Difference between revisions of "Le Cercle"

Le Cercle
(Deep state milieu, Third rail topic‎) from 2 reviews
Le Cercle ; (Deep state milieu, Third rail topic‎) from 2 reviews
	The 2016 Meeting in Washington DC
Formation	1952
Founder	Jean Violet
Leader	Le Cercle/Chairman (Europe)‎;
Type	• secret society; • international; • think tank
Interests	“War on Terror”, “Counter-terrorism”, National Security, Strategy of Tension, Deep politics
Interest of	Philippe Brewaeys, Tony Gosling, Johannes Großmann, Adrian Hänni, Joël van der Reijden, David Teacher
Exposed by	Hans Langemann, Pierre Péan, Joël van der Reijden
Subpage	•Le Cercle/1958; •Le Cercle/1968 (New York); •Le Cercle/1968 (Rome); •Le Cercle/1969 (Bavaria); •Le Cercle/1970 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1973 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1977 (South Africa); •Le Cercle/1977 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1978 (Tehran); •Le Cercle/1978 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1979 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1979 (Wildbad Kreuth); •Le Cercle/1980 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1980 (Zurich); •Le Cercle/1982 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1982 (Wildbad Kreuth); •Le Cercle/1983 (Bonn); •Le Cercle/1984 (Bonn); •Le Cercle/1984 (Capetown); •Le Cercle/1985 (Bonn); •Le Cercle/1985 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1986 (Nice); •Le Cercle/1986 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1987 (Washington); •Le Cercle/1988 (South Africa); •Le Cercle/1990 (Oman); •Le Cercle/1991 (South Africa); •Le Cercle/1996 (Amman); •Le Cercle/1997 (Berlin); •Le Cercle/1998 (Istanbul); •Le Cercle/1999 (London); •Le Cercle/1999 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2000 (Lisbon); •Le Cercle/2000 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2001 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2002 (Morocco); •Le Cercle/2002 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2003 (Salzburg); •Le Cercle/2004 (Belgrade); •Le Cercle/2004 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2005 (Paris); •Le Cercle/2006 (Delhi); •Le Cercle/2007 (Madrid); •Le Cercle/2007 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2008 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2009 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2011; •Le Cercle/2012 (Morocco); •Le Cercle/2013 (London); •Le Cercle/2014 (London); •Le Cercle/2015 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2016 (London); •Le Cercle/2016 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2018 (Washington); •Le Cercle/2019 (Bahrain); •Le Cercle/Chairman (Europe); •Le Cercle/Chairman (US); •Le Cercle/Cover-up; •Le Cercle/Exposure; •Le Cercle/Guests; •Le Cercle/Meeting; •Le Cercle/UK secretary;
Membership	• James Abrahamson; • Konrad Adenauer; • Jonathan Aitken; • Georges Albertini; • Alfredo Alcaino; • Rupert Allason; • Richard Allen; • Julian Amery; • Hooshang Amirahmadi; • Michael Ancram; • Bruce Anderson; • Robert Anderson; • Giulio Andreotti; • Magdeleine Anglade; • Richard Armitage; • Kaulza de Arriaga; • Bernard Asso; • Nadhmi Auchi; • Shaukat Aziz; • 40px Franz Josef Bach; • Norman Bailey; • Pat Balestreri; • John Barron; • Margaret Beckett; • Alfredo Sánchez Bella; • Erik Bennett; • Jeff Bergner; • Wayne Lee Berman; • Benazir Bhutto; • John Biggs-Davison; • 40px Brian Binley; • W. Michael Blumenthal; • Crispin Blunt; • John Bolton; • Benoît de Bonvoisin; • Cornelis Bossers; • Pik Botha; • Colonel Botta; • Raymond Bourgine; • Maurice Brebart; • Paul Bremer; • Harold Brown; • John Browne; • Monsignor Brunello; • Zbigniew Brzezinski; • Francisco Bulnes; • David Burnside; • Mario Buschemi; • Ian Butterfield; • Peter van der Byl; • Umberto Cappuzzo; • John Carbaugh; • Margaret Carlisle; • William Casey; • Anthony Cavendish; • Andrew Cavendish; • Paul Channon; • Winston Churchill II; • James W. Cicconi; • Alan Clark; • William P. Clark Jr.; • Marcel Clement; • Robert Close; • William Colby; • Etienne Copel; • Miles Costick; • Percy Cradock; • James Critchfield; • Brian Crozier; • Alexandre Ribeiro da Cunha; • Florimond Damman; • Hans van Dalsen; • Armand de Decker; • Jack Dellal; • Jean-François Deniau; • Paul Dietrich; • 40px Laura Jordan Dietrich; • Hans-Lothar Domröse; • Yves-Marc Dubois; • Alan Duncan; • Lee Edwards; • Iain Elliott; • Nicholas Elliot; • Philipp Vander Elst; • Audna England; • Fritz Ermarth; • David Faber; • Evo Fernandes; • Edwin J. Feulner; • Charles Fincham; • Brand Fourie; • Wyche Fowler; • William François; • Charles Alan 'Pop' Fraser; • Louis Freeh; • Charles Freeman; • Yegor Gaidar; • Pierre Marie Gallois; • Indira Gandhi; • Marie-France Garaud; • Mark Garnier; • Monique Garnier-Lançon; • Robert Gascoyne-Cecil; • Jean-Claude Gaudin; • Beverley Gayner; • Jeffrey B. Gaynor; • Rolf Gärtner; • Reinhard Gehlen; • Conrad Gerber; • Frans Alphons Maria Alting von Geusau; • Alberto Giovannetti; • James Goldsmith; • Álvaro Gomez-Hurtado; • Enrique Gomez-Hurtado; • Philip Goodhart; • Rolf Graage; • Alan Greenspan; • Ronald Grierson; • Aline Griffith; • Eldon Griffiths; • Alain Griotteray; • François de Grossouvre; • Otto von Habsburg; • Chuck Hagel; • William Hague; • Stefan Halper; • Greg Hands; • Robert J. Hanks; • Stephen Hastings; • Tsutomu Hata; • Bruno Heck; • Neil Peter Van Heerden; • Basil E. Hersov; • Dirk W. R. Hertzog; • Franz Heubl; • Monika Hohlmeier; • Alistair Horne; • Alphons Horten; • Samuel Hoskinson; • Michael Howard; • David Howell; • Hans Graf Huyn; • Rosemary Graf Huyn; • Fred Iklé; • Ion Iliescu; • Manuel Fraga-Iribarne; • Henry Jackson; • Donald Jameson; • Lisa Jameson; • Tedo Japaridze; • Philipp Jenninger; • Pierre Joannon; • Alun Gwynne Jones; • Jacques Jonet; • Peter Jungen; • Alain Juppe; • Alexander Karageorgevitch; • Crosby Kelly; • Nicholas de Kerchove; • 40px John Killick; • Lane Kirkland; • Guillermo Kirkpatrick; • Jeane Kirkpatrick; • Henry Kissinger; • Václav Klaus; • Robert H. Knight; • Friedrich König; • Sven Kraemer; • Victor Kuvaldin; • Ernst Kux; • Kwasi Kwarteng; • Francis Lacoste; • Norman Lamont; • Stephen Lander; • Timothy Landon; • John Leahy; • Michael Ledeen; • Ronald Lehman; • Edward Leigh; • Julian Lewis; • John Lichowski; • David Lidington; • Winston Lord; • Gerhard Löwenthal; • Fred Luchsinger; • James Lucier; • Philippe Malaud; • Charles Malik; • Nikolai Malomuzh; • Alexandre de Marenches; • Werner Marx; • Daniel Mazuera; • Richard McCormack; • Robert McKinney; • Neil McLean; • George Meany; • Pierre Méhaignerie; • Constantin Menges; • Dan Meridor; • Alois Mertes; • Pierre Messmer; • Herbert Meyer; • George Mitchell; • Jean Monnet; • George Montgomery; • William H. Moore; • Thomas E. Moorer; • Robert Moss; • Marwan al Muasher; • Federico Silva Muñoz‎; • Chester A. Nagle; • Karl-Heinz Narjes; • John Negroponte; • Benjamin Netanyahu; • Richard Nixon; • François d'Orcival; • Frans Otten; • Urmas Paet; • Filippo Maria Pandolfi; • Charles Pasqua; • Shimon Peres; • Richard Perle; • Carlo Pesenti; • Peter Petersen; • Robert Pfaltzgraff; • Jost Pfeiffer; • Antoine Pinay; • Jaime Nogueira Pinto; • Carlos Robles Piquer; • Fritz Pirkl; • Giulia du Plooy; • Robert du Plooy; • Alain Poher; • Günter Poser; • Charles Powell; • Jean-François Probst; • Jues Pujo; • Sultan Qaboos; • Ziad al-Rafai; • Patricia Rawlings; • Walter Raymond Jr; • Walter Raymond Sr; • Gavin W. H. Relly; • Henri Renard; • David Rockefeller; • Nelson Rockefeller; • Edward Rollins; • William V. Roth; • Anton Rupert; • Luc Beyer de Rycke; • Hans Rühle; • Donald Rumsfeld; • Jan Sabbe; • Captain Santino; • Turki bin Faisal al-Saud; • Antonin Scalia; • Dieter A. Schmidt; • Adolf W. Schmidt; • 'Schmidthuber'; • William Schneider; • Joseph Schuchert; • Gerd Schulte-Hillen; • Franz-Josef Schulze; • Robert Schuman; • Christian Schwarz-Schilling; • Norman Schwarzkopf; • Ted Shackley; • John S. R. Shad; • Natan Sharansky; • Arkady Shevchenko; • Marshall Shulman; • Arnold M. Silver; • Ron Silver; • Manmohan Singh; • Xan Smiley; • George Soros; • Thomas Roy Spencer; • Tim Spicer; • Antonio de Spinola; • Christian Freiherr von Stauffenberg; • Frank Steele; • Patrick Stefanini; • Rory Stewart; • Richard Stilwell; • Franz Josef Strauss; • Steven Symms; • Frances Stockdale Symms; • Seyfi Taşhan; • Hussein bin Talal; • Geoffrey Tantum; • Harold Taswell; • 40px Peter Tennant; • Margaret Thatcher; • Hugh Thomas; • Julian Ogilvie Thompson; • Leo Tindemans; • Eymen Topbaş; • Thomas A. Twetten; • Jean-François Vallet; • Giancarlo Elia Valori; • Paul Vankerkhoven; • Philippe de Villiers; • Pierre de Villiers; • Jean Violet; • Paul Violet; • Paul Volcker; • John Vorster; • Theo Waigel; • Jürgen Warnke; • Philippe de Weck; • Paul M. Weyrich; • S. Linn Williams; • John Wilkinson; • William Wilson; • John Wodehouse; • Paul Wolfowitz; • Bernhard Worms; • Nadhim Zahawi; • Ardeshir Zahedi; • Robert Zoelly
	A deep state milieu set up around the same time as the Bilderberg, but smaller & far more secretive, attended especially by spooks, deep politicians and editors. Members promote their hawkish agenda by otherwise subverting the democratic process, apparently brokering weapons deals and possibly setting up false flag attacks. Their war making is also ideological - distributing propaganda to stoke fear of communism, promoting the "war on terror" etc.

