ONE of the dodgiest companies in the world was highlighted by a group of
a dozen anarchists from Worthing, West Sussex, taking part in the Mayday anti-capitalist protests on
Wednesday.
They protested in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, outside the UK HQ of The Carlyle
Group, an American finance firm closely linked to the US government, arms manufacturers, the CIA, the British Conservative Party and the Bin Laden family.
A banner was displayed declaring "The Carlyle Group - Axis of Evil" and
hundreds of leaflets were handed out to the public from 12 noon.
These detailed from mainstream sources like the Los Angeles Times and
The Guardian, the astonishing connections to people in power enjoyed by
the little-known but massively wealthy company.
Said a spokesman: "While there have been articles in the press here and
in the USA drawing attention to this highly sinister organisation, we
feel it deserves a much greater degree of public scrutiny.
"The Carlyle Group is at the heart of global scam to enable a powerful
elite to get rich from the horrors of war, while pretending to serve
some kind of public interest. It is a shocking example of the moral
corruption at the heart of capitalist society."

The text of the leaflet went as follows:

Bush, Bin Laden and The Carlyle Group

WHAT is the missing link between the CIA, American weapons firms, Wall
Street, John Major and the Bin Laden family?
The answer is The Carlyle Group, an immensely powerful financial empire
with enough dodgy connections and questionable interests to keep an army
of conspiracy theorists occupied for years.
The chances are you won’t have heard of this extraordinarily sinister
organisation, the world’s largest private equity firm. The Carlyle Group
doesn’t go out of its way to court publicity - unsurprisingly,
considering what it gets up to - and it is virtually invisible even
outside its official UK head office address at 20 Berkeley Square in
London’s Mayfair (The group also has offices in Lansdowne House at 57
Berkeley Square).
But bits and pieces are starting to emerge about its operations,
building up a frightening picture of the fusion of mega-powerful global
financial interests with so-called “democratic” governments like the USA
and the UK.
Just think about the scenario, A global war on “terrorism” is started
that brings about a big boost in defence spending in the USA and a
massive profit for a company with close links not only to the President,
his father and their entourage but also to a certain Bin Laden family in
Saudi Arabia, one of whose members is accredited with kicking off the
whole militarist frenzy...
Can this be true? Do we sound crazy? If you don’t believe us, why not
check it out for yourself? The evidence is all there if you can get
access to the internet for a few hours.
You might start with The Carlyle Group’s own website
(www.thecarlylegroup.com) In the section detailing its leading lights
you will find some interesting names, such as:
Chairman - Frank C Carlucci. Deputy director of the CIA (1978- 81) and
US Secretary of Defence in the Reagan administration, 1987-89.
Senior Counselor - James A. Baker. White House Chief of Staff (1981-85)
and Secretary of Treasury (1985-88) under Reagan. Secretary of State
(1989-92) under Bush senior.
Senior Advisor - Arthur Levitt. Chairman of the American Stock Exchange
(1978-89).
Chairman of Carlyle Europe - John Major. British Prime Minister from
1990 to 1997 and in power throughout the original Gulf War against Iraq.
You can also check up on The Carlyle Group’s activities on The
Guardian’s website report in several recent articles
(www.guardianonline.co.uk). Correspondent Ed Vulliamy warned of
something fishy happening on December 3, 2000. He wrote: “Then there is
the overlapping circle of investors and corporate barons made rich by
Bush’s father, collected into the Carlyle Group, a cabalistic,
Washington-based merchant bank chaired by Ronald Reagan’s former
Pentagon chief, Frank Carlucci. Carlyle is a financial club for Bush
Snr’s intimate circle and can expect to enjoy political clout in the
White House. Bush Snr is one of the bank’s paid emissaries. Among the
partners are his economic adviser Richard Darman and Dubya’s front man
in Florida, James Baker (Bush Jnr has his own connections with Carlyle).
A Guardian report on Carlyle on October 31, 2001 stated: “For 14 years
now, with almost no publicity, the company has been signing up an
impressive list of former politicians - including the first President
Bush and his secretary of state, James Baker; John Major; one-time World
Bank treasurer Afsaneh Masheyekhi and several south-east Asian
powerbrokers - and using their contacts and influence to promote the
group. Among the companies Carlyle owns are those which make equipment,
vehicles and munitions for the US military, and its celebrity employees
have long served an ingenious dual purpose, helping encourage
investments from the very wealthy while also smoothing the path for
Carlyle’s defence firms. But since the start of the “war on terrorism”,
the firm - unofficially valued at $3.5bn - has taken on an added
significance. Carlyle has become the thread which indirectly links
American military policy in Afghanistan to the personal financial
fortunes of its celebrity employees, not least the current president’s
father. And, until earlier this month, Carlyle provided another curious
link to the Afghan crisis: among the firm’s multi-million-dollar
investors were members of the family of Osama bin Laden.”
Earlier this year, a Guardian article (Feb 6, 2002 ) analysed the boost
to American arms firms from the September 11 aftermath: “Among the big
winners will be the defence contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing
and United Defence, which makes the crusader [artillery system]. The
majority stake in United Defence is owned by the Carlyle Group, an
investment company which employs George Bush, the president’s father,
and the former British prime minister John Major as lobbyists to open
doors in the US and abroad. The elder Mr Bush has converted speaking
fees into Carlyle stock and stands to benefit considerably from the
crusader’s reprieve.”
On November 21, 2001 Judicial Watch (website is at
www.judicialwatch.org) a US public interest law firm that investigates
and prosecutes government corruption, announced that it would be filing
a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the State and Defence
Departments in order to obtain documents concerning the Carlyle Group.
It explained: “The Wall Street Journal reported in September that the
former president, the father of President Bush, worked for the bin Laden
family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group. The senior
Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice.”
The New York Times also carried an expose of The Carlyle Group. And The
Los Angeles Times ran a report on January 10, 2002 under the heading
“Arms Buildup Is a Boon to Firm Run by Big Guns - Ex-President and Other
Washington Elites are Behind the Carlyle Group”. This stated: “Even by
Washington standards, the Carlyle Group has some serious clout.
President George W. Bush’s father works for Carlyle; so does former
Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci, whose close friend Donald H.
Rumsfeld now runs the Pentagon; and so does a stellar cast of retired
generals and Cabinet secretaries, including former Secretary of State
James A. Baker III. And even by Wall Street standards, the Carlyle Group
has some serious money: $12.5 billion in investments at last count. The
Washington-based private equity firm, which advises and invests for
wealthy clients and institutions, has shown returns of more than 34%
through the last decade, particularly through timely defense and
aerospace investments. So when President Bush declared war on terrorism
in September, few were better poised than Carlyle to know how and when
to make money. On a single day last month, Carlyle earned $237 million
selling shares in United Defense Industries, the Army’s fifth-largest
contractor. The stock offering was well timed: Carlyle officials say
they decided to take the company public only after the Sept. 11
attacks. The stock sale cashed in on increased congressional support for
hefty defense spending, including one of United Defense’s cornerstone
weapon programs.“
The Californian newspaper quotes Charles Lewis of the Center for Public
Policy as saying ”It’s the first time the president of the United
States’ father is on the payroll of one of the largest U.S. defense
contractors. Between Baker and Carlucci, not to mention dear old dad,
the relationship of the president with this particular company is as
tight and close as, well, anyone can imagine.”

