpart of the earlier mentioned Knights of Malta. Both claim to have been descended from the medieval Knights Hospitaller, the organization to which all the Templar assets were transferred, together with a good portion of its members. Queen Elizabeth II is also head of the much more exclusive Order of the Garter and patron of the elite Anglo-American Pilgrims Society. The British royals are leading members of:

  • the United Grand Lodge of England

  • the British Invisibles

  • the Anglo-Arab Organization

  • the 1001 Club

The British Invisibles promote the interests of the ’Square Mile’. The Anglo-Arab Organization supposedly promotes Anglo-Arab friendship, although it’s headed by the very questionable Circle member Nadhmi Auchi. The 1001 Club is a fundraising mechanism for the WWF and a secret meeting place for businessmen and politicians from all over the world. So you see, good or bad, there’s a lot of activity going on around the British Royals and the business interests of the City of London. Naturally, the intelligence part is even more hidden.

Known Circle meetings have been held in Washington DC, Lisbon, Paris, Zurich, Munich, and Muscat (Oman).
 

There might have been a good reason for the creation of the Pinay Circle in 1969. In the midst of the Cold War, on November 13, 1968, Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev told his audience:

"When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries."

This statement was called the ’Brezhnev Doctrine’ and meant that the Soviet Union would openly intervene militarily if any country under its control tried to push off the communist influence. Brezhnev had already made that clear 3 months earlier, when he quashed the rebellion in Prague. From now on, if a western country would convert to communism, it would probably take world war III to ever switch it back to a capitalist economy. These Soviet actions could easily have led to the creation of this covert direct action group. When you reverse Brezhnev’s statement you’ll find that it matches perfectly with what the Pinay Circle has been doing:

"When forces that are hostile to capitalism try to turn the development of some capitalist country towards communism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all capitalist countries."

On November 8, 1979, Langemann wrote the following (19):

Protected source contributions to state security. Personal for the state minister only.

"The militant conservative London publicist, Brian Crozier, Director of the famous Institute for the Study of Conflict up to September 1979, has been working with his diverse circle of friends in international politics to build an anonymous action group, a ’transnational security organization’, and to widen its field of operations. Crozier worked with the CIA for years. One has to assume, therefore, that they are fully aware of his activities. He has extensive connections with members, or more accurately, former members, of the most important western security and intelligence services..."

Amongst other points in the (Crozier) planning paper are:

  • Specific Aims within this framework are to affect a change of government in the United Kingdom - accomplished. In West Germany to defend freedom of trade and movement and oppose all forms of subversion including terrorism ...

     

  • What the group can do if financing is available.
     

  • Conduct international campaigns aiming to discredit hostile personalities or events. [examples that have been named are propaganda spread through the TV, lobbying, organizing demonstrations, or undercover financial support to opponents]

     

  • Creation of a (private) intelligence service specializing according to a selective point of view. The establishment of offices under suitable cover each run by a coordinator from the central office. Current plans cover London, Washington, Paris, Munich and Madrid.

    • "As far as can be judged by outsiders Crozier has initiated with his group the project ’Victory for Strauss’..."

In the regular media Brian Crozier (right) is usually only known as a historian, strategist, journalist, and author of ’The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire’. That Crozier has been recruited by MI6 and the CIA is less well known, together with his connections to most other European intelligence agencies (20). Crozier also worked for the Information Research Department (IRD), an intelligence disinformation service, which spread a huge amount of anti-communist propaganda through papers, magazines, radio, and television by using media outlets as the BBC and Reuters. Crozier would call them "benign deceptions". Brian Crozier was also the chairman of the anti-communist Institute for the Study of Conflict (ISC), which, through him, received assignments from the "Pinay Committee".

 

This is according to the ISC’s own documents, which were leaked in 1975, possibly to expose the role of the Pinay Committee. In 1976, Brian Crozier set up a covert advisory committee called ’Shield’, in order to get Margaret Thatcher elected. The words of the committee became Thatcher’s election campaign, which resulted in her election as Prime Minister in May 1979, 1983, and 1987. This is why Crozier’s planning paper says "Change of government in the United Kingdom - accomplished." Just as her Cercle-supported American counterpart, Thatcher made sure that a strong anti-communist policy was followed, together with a policy of privatization of public goods.