Latest revision as of 20:22, 23 October 2024

Not to be confused with Le Siècle, a far less secretive deep state milieu.

Le Cercle^[1] (formerly the Pinay Group^[2], Pinay Circle^[3], Cercle Pinay^[4] or in Germany the Cercle Violet^[5]) is a deep state milieu of a comparable age to the Bilderberg, but smaller, spookier, more secretive^[6] and far less exposed. David Teacher wrote that the group “can be seen to be an international coalition of right-wing intelligence veterans, propaganda assets and top politicians who would shape the 1970s and 1980s.” ^[7] It was entirely European for 15 years, but since 1968 it has met annually in both Washington DC and Europe. Leaked documents^[8] indicate that their activities include political subversion, arrangement of arms deals and fraud. Group members evinced great interest in "terrorism" back in the 1970s^[9].

“Formed in the Fifties, Cercle was intended to cement Franco-German relations, as a buffer to Soviet aggression during the Cold War. Down the years, however, it has become much more, advocating right-wing causes round the world and growing into a confidential talking shop for about 70 politicians, businessmen, polemicists and personnel from the diplomatic and security services. Members are invited to attend its meetings; they cannot ask to be admitted, and as a condition of attending they agree to keep all sessions secret. It meets twice a year, once in Washington DC in the autumn and once in the early part of the year in an "overseas" venue.”
Chris Blackhurst (28 June 1997) ^[10]

Official narrative

In 2000, a single webpage at www.atlanticcircle.com described Le Cercle as "an informal group of European and American professionals - politicians, retired Ambassadors, former Generals, lawyers, bankers and active participants in banking, oil, shipping, publishing and trading companies - who are interested in preserving a positive Atlantic dialogue."^[11] To the UK House of Lords, this group has been described as an "informal group meeting to discuss world affairs."^[12] William Hague described it as "a political group which organises conferences." In 2007 the Washington Post termed it a "foreign policy think tank established during the Cold War that reportedly included senior politicians, diplomats and intelligence agents worldwide."^[13] Inviting the banker Jean-Maxime Leveque in 1983, Monique Garnier-Lançon wrote that at The Cercle "The leaders of the free world can now examine the very grave problems which we face in order to determine together possible solutions and then to try to implement them, each in their respective sphere."^[14]

Short description

Le Cercle was described by former Conservative minister Alan Clark as

“a right-wing think (or rather thought) tank, funded by the CIA, which churns Cold War concepts around”.^[15]

Konrad Adenauer meets with Antoine Pinay and Jean Violet at the earliest known meeting of Le Cercle, on 18th August 1958

Origins

Although the group bore the name of Antoine Pinay (French Prime minister in 1952)^[16] it was likely organised by Jean Violet, a close associate of his since 1951. It arose from a Franco-German alliance (possibly in connection with Operation Gladio^[17]) and originally its anti-communism had a catholic Christian flavour. In the 1970s, it assumed a transatlantic secular ethos, especially after the involvement of Ted Shackley, under whose influence meetings were held on alternate sides of the Atlantic, with Shackley chairing the US meetings.

Leadership

Full articles: Le Cercle/Chairman (Europe), Le Cercle/Chairman (USA)

The group has had separate US and European chairs for some years^[18] - one for the Spring/Summer meeting in Europe, one for the Autumn/Winter meeting in the USA, The US chairman is less publicised (and currently unknown) so mention of "The Chairman" will probably be references to the European chairman. European chairs include Brian Crozier (1980-1985), Julian Amery (1985 - early 1990s)^[19], Christian Schwarz-Schilling (1 year), Jonathan Aitken (1993-1996), Norman Lamont (over 10 years), Michael Ancram, Nadhim Zahawi and Kwasi Kwarteng. The current chairmen are unknown.

The only two US chairmen identified are Ted Shackley and his successor, Richard McCormack.^[18] Geoffrey Tantum was named by The Telegraph as the Cercle's UK secretary.^[20]

Meetings

Full article: Le Cercle/Meetings

Early Cercle members representing the Paneuropean Union, the European Coal and Steel Community, France, Germany, Italy & the US deep state.

The group currently meets biannually, in Washington DC every Autumn and in Spring across the Atlantic, usually in Europe, although David Rockefeller's autobiography states that it used to meet "thrice yearly".^[21] Meetings last (3-)4 days and nowadays there are "about 70" guests, although meetings used to be smaller, perhaps just 35 participants.^[18] Guests are almost all male, and sometimes bring their wives, though it is unknown to what extent (if any) they are involved in the meetings.^[22] Compared to a milieu such as the Bilderberg (with a first time invitee rate of about 50%) Membership of Le Cercle is much less fluid.

Attendance

334 people are known to have visited Le Cercle meetings since the first in 1952.

Full article: Le Cercle/Guests

The identity of attendees was largely a matter of conjecture until 2011 when ISGP researcher, Joël van der Reijden published 5 guest lists for Le Cercle meetings from the papers of French Cercle visitor Monique Garnier-Lançon at Stanford University,^[23] which led him to create a list which inspired the list on the right.^[24]

These lists include politicians, spooks, bankers, diplomats, deep political actors, military officers, editors and publishers who may or may not have officially retired. The participants, which include some deep politicians, come almost exclusively from western or western-oriented countries. Many important members tend to be affiliated with the aristocratic circles in London or obscure elements within the Vatican, and accusations of links to fascism and synarchism are anything but uncommon in this milieu.

Funding

Two former chairmen of Le Cercle, Kwasi Kwarteng and Nadhim Zahawi "denied they had any knowledge of how Le Cercle funds its operations."^[25]

The group stated ^[When?] simply that it is "privately funded".^{[citation needed]} Funding for the group has changed over the years. Multinational companies including Philips and Standard Elektrik Lorenz, a subsidiary of the American ITT Corporation. have given the group money. In 1971, Shell contributed a lump sum of £30,000. The Ford Foundation also donated £20,000 over three years^[When?].^[26] In the 1980s, the South African government was a major source of funds. According to Hennie van Vuuren's 2017 book "Apartheid, Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit":

"SA contributed R33,000 plus donations to the secretariat. This was a quarter of the budget and was clandestinely and illegally laundered through the Department of Foreign Affairs.

