The Return of the ASC Part II

Welcome to the second installment in my look at the resurgence of the old American Security Council (ASC) network in conjunction with the rise of The Donald. Nowadays the ASC is largely a marginal organization, but in its heyday (1950s-1980s) it was at the heart of the some the darkest corners of the deep state --political assassinations, blacklisting, state-sanctioned drug and arms trafficking, terrorism --while nominally masquerading as lobby group/think tank for the military industrial complex. This blog has considered the ASC in depth before here. The great Institute for the Study of Globalization and Covert Politics (ISGP) has an excellent article on the ASC as well that is highly recommended.

With the first installment I considered Secretary of Defense-nominee General James "Mad Dog" Mattis' tenure with General Dynamics, for years one of the key financial backers of the ASC as well as William Regnery II's sponsorship of the now infamous National Policy Institute and its president, Richard "Hail Trump" Spencer. Regnery is a member of the infamous textile and publishing dynasty that has sponsored the far right for decades now. William II's grandfather and namesake was a co-founder of the Nazi-appeasing America First Committee (a slogan Trump appropriated). He would go on to help establish the ASC in the 1950s along with William II's uncle, publishing mogul Henry Regnery.

Mr. Jones

Next up for consideration is one of Trump's earliest and most vigorous supporters: talk show host Alex Jones. Jones and his intelligence ties has already been thoroughly exposed by ISGP in must read article that can be found here. For our purposes here, I would like to consider the links Jones has to the old ASC network.

Jones

First up are his ties to Joseph Farah. Farah, a regular guest on Jones' radio broadcast, is the founder of the far right wing news site World Net Daily (WND). While little discussed nowadays, Jones was a freelancer for WND back in the late '90s and the website has continued to plug Jones' work ever since.

This is most interesting when one considers one of Farah's former patrons: arch conservative financier Richard Mellon Scaife. While Scaife and Farah later parted company, the media mogul played a key role in the rise of Farah's own media empire that in turn gave Jones his first nation wide exposure. Scaife was himself a major sugar daddy of the "New Right," including the ASC.

"The global rollback network did not just happen; it needed money. Right-wing businesses saw the usefulness of rollnet for economic interests and provided much of the funds to create and sustain the network through a small number of ultraconservative foundations. Richard Mellon Scaife has contributed over $100 million in recent years, with beneficiaries including CPD, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Heritage Foundation, Accuracy in Media, and the American Security Council..."

(Rollnet, Thomas Bodenheimer & Robert Gould, pg. 63)

What's more, Scaife has long been linked to US intelligence.

"... multimillionaire Richard Mellon Scaife. Scaife's ties to the intelligence community span many years – he owned and operated Forum World Features, an international CIA news outlet that supplied over 300 newspapers until its exposure 1975 – and he has been one of the most generous sugar daddies of the New Right, providing the seed money for the Heritage Foundation and for the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress."

(Spiritual Warfare, Sara Diamond, pg. 194) 

Richard Mellon Scaife

But back to Mr. Jones. It also appears that the name of Jones' website, Infowars, came from an article published on WND by Admiral Thomas Moorer calling for "information warriors." When discussing the name of his newly launched website, Jones himself heaped ample praise on Thomas Moorer. Infowars has continued to praise Admiral Moorer over the years (such as here).

This should no doubt raise the eyebrows of regular readers of this blog. As was addressed before here, it is likely that Moorer played a key role in the overthrow of the Nixon regime. Moorer's Task Force 157, working in close cooperation with the CIA's mysterious Office of Security (which oversaw Project ARTICHOKE, among other outrages), appear throughout the Watergate saga. Also present was the American Security Council, which Moorer joined several years after his tenure as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ended.

Admiral Thomas Moorer

Another link between Jones and the old ASC network is Joel Skousen, a regular guest on the Alex Jones Show for years now. Skousen has a certain uncle who was very close to the ASC in the early days: W. Cleon Skousen. Skousen, the author of The Naked Capitalist, for year's the general public's only access to musings of Carroll Quigley and his Tragedy and Hope (which Skousen, like many researchers who followed him, selectively quoted from to distort the points Quigley was trying to make), is still revered amongst the conspiratorial right to this day. Skousen first became a celebrity in conspiracy circles during his time with the ASC.

"... W. Cleon Skousen, who was named field director, have been an agent from 1940 to 1951 and is well-known in right-wing circles as the author of The Naked Communist and The Communist Attack on U.S. Police. Skousen left the ASC in 1960 to become a John Birch functionary, and is a perennial figure on the society's lecture circuit..."

(Power on the Right, William Turner, pg. 200) 

According to Sara Diamond, Skousen was active in the ASC throughout the early 1960s.