 

When Thatcher was elected, Crozier and the Pinay Circle started supporting the election campaign of Franz Joseph Strauss to become Chancellor of Germany. The Circle spread articles in newspapers and magazines to counter the scandals Strauss had been involved with many years earlier, saying these allegations were KGB propaganda. In the end, they failed miserably and Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor.

It’s interesting to note that in 2002 the Observer reported about a classified BND report which accused Herbert Batliner, friend to Helmut Kohl and senior lawyer and fund manager from Lichtenstein, of laundering money for Kohl’s Christian Democrat party (21). Whoever this person is, it’s probably no coincidence that he is today’s president of Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze Sociali located in Vatican City. Lichtenstein’s ruler, Hans Adam II is a Knight of Malta, a member of Opus Dei, and a member of the Habsburg dynasty. It’s incredibly hard to say if the Vatican and London factions are true rivals. Just take a look at someone like George H.W. Bush, he’s close to both interests. Besides having funneled money to Kohl’s political party, the BND also accused Batliner of having done the same for Marcos, Escobar, and Mobutu (1001 Club). As expected, Batliner has been cleared of all charges.

Back to the document above. Further down in it you can see how the Circle operates. Examples of point two, the creation of intelligence agencies, are:

  • the Stay-Behind networks

  • the CIA’s Knights Templar (22)

  • the Safari Club (23)

  • Shield & The 61 (24)

  • Group 13 (25)

  • SFD-K (26), ISA (27)

  • Rumsfeld’s P2OG (28)

These agencies can be set up for any amount of time for any purpose. If they get exposed, you just start over under a different name with different people.

 

Circle members,

  • Allen Dulles

  • Frank Wisner

  • William Colby

  • Stefano Delle Chiaie

  • Giulio Andreotti

  • General Stilwell

  • probably Karel Meulmeester...

...have all been involved in the creation or maintenance of the Stay-Behind networks.

 

Circle members,

  • Allen Dulles

  • Frank Wisner

  • Kermit Roosevelt

...were members of the Knights Templar.

 

Circle members,

  • Alexandre de Marenches

  • Kermit Roosevelt

...set up the Safari Club.

 

Circle member,

  • Brian Crozier set up Shield and The 61

Who set up the assassination squad Group 13 is unknown.

Circle member,

  • General Stilwell set up SFD-K and ISA

Finally, Rumsfeld is one of those persons that just has to be a Circle member. Can’t imagine it any other way.

Another paper from Langemann confirms the ’hands on’ approach of the Circle:

"On 5 and 6/1 1980 members of the Circle met in Zurich to discuss executive measures..."

The main things discussed were:

(a)  international promotion of the Minister President (Strauss) in international publications
(b)  influencing of the situation in Rhodesia and South Africa following a European Conservative guideline
(c)  the establishment of a powerful directional radio station aiming at the Islamic region and including the border populations of the Soviet Union

Earlier, I mentioned Bilderberg, an organization people often compare with the Pinay Circle. In 1954, Bilderberg was created as a secret unofficial discussion forum. Communists weren’t allowed to join the bankers, businessmen, publicists, and politicians at these annual meetings. The purpose of Bilderberg was to bring Europe together, to strengthen it against the communists, and to keep it allied with the United States. Many people, including politicians, weren’t too happy with the way the Americans acted ("like elephants in a porcelain shop") and the way they influenced the European economies through their Marshall aid.

 

At Bilderberg, representatives from one country or from one sector could ventilate their frustrations with another party. The ’off the record’, informal, and confidential setting made it far easier to work towards a solution. This was crucial in post-war Europe and since the aim is a United Europe allied with the United States it is still important today (29). However, the Pinay Circle seems to have been fundamentally different than Bilderberg. The Bilderbergers were more interested in resolving conflict with the usual political and economical means; by talking, standing together, issuing boycotts, etc.

 

It was, and is an extension of ordinary politics and ordinary business. In some cases you might call it conspiratorial, but all in all it’s not that terribly exciting. On the other hand, the Pinay Circle is more of an extension of the international intelligence agencies. And not necessarily that part of the intelligence agencies that only gather information, but that part that is more involved with the ’hands on’ work. That part that ’stimulates’ regime change.

