The US Deep State And How It Carries Out Regime Change Operations

It is a term used for a layered and clandestine network of members of the US intelligence agencies like the FBI and the CIA. These entities carry out their work—often toppling democratically elected governments—to ensure that the US has its way in foreign policy. These individuals are deeply embedded in financial and industrial entities as well as NGOs and media houses. 

The United States government began what it called 'soft power' in the late 1990s when Bill Clinton was the president. He, along with then First Lady Hillary Clinton, brought on board billionaire hedge fund investor George Soros as a proxy to fund vast networks of non-profits and later, media organisations in countries that were crucial to the US. 

In fact, George Soros was an open supporter of Hillary Clinton when she was in the race for presidential candidate in 2013. 

George Soros, in turn, created a global network of NGOs that were funded by him and created layer upon layer of hidden funding to obscure the source and give a thin veil of legitimacy to the operations. 

These NGOs almost always worked in the fields of human rights, poverty alleviation, education, and women and minority rights. Through these well-funded NGOs, the Democrats and the CIA were able to wield their power, waging bloodless wars, causing largescale protests to erupt in various countries, and toppling inconvenient leaders. It was the full might of the world's biggest superpower that was brought to bear illegally, without a care about the sovereignty of these nations, causing chaos and anarchy at will. 

Since 2016, the Indian government has embarked on a relentless crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs and other organisations. 

FCRA (Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010) licences of 6677 NGOs stand cancelled between 2017 and 2021, as per a statement by the Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha in 2022. Between 2011 and 2019, registrations of over 19,000 voluntary organisations have been cancelled by the Union Home Ministry. 

But George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, Pierre Omidyar’s Omidyar Network, as well as the Ford Foundation founded by Henry Ford’s son, continue to route funds into India, circumventing the FCRA laws. 

The three foundations have been put on a prior watchlist by the Centre—meaning that they can only donate if the Indian government scrutinises their funding and green signals the same. 

Due to these severe restrictions, the foundations adopted a new strategy. They built and funded layers upon layers of organisations through which their money was routed. 

This network of NGOs that are funded either directly or indirectly by these foundations are linked to two ultimate goals: 

1. To support activities that are against the Indian government. 

2. To sponsor and fund media publications that write against the Indian government. 

But first, for the uninitiated, let us quickly introduce the foundations. 

Open Society Foundation: This is billionaire hedge fund investor George Soros’ “political philanthropy project,” by his own admission. The foundation’s stated aim is to “work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their people.” The foundation is now run by 94-year-old George Soros' son, Alexander Soros. 

The Ford Foundation: This foundation was founded by Edsel Ford, son of famous carmaker Henry Ford, in 1936. Their vision is one “of social justice—a world in which all individuals, communities, and peoples work toward the protection and full expression of their human rights; are active participants in the decisions that affect them; share equitably in the knowledge, wealth, and resources of society; and are free to achieve their full potential.” This foundation is run by a 16-member board led by president Darren Walker. 

Omidyar Network: This is a foundation founded by Pierre Omidyar, who is a French-born Iranian-American billionaire founder of eBay. His wife, Pamela Omidyar, also runs the foundation jointly with him. The network calls itself a “social change venture that reimagines critical systems, and the ideas that govern them, to build more inclusive and equitable societies—for the benefit of the many, not just the few—across the globe.” 

These three foundations intersect in their goals and in their methods of functioning, as we shall see later on in this piece. 

Catch ‘Em Young & Embed 

All three foundations offer fellowships and scholarships for students in India wanting to study abroad. These students are meticulously handpicked, and eventually, they form part of a network of organisations, advocacy groups, and NGOs that are lavishly funded by the three foundations.

Sound familiar? It is akin to indoctrination. In line with the stated goals of the foundations, these students are also echo chambers that continually drive narratives against countries that are viewed as “totalitarian” or “autocratic” by those who run these foundations. 

A glaring instance is that of George Soros’ recent speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 16. “Adani is accused of stock manipulation, and his stock collapsed like a house of cards. Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament. This will significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government and open the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India.”

It was an unexpected speech but one that sent the Indian government into punch-throwing mode with the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar referring to Soros as an “old, rich, opinionated, and dangerous billionaire.” The then Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, termed Soros’ speech an “attack on India.” 

The reaction was not surprising, since Soros has, in the past, criticised what he— that is, the American Deep State—viewed as “totalitarian regimes” in Russia, China, Israel, Hungary, and many other countries. He is also widely accused of using his wealth to fund organisations that fuel protests and spread disinformation in order to effect regime change. 

The Ford Foundation and Omidyar Network are, however, more careful and do not function as brazenly as Soros does. Their actions across countries, however, mirror and mimic those of the billionaires. 

In this context, it is hardly surprising that the students and young professionals who get fellowships from the Open Society and the other foundations pack specific narrative punches consistently. 

This reporter reached out to NGO Monitor, a research institute based in Israel, which fact-checks NGOs and their funders in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The NGO Monitor has had special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2013. 

Speaking specifically on Soros’ and Open Society Foundation’s modus operandi, NGO Monitor’s representative (who did not want to be identified for security concerns) said, “He (Soros) has a very clear political philosophical ideology—open society. Humans are most important, and borders don't matter. When policy change happens, people need to rise from the ground and give them the tools to make change. That's why he funds education and universities—he believes change should come from the grassroots.” 

The representative stated that they had found clear evidence of Soros’ interference in the political situation of countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Croatia, and the Eastern Bloc. “Soros tried the same thing in Arab countries, but civil society is not so developed there, so his success was limited. For example, the Arab Spring became an Islamic Winter. NGOs played a large role in the Arab Spring—they did things to gain headlines. But when you look closely at the work of Soros-funded organisations, their claim to democracy is hollow. Why didn't any one of these NGOs push for more women participating in the movement? Why was there no talk about women's rights? This is because all their work was aimed at grabbing headlines.” 

“The next generation will be the bureaucrats, the journalists, and the policymakers who will bring about ‘change” as per Soros’ ideas. That is the reason he funds them from a young age and places them in organisations linked to him. He claims he put money to throw out former US President Donald Trump and funded the Black Lives Matter protests as well,” he said. 

Soros, particularly, is credited with the infamous “breaking of the Bank of England” in 1992 when he shorted the British pound, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis when he shorted the Thai Baht, sending Asian economies into freefall, and has expressed little remorse for his actions that resulted in huge human cost. Similarly, Hungary and Israel, apart from Russia, have criticised the billionaire and taken steps to prevent him from interfering in their respective countries. 

[Learn about some of the large NGOs funded by & carrying out the work of the us deep state in part 2 of this series.]