"As was characteristic of system-supportive anticommunist groups, the American Security Council functioned as an asset to the Cold War state, largely by reinforcing anticommunist ideology. By 1962 the Council boasted of the success of its 'Freedom University of the Air,' a series of sixty-five half-hour television programs hosted by former ASC field director W. Cleon Skousen..."

(Roads to Dominion, Sara Diamond, pg. 49)

W. Cleon Skousen

Skousen would later be booted out of the ASC for being too radical, or leave the ASC because it was not radical enough, depending upon whom one asks. Skousen would continue operate in the same orbit as the ASC for much of the rest of his life, however. Diamond notes that by the 1980s he was involved with the Western Goals Foundation, an organization that featured ample overlap with the ASC.

A direct ASC affiliate linked to Jones is conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, recently deceased. Schlafly appeared several times on Jones' show over the years and he offered up ample of praise of her in the wake of her death. Donald Trump also aligned himself with Schlafly in the last year of her life and reportedly received a standing ovation at her funeral.

Schlafly had longstanding ties to the ASC. Schlafly wrote three books over the years with ASC strategy board member Admiral Chester Ward: The Gravediggers (1964), Strike from Space: A Megadeath Mystery (1966) and Kissinger on the Couch (1974). During the 1980s Schlafly was a member of the Coalition for Peace Through Strength,  a group of over 170 separate organizations that the ASC had organized under its banner to achieve its political objectives.

"A perusal of the Coalition's membership, both its Congressional and 'private sector' branches, reveals that what ASC had indeed accomplished was to draw together the New Right, neoconservatives, the Cold Warrior elite, and it's a military-industrial operation into one formidable coalition...

"Appearing alongside these disgruntled hawks from the national security establishment were such prominent New Right figures as Philip Crane, Phyllis Schlafly, and Stefan Possony (Director of International Studies, Hoover Institute, Stanford University). Representing the military-industrial complex were Fischer, Durbrow, Admiral Thomas Moorer (former chairman of the Joint Chiefs), and Lt. Gen. Gordon M Graham (USAF ret.), vice-president of the Washington office of McDonnell Douglas..."

(Peddlers of Crisis, Jerry W. Sanders, pg. 226)

Schlafly then was also active in the Coalition with another Alex Jones favorite, Admiral Thomas Moorer. Schlafly also had ties to other organizations closely linked to the ASC and, more recently, the Trump campaign. One is the notorious Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM, better known as the Knights of Malta), of which Schlafly was a Dame of (the Dames of Malta are the female auxiliary of SMOM). As I've noted before here, these bizarre order of knighthood such as SMOM and the Sovereign Order of Saint John (SOSJ) appear to have formed an inner circle that dominated the ASC and other such far right networks (i.e. the closely related Le Cercle, whose ties to the ASC and SMOM were noted before here and here).

Another organization Schlafly was extensively involved with the notorious and highly secretive Council for National Policy (CNP). The CNP is an organization that Jones has gone to great lengths to defend over the years. Unsurprisingly, the CNP has ties to the ASC from the early days.

"... the Council for National Policy, a secret membership group that has included Phillips, Abramoff, then National Security Council officials Oliver North and John Lenczowski, WACL chair John Singlaub, and many others with ASC interlocks. CNP's secret quarterly meetings bring together right-wing funders (such as Joseph Coors) and foreign-policy activist. The June 1987 speaker was Richard Secord. Secord was a major player in the Iran-contragate arms for hostages private network."

(Old Nazis, the New Right and the Republican Party, Russ Bellant, pg. 83)

The above-mentioned Phillips is Howard Phillips, whom Jones has praised as well. In many ways the CNP was one of the principal groups to continue the work of the ASC after the post-Cold War realignment of the America right. Another such group, a powerful foreign policy think tank, has also emerged as staunch backers of Donald Trump.

The CSP

The Center for Security Policy (CSP), which was first established in 1988, has been described as the primary continuation of the old ASC network by ISGP. This researcher sees no reason to dispute this claim when one considers the composition of the institute by the late 1990s. 

The CSP is much more neocon-centric than the CNP, which seems to have been dominated by the Old Right and the Christian fundies. As such, the CSP has wielded much more power in recent years, most especially in the administration of Bush II.

Numerous key figures in that regime were linked to the CSP, including: Dick Cheney (a member of the CSP's advisory board at one point), Donald Rumsfeld (a recipient of the Center's "Keeper of the Eternal Flame" award and frequent attendee of their meetings), Douglas J. Feith (a former chairman of the CSP's board of directors who would serve as Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under Bush II), Elliot Abrams (a member of the CSP's National Security Advisory Council and a member of Bush II's National Security Council), Paula Dobriansky (CSP National Security Advisory Council and Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs during the Bush II administration), Richard Perle (another CSP National Security Advisory Council member and Bush II's Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee) and Paul Wolfowitz (Bush II's Deputy Secretary of Defense and frequent speaker before the CSP).