At the moment, we just don’t have enough information about the the Circle to reach a conclusion, but when we look at the names we have available, we should be able to get a more detailed picture of what this group is all about. At the moment, we have the names of about 60 people that have visited the Circle at least once. Turns out that at least half of them can be considered controversial. (You can find many more names and details on the full membership list)

 

1. Jonathan Aitken Former Privy Councillor involved with brokering illegal arms deals on behalf of different British companies. Has a warm relationship with MI6. Former chairman of Le Cercle.
2.

Prince Turki

Al-Faisal

 Studied at Princeton, Cambridge and Georgetown (Jesuit) Universities. Long-time Bin Laden protégé. Says he last met with Bin Laden in 1990, but has been accused of being in contact with him up until 2001. On November 1, 2001, The Guardian wrote, "Two months before September 11 Osama bin Laden flew to Dubai for 10 days for treatment at the American hospital, where he was visited by the local CIA agent, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro... [French] Intelligence sources say that another CIA agent was also present; and that Bin Laden was also visited by Prince Turki al Faisal, then head of Saudi intelligence, who had long had links with the Taliban, and Bin Laden..." Al-Faisal had been a 25 year head of Saudi intelligence when he suddenly resigned on September 1, 2001. In recent interviews, he avoided mentioning the U.S.’s & U.K.’s illegal weapons supplies to Bin Laden in the 1980’s. Blames a lot of terrorism on Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood (which, looking at his past, he seems to sympathize with). Faisal, together with the ISI and the CIA, played a major role in bringing the Taliban to power.
3. Lord Julian Amery Former chairman of Le Cercle. Privy Councillor, protege of Jonathan Aitken, and former consultant to the BCCI. His SMOM brother was a Nazi propagandist in Germany and Italy and worked as a gun runner for General Franco. In contrast, his father was one of the most prominent founders of a Jewish ’homeland’ in Palestine, while at the same time never having mentioned he was a Jew himself. Said to have been at a secret meeting with Nicholas Elliot (Le Cercle), Henry Kissinger (Le Cercle), and Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis (1001 Club) on Sharon’s ranch on Nov. 15, 1982.
4. Giulio Andreotti Accused of being the true head of P2. Opus Dei member and a Knight of Malta. Said to be a member of the Priory the Sion (Monarchist templar organization. It is very possible that the history of the organization has been made up). Under pressure he was the first to disclose the Italian ’Stay-Behind’ network - Gladio. Investigated for protecting and working with the mafia. Convicted of ordering the murder of a journalist, but was released immediately. He was later acquitted of the charges and still walks free.
5. Nadhmi Auchi Former member of Saddam’s inner circle. Very involved with the British government, the British royals, and illegal arms trafficking to Iraq. Chairman of the elite Anglo-Arab Organization, which is attended by the British royals and kings of the Middle-East. A bit like Le Cercle it seems.
6. Zbigniew Brzezinski Very anti-communist national security advisor who set up the Trilateral Commission in 1973. Wrote a book in 1997 in which he more or less proposed to invade the Middle-East for its resources and push Russia and China out of area. Of course, the American people had to be ’pursuaded’. His son has been accused of financing the pro-Nato opposition in the 2004 elections of the Ukraine.
7. Anthony Cavendish Former senior MI6 officer, who acted as a consultant to Nadhmi Auchi’s (corrupt) business empire. Involved in a lot of covert ops.
8. Paul Channon As trade minister he allowed a chlorine plant secretly to be sold to Iraq by the British company Uhde Ltd, in the knowledge that it was likely to be used to make mustard and nerve gas, which was used in the war with Iran at that time.
9. Stefano Delle Chiaie Fascist Gladio bomber who was a member of the P2 and a member of the SID (Italian intelligence). Involved in the failed 1964 fascist coup in Italy and indicted for the 1969 bombing of the Bologna railway station, which claimed the lives of 85 people and injured more than 200. He was released in 1989.
10. Jacques Chirac Close associate of Jean Violet and Alexandre de Marenches. Considered Hussein as a friend and sold him nuclear technology in the 1970’s. He also agreed to train 600 Iraqi nuclear technicians and scientists. "Jacques Iraq" is the only Western leader to have personally met with the Iraqi president. He is said to have closed down the Safari Club after it’s existence was discovered.
11. William Colby As a CIA employee he set up the Scandinavian Stay-Behind networks in 1954. Ran a covert op against the Italian communist party in the 1950’s. Directed the CIA’s Phoenix program in Vietnam. Involved in a coup in Chile as CIA director. Either Opus Dei or SMOM. Maybe both.