"Le Cercle wielded potentially significant influence on political affairs through its convening power, information sharing and what amounted to quasi-intelligence activity during the Cold War."^[27]

In 1997, the Independent suggested that the group is CIA funded.^[28] So do Robin Ramsay, editor of Lobster Magazine and Jon E. Lewis author of "The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups"^[29] and Alan Clark, who claims as much in his diaries:

“a right-wing think (or rather thought) tank, funded by the CIA, which churns Cold War concepts around.”^[30]

Activities

From 1972 onwards, one of the major concerns for the Cercle Pinay complex was to ensure European distribution, and particularly French-language publication, of the ISC's output.

The 1982 Langemann Papers were the first significant exposure of Le Cercle's activities, confirming that the group was actively involved in influencing Western European elections. Evidence of their involvement in other matters such weapons dealing and covert military action remains circumstantial.

Support for Conservative Politicians

David Teacher reports that "throughout the 1970s the Cercle Pinay complex was active [influencing elections in the UK,] France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium." He writes that "the Cercle complex can be seen to be an international coalition of right-wing intelligence veterans, working internationally to promote top conservative politicians who would shape the world in the 1970s and 1980s."

The Langemann Papers (November 1979) quote a planning paper by Brian Crozier about a Cercle complex operation "to affect a change of government in the United Kingdom (accomplished)".^[31] This may be a reference to the success of the "Shield" group which Crozier set up in 1976, probably with the express purpose of getting Margaret Thatcher elected, a year after she was invited to the Bilderberg meeting by Labour's Dennis Healey.

Disruption of Left Wing Governments

Le Cercle has also been accused of actively destabilizing governments which opposed a conservative economic agenda, such as Gough Whitlam's Australian government.^[32]^[33] Cercle member Robert Gascoyne-Cecil chaired the conservative Monday Club to oppose the decolonisation policies of Harold Wilson^[34] It prepared a coup against his Labour government.^[35]

Opposition to Nuclear Disarmament

Two Cercle members, Edward Leigh and Julian Lewis started the Coalition for Peace Through Security to try to reverse the rise in popularity of CND. In the US, the American Security Council started the Coalition for Peace Through Strength, which had comparable aims.

Promotion of European Integration

Le Cercle (like the Bilderberg Group, to which it is often compared) is strongly focused on European integration, going back to the efforts of its early members to bring about a Franco-German rapprochement. The significant presence of Paneuropa-affiliated Opus Dei members and Knights of Malta, together with statements of the Vatican and Otto von Habsburg, suggest an agenda of creating a new "Holy Roman Empire" with borders from the Atlantic to the Black Sea and from the Baltic Sea to North Africa.^{[citation needed]} Interestingly, the latest generation of British Cercle members, whose predecessors were keen on joining the European Union, now seem to want to keep Britain out of the emerging European superstate, perhaps having lost faith they can become a significant force within Europe. Their American associates, however, would like for them to continue the effort of breaking into the Franco-German alliance and possibly to establish a new Anglo-German alliance.

"War on Terror"

Full article: “War on Terror”

The group's interest in "counter-terrorism" and arms dealing suggests that it may have been important in devising the "War on Terror" narrative, as does the fact that at least four members of this group (Brian Crozier, Robert Moss, Gerhard Lowenthal, Alun Gwynne Jones) gave presentations at the seminal 1979 Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism. Some of the other speakers were connected to known members and may themselves have attended meetings of Le Cercle. Many members set up "terrorism research" organisations, which sheds new light on the "anti-communist" think tanks they also set up, such as Interdoc. Noting the presence of Baron Benoit de Bonvoisin in the group, Joël van der Reijden remarks that "That's major news, because Baron de Bonvoisin, besides a key Belgian figure in the Strategy of Tension, is the most key name in the Belgian X-Dossiers."

Covert Military Intervention

Following a Nasserite coup in Yemen in September 1962, Julian Amery (later Cercle chairman) met with King Hussein of Jordan and agreed to send Cercle attendee Neil McLean to report on the situation^[36] after which Amery met with McLean, David Stirling, Col Brian Franks and UK Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home to organise an unofficial mercenary operation.^[37]

Weapons dealing

Full articles: Iran-Contra, Arms-to-Iraq

Cercle visitor John Carbaugh worked for GeoMiliTech Consultants Corporation, an arms dealing group directly involved in Iran-Contra.^[38] Others such as Margaret Carlisle were aides to Iran-Contra insiders. Cercle members Paul Channon and Alan Clark are connected through their involvement in the Arms-to-Iraq affair, also to the later chairman Jonathan Aitken, who himself was involved in the Al-Yamamah arms deal as well, as was another later chairman, Norman Lamont.^[39] Nadhmi Auchi is widely reported as having made a lot of money from arms deals to Saddam Hussein, amongst others.^[40]^[41]

Other activities

Ted Shackley was involved in oil deals after he left the CIA in 1979, facilitated by his close friend and fellow Cercle member, Conrad Gerber and oil smuggler John Deuss. Joël van der Reijden has suggested that Le Cercle was important in the organization of the 9/11 attacks.^[42]

Cover-up

Full article: Le Cercle/Cover-up

The Wikipedia page, as of May 2019, was less than 3.5K (under 350 words). A link to this website was removed after 10 minutes by Wikipedia user Doug Weller,^[43] who also removed the link to the list of Bilderberg participants.^[44] CAAT reported that The Guardian claimed that the group is not influential.^[45]

Exposure

Full article: Le Cercle/Exposure

The cover of the Kindle edition of Rogue Agents

The group was mentioned in a 1980 article in Der Spiegel.^[46] As of 2021, Le Cercle remains far less exposed that the Bilderberg. It has featured very occasionally in commercially-controlled media, but most of what is publicly available about the group is from independent researchers. Preeminent among leaks were the Langemann Papers, which exposed the group as an agent of political subversion. Joël van der Reijden has been publishing about the group online since 2005 and put some primary documents online in 2011.

Rogue Agents

Full article: Rogue Agents

David Teacher credits van der Reijden with encouraging him to update his study of Le Cercle from 1951-1991, Rogue Agents, a 578 page study of the group, which is downloadable from this site^[47] and which Peter Dale Scott termed "mind-boggling research".

2017

Fresh documents related to Le Cercle emerged from Pretoria and elsewhere in 2017.^[48] In November 2017 Graham Vanbergen published Meet Le Cercle – Making Bilderberg Look Like Amateurs in TruePublica, which was picked up by several independent websites.^[49]^[50]^[51]

Related Quotations

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Deep state actor	“Crozier himself makes the point that many of the prominent politicians invited to sit in on Cercle strategic sessions had no knowledge of their hosts' more clandestine operational activities – if only because of the "need to know" principle. Nonetheless, a stalwart multi-functionary on the Boards of several groups linked to the Cercle can be presumed to have some deeper involvement beyond just lending his name to the cause.”	David Teacher
Hans Langemann	“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.”	Hans Langemann	1980
Le Cercle/Exposure	“For instance, in the late 1970s Le Cercle supported NATO's decision to station new medium-range nuclear weapons — Cruise and Pershing II missiles — in Britain, Germany, Belgium and Holland targeted against the USSR. Le Cercle helped to discredit the European peace protest movement which emerged against the backdrop of the nuclearization of Europe through aggressive counter-intelligence, provocations and disinformation.”	Ekaterina Blinova	8 August 2015
Helmut Schmidt	“Participants at Le Cercle meetings report that a major issue has been how to bring about the demise of West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's government. This issue dominated the last biannual meeting of Le Cercle that was hosted by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the official think tank of opposition leader Franz Josef Strauss's Christian Social Union, in Munich last May. Le Cercle's participants have been able to carry out an inside-outside job to destroy the Schmidt coalition government since then. While Strauss's CSU carried out a heavy-handed wrecking job that included an implicit alliance with the Strasserite fascist Green Party, sources report that Helmut Sonnenfeldt and Henry Kissinger took the inside track since the ouster of Secretary of State Alexander Haig, threatening, cajoling, and misleading Schmidt into his disastrous pragmatic political course.”	Helmut Schmidt Scott Thompson	1982

Employee on Wikispooks

Employee	Job
Geoffrey Tantum	Le Cercle/UK secretary

Known members

281 of the 318 of the members already have pages here:

Member	Description
James Abrahamson	U.S. Air Force general responsible for space imaging and the Strategic Defence Intiative. Abrahamson later directed Stratesec, a company which had unparalleled access to the World Trade Center prior to 2001. He was a member of the deep state intelligence coordinating conference Le Cercle.
Konrad Adenauer	German (deep?) politician, CDU leader
Jonathan Aitken	UK deep politician, Cercle chair, convicted perjurer
Georges Albertini	French deep state operative. Man-behind-the-scenes for many politicians.
Alfredo Alcaino	Chile born Cercle visitor, deep state connected lawyer
Rupert Allason	Writer of books and articles on the subject of espionage. Attended Le Cercle.
Richard Allen	US National Security Advisor, Cercle, Iran-Contra...
Julian Amery	MI6, deep politician who chaired Le Cercle for several years.
Hooshang Amirahmadi	Iranian American spook who attended Le Cercle.
Michael Ancram	Likely took over from Norman Lamont as European chair of Le Cercle.
Bruce Anderson	UK pro-torture spooky journalist, Le Cercle, attended a "terrorism" related conference chaired by Harold Elletson in 2009.
Robert Anderson	Le Cercle, Bilderberg,
Giulio Andreotti	"The ultimate insider of Italian political life", who as Italian Prime Minister publicly confirmed the existence of Operation Gladio
Magdeleine Anglade	French member of Le Cercle who took over the role of Monique Garnier-Lançon
Richard Armitage	"A sophisticated member of the top echelons of the U.S. government"
Kaúlza de Arriaga	Portuguese soldier politician who attended a November 1977 meeting of Le Cercle with his aide
Bernard Asso	Spooky French lawyer
Nadhmi Auchi	Cercle-connected fraudster
Shaukat Aziz	Tri-national Citibank executive with "close ties" to the US deep state. Parachuted in to become Prime Minister of Pakistan. Cercle member.
Franz Josef Bach	A leading German member of the Cercle, who organised the 1982 meeting in Wildbad Kreuth.
Norman Bailey	Spooky economist who taught "Economics for Foreign Policy Makers." Admitted on the record that the PROMIS database and search application has been given to the NSA
John Barron	A spooky journalist who wrote on the evils of the KGB.
Margaret Beckett	UK foreign secretary, Le Cercle attendee
Alfredo Sánchez Bella	Spanish spook and possible deep politician
Erik Bennett	A secretive UK military advisor in Oman and a Cercle attendee.
Jeff Bergner	Cercle attendee. Project for the New American Century. German Marshall Fund. Hudson Institute
Wayne Lee Berman	US Businessman with deep political connections.
Benazir Bhutto	Prime Minister of Pakistan. YGL. Assassinated in 2007.
John Biggs-Davison	UK politician who attended Le Cercle
Brian Binley	Ex-conservative MP. Le Cercle.
W. Michael Blumenthal	US/Secretary of the Treasury in the 1970s, Bilderberg, Le Cercle, CFR
Crispin Blunt	Sandhurst, Le Cercle, MP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
John Bolton	Neocon US deep state operative who was Trump's National Security Advisor until September 2019
Benoît de Bonvoisin	"A key Belgian figure in the Strategy of Tension", as well as the most key name in the Belgian X-Dossiers. Member of Le Cercle. His father attended the first Bilderberg.
Cornelis Bossers	Le Cercle. Major businessman in the Philips group.
Pik Botha	South African deep state operative
Colonel Botta	Very little known Cercle visitor.
Raymond Bourgine	French journalist and editor who attended Le Cercle.
Paul Bremer	Executive of Marsh & McLennan, a company whose offices were hit by a plane on 9/11, "Coordinator for Counterterrorism", Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq ...
Harold Brown	United States Secretary of Defense.
John Browne	Spooky UK businessman, Morgan Stanley, Le Cercle, Chatham house ...
Aristide Brunello	Little known Cercle visitor. Vatican prelate and spy for the BND under Reinhard Gehlen. Attended a meeting of the Le Cercle.^{<a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a>}
Zbigniew Brzezinski	A central US Deep politician, Cercle, Bilderberg, ...
Maurice Brébart	Belgian right-wing newspaper owner who attended Le Cercle in the 1970s.
Francisco Bulnes	Cercle member active in the 1973 coup against Salvador Allende
David Burnside	Northern Ireland politician
Ian Butterfield	Spooky MICC consultant, Le Cercle
Peter van der Byl	Spooky Rhodesian politician
Umberto Cappuzzo	Senior Italian military leader and Le Cercle attendee.
John Carbaugh	Cercle attendee linked to political double dealing, arms deals and Iran-Contra.
... further results

Events Planned

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Australia/1975 coup d'état	15 October 1975	11 November 1975	Australia Canberra	A UK/US deep state-backed covert "constitutional coup" to remove Gough Whitlam whom they saw as a loose cannon.
Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism	2 July 1979	5 July 1979	Israel Jerusalem	The birthplace of the "War on Terror" doctrine, "a major international forum for the movement against détente".

Ratings

10 April 2016 Robin A good summary of a hugely under-reported deep state milieu.
Le Cercle is a good deal more secretive than the Bilderberg, and is still very little known. This page showcases the excellent work of Joël van der Reijden in exposing this group.

4 April 2021 Terje

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References

[1] ttps://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjcp-agk8T9AhU-nf0HHb2RBqEQFnoECBEQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeclassifieduk.org%2Fsecret-cia-funded-group-linked-to-uk-ministers%2F&usg=AOvVaw0e2vvAQuBiuhnxfr8UtghW

[2] ttps://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973LISBON04406_b.html

[3] Document:The Pinay Circle

[4] A 2003 obituary in the Observer established this equivalence

[5] ttps://www.spiegel.de/politik/franz-josef-sein-milljoeh-a-d59216b9-0002-0001-0000-000014315032

[6] ttps://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-24-declassified-apartheid-profits-le-cercle-the-phantom-profiteers/

[Rogue_Agents.2C_2008-7] Rogue Agents , 2008

[8] The Langemann Papers

[9] At least 4 confirmed members spoke at the 1979 Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism and several set up "terrorism research" groups

[https:.2F.2Fwww.independent.co.uk.2Fnews.2Faitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.htmlThe_Independent-10] ttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/aitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.html The Independent

[11] ttp://web.archive.org/web/20001017205434/http://atlanticcircle.com/

[12] ttp://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-interests/register-of-lords-interests/register-of-interests-of-lords-members-staff/?letter=L

[13] ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091002436.html

[14] Adrian Hänni's Ph.D.

[15] [https://declassifieduk.org/keir-starmer-joined-secretive-cia-linked-group-while-serving-in-corbyns-shadow-cabinet/

[16] ttps://wikileaks.org/saudi-cables/doc50925.html

[17] ttps://visupview.blogspot.com/2018/09/secret-armies-and-origins-of-cercle.html

[adst-18] ttp://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/McCORMACK,%20Richard%20T.toc.pdf p.112

[isgp2010-19] ttps://isgp-studies.com/2010_Le_Cercle_update

[20] ttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/aitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.html

[21] ttp://visupview.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/le-cercle-clerical-fascism-and.html

[ISGP1-22] ttps://isgp-studies.com/Le_Cercle_membership_list

[23] ttps://isgp-studies.com/2011-10-26-first-ever-documents-on-le-cercle-pinay

[24] ttps://isgp-studies.com/Le_Cercle_membership_list

[25] ttps://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/news/105448/excl-top-tories-face-questions-over-links

[R000033-26] Teacher, David (2008-01-06). Rogue Agents: The Cercle Pinay complex 1951-1991. p. 233

[27] "Apartheid, Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit"

[28] ttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/aitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.html

[29] ttps://rightedition.com/2017/09/05/le-cercle-meet-secret-cia-funded-group-behind-war-terror/

[30] "SECRET ‘CIA-FUNDED’ GROUP LINKED TO UK MINISTERS"

[rogue-31] ttp://www.cryptome.org/2012/01/cercle-pinay-6i.pdf

[32] Document:The Pinay Circle

[33] ttp://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_lecercle04.htm

[34] ttps://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-24-declassified-apartheid-profits-le-cercle-the-phantom-profiteers/

[35] ttps://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/edward-wilson/from-reactionary-revolution-to-consolidation-11-february-1975-to-7-may-2015

[36] Stephen Dorril, MI6, Touchstone 2002, p.679.

[37] Stephen Dorril, MI6, Touchstone 2002, p.684.