Bush II flanked by leading neocons Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz

It probably goes without saying, but the prior list is practically a Who's Who of leading neocons during the Bush II years. And now the CSP is poised for a major comeback in the Trump administration.

Trump's links to the CSP go back to December of last year, when he cited a controversial study by the group concerning America's Islamic community. At the time, the BBC noted:

"Raising the bar once again for US political controversy, Donald Trump called on Monday for 'a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States'.

"The Republican presidential frontrunner claimed that research by the respected Pew organisation showed a 'great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population' - but he did not refer to any specific study to support that claim, and we can't find one that does.

"Mr Trump did cite a specific a study by the Center for Security Policy - 'very highly respected people, who I know, actually' - which he said showed that 25% of Muslims in the US believed violence against America was justified 'as part of the global jihad'."  

Despite Trump's early overtures, the CSP initially threw its weight behind Ted Cruz during the Republican primary with one glaring exception: Joseph E. Schmitz. Schmitz, whose support of Trump dated back to the primaries, was the inspector general for the Defense Department during the Bush II years and was later employed by the Blackwater mercenary firm (as noted before here, Blackwater founder Erik Prince has been a key Trump supporter as well). Schmitz just happens to be a member of the Knights of Malta as well. As noted above, the Maltese knights were a major force behind the ASC.

Joseph E. Schmitz

Once Trump locked up the Republican nomination, the CSP vigorously threw its support behind The Donald. One of the most notable CSP members to sign up with The Donald as the election began to heat up was uber-connected "former" CIA director James Woolsey. Woolsey appears to be one of the most powerful figures in the deep state and his support of Trump was of great significance, as noted before here.

An SOSJ Digression

Another curious early backer of The Donald to emerge from the CSP was General William "Jerry" Boykin. As was noted before here, Boykin spent much of his military career as part of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC, which appears to have emerged as a major player in the deep state with the election of Trump) and was also a key architect of the "enhanced" interrogation program (based upon Project ARTICHOKE) that was initiated under Bush II. But as regular reader AW pointed out to me, Boykin has even more sinister ties, most notably to the Sovereign Order of Saint John (SOSJ).

The SOSJ was another bizarre Christian military order that wielded enormous power in the ASC during its heyday. For years the SOSJ was dominated by "former" high ranking military officers, many of them with a background in intelligence. This blog has linked the SOSJ to the Kennedy assassination as well as much of the modern day militia movement (which SOSJ appears to have created as part of the American wing of Gladio). It has also been linked to The Order and the Oklahoma City bombing. The SOSJ claims descent from the Medieval Knights Hospitallers (as does the Sovereign Military Order of Malta) via the Russian line, but the organization probably hasn't existed any longer than the 1930s, but may have had its origins with the notorious Thule Society.

While the SOSJ had appeared to have finally taken its rightful place in the dustbin of history in the twenty-first century, it apparently has undergone a vigorous resurgence in recent years, with a well-connected deep state player like Boykin serving as its "Grand Chancellor." Other interesting members of its upper hierarchy are "Prince Grand Master" Nicholas Papanicolaou and suspected Dominionist Rick Joyner, who serves as a "Deputy Member of the Supreme Council" of the Order.

General William "Jerry" Boykin

The former had cut his teeth working for Aristotle Onassis (who has been linked to the deaths of both Kennedy brothers) in the early 1970s and appears to have wielded tremendous power in the Onassis Organization. Reportedly he was very close to Christina Onassis, Ari's only daughter and heir to her extensive fortune. She successfully managed her father's shipping empire up until her death in 1987. Papanicolaou, a childhood friend of Christina's, played a key role in the transition from Ari to Christina at the top of the organization in the wake of Ari's death in 1975 As such, one suspects this Greek has very, very deep pockets.

Nicholas Papanicolaou

The latter, Rick Joyner, is a founder of MorningStar Ministries and the Oak Initiative. Both Boykin and Papanicolaou are also involved in the Oak Initiative, a shadowy organization with ties to The Family (a radical Christian network with extensive ties to the deep state, as noted before here). All three men are also involved with the World Public Forum, which Papanicolaou co-founded with Vladimir Yakunin, a close associate of Vladimir Putin. This has lead to some interesting developments around the Oak Initiative crowd:

"This investigation, by the Center Against Religious Extremism (CARE), demonstrates an extensive pattern tying evangelist Rick Joyner and his Oak Initiative political organizing front, and leaders affiliated with Joyner who have pledged their lives to implement biblical law in all sectors of society, to Vladimir Putin’s inner-circle ally Vladimir Yakunin.

"d South Carolina evangelist Rick Joyner – who boasts close ties to former high-level U.S. military and intelligence community leaders, earned significant media coverage and also strong words from Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder and head Michael 'Mikey' Weinstein, who estimated that a significant fraction of officers and NCOs might be sympathetic to such an exhortation, a form of 'sedition' that crossed a 'red line' according to Weinstein...

