Conspiracy Theories: The Bilderberg Files

IN 1954, four influential European and American high-flyers started an annual ‘reunion’ of elite and rising political, business and media figures. The first meeting was at the Bilderberg Hotel in the Netherlands. Remarkably little was known about this group until recently.

What the Theorists Say:

Conspiracy theorists are always looking for the uber cabal that controls world events and the Bilderberg group fits the bill. Membership is drawn exclusively from western Europe and North America, and consists mostly of the very rich and powerful. One of the founding members was a Polish diplomat and businessman – Joseph Retinger – thought to have been a CIA and MI6 stooge. Another was David Rockefeller, scion of the international banking firm accused by many American conspiracy theorists of being the source of all evil.

The location changes each year and there is tight security everywhere as journalists attempting to report on the group have discovered; they can expect to find themselves shadowed by anonymous men in black, driving black cars with tinted windows. The fact that any attempts to report on the group’s activities have been quashed by Bilderberg’s considerable media influence has allowed the group to operate in virtual secrecy for 50 years, despite its list of attendees reading like a Who’s Who of post-war Western history.

So what does Bilderberg do? Most importantly, it determines who will take power in America and western Europe. Virtually every British prime minister and American president of the last fifty years attended a Bilderberg meeting early in their career. Obviously the Bilderberg group decides who the future leaders will be, grooms them for power, uses its pervasive network of influence to ensure they get ahead and uses its control of the media and the economy to ensure their elections. So much for democracy. It doesn’t really matter who the electorate votes for anyway, because the chances are that both candidates are Bilderbergers.

Bilderberg meetings also help steer the course of world history. For instance, it was at such an assembly that waging a war on Serbia was agreed on and doubtless it was also here that Bush Snr and Bush Jr were given the go-ahead for their Persian Gulf campaigns.

The Official Story?

Bilderberg get-togethers were always intended to be informal gatherings of opinion-formers from all parts of the political spectrum and guest lists are carefully balanced. The events are private, not covert. Privacy is essential to allow guests to speak openly and freely. This also accounts for the desire for confidentiality, although there is no active suppression of reports as evidenced by the extensive information available to the public about procedures and guest lists. Security is obviously important given the high-profile guest list.

Bilderberg meetings provide a forum where policy-makers can debate in a non-confrontational atmosphere and discussions then form the background against which policy decisions can be made. The meetings do not decide policy. The steering committee that draws up the guest list has an eye for talent, plus it is often apparent to informed minds who the rising stars of politics and business are likely to be. There is nothing sinister going on and Bilderbergers do not orchestrate their influence to boost the careers of invitees, although inevitably there is a lot of networking.

Should You be Paranoid?

Even if we give the Bilderberg the benefit of the doubt, and agree that it is a ‘talking shop’ with innocent intent, it is inherently anti-democratic by its very nature, specifically bringing together the (mainly capitalist and very rich) elite to discuss important issues without public ‘interference’. It must be hugely influential, yet the guest list is drawn up from a tiny portion of the population in a tiny portion of the world.