The Devil's Legions
From Cold War Proxies to Vast Unaccountable Power
The Cold War (1947–1991) was a defining era of geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, characterized by covert operations and proxy wars. The Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance—comprising the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—alongside European intelligence agencies, played a pivotal role in countering Soviet influence. These agencies supported non-state actors across former colonial regions in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, laying the foundation for a complex legacy.
Today, these groups are illicit networks, backed and controlled by Western intelligence, forming what I call the "Devil's Legions"—a global network generating over $1.5 trillion annually, which is laundered through the "Spider's Web" of offshore financial centers. All while being the self-funding, unaccountable, non-state, intelligence and military for the Financialists. Used against any and all state or state actors who might stand against them. This article delves into this history, evolution, and financial underpinnings.
Historical Context: Cold War and Intelligence Agencies
During the Cold War, FVEY and European intelligence agencies engaged in extensive covert operations to destabilize communist-aligned states, often through non-state actors like insurgent groups and militias. This strategy, rooted in realpolitik, prioritized strategic outcomes over moral considerations.
Examples of Support:
Afghanistan (1980s): The CIA, with British MI6 support, funded and armed the Mujahideen to combat Soviet forces. This included Osama bin Laden, who later founded Al-Qaeda (Coll, 2004).
Africa: Western agencies backed anti-communist factions like UNITA in Angola, often ignoring their broader activities (Stockwell, 1978).
Southeast Asia: Support for groups opposing communist regimes in Vietnam and Cambodia sometimes tolerated illicit operations, such as drug trafficking (McCoy, 2003).
These actions were deliberate, embedding groups that later turned to terrorism and crime. While the initial intent was strategic, the long-term consequences were profound, setting the stage for their post-Cold War transformation.
References:
Coll, S. (2004). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden. Penguin Books.
Stockwell, J. (1978). In Search of Enemies: A CIA Story. W.W. Norton & Company.
McCoy, A. W. (2003). The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade. Lawrence Hill Books.
Post-Cold War Evolution: From Proxies to Illicit Actors
With the Cold War’s end in 1991, these proxy groups, no longer tethered to anti-communist goals, became self-funding illicit operators, with continued Western backing. The power vacuum left by colonialism and superpower withdrawal enabled this shift.
Transition to Illicit Activities:
Al-Qaeda: Once a Western ally against the Soviets, it turned to global jihad, funding itself through donations, extortion, and drug trafficking (Gunaratna, 2002).
Latin America: Colombia’s AUC, formerly anti-communist paramilitaries, entrenched itself in the drug trade post-U.S. support (Human Rights Watch, 2001).
West Africa: Militias transitioned into smuggling and trafficking networks as governance faltered (UNODC, 2013).
Continued Western Backing:
Intelligence agencies, including FVEY, maintained ties with these groups, tolerating or enabling their activities to destabilize rival states like Iran or Syria. While direct evidence is scarce, historical patterns (e.g., Church Committee findings) and whistleblower accounts strongly suggest ongoing influence (Church Committee, 1976).
References:
Gunaratna, R. (2002). Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror. Columbia University Press.
Human Rights Watch. (2001). The "Sixth Division": Military-Paramilitary Ties and U.S. Policy in Colombia.
UNODC. (2013). Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa: A Threat Assessment.
Church Committee. (1976). Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities.
"Devil's Legions": A Network of Illicit Power
The "Devil's Legions" is now, post-GWOT, a fully Western-backed global network engaged in drug and human trafficking, money laundering, and violent influence, generating over $1.5 trillion annually. All of which gets laundered and parked in the Spider's Web of offshore entities, to then invest in the very nation states who use their FVEYs control to coordinate and control the vast operations of the Devil's Legions. This system leverages Cold War-era proxies turned illicit actors, which was the very purpose for the establishment of the proxies to begin with. Communism always being the excuse.
Scope of Activities:
Drug Trafficking: Valued at $320–$500 billion yearly, groups like the Taliban and Latin American cartels dominate (UNODC, 2020).
Human Trafficking: Generating $150 billion annually, with ties to groups like Boko Haram (ILO, 2014).
Terrorism and Violence: Al-Qaeda and ISIS wield influence through violence, funded by crime, under Western oversight.
Financial Scale:
The $1.5 trillion figure aligns with estimates of global illicit flows ($1–$1.6 trillion, Kar & Spanjers, 2015). Additionally, misappropriated state and NGO aid, officially $150–$200 billion yearly (OECD, 2020), though much more, dramatically inflates this total when funneled through the network.
Western Intelligence Role:
Historical precedents, like CIA involvement with the Contras’ drug trade (Webb, 1998), and theories of a "deep state" (Scott, 2007), support the supposition of orchestration by FVEY and European agencies.
References:
UNODC. (2020). World Drug Report 2020.
ILO. (2014). Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour.
Kar, D., & Spanjers, J. (2015). Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004–2013. Global Financial Integrity.
OECD. (2020). Development Co-operation Report 2020.
Webb, G. (1998). Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press.
Scott, P. D. (2007). The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America. University of California Press.
The "Spider's Web": Laundering and Parking Illicit Funds
The "Spider's Web," the City of London's (Amsterdam's) network of offshore financial centers (e.g., Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands), launders and parks these illicit funds (Shaxson, 2011).
Mechanism:
Offshore hubs conceal trillions in wealth, as revealed by the Panama and Paradise Papers (ICIJ, 2016; 2017).
The Tax Justice Network estimates $21–$32 trillion in private wealth offshore, including criminal proceeds, though the real amount may be 3 to 5 times larger (Henry, 2012).
Connection to Illicit Networks:
Drug cartels and terrorist financiers, like those fined at HSBC ($1.9 billion, U.S. DOJ, 2012), exploit these systems, intersecting with the "Satan's Web."
Scale:
The infrastructure supports laundering vast sums, making the $1.5 trillion supposition plausible within this secretive financial web.
References:
Shaxson, N. (2011). Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World. Palgrave Macmillan.
ICIJ. (2016). The Panama Papers. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
ICIJ. (2017). The Paradise Papers. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Henry, J. S. (2012). The Price of Offshore Revisited. Tax Justice Network.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2012). HSBC Holdings Plc. and HSBC Bank USA N.A. Admit to Anti-Money Laundering Violations.
The Cold War’s legacy birthed a web of illicit networks, now generating over $1.5 trillion annually under Western intelligence backing, all laundered through and parked in the "Spider's Web." While historical and financial evidence supports this, the full extent of intent and integration invites scrutiny. This morally charged issue demands further exploration into the shadows of global power. I will be following up this line of reasoning and discovery over the coming weeks.
For further extensive reading, and to put previous dialogue into context...
The Praetorian Problem (Financialists):
Praetorians Old and New (Financialists):
The Mob State Problem (FVEYs creation):
The Mob State Problem (FVEYs assassinate Princes):
The Deception Problem (Financialists using us against ourselves:
5% of Global GDP (liquidity) from the Devil's Legions:
This is the Eternal War:
The Financialist Kill Chain:
The GWOT was a mob war (consolidation of illicit power):
Collapsing nations now power is offshore:
The Praetorians (Financialists and their FVEYs):
The Financialist FVEY led Devil's Legions operated Kill Chain:
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