12. Brian Crozier CIA and MI6 employee. Founder and chairman of the London Institute for the Study of Conflict. Psyop and disinformation specialist. His secret Shield Committee got Margaret Thatcher elected as prime minister of the UK. Also set up ’the 61’ in 1977, a ’private sector operational intelligence agency’.
13. Nicholas Elliot Officer in MI6’s ’Section D’, which specialized in sabotage and unconventional warfare. Member of Crozier’s Shield Comittee and member of ’The 61’. Accused of having let his friend Kim Philby escape to the USSR. Sat on the board of Lonrho where he was accused of basically doing nothing of importance (besides being an intelligence asset). Stood in contact with George H.W. Bush at the time he went from being a CIA director to vice-president. Said to have been at a secret meeting with Julian Amery, Henry Kissinger, and Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis (1001 Club) on Sharon’s ranch on Nov. 15, 1982.
14. Sir James Goldsmith His first wife was the 18 year old daughter of 1001 Club member Antenor Patiño and a Spanish Royal. Patiño didn’t want his daughter to marry with a Jew so the couple ran off. His wife died of massive cerebral hemorrhage some time later. Goldsmith was nicknamed the ’Green Billionaire’ and became deeply involved with British intelligence. Financed the founding of the radical Friends of the Earth movement in 1970. Accused of smuggling his friend Lord Lucan out of the country after this person was investigated for the murder on his children’s nanny and the attempted murder on hs wife in 1974. From 1980 to 1982 Goldsmith was involved in a Circle coordinated propaganda effort in order to get the neo-fascist Franz Joseph Strauss elected as Chancellor of Germany. In 1990 Goldsmith bought KAS Enterprises, a private SAS front company that had been running Operation Lock under the supervision of SAS founder David Stirling (his niece married Lord Cranborne of Le Cercle). Operation Lock was an assassination program in the whole of Southern Africa which targetted anti-apartheid leaders. This operation was closely associated with the WWF’s 1001 Club. David Stirling, Lord Lucan, James Goldsmith, and Tiny Rowland, were all members of The Clermont gambling club in the 1960’s. It has been claimed that during this time these people were thinking about committing a facist coup against the labour government. Some of Goldsmith’s other friends included Circle members Kermit Roosevelt and George Soros. In the 1990s he founded the Euro-sceptic Referendum Party. In 2003, his son Benjamin, married Kate Rothschild of the Rothschild family.
15. Otto von Habsburg Former heir to the Habsburg Kingdom. Said to have been sponsored by MI6 after his family was kicked out of Austria. Married the daughter of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1001 Club). During the Habsburg dynasty they were extremely close with the Thurn und Taxis family (1001 Club, Mont Pelerin Society, seems to have been involved with intelligence). Co-founder of the Pinay Circle together with Antoine Pinay. Long time president of the CIA sponsored anti-communist European Council of Princes until 1992. Member of the Ordo Draconis, Knights of Malta, Opus Dei, Mont Pelerin Society, and said to have been a member of the Priory the Sion (Monarchist templar organization. It is very possible that the history of the organization has been made up).
16. Michael Howard For some reason he released one of Britain’s biggest drug kingpins John Haase, 10 months into a 18 year prison sentence. A member of Haase’s gang, Simon Bakerman, imprisoned for running an amphetamine factory, is Michael Howard’s cousin. Described as being ’Dracula-like’. Together with Nadhmi Auchi and Prince Andrew he is a member of the Anglo-Arab Organization. Auchi is the chairman.
17. Henry Kissinger Accused of everything, convicted of nothing. Fritz Kraemer and Rockefeller protege. Member Pilgrims Society, 1001 Club, Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, and Bohemian Grove camp Mandalay. Had top positions in companies like J.P. Morgan, AIG, and Hollinger. Set up Kissinger Associates. Played a leading role in the 1991 Iraq gate scandal in which it was found out that 5 billion dollars of unauthorized loans had been made to Iraq. These loans were used by the Iraqis to buy weapons. Initial head of the 9/11 Commission, but it turned out he was a little bit too controversial.
18. Norman Lamont Longtime director of N.M. Rothschild and Rothschild Asset Management until 1995. Member of the Privy Council. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Became chairman of Le Cercle in 1996. Lamont was a director of one of Nadhmi Auchi’s biggest companies, Compagnie Internationale de Participations Bancaires et Financieres, the financial arm of General Mediterranean Holdings. Vice-chairman of the International Nuclear Safety Commission (chairman Mikhail Gorbachev) and chairman of the Oil Club (monthly meeting of energy professionals). In February 2005, John Major and Norman Lamont were accused of holding up the release of papers on Black Wednesday under the Freedom of Information Act. Black Wednesday refers to September 16, 1992 when the British government was forced to withdraw the Pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) by currency speculators - most notably Circle member George Soros who made $1 billion that day.