[38] ttp://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=geomilitech_consultants_corporation

[39] ttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/mar/06/uk.iraq

[40] ttps://wikileaks.org/wiki/Nadhmi_Auchi

[41] April 6, 2003, The Observer, 'So, Norman, any regrets this time?';

[42] ttps://isgp-studies.com/911-supranational-suspects

[43] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Le_Cercle&action=history

[44] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Bilderberg_participants&action=history

[45] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080922154928/http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/countries/saudi-arabia.php

[46] ttps://www.spiegel.de/politik/franz-josef-sein-milljoeh-a-d59216b9-0002-0001-0000-000014315032

[47] File:Rogue Agents - the Cercle and the 6I in the Private Cold War 1951 - 1991 by David Teacher (5th edn, 2017).pdf

[48] ttps://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-24-declassified-apartheid-profits-le-cercle-the-phantom-profiteers/

[49] ttp://galacticconnection.com/meet-le-cercle-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs/

[50] ttp://www.globaltruth.net/meet-le-cercle-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs/

[51] ttps://www.realistnews.net/Thread-meet-%E2%80%9Cle-cercle%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Habsburg Pinay Monnet Adenauer Andreotti.jpg|thumb|508px|Early Cercle members representing the Paneuropa Union, the European Coal and Steel Community, France, Germany and Italy. Andreotti was not a founding member; the others were.]]
+{{group
-The following are brief extracts from Joel Van der Reijden's ISGP article on Le Cercle.  Those seeking an in-depth understanding of Le Cercle should read that article [https://wikispooks.com/ISGP/organisations/Le_Cercle.htm '''here'''.] As at November 2010, it is probably the most comprehensive study available and fills in many of the blanks surrounding the apparent dual loyalties of the UK viz-a-viz Europe and the US and how they were - and continue to be - addressed and more-or-less successfully resolved. The sections on the involvement of [[Brian Crozier]], [[Julian Amery]], [[Norman Lamont]] and [[Johnathan Aitken]] are particularly illuminating for UK readers
+|type=secret society, international, think tank
+|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cercle
+|powerbase=http://powerbase.info/index.php/Pinay_Circle
+|sourcewatch=http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pinay_Cercle
+|isgp=https://isgp-studies.com/le-cercle-pinay
+|image=December 2016 meeting of Le Cercle Washington 3.jpg
+|image_caption=The [[2016 Meeting in Washington DC]]
+|image_width=377px
+|start=1952
+|constitutes=Deep state milieu, third rail topic‎
+|founders=Jean Violet
+|leaders=Le Cercle/Chairman (Europe)‎
+|interests=War on Terror, Counter-terrorism, National Security, Strategy of Tension, Deep politics
+|description=A [[deep state milieu]] set up around the same time as the [[Bilderberg]], but smaller & far more secretive, attended especially by [[spooks]], [[deep politicians]] and [[editor]]s. Members promote their hawkish agenda by otherwise subverting the [[democratic]] process, apparently brokering [[weapons deal]]s and possibly setting up [[false flag]] attacks. Their war making is also ideological - distributing [[propaganda]] to stoke [[fear]] of [[communism]], promoting the "[[war on terror]]" etc.
+|members=James Abrahamson, Konrad Adenauer, Jonathan Aitken, Georges Albertini, Alfredo Alcaino, Rupert Allason, Richard Allen, Julian Amery, Hooshang Amirahmadi, Michael Ancram, Bruce Anderson, Robert Anderson, Giulio Andreotti, Magdeleine Anglade, Richard Armitage, Kaulza de Arriaga, Bernard Asso, Nadhmi Auchi, Shaukat Aziz, Franz Josef Bach, Norman Bailey, Pat Balestreri, John Barron, Margaret Beckett, Alfredo Sánchez Bella, Erik Bennett, Jeff Bergner, Wayne Lee Berman, Benazir Bhutto, John Biggs-Davison, Brian Binley, W. Michael Blumenthal, Crispin Blunt, John Bolton, Benoît de Bonvoisin, Cornelis Bossers, Pik Botha, Colonel Botta, Raymond Bourgine, Maurice Brebart, Paul Bremer, Harold Brown, John Browne, Monsignor Brunello, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Francisco Bulnes, David Burnside, Mario Buschemi, Ian Butterfield,  Peter van der Byl, Umberto Cappuzzo, John Carbaugh, Margaret Carlisle, William Casey, Anthony Cavendish, Andrew Cavendish, Paul Channon, Winston Churchill II, James W. Cicconi, Alan Clark, William P. Clark Jr., Marcel Clement, Robert Close, William Colby, Etienne Copel, Miles Costick, Percy Cradock, James Critchfield, Brian Crozier, Alexandre Ribeiro da Cunha, Florimond Damman, Hans van Dalsen, Armand de Decker, Jack Dellal, Jean-François Deniau, Paul Dietrich, Laura Jordan Dietrich, Hans-Lothar Domröse, Yves-Marc Dubois, Alan Duncan, Lee Edwards, Iain Elliott, Nicholas Elliot, Philipp Vander Elst, Audna England, Fritz Ermarth, David Faber, Evo Fernandes, Edwin J. Feulner, Charles Fincham, Brand Fourie, Wyche Fowler, William François, Charles Alan 'Pop' Fraser, Louis Freeh, Charles Freeman, Yegor Gaidar, Pierre Marie Gallois, Indira Gandhi, Marie-France Garaud, Mark Garnier, Monique Garnier-Lançon, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Jean-Claude Gaudin, Beverley Gayner, Jeffrey B. Gaynor, Rolf Gärtner, Reinhard Gehlen, Conrad Gerber, Frans Alphons Maria Alting von Geusau, Alberto Giovannetti, James Goldsmith, Álvaro Gomez-Hurtado, Enrique Gomez-Hurtado, Philip Goodhart, Rolf Graage, Alan Greenspan, Ronald Grierson, Aline Griffith, Eldon Griffiths, Alain Griotteray,François de Grossouvre, Otto von Habsburg, Chuck Hagel, William Hague, Stefan Halper, Greg Hands, Robert J. Hanks, Stephen Hastings, Tsutomu Hata, Bruno Heck, Neil Peter Van Heerden, Basil E. Hersov, Dirk W. R. Hertzog, Franz Heubl, Monika Hohlmeier, Alistair Horne, Alphons Horten, Samuel Hoskinson, Michael Howard, David Howell, Hans Graf Huyn, Rosemary Graf Huyn, Fred Iklé, Ion Iliescu, Manuel Fraga-Iribarne, Henry Jackson, Donald Jameson, Lisa Jameson, Tedo Japaridze, Philipp Jenninger, Pierre Joannon, Alun Gwynne Jones, Jacques Jonet, Peter Jungen, Alain Juppe, Alexander Karageorgevitch, Crosby Kelly, Nicholas de Kerchove, John Killick, Lane Kirkland, Guillermo Kirkpatrick, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Henry Kissinger, Václav Klaus, Robert H. Knight, Friedrich König, Sven Kraemer, Victor Kuvaldin, Ernst Kux, Kwasi Kwarteng, Francis Lacoste, Norman Lamont, Stephen Lander, Timothy Landon, John Leahy, Michael Ledeen, Ronald Lehman, Edward Leigh, Julian Lewis, John Lichowski, David Lidington, Winston Lord, Gerhard Löwenthal, Fred Luchsinger, James Lucier, Philippe Malaud, Charles Malik, Nikolai Malomuzh, Alexandre de Marenches, Werner Marx, Daniel Mazuera, Richard McCormack, Robert McKinney, Neil McLean, George Meany, Pierre Méhaignerie, Constantin Menges, Dan Meridor, Alois Mertes, Pierre Messmer, Herbert Meyer, George Mitchell, Jean Monnet, George Montgomery, William H. Moore, Thomas E. Moorer, Robert Moss, Marwan al Muasher, Federico Silva Muñoz‎, Chester A. Nagle, Karl-Heinz Narjes, John Negroponte, Benjamin Netanyahu, Richard Nixon, François d'Orcival, Frans Otten, Urmas Paet, Filippo Maria Pandolfi, Charles Pasqua, Shimon Peres, Richard Perle, Carlo Pesenti, Peter Petersen, Robert Pfaltzgraff, Jost Pfeiffer, Antoine Pinay, Jaime Nogueira Pinto, Carlos Robles Piquer, Fritz Pirkl, Giulia du Plooy, Robert du Plooy, Alain Poher, Günter Poser, Charles Powell, Jean-François Probst, Jues Pujo, Sultan Qaboos, Ziad al-Rafai, Patricia Rawlings, Walter Raymond Jr, Walter Raymond Sr, Gavin W. H. Relly, Henri Renard, David Rockefeller, Nelson Rockefeller, Edward Rollins, William V. Roth, Anton Rupert, Luc Beyer de Rycke, Hans Rühle,  Donald Rumsfeld, Jan Sabbe, Captain Santino, Turki bin Faisal al-Saud, Antonin Scalia, Dieter A. Schmidt, Adolf W. Schmidt, 'Schmidthuber', William Schneider, Joseph Schuchert, Gerd Schulte-Hillen,  Franz-Josef Schulze, Robert Schuman, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, Norman Schwarzkopf, Ted Shackley, John S. R. Shad, Natan Sharansky, Arkady Shevchenko, Marshall Shulman, Arnold M. Silver, Ron Silver, Manmohan Singh, Xan Smiley, George Soros, Thomas Roy Spencer, Tim Spicer, Antonio de Spinola, Christian Freiherr von Stauffenberg, Frank Steele, Patrick Stefanini, Rory Stewart, Richard Stilwell, Franz Josef Strauss, Steven Symms, Frances Stockdale Symms, Seyfi Taşhan, Hussein bin Talal, Geoffrey Tantum, Harold Taswell, Peter Tennant, Margaret Thatcher, Hugh Thomas, Julian Ogilvie Thompson, Leo Tindemans, Eymen Topbaş, Thomas A. Twetten, Jean-François Vallet, Giancarlo Elia Valori, Paul Vankerkhoven, Philippe de Villiers, Pierre de Villiers, Jean Violet, Paul Violet, Paul Volcker, John Vorster, Theo Waigel, Jürgen Warnke, Philippe de Weck, Paul M. Weyrich, S. Linn Williams, John Wilkinson, William Wilson, John Wodehouse, Paul Wolfowitz, Bernhard Worms, Nadhim Zahawi, Ardeshir Zahedi, Robert Zoelly
