"Operation Plutocrat" - A Short History of the CIA's War on Humanity
How the "Elite" Use the Tools of State Espionage to Fortify Economic Domination
The affluent class has perennially employed myriad strategies to hoard wealth, yet it wasn't until the mid-1970s that these strategies synergized into an unprecedented juggernaut of wealth accumulation.
Post-1975, this apparatus became a force majeure, an amalgamation far exceeding its components—a meticulously orchestrated symphony of advocacy groups, lobbyists, think tanks, conservative benefactors, and PR maestros. This machine has not merely operated; it has propelled the top one percent to an economic exosphere, far removed from the gravitational pull of common economic reality.
Let's trace this monstrosity back to its roots, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, intertwine with the dark tendrils of the CIA. No, there isn't a dossier labeled “Operation Plutocrat,” but do we really need one when the fingerprints of covert operations like MK-ULTRA and MOCKINGBIRD already smear the narrative?
The architects of this economic coup—Irving Kristol, Paul Weyrich, and their ilk—were not just men with a vision; they were operatives with a blueprint for subversion, albeit this time, the battlefield was economic, and the enemy was the middle class.
In the 1970s, these architects repurposed Cold War tactics for a Class War, crafting an American economic policy that mirrors the anti-communist crusades abroad. The result? A business class so well-organized and ruthless, it would make Machiavelli blush.
By 1975, the wealthiest 1% clutched 22% of America's wealth—a figure they would balloon to a staggering 42% by 1992. This isn't just inequality; it's economic imperialism. And to think, this leap was not by chance but by design—a design so insidious, it could only have been birthed in the shadowy corridors where espionage meets enterprise.
If the CIA's foreign campaigns aimed to destabilize regimes for American interests, then domestically, they have achieved a silent coup, ensuring the wealth doesn't just trickle up but gushes. We find ourselves in an era where economic disparity isn't just a byproduct of capitalism but its crowning achievement, orchestrated by those who once swore to protect national interests. How delightfully ironic, or perhaps cynically expected, that the protectors have become the profiteers.
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How did this unholy alliance commence? The CIA, from its inception, has been a magnet for the nation's aristocracy: tycoons, stockbrokers, the media's magnates, and the intellectual cream from Ivy League towers. During the tumult of World War II, General “Wild Bill” Donovan cultivated what would become the CIA's precursor, the OSS. Donovan's recruitment strategy? Exclusively from the corridors of power and privilege, to the extent that insiders quipped “OSS” might as well stand for “Oh, So Social!”
Then there's Allen Dulles, a figure whose tenure as CIA Director from 1953 to 1961 was as much about espionage as it was about elite networking. A senior partner at Sullivan and Cromwell, Dulles was knee-deep in the financial quagmire of Wall Street, representing interests like the Rockefeller empire—a labyrinth of trusts, corporations, and cartels.
His position at J. Henry Schroeder Bank wasn't just a job; it was a node in a global network of financial power, creating a web where his loyalties lay split between national security and personal economic interests. Here was a man who, like Donovan, saw no issue in blending the cloak-and-dagger world with the high stakes of high society.
By the 1950s, this strategy had metastasized. The CIA had woven itself into the very fabric of American enterprise, academia, and media with a network of operatives so extensive, it would make any conspiracy theorist's head spin. These operatives operated under various guises:
Some abandoned their careers for the allure of espionage, embracing the CIA's shadowy embrace fully.
Others remained in their fields, their professional lives serving as a mere facade for their true vocation as CIA assets, engaging in espionage as if it were a side hustle.
Then there were those who casually leaked information, treating sensitive intel like office gossip.
And let's not forget the revolving door, spinning executives between the agency and corporate boardrooms as if they were interchangeable parts in this grand machine of influence.
This infiltration wasn't simply about national security; it was about securing the elite's grip on power, using the tools of state espionage to fortify economic dominions. Here lies the cynicism: while the CIA ostensibly protects the nation, it simultaneously serves as a finishing school for the rich to refine their skills in manipulation and control, ensuring that the divide between the governed and the governors grows ever wider.
The symbiosis between the CIA and the societal elite is not merely a partnership; it's an identity. Their ambitions, their fears, their tactics—all are indistinguishable, woven together in what might be termed the “old boy network,” a realm where the line blurs between governance and personal gain, where the clink of glasses at exclusive gatherings often seals more deals than any formal negotiation.
This convergence was inevitable given the shared ethos: a profound disdain for democratic processes, which they view not as the bedrock of liberty but as inconvenient hurdles to their unchecked power. Both the CIA and the corporate moguls operate under a cloak of secrecy, a veil drawn not for the sake of national interest but to shield their maneuvers from public scrutiny or, when necessary, to craft a narrative that serves their purpose.
But how do these entities bolster each other? Here's the mechanics of their mutual back-scratching:
Operational Cover and Resources: Multinational corporations provide the CIA with plausible deniability, funding channels, cutting-edge technology, and invaluable international connections. A businessman in a foreign land might just be another asset in the CIA's global chess game.
Lucrative Contracts: In return, these corporations are rewarded with federal contracts worth billions, crafting the very tools of espionage—satellites, surveillance tech, you name it. There's a certain allure in playing the spy game, a thrill that no boardroom could ever provide.
Protection and Privilege: Under the pretext of safeguarding national security, the CIA extends a protective umbrella over its corporate allies, shielding them from the prying eyes of the media and regulatory bodies. It's about preserving the sanctity of their operations from any democratic oversight.