19. Alexandre de Marenches SMOM member who set up the right wing intelligence and direct action group, the Safari Club. In 1978, Le Monde claimed that de Marenches led a domestic campaign of terrorism and disinformation while being head of the SDECE.
20. David Rockefeller Accused of everything, convicted of nothing. Just as Kissinger involved in everything.
21. Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. Son of President Theodore Roosevelt. Headed Operation Ajax, which overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh of Iran in favor of the brutal Shah. Member of the ’Knight’s Templar’, an elite intelligence group within the CIA. Was one of the 5 founders of the African Wildlife Foundation in 1961, together with Russell E. Train and 1001 Club member Arthur W. Arundel. Helped de Marenches in setting up the secret intelligence group Safari Club in 1976. Crony of Sir James Goldsmith, who was nicknamed ’the Green Billionaire’.
22. Tiny Rowland Enemy of Dodi al-Fayed. Chairman of Lonrho and an MI6 intelligence asset. Financed communist rebels and regimes in Africa (unusual for Circle members). Close associate of controversial people like Ashraf Marwan ("Dr. Death"), Gaddafi, Ahmed al-Dam (financed the Abu Nidal Organization, which held numerous accounts with the BCCI), and Adnan Khashoggi (notorious international arms dealer with a large account at the BCCI).
23. George Soros Owns Quantum Fund, which is said to be a front for some of the Rothschild and Windsor investments. Financed the pro-western movements in Georgia, The Ukraine, and Russia, which led to several regime changes. Trustee of the Center for Russian Leadership Development (Open World Program). Founder of the Open Society Institute. Close associate of Circle member Sir James Goldsmith.
24. Antonio de Spinola Headed the Porugese right-wing coups in 1974 and 1975. Eventually he had to flee to Spain. Frank Carlucci and Henry Kissinger approved the regime change.
25. General Richard Stilwell CIA and SHAPE official. Supposedly controlled the Stay-Behind networks together with General Lansdale (NSA / Northwoods / Mongoose). Involved with wrestling control of the South-American trade union movement at the direction of SMOM head J. Peter Grace and David Rockefeller. Created new army intelligence units like SFD-K and ISA. That last one is said to have been involved in drug smuggling and arms trafficking. Just as his son (died in 2002 in a car crash), he was a close associate of people like Richard Armitage, Frank Carlucci (chairman Carlyle), and Peter G. Peterson (chairman The Blackstone Group).
26. Frans Joseph Straus Corrupt neo-fascist German politician. Accused of taking arms industry bribes from the Thyssens (1001 Club). Died in 1989 on a hunting trip with Prince Johannes von Thurn un Taxis (1001 Club).
27. Geoffrey Tantum MI6 head of the Middle-East section. Met the disgraced Jonathan Aitken every six weeks.
28. Jean Violet Suspected of having been a fascist collaborator in France during WWII. After the war he became a member of Opus Dei and was involved with Antoine Pinay, Otto von Habsburg, Philippe de Weck, and the French foreign intelligence service. Named as a co-founder of the Pinay Circle.
29. Paul Volcker Chairman of the controversial Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-For-Food program. Member Pilgrims Society, visitor of Bilderberg and Bohemian Grove camp Mandalay. Former director of the CFR and chairman of the Trilateral Commission. Member of the Circle of Presidents of the RAND Corporation and chairman of the board of trustees of the Group of Thirty. Has been employed at the Federal Reserve, Chase Manhattan, Wolfensohn & Co., and Power Corp.
30. Philippe de Weck Chairman of UBS (now UBS Warburg). He was an Opus Dei member and an associate of Circle founders Antoine Pinay and Jean Violet. He also stood in contact with members of the P2 lodge. In the late seventies, De Weck was a key person in ripping off the French oil company Elf for a total sum of about $200 million. It is suspected that the money was used for political, catholic and anti-communist purposes, although this has never been proven. After this debacle, the pope appointed Weck to the supervisory board of the Vatican Bank at about the same time of the Calvi murder.
31. Frank Wisner, Jr. His father was an OSS and CIA veteran who set up Operation Bloodstone (recruiting of nazis to fight the war against the Soviets) and Operation Mockingbird (successful effort to subvert the US media). His father was also involved in coups in Iran (1953) and Guatamala (1954), an associate of communist spy Kim Philby, and funded a Hollywood production of Animal Farm, the animated allegory based on the book written by George Orwell. His father was also a member of the ’Knight’s Templar’, an elite intelligence group within the CIA.