+|historycommons=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=le_cercle_1
+}}''Not to be confused with [[Le Siècle]], a far less secretive [[deep state milieu]].''
+'''Le Cercle'''<ref>https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjcp-agk8T9AhU-nf0HHb2RBqEQFnoECBEQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeclassifieduk.org%2Fsecret-cia-funded-group-linked-to-uk-ministers%2F&usg=AOvVaw0e2vvAQuBiuhnxfr8UtghW</ref> (formerly the '''Pinay Group'''<ref>https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973LISBON04406_b.html</ref>, '''Pinay Circle'''<ref>[[Document:The Pinay Circle]]</ref>, '''Cercle Pinay'''<ref>[https://isgp-studies.com/2010_Le_Cercle_update A 2003 obituary in the ''[[Observer]]'' established this equivalence]</ref> or in Germany the '''Cercle Violet'''<ref>https://www.spiegel.de/politik/franz-josef-sein-milljoeh-a-d59216b9-0002-0001-0000-000014315032</ref>) is a [[deep state milieu]] of a comparable age to the [[Bilderberg]], but smaller, [[spook]]ier, more secretive<ref>https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-24-declassified-apartheid-profits-le-cercle-the-phantom-profiteers/</ref> and far less [[Le Cercle/Exposure|exposed]]. [[David Teacher]] wrote that the group
+{{SMWQ
+|text=can be seen to be an international coalition of right-wing intelligence veterans, propaganda assets and top politicians who would shape the [[1970s]] and [[1980s]].
+|source_name=Rogue Agents
+|authors=David Teacher
+|date=2008
+|subjects=Le Cercle, 1970s, 1980s
+|format=inline_italics
+}} It was entirely [[European]] for 15 years, but since [[Le Cercle/1968 (New York)|1968]] it has met annually in both [[Washington DC]] and [[Europe]]. Leaked documents<ref>The [[Langemann Papers]]</ref> indicate that their [[Le_Cercle#Activities|activities]] include political [[subversion]], arrangement of [[arms deal]]s and [[fraud]]. Group members evinced great interest in "[[terrorism]]" back in the [[1970s]]<ref>At least 4 confirmed members spoke at the [[1979]] [[Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism]] and several set up "terrorism research" groups</ref>.
+{{SMWQ
+|text=Formed in the [[Fifties]], [[Cercle]] was intended to cement [[Franco]]-[[German]] relations, as a buffer to [[Soviet]] aggression during the [[Cold War]]. Down the years, however, it has become much more, advocating right-wing causes round the world and growing into a confidential talking shop for about 70 [[politician]]s, [[businessmen]], polemicists and personnel from the [[diplomats|diplomatic]] and security services. Members are invited to attend its [[Cercle/Meetings|meetings]]; they cannot ask to be admitted, and as a condition of attending they agree to keep all sessions secret. It meets twice a year, once in [[Washington DC]] in the autumn and once in the early part of the year in an "overseas" venue.
+|date=28 June 1997
+|authors=Chris Blackhurst
+|subjects=Le Cercle, Cold War
+|source_name=The Independent
+|source_URL=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/aitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.html
+}}
+==Official narrative==
+In 2000, a single webpage at [http://web.archive.org/web/20020529192633/http://www.atlanticcircle.com/ www.atlanticcircle.com] described Le Cercle as "''an informal group of European and American professionals - [[politicians]], retired [[Ambassadors]], former [[soldier|Generals]], [[lawyer]]s, [[bankers]] and active participants in [[banking]], [[oil]], shipping, publishing and trading companies - who are interested in preserving a positive Atlantic dialogue.''"<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20001017205434/http://atlanticcircle.com/</ref> To the UK [[House of Lords]], this group has been described as an "''informal group meeting to discuss world affairs.''"<ref>http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-interests/register-of-lords-interests/register-of-interests-of-lords-members-staff/?letter=L</ref> [[William Hague]] described it as "''a political group which organises conferences.''" In 2007 the ''[[Washington Post]]'' termed it a "''foreign policy [[think tank]] established during the [[Cold War]] that reportedly included senior [[politician]]s, [[diplomat]]s and [[intelligence agent]]s worldwide.''"<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091002436.html</ref> Inviting the banker [[Jean-Maxime Leveque]] in 1983, [[Monique Garnier-Lançon]] wrote that at The Cercle "''The leaders of the free world can now examine the very grave problems which we face in order to determine together possible solutions and then to try to implement them, each in their respective sphere.''"<ref>[[Adrian Hänni]]'s Ph.D.</ref>
+===Short description===
+Le Cercle was described by former Conservative minister [[Alan Clark]] as{{QB|
+:“a right-wing [[Think tank|think (or rather thought) tank,]] funded by the [[CIA]], which churns [[Cold War]] concepts around”.<ref>[https://declassifieduk.org/keir-starmer-joined-secretive-cia-linked-group-while-serving-in-corbyns-shadow-cabinet/</ref>}}
+[[image:18 August 1958 - Le Cercle.jpg|left|390px|thumbnail| [[Konrad Adenauer]] meets with [[Antoine Pinay]] and [[Jean Violet]] at the earliest known meeting of Le Cercle, on [[Le Cercle/1958|18th August 1958]]]]
 ==Origins==
-Le Cercle used be known as the Pinay Circle, or Cercle Pinay by its original French founders. Although the group was named after a French statesman who was prime minister from March to December 1952, the real organizer of this group was a person named Jean Violet, a close associate of Pinay since 1951
+Although the group bore the name of [[Antoine Pinay]] ([[French Prime minister]] in 1952)<ref>https://wikileaks.org/saudi-cables/doc50925.html</ref> it was likely organised by [[Jean Violet]], a close associate of his since 1951. It arose from a Franco-German alliance (possibly in connection with [[Operation Gladio]]<ref>https://visupview.blogspot.com/2018/09/secret-armies-and-origins-of-cercle.html</ref>) and originally its [[anti-communism]] had a [[catholic]] [[Christian]] flavour. In the [[1970s]], it assumed a transatlantic secular ethos, especially after the involvement of [[Ted Shackley]], under whose influence meetings were held on alternate sides of the Atlantic, with Shackley [[Le Cercle/Chairman (USA)|chairing]] the US meetings.
+==Leadership==
+{{FAs|Le Cercle/Chairman (Europe)|Le Cercle/Chairman (USA)}}
+The group has had separate US and European chairs for some years<ref name=adst/> - one for the Spring/Summer meeting in Europe, one for the Autumn/Winter meeting in the USA,  The [[Le Cercle/Chairman|US chairman]] is less publicised (and currently unknown) so mention of "The Chairman" will probably be references to the [[Le Cercle/Chairman (Europe)|European chairman]]. European chairs include [[Brian Crozier]] (1980-1985), [[Julian Amery]] (1985 - early 1990s)<ref name=isgp2010>https://isgp-studies.com/2010_Le_Cercle_update</ref>, [[Christian Schwarz-Schilling]] (1 year), [[Jonathan Aitken]] (1993-1996), [[Norman Lamont]] (over 10 years), [[Michael Ancram]], [[Nadhim Zahawi]] and [[Kwasi Kwarteng]]. The current chairmen are unknown.
+The only two US chairmen identified are [[Ted Shackley]] and his successor, [[Richard McCormack]].<ref name=adst/> [[Geoffrey Tantum]] was named by ''[[The Telegraph]]'' as the Cercle's UK secretary.<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/aitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.html</ref>
+==Meetings==
+{{FA|Le Cercle/Meetings}}
+[[image:Le Cercle.png|thumbnail|Early Cercle members representing the Paneuropean Union, the European Coal and Steel Community, France, Germany, Italy & the US deep state.|380px|left]]
+The group currently meets biannually, in [[Washington DC]] every Autumn and in Spring across the Atlantic, usually in [[Europe]], although [[David Rockefeller]]'s autobiography states that it used to meet "thrice yearly".<ref>http://visupview.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/le-cercle-clerical-fascism-and.html</ref> Meetings last (3-)4 days and nowadays there are "about 70" guests, although meetings used to be smaller, perhaps just 35 participants.<ref name="adst">http://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/McCORMACK,%20Richard%20T.toc.pdf p.112</ref> Guests are almost all male, and sometimes bring their wives, though it is unknown to what extent (if any) they are involved in the meetings.<ref name=ISGP1>https://isgp-studies.com/Le_Cercle_membership_list</ref> Compared to a milieu such as the [[Bilderberg]] (with a first time invitee rate of about 50%) Membership of Le Cercle is much less fluid.