"Currently sanctioned by the U.S. government for alleged interference in the Ukraine, Vladimir Yakunin is sometimes described as Russia’s second most powerful leader and is Putin’s close neighbor in an elite luxury dacha lakeside resort community near Russia’s border with Finland. Together with Greek-American financier Nicholas Papanicolaou – a board member of the U.S. evangelical political front the Oak Initiative that is dominated by members of the radical pro-theocracy New Apostolic Reformation movement (NAR), Yakunin is co-founder of the Russian-dominated World Public Forum, whose yearly Rhodes, Greece 'Dialogue of Civilizations' events have brought together dominionist American evangelicals with top Russian leaders."

Rick Joyner

Certainly Joyner's calls for a military coup seem increasingly prophetic in the wake of Trump's election. Even the MSM in these United States has reluctantly begun to notice the highly militarized cabinet nominations The Donald has selected. And while this researcher is reluctant to play the Russian card, it is undeniable that there are some strange links to Putin amongst the American far right, as the Oak Initiative and related organizations demonstrate. The SOSJ itself claims lineage from the Russia Knights Hospitallers and for years featured ample White Russians within its ranks. As such, the ties between American and Russian nationalists should not be as easily dismissed as many researchers are inclined to do. But moving along.

The CSP and the Trump Administration

Now it appears that the CSP's support of The Donald is paying off in spades. The controversial founder of the CSP, Frank Gaffney, was reportedly been meeting with the Trump transition team. The Boston Globe noted:

"For advice on building Trump’s national security team, his inner circle has been relying on three hawkish current and former US officials: Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; Peter Hoekstra, a former Republican congressman and former chairman of the intelligence committee; and Frank Gaffney, a Pentagon official during the Reagan administration and a founder of the Center for Security Policy."

Frank Gaffney

Both Gaffney and the Trump team have vigorously denied these reports, but the allegations continue to linger. At least one CSP member has confirmed being involved in the transition process, however, and he is a most curious individual. Newsmax notes:

"President-elect Donald Trump is making an excellent choice in retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis as Defense Secretary because 'he's going to be the chief warrior at the Pentagon,' retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely told Newsmax TV on Friday...

"Vallely said that he was among former 200 military officials who met recently with Trump — and part of their advice was to 'get away from political correctness.' "

Vallely, like many of the generals rallying around The Donald, has a background in intelligence and Special Operations. At the time of his retirement he was the Deputy Commander General of the US Army in the Pacific. He was also the first nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations under Reagan. More recently he has worked as a consultant for the Special Operations Command, which includes the Joint Special Operations Command.

On the whole, Vallely is a major proponent of the JSOC and his endorsement of General James "Mad Dog" Mattis as the Secretary of Defense indicates that the JSOC will continue to expand its power under Trump (the above-mentioned General William Boykin, who spent much of his military career in the JSOC, has also recently endorsed Mattis' nomination).

General Paul E. Vallely

General Paul Vallely is most well-known to conspiracy researchers for a certain paper he co-wrote in 1980 entitled From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory. Many insist that this paper continues to greatly influence US security policies, but the jury is still out. Nonetheless, Vallely co-author for this paper, of whom I'm sure regular readers of this blog are well aware, is a most interesting fellow. More will be said of him and his sigificance in the context of the far right in a future series.

Epilogue: Le Cercle

Before wrapping up, it is also interesting to note the CSP's longstanding ties to the highly secretive Le Cercle:

"Waller would also serve as Vice-President for Information Operations at the Center for Security Policy, founded in Washington in 1988, another body which involved several of Crozier's American contacts - the CSP 'National Security Advisory Council' included Kraemer, deGraffenreid and their future Pentagon bosses Douglas J. Feith and Richard Perle, as well as Edwin Feulner, Midge Decter and former CIA Director James Woolsey; Cercle member Margo Carlisle was a member of the Board of Directors..."

(Rogue Agents, David Teacher, pg. 241) 

Le Cercle has already been addressed at length on this blog, so I will not delve to deeply into it here. But suffice to say, it has been at the heart of the Fascist International for decades now. Like the ASC, its inner circle was heavily dominated by the Knights of Malta and other Christian military orders. It had extensive ties with the ASC and a host of far right wing US organizations. It also appears to be at the absolute heart of elite pedophiles rings across the globe.

While originally a part of the United Europe movement, Le Cercle has grown increasingly Eurosceptic in the twenty-first century, especially among its British backers. This researcher suspects that the Le Cercle network played a crucial role in Brexit, but it might be a while before any real evidence of this comes out. The fact that some of their American associates appear poised to play a key role in the Trump administration indicates that Le Cercle remains a major player in parapolitics and may be the key organization behind the nationalist revival sweeping the globe at present.