Frank Wisner, Jr. is a career CIA agent, a vice-chairman of AIG, vice-chairman U.S. Bangladesh Business Council, and has been an ambassador to many countries. As an ambassador to India he was lobbying for Enron, a company he joined in 1997. He has been, or still is a director of the U.S. India Business Council, EOG Resources Inc., the AIG Investment Bank in Russia, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown (Jesuit), the American University of Beirut, the American University of Cairo, and Hakluyt (a London-based corporate investigation firm formed by ex-MI6 agents).


Frank Wisner, Jr. is a career CIA agent, a vice-chairman of AIG, vice-chairman U.S. Bangladesh Business Council, and has been an ambassador to many countries. As an ambassador to India he was lobbying for Enron, a company he joined in 1997. He has been, or still is a director of the U.S. India Business Council, EOG Resources Inc., the AIG Investment Bank in Russia, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown (Jesuit), the American University of Beirut, the American University of Cairo, and Hakluyt (a London-based corporate investigation firm formed by ex-MI6 agents).

Most of the Circle members involved with intelligence have already been named. Some that haven’t are:

  • Sir Dick Franks (director-general of MI6 1979-1982)

  • general Charles Fraser (South-African counterinsurgency expert)

  • Donald Jameson (former chief of the CIA’s Soviet Division who was at least aware of the remote viewing projects)

  • colonel Billy Maclean (MI6 officer involved with guerrilla warfare in the Middle-East)

  • Thomas Twetten (CIA Deputy Director of Operations involved with planning an assassination on Hussein)

  • Ion Iliescu (probable KGB spy who helped to topple Ceausescu)

Iliescu probably visited the Circle only after the USSR collapsed. He met publicly with Brian Crozier and Donald Jameson during the 1990’s. One other person I always like to mention is Edwin J. Feulner, today’s president of the extremely influential Heritage Foundation, former chairman of the Institute for European Defense and Strategic Studies in London, and named as nr 45 of the top 50 most influential politicians by George magazine (number one was Alan Greenspan, number two was Dick Cheney). And keep in mind that membership isn’t limited to people from Europe and North-America. Besides Prince Al-Faisal of Saudi-Arabia, the Sultan of Oman and the King of Jordan have also attended Circle meetings.

Circle members Otto von Habsburg, Antoine Pinay, Paul Volcker, Reinhard Gehlen (Update: close associate
of the founders. Not mentioned as a participant of Circle meetings), and Prince Al-Faisal.


A couple of examples of people that have (or had) a close relationship with the Circle are:

  • George Ball

  • Stephen Bechtel

  • William Buckley

  • George H.W. Bush

  • Frank Carlucci

  • William Casey

  • Alexander Haig

  • Fritz Kraemer

  • Victor Krulak

  • General Lansdale

  • Vernon Walters

  • John Hay Whitney

These are right wing oriented people involved with known Circle members, the Institute for the Study of Conflict, different intelligence agencies, and / or the Knights of Malta. Then we know of some politicians that had a close relationship with the Circle and have been supported by it:
 