+===Attendance===
+[[image:Le Cercle Guests.png|left|330px|thumbnail|{{#ask: [[-Has member::Le Cercle]] OR [[-Has participant::~Le Cercle/*]]|format=count}} people are known to have visited [[Le Cercle meetings]] since the first in 1952.]]
+{{FA|Le Cercle/Guests}}
+The identity of attendees was largely a matter of conjecture until 2011 when [[ISGP]] researcher, [[Joël van der Reijden]] published 5 guest lists for [[Le Cercle meetings]] from the papers of French Cercle visitor [[Monique Garnier-Lançon]] at [[Stanford University]],<ref>https://isgp-studies.com/2011-10-26-first-ever-documents-on-le-cercle-pinay</ref> which led him to create a list which inspired the list on the right.<ref>https://isgp-studies.com/Le_Cercle_membership_list</ref>
+These lists include [[politician]]s, [[spook]]s, [[banker]]s, [[diplomat]]s, [[deep political actor]]s, [[military officer]]s, [[editor]]s and [[publisher]]s who may or may not have officially retired. The participants, which include some [[deep politicians]], come almost exclusively from western or western-oriented countries. Many important members tend to be affiliated with the aristocratic circles in [[London]] or obscure elements within the [[Vatican]], and accusations of links to fascism and [[synarchism]] are anything but uncommon in this milieu.
+==Funding==
+Two former [[chairmen of Le Cercle]], [[Kwasi Kwarteng]] and [[Nadhim Zahawi]] "denied they had any knowledge of how Le Cercle funds its operations."<ref>https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/news/105448/excl-top-tories-face-questions-over-links</ref>
+The group stated {{when}} simply that it is "privately funded".{{cn}} Funding for the group has changed over the years. Multinational companies including [[Philips]] and [[Standard Elektrik Lorenz]], a subsidiary of the American [[ITT Corporation]]. have given the group money. In 1971, [[Shell]] contributed a lump sum of £30,000. [[The Ford Foundation]] also donated £20,000 over three years{{when}}.<ref name='R000033'>[https://isgp-studies.com/david-teacher Teacher, David (2008-01-06). Rogue Agents: The Cercle Pinay complex 1951-1991. p. 233]</ref> In the [[1980s]], the [[South Africa]]n government was a major source of funds. According to [https://twitter.com/hennievvuuren Hennie van Vuuren's] 2017 book "Apartheid, Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit":{{QB|
+:"[[South Africa|SA]] contributed R33,000 plus donations to the secretariat. This was a quarter of the budget and was clandestinely and illegally laundered through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
+:"Le Cercle wielded potentially significant influence on political affairs through its convening power, information sharing and what amounted to quasi-intelligence activity during the [[Cold War]]."<ref>''[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apartheid-guns-money-tale-profit/dp/1431424846 "Apartheid, Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit"]''</ref>}}
+In 1997, the ''[[Independent]]'' suggested that the group is [[CIA]] funded.<ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/news/aitken-dropped-by-the-rights-secret-club-1258522.html</ref> So do [[Robin Ramsay]], editor of [[Lobster Magazine]] and [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mammoth-Book-Cover-Ups-Jon-Lewis/dp/1845296087 Jon E. Lewis author of "The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups"]<ref>https://rightedition.com/2017/09/05/le-cercle-meet-secret-cia-funded-group-behind-war-terror/</ref> and [[Alan Clark]], who claims as much in his diaries:{{QB|“a right-wing think (or rather thought) tank, funded by the [[CIA]], which churns [[Cold War]] concepts around.”<ref>''[https://declassifieduk.org/secret-cia-funded-group-linked-to-uk-ministers/ "SECRET ‘CIA-FUNDED’ GROUP LINKED TO UK MINISTERS"]''</ref>}}
+==Activities==
+From 1972 onwards, one of the major concerns for the Cercle Pinay complex was to ensure European distribution, and particularly French-language publication, of the ISC's output.
+The 1982 ''[[Langemann Papers]]'' were the first significant exposure of Le Cercle's activities, confirming that the group was actively involved in influencing Western European elections. Evidence of their involvement in other matters such [[weapons deal]]ing and covert military action remains circumstantial.
+===Support for Conservative Politicians===
+[[David Teacher]] reports that "throughout the [[1970s]] the Cercle Pinay complex was active [influencing elections in the [[UK]],] [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Spain]], [[Portugal]], [[Italy]] and [[Belgium]]." He writes that "the Cercle complex can be seen to be an international coalition of right-wing intelligence veterans, working internationally to promote top conservative politicians who would shape the world in the [[1970s]] and 1980s."
+The [[Langemann Papers]] (November 1979) quote a planning paper by [[Brian Crozier]] about a Cercle complex operation "to [[affect a change of government]] in the United Kingdom (accomplished)".<ref name=rogue>http://www.cryptome.org/2012/01/cercle-pinay-6i.pdf</ref> This may be a reference to the success of the "[[Shield]]" group which Crozier set up in 1976, probably with the express purpose of getting [[Margaret Thatcher]] elected, a year after she was invited to the [[Bilderberg]] meeting by [[Labour]]'s [[Dennis Healey]].
+===Disruption of Left Wing Governments===
+Le Cercle has also been accused of actively destabilizing governments which opposed a conservative economic agenda, such as [[Gough Whitlam]]'s [[Australia]]n government.<ref>[[Document:The Pinay Circle]]</ref><ref>http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_lecercle04.htm</ref> Cercle member [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil]] chaired the conservative [[Monday Club]] to oppose the decolonisation policies of [[Harold Wilson]]<ref>https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-24-declassified-apartheid-profits-le-cercle-the-phantom-profiteers/</ref> It prepared a [[coup]] against his [[Labour]] government.<ref>https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/edward-wilson/from-reactionary-revolution-to-consolidation-11-february-1975-to-7-may-2015</ref>
+===Opposition to Nuclear Disarmament===
+Two Cercle members, [[Edward Leigh]] and [[Julian Lewis]] started the [[Coalition for Peace Through Security]] to try to reverse the rise in popularity of [[CND]]. In the US, the [[American Security Council]] started the [[Coalition for Peace Through Strength]], which had comparable aims.
+===Promotion of European Integration===
+Le Cercle (like the [[Bilderberg Group]], to which it is often compared) is strongly focused on European integration, going back to the efforts of its early members to bring about a Franco-German rapprochement. The significant presence of Paneuropa-affiliated [[Opus Dei]] members and [[Knights of Malta]], together with statements of the Vatican and [[Otto von Habsburg]], suggest an agenda of creating a new "[[Holy Roman Empire]]" with borders from the [[Atlantic]] to the [[Black Sea]] and from the [[Baltic Sea]] to North [[Africa]].{{cn}} Interestingly, the latest generation of British Cercle members, whose predecessors were keen on joining the [[European Union]], now seem to want to keep Britain out of the emerging European superstate, perhaps having lost faith they can become a significant force within Europe. Their American associates, however, would like for them to continue the effort of breaking into the Franco-German alliance and possibly to establish a new Anglo-German alliance.
+==="War on Terror"===
+{{FA|War on Terror}}
+The group's interest in "[[counter-terrorism]]" and [[arms deal]]ing suggests that it may have been important in devising the "War on Terror" narrative, as does the fact that at least four members of this group ([[Brian Crozier]], [[Robert Moss]], [[Gerhard Lowenthal]], [[Alun Gwynne Jones]]) gave presentations at the seminal 1979 [[Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism]]. Some of the other speakers were connected to known members and may themselves have attended meetings of Le Cercle. Many members set up "terrorism research" organisations, which sheds new light on the "anti-communist" think tanks they also set up, such as [[Interdoc]]. Noting the presence of [[Baron Benoit de Bonvoisin]] in the group, [[Joël van der Reijden]] remarks that "That's major news, because Baron de Bonvoisin, besides a key Belgian figure in the [[Strategy of Tension]], is the most key name in the [https://isgp-studies.com/belgian-x-dossiers-of-the-dutroux-affair Belgian X-Dossiers]."