Market Domination: Perhaps most insidiously, the CIA plays the role of an economic hitman, toppling foreign governments that dare to challenge the unregulated crony-capitalism so beloved by American corporations. They install regimes that are more... accommodating, ensuring that American business interests thrive at the expense of local populations.
This alliance has proven to be a devil's bargain, where each entity empowers the other to flout laws and norms with impunity.
A dive into the CIA's ledger reveals a litany of crimes and moral outrages so profound that defending them under any banner, even anti-communism, becomes an exercise in absurdity. Before we delve into the specifics of this dark partnership, one must first acknowledge the sheer scale of the CIA's transgressions—a history littered with acts that challenge the very notion of ethical governance.
The CIA's Litany of Transgressions
During the tumult of World War II, the OSS didn't shy away from the darker arts of warfare: propaganda, sabotage, and myriad other underhanded tactics. Post-war, with the establishment of the CIA in 1947, there was a brief, naive interlude where espionage was relegated to mere intelligence gathering, a quaint notion that the threats had subsided.
But with the Cold War's chill setting in by 1948, this illusion shattered. The CIA reformed its covert operations branch, coyly named the Office of Policy Coordination, under the stewardship of Wall Street's own, Frank Wisner. Its charter, cloaked in bureaucratic language, was nothing short of a mandate for mayhem:
“… propaganda, economic warfare, preventive direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world.”1
By 1953, this cloak-and-dagger division swelled to employ 7,200 souls, consuming a staggering 74% of the CIA's budget. Here's how the atmosphere within this shadow world was described:
Stanley Lovell, recruiter for Donovan's wild ventures, once mused,
“What I have to do is to stimulate the Peck’s Bad Boy beneath the surface of every American scientist and say to him, ‘Throw all your normal law-abiding concepts out the window. Here’s a chance to raise merry hell. Come help me raise it.'”
George Hunter White, reflecting on his time with the CIA, captured the rogue ethos with glee:
“I toiled wholeheartedly in the vineyards because it was fun, fun, fun… Where else could a red-blooded American boy lie, kill, cheat, steal, rape and pillage with the sanction and blessing of the all-highest?”2
And from a seasoned CIA operative, with two decades under his belt, the candid admission:
“I never gave a thought to legality or morality. Frankly, I did what worked.”
Cloaked in secrecy and shielded from the meddling eyes of Congress, the CIA's operations spiraled into corruption with alarming alacrity. With tools like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe at their disposal, the Agency didn't just broadcast; they manipulated, justified by the paternalistic belief that they knew what was best for the populace.
These broadcasts, often flagrantly deceptive, were deemed too misleading to be legally disseminated within the U.S. itself—a stark testament to an organization that not only assumed the mantle of deciding the 'greater good' but also freely abused the very powers it had commandeered.
In the shadows of the 1940s and 50s, while most of the American public remained blissfully ignorant, the CIA wove a tapestry of covert operations under the guise of combating communism, reminiscent of a spy thriller hero like James Bond. But as the cloak of secrecy began to fray in the 60s and 70s, the revelations about the CIA's real-life exploits were far from the realm of fiction:3
Corruption of Democracy: They meddled in elections from Germany to Greece, ensuring outcomes that favored U.S. interests, irrespective of democratic will.
Assassinations and Coups: The Agency has been linked to numerous assassination plots, targeting leaders like Salvador Allende of Chile and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, not to mention their hand in coups d'état, toppling leaders like Iran's Mossadegh and Guatemala's Arbenz to install regimes more amenable to American hegemony.
Support for Tyranny: They propped up despots like Chile's Pinochet, turning a blind eye to or even facilitating the brutal suppression of dissent through death squads and secret police forces, trained in part at places like the School of the Americas.
Economic and Physical Sabotage: From crop destruction to industrial sabotage, the CIA's reach extended to economic warfare, exacerbating famines and sinking ships.
Human Rights Abuses: In cooperation with Kissinger, their operations led to massacres in East Timor and Cambodia, and they conducted mind-control experiments like MK-ULTRA, which left victims in its wake.
Subversion at Home and Abroad: They infiltrated student movements, maintained cozy relationships with organized crime, and engaged in drug trafficking to fund their dark ventures, from the Golden Triangle to the streets where the Contras' cocaine turned into crack.
Lies and Cover-Ups: Their actions were often followed by disinformation campaigns, planting false stories, and framing innocents, all while maintaining an illicit surveillance on American citizens.
Collaboration with War Criminals: Not shying away from employing Nazis for their Cold War utility, the CIA smuggled war criminals into the U.S., bypassing justice for strategic gain.
Global Destabilization: Their fingerprints are found in numerous conflicts and covert wars, from Nicaragua to Angola, shaping global politics through the barrel of a gun or the tip of a poisoned pen.
By 1987, the body count attributed to these covert operations was estimated at a staggering 6 million by the Association for Responsible Dissent, an “American Holocaust” as aptly named by former State Department official William Blum.4
The CIA's ability to operate with such impunity stems from its unique position outside the democratic oversight. As Philip Agee, an ex-CIA officer, stated, it acts as “the President's secret army,” accountable only to the Oval Office, where the cloak of secrecy ensured minimal backlash.
Even after attempts at oversight post-1975, the congressional watchdogs proved toothless, often staffed by those with vested interests in maintaining the status quo, including former CIA operatives themselves, ensuring that the Agency's shadow wars continued with little restraint.
The Corporate Roots of CIA Subterfuge
While the Cold War narrative often paints the CIA as the vanguard against communism, there is a more sinister truth: the agency's core mission was the suppression of democracy itself.
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