Richard Nixon
1969
 Has visited the Circle.
Giscard d’Estaing
1974-1981
 His campaign was funded by strange elements like Opus Dei and French templar initiate Jaques Massie. Massie stood in contact with P2 head Licio Gellie and was later murdered together with his entire family (30). d’Estaing lost the 1981 election from Miterrand. At that moment, Circle member de Marenches immediately quit as head of the SDECE.
Antonio de Spinola
1974-1975
 Has visited the Circle. Headed 2 coups in Portugal against the communists with the consent of Circle members. They failed.
Margaret Thatcher
1979-1990
 Came to power through Brian Crozier’s Shield committee and one of her unofficial advisors was Lord Victor Rothschild, a Cambridge Apostle and (former) MI5/MI6 agent. In January 2005, her son Mark was fined half a million dollars and received a four-year suspended jail sentence in South Africa for abetting a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. This of course is very similar to Mark Brzezinski, son of Circle member Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was accused of abetting a regime change in The Ukraine in 2004.
Frans Joseph Strauss
1982
 Crozier and Goldsmith were running a clandestine campaign to counter accusations against Strauss as KGB propaganda. Failed.
John Major
1990-1997
 Circle members Norman Lamont and Robert Cecil were running his election campaigns. John Major has been chairman of Carlyle Europe, chairman of the Ditchley Foundation, Order of the Garter, and Privy Councillor. He is also one of the few Brits that visited the Bohemian Grove.


Undoubtedly, many politicians have been targets of the Pinay Circle, but in the few documents we have, no specific names have been given. It is also unknown to what extent the Pinay Circle has been involved in discrediting political figures. Also, the role of the Circle in:

  • assassinations

  • arms trafficking

  • drug trade

  • possibly even conducting terrorism at home or abroad is unknown

Many individual members are heavily involved in this line of business, but it’s doubtful that the Circle is used as a platform to discuss these issues. Looking at the 2005 speech made by Prince Al-Faisal, all these people are concerned about is human rights and peace on earth (31).

 

Even though you might like his speech, let me repeat something important; Al-Faisal is the former Bin Laden protégé who is accused of meeting with him in July 2001 together with the CIA and several of Bin Laden’s family members (32). At the same time, Al-Faisal was accused of having arranged trips to Osama for some of these same family members (33). If that isn’t enough, Al-Faisal also decided to leave as 25 year head of Saudi foreign intelligence on September 1, 2001(34). Al-Faisal by the way, blames terrorism on either the Zionists (35) or the secretive and extremist Muslim Brotherhood (36). On the surface, the Muslim Brotherhood is a friendly charitable and harmless society, not unlike the Knights the Malta or Opus Dei. But even though it publicly denounces every terrorist attack, today it’s generally accepted that the Brotherhood is the coordinating secret society for international Islamic terrorism (37).

 

The founders of the PLO, Hamas, and Al-Qaeda were all members of the Brotherhood before they started their own terrorist organizations. Bin Laden and Zawahiri are just the figureheads of the Al-Qaeda branch, just as Arafat was the figurehead of the PLO branch, and Sheikh Yassim of the Hamas branch, that’s all. We still don’t know very much about the inner workings of the Muslim Brotherhood, although we do know that branches of it are protected by western intelligence agencies (38). The key to understanding international terrorism and crimes against humanity is to understand the world’s secret societies. Le Cercle is probably quite important, but there many more.

 

 