+===Covert Military Intervention===
+Following a [[Nasser]]ite [[coup]] in [[Yemen]] in September 1962, [[Julian Amery]] (later Cercle [[Chairman of Le Cercle|chairman]]) met with [[King Hussein]] of [[Jordan]] and agreed to send Cercle attendee [[Neil McLean]] to report on the situation<ref>Stephen Dorril, MI6, Touchstone 2002, p.679.</ref> after which Amery met with McLean, [[David Stirling]], Col [[Brian Franks]] and [[UK Prime Minister]] [[Alec Douglas-Home]] to organise an unofficial mercenary operation.<ref>Stephen Dorril, [[MI6]], Touchstone 2002, p.684.</ref>
+===Weapons dealing===
+{{FAs|Iran-Contra|Arms-to-Iraq|Al-Yamamah arms deal}}
+[[image:Al yamamah.jpg|left|300px]]
+Cercle visitor [[John Carbaugh]] worked for [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corporation]], an arms dealing group directly involved in [[Iran-Contra]].<ref>http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=geomilitech_consultants_corporation</ref> Others such as [[Margaret Carlisle]] were aides to Iran-Contra insiders. Cercle members [[Paul Channon]] and [[Alan Clark]] are connected through their involvement in the [[Arms-to-Iraq]] affair, also to the later chairman [[Jonathan Aitken]], who himself was involved in the [[Al-Yamamah arms deal]] as well, as was another later chairman, [[Norman Lamont]].<ref>http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/mar/06/uk.iraq</ref> [[Nadhmi Auchi]] is widely reported as having made a lot of money from [[arms deal]]s to [[Saddam Hussein]], amongst others.<ref>https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Nadhmi_Auchi</ref><ref>April 6, 2003, The Observer, 'So, Norman, any regrets this time?';</ref>
+===Other activities===
+[[Ted Shackley]] was involved in oil deals after he left the CIA in 1979, facilitated by his close friend and fellow Cercle member, [[Conrad Gerber]] and oil smuggler [[John Deuss]]. [[Joël van der Reijden]] has suggested that Le Cercle was important in the organization of the [[9/11 attacks]].<ref>https://isgp-studies.com/911-supranational-suspects</ref>
+==Cover-up==
+{{FA|Le Cercle/Cover-up}}
+The [[Wikipedia]] page, as of May 2019, was less than 3.5K (under 350 words). A link to this website was removed after 10 minutes by Wikipedia user {{t|Doug Weller}},<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Le_Cercle&action=history</ref> who also removed the link to the [[list of Bilderberg participants]].<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Bilderberg_participants&action=history</ref> [[CAAT]] reported that ''[[The Guardian]]'' claimed that the group is not influential.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20080922154928/http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/countries/saudi-arabia.php</ref>
-==Membership==
+==Exposure==
-Le Cercle is a secretive, privately-funded and transnational discussion group which regularly meets in different parts of the world. It is attended by a mixture of politicians, ambassadors, bankers, shady businessmen, oil experts, editors, publishers, military officers and intelligence agents, who may or may not have retired from their official functions. The participants come from western or western-oriented countries. Many important members tend to be affiliated with the aristocratic circles in London or obscure elements within the Vatican, and accusations of links to fascism and [[Synarchism]] are anything but uncommon in this milieu. The greatest enemy of the Cercle has been the Soviet Union and members have been crusading against communist subversion for many decades. During this process, Cercle members unfortunately have accused almost every nationalist and socialist government, every labour union, every terrorist, and every serious investigator of western intelligence of being in bed with the KGB.
+{{FA|Le Cercle/Exposure}}
+[[image:Rogue Agents.jpg|292px|thumbnail|left|The cover of the Kindle edition of ''[[Rogue Agents]]'']]
+The group was mentioned in a 1980 article in ''[[Der Spiegel]]''.<ref>https://www.spiegel.de/politik/franz-josef-sein-milljoeh-a-d59216b9-0002-0001-0000-000014315032</ref> As of 2021, Le Cercle remains ''far'' less exposed that the [[Bilderberg/Exposure|Bilderberg]]. It has featured very occasionally in {{ccm}}, but most of what is publicly available about the group is from independent researchers. Preeminent among leaks were the [[Langemann Papers]], which exposed the group as an agent of political subversion. [[Joël van der Reijden]] has been publishing about the group online since 2005 and put some primary documents online in 2011.
-==Promotion of European Integration==
+===''Rogue Agents''===
-In addition, the Cercle is also strongly focused on European integration, going back to the efforts of its early members to bring about Franco-German rapprochement. The significant presence of Paneuropa-affiliated [[Opus Dei]] members and [[Knights of Malta]], together with statements of the Vatican and Otto von Habsburg, clearly indicate there's an agenda in the background to some day bring about a new Holy Roman Empire with its borders stretching from the Atlantic to the Black Sea and from the Baltic Sea to North Africa. Interestingly, the latest generation of British Cercle members, whose predecessors were keen on joining the European Union, now do everything in their power to keep Britain out of the emerging European superstate, having lost faith they can become a significant force within Europe. Their American associates, however, would like for them to continue the effort of breaking into the Franco-German alliance and possibly to establish a new Anglo-German alliance.
+{{FA|Rogue Agents}}
+[[David Teacher]] credits van der Reijden with encouraging him to update his study of Le Cercle from 1951-1991, ''[[Rogue Agents]]'', a 578 page study of the group, which is downloadable from this site<ref>[[File:Rogue Agents - the Cercle and the 6I in the Private Cold War 1951 - 1991 by David Teacher (5th edn, 2017).pdf]]</ref> and which [[Peter Dale Scott]] termed "mind-boggling research".
-It seems like a cold war is raging in Europe. One that doesn't directly involve the Soviets.
+===2017===
+Fresh documents related to Le Cercle emerged from Pretoria and elsewhere in 2017.<ref>https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-24-declassified-apartheid-profits-le-cercle-the-phantom-profiteers/</ref> In November 2017 [[Graham Vanbergen]] published ''[http://truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/meet-le-cercle-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs/ Meet Le Cercle – Making Bilderberg Look Like Amateurs]'' in ''[[TruePublica]]'', which was picked up by several independent websites.<ref>http://galacticconnection.com/meet-le-cercle-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs/</ref><ref>http://www.globaltruth.net/meet-le-cercle-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs/</ref><ref>https://www.realistnews.net/Thread-meet-%E2%80%9Cle-cercle%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-making-bilderberg-look-like-amateurs</ref>
-==Main Articles==
+{{SMWDocs}}
-* [https://wikispooks.com/ISGP/organisations/Le_Cercle.htm '''Le Cercle and the Stuggle for the European Continent'''] - Joel Van der Reijden - Wikispooks ISGP archive.
-* [https://wikispooks.com/ISGP/organisations/Le_Cercle_membership_list.htm '''Le Cercle membership lists''']
-[[Category:Secret Societies]]
+==References==
-[[Category:Le Cercle]]
+{{Reflist|2}}
+<!--
+==IGSP Articles==
+* [https://isgp-studies.com/le-cercle-pinay '''Le Cercle and the Struggle for the European Continent''']. Subtitled "Private bridge between Vatican-Paneuropean and Anglo-American intelligence" - [[Joel Van der Reijden]] - Wikispooks [[ISGP Archive]]. Probably the most comprehensive study available on ''Le Cercle'']], which fills in many of the blanks surrounding the apparent dual loyalties of the UK viz-a-viz Europe and the US and how they were - and continue to be - addressed and more-or-less successfully resolved. UK readers will find the sections on the involvement of [[Brian Crozier]], [[Julian Amery]], [[Norman Lamont]] and [[Jonathan Aitken]] particularly illuminating.
+* [https://isgp-studies.com/2010_Le_Cercle_update '''Le Cercle and the Struggle for the Eurasian Continent''']. A June 2010 update of the above article subtitled: "New information: Notorious [[CIA]] ''ghost'' owned '''Atlantic Cercle, Inc.''' from 1994 to 2002" - Joel Van der Reijden - Wikispooks [[ISGP Archive]] -->