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It seems that a few years before the expected Third World War, a new PR strategy is being used by the transatlantic networks that have so far secretly coordinated security policy and arms production. During the Cold War, the public was completely unaware of the Bilderberg Group, which every year stayed in a different country in a 5-star hotel for an elite conference. Those in corporations and authorities who at least knew of the existence of Bilderberg assumed that it was the spearhead of anti-communism. In fact, the role of Bilderberg was paradoxical; participants often headed mega-corporations whose goods were sold to the Eastern bloc. The veteran of Bilderberg, Henry Kissinger, persuaded US President Nixon to go a long way towards China, which was one of the worst mistakes of the Cold War.
After 1991, conspiracy influencers pounced on the Bilderberg issue, while the mainstream media occasionally commented that the organization was a meaningless relic, where only washed-up officials hang out.
Since the Ukraine war, at least, no one could deny how high-caliber the lists of participants at the annual conferences are and how strong the focus is on defense policy and armaments.
In the vast majority of cases, conspiracy influencers have currently fallen victim to Russian propaganda, or are secretly working directly for the Russians. However, some could be won back for US policy under a new Trump administration. During the election campaign, the Republicans also flirted with extremist-minded voters (as they have done many times in the past). A network of party-loyal influencers could be used to give Bilderberg a good reputation, or at least to polish its reputation.
Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has now been appointed the new co-chairman of the influential Bilderberg Group. This move is ideal for publicity, which has actually been avoided in the past. Instead of choosing a drab-looking EU official who is largely unknown to the public and has a name that no one remembers, Stoltenberg has now been chosen. This also subtly suggests that Bilderberg is not ideologically nailed down, because Stoltenberg was left-wing in his youth and sang anti-NATO songs.
British journalist Charlie Skelton vacillates between skepticism and understanding in his article in the London Guardian on Wednesday.
In February, Stoltenberg will also chair the Munich Security Conference, another important symposium on defense and diplomacy. The fact that another Bilderberg veteran, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, is replacing Stoltenberg at NATO marks a concentration of control at the top of the Atlantic alliance at a critical time.
Several members of the group’s steering committee come from the defense industry. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently headed the National Security Commission on AI and is now busy launching a drone company targeting the Ukrainian market. Meanwhile, Swedish industrialist Marcus Wallenberg is chairman of defense manufacturer Saab, which saw a 71% increase in orders in the first nine months of 2024, largely due to the war with Russia.
Tech star and Donald Trump insider Peter Thiel founded robotics company Anduril and surveillance and AI giant Palantir. His confidant Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir, was elected to the board of the Bilderberg Group several years ago. Karp claims his company is “responsible for most of the attacks in Ukraine” and recently told the New York Times that the US would “very likely” soon be fighting a three-front war with China, Russia and Iran.
Bilderberg thrives on discreet diplomacy, elite networks and intelligence work: a former head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, is a member of the group’s steering committee, and the current head of the CIA, William Burns, was a member before quietly resigning when he took office.
Charlie Skelton then leaks the location of the next Bilderberg conference in his article, which is a first and could be related to the group’s new PR strategy.
The chief negotiator for Sweden’s NATO accession, Oscar Stenström, was spotted on the sidelines of this year’s Bilderberg conference in Madrid: he is helping to organize next year’s summit in Stockholm on behalf of his new boss, billionaire Wallenberg.
It would not have been decisive who won the 2024 presidential election in the USA. The future vice president JD Vance used to work for Thiel at Mithril Capital, and a whole handful of members of Thiel’s tech network erk are slated for senior positions in the second Trump administration. Karp, Thiel’s CEO at Palantir, was a big supporter of Kamala Harris.