References

[1] Meetings of the Pinay Circle / Le Cercle
[2] April 1986, Lobster Magazine, Appendix 2: ’The Pinay Circle’
[3] April 6, 2003, The Observer, ’So, Norman, any regrets this time?’
[4] Winter 1986, Covert Action Information Bulletin, #25, ’Special: Nazis, the Vatican, and CIA’
[5] March 11, 2004, Reseau Voltaire, ’Apartheid et anti-communisme, Les gentlemen du Cercle Pinay’
[6] Joseph Retinger, father of Bilderberg & Vatican agent.
[7] May 5, 1989, National Catholic Reporter, ’Who’s who - Knights of Malta’
[8] September 24, 2000, New York Post, ’CIA Admits Long Relationship With WWII German Gen. Reinhard Gehlen’
[9] May 7, 2001, San Francisco Bay Guardian, ’The CIA’s worst-kept secret’
[10] 2005, Daniele Ganser, ’Nato’s Secret Armies’
[11] 2003, Christopher Booker & Richard North, The Great Deception, ’The secret history of the European Union’, page 43
[12] Winter 2002, Lobster Magazine, ’How many divisions does the Pope have’ (see also reference 8 & 9)
[13] 1986, Antony Sutton, ’The best enemy money can buy’ (partial timeline)
[14] November 1991, Lobster Magazine, ’Another Pinay sighting’
[15] July 10, 1997, An Phoblacht/Republican News comments about a recent Independent article on Le Cercle
[16] 2005, Benador Associates, Biography of Lord Lamont says he is the chairman of Le Cercle since 1996
[17] Wikipedia Privy Council membership list (membership is for life. Aitken is one of the few who had to resign from it)
[18] February 1999, History Today, William D. Rubinstein, ’The Secret of Leopold Amery’
[19] November 1988, Lobster Magazine, #15, ’Brian Crozier, the Pinay Circle and James Goldsmith’*
[20] December 1993, Lobster Magazine, #26, Book review: ’Free Agent: the unseen war 1941-1991’*
[21] October 27, 2002, The Observer, ’Trouble in banking paradise as Uncle Sam’s sheriffs ride in’
[22] 1977, David Atlee Phillips, ’The Night Watch’
[23] The Safari Club
[24] Wake Up Magazine, ’The Psyops War - British Intelligence and the covert propaganda front...’
[25] Group 13: Her Majesty’s assassination squad
[26] General Stilwell’s SFD-K
[27] General Stilwell’s Intelligence Support Activity (ISA)
[28] Rumsfeld’s Proactive Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG)
[29] NPS / VPRO, Andere Tijden, ’ Bilderberg-conferentie 1954’, first broadcasted on January 6, 2004. Includes interviews with Bernhard, Retinger’s secretary, and recordings from the 1954 meeting.
[30] August 1984, Lobster Magazine, #5, ’Brief Notes On The Political Importance Of Secret Societies’ (part 1)*
[31] June 21, 2005, Saudi Embassy in London, ’Ambassador talks to major foreign policy-security group’
[32] October 31, 2001, Le Figaro, Bin Laden visited by Saudi Circle member (don’t forget this very similar event)
[33] November 05, 2001, The New Yorker, ’The House of Bin Laden’ (membership list)
[34] August 8, 2003, Telegraph, ’Saddam, Osama and me’
[35] June 27, 2004, The Sunday Telegraph, ’Saudi envoy’s Zionist claims ’are offensive’
[36] April 27, 2004, Council on Foreign Relations, ’The United States and Saudi Arabia: A Relationship Threatened By Misconceptions’
[37] September 11, 2004, Washington Post, ’In Search Of Friends Among The Foes; U.S. Hopes to Work With Diverse Group’
[38] November 5, 2004, Mad Cow Morning News, ’Bush Officials to ’reach out’ to 9.11 Terrorists’
 

Some additional references

[A] November 11, 1977, supposed White House memo on Strauss visiting Cercle Violet
[B] June 1985, Lobster Magazine, ’The Pinay Circle’
[C] October 1989, Lobster Magazine, ’The Pinay Circle and Destabilization in Europe’*
[D] June 1994, Lobster Magazine about Anthony Cavendish and the Pinay Circle
[E] February 1, 1998, News Confidential, ’Jonathan Aitken MI6, CIA?’
[F] 1999, David Guyatt, ’Circle of Power’ (plus additional emails from Guyatt)
[G] Winter 2000, Lobster Magazine, about the Sunday Telegraph article on Le Cercle
[H] May 2001, Punch Magazine, ’Spooks in the House’ (thx to Lobster Magazine)
[I] May 25, 2004, St. Helens Capital, ’Chairman attends Paris Meeting of the Oil Club’
[J] July 22, 2004, Parliament publication about Lord Norman Lamont confirms he is Le Cercle chairman
[K] September 5, 2004, Sunday Times, ’ Le Cercle of the elite’
[L] Campaign Against Arms Trade, ’The Arabian Connection: The UK Arms Trade to Saudi Arabia’
[M] Mark Shernick , ’Did Le Cercle kill Diana?’
[N] Simon Regan, ’Who Killed Diana?’
[O] European Council of Princes (At this official site you can see how royal families like the Stewarts and Habsburgs are intertwined with the Order of St. John, the Order of Malta, the Ordo Draconis, and the whole Knights Templar theme)
[P] Some additional information about the strange ’Dragon genes’ ideas of the European Nobles and Royals

* Some lengthier articles from Lobster Magazine that haven’t been reproduced here.