Tentacles of the Octopus

The Carlyle Group is the largest private equity firm in the world and is
unofficially valued at $3.5bn.
$ $ $
While defence and aerospace firms make up a significant share of the
Carlyle Group portfolio, it is also heavily into information technology,
health care and property.
$ $ $
Carlyle’s Advisory Board, Europe includes Lord Howe of Aberavon who as
Geoffrey Howe was deputy Prime Minister under Margaret Thatcher and
Karl-Otto Pohl, former president of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
$ $ $
One of Carlyle’s many subsidiaries is United States Marine Repair Inc,
which operates the ship repair facilities at all the US Navy’s principal
ports. An open-ended “war on terrorism” is certainly good news for their
business.
$ $ $
Carlyle Europe Ltd is owned by CECP Investment Advisors Ltd of Suite
600, 20 Berkeley Square, London.
$ $ $
Carlyle Europe Venture Partners has its own website which can be found
at www.ecarlyle.com
$ $ $
The main phone number for The Carlyle Group in the UK is 0207 894 1200
(fax 0207 894 1600). Director of External Communication, Europe, is
Daniela Zuin (0207 894 1569,  dzuin@ecarlyle.com)
$ $ $
One of the Carlyle founders and MD, Daniel A D’Aniello, is also director
of The IT Group which has offices in Blenheim Road, Epsom, Surrey,
(01372 745995).

Vive La Resistance
This small protest is part of a much bigger worldwide Mayday day of
action against the way ordinary people’s lives are ruined by the
ruthless greed and power hunger of global big businesses and the puppet
governments that serve their agenda.
All over the world, from Bombay to Buenos Aires, from West Papua to
Worthing, people are rising up to challenge the corporate enslavement of
humanity and destruction of our planet in the name of progress and
profits.
More info on today’s actions in London and a week-long Festival of
Alternatives is available on www.ourmayday.org.uk
For general news try www.indymedia.org.uk An excellent weekly newsletter
is SchNEWS (www.schnews.org.uk c/o On the Fiddle, PO Box 2600, Brighton
BN2 2DX)
A comprehensive list of local groups is available in The Agitator
(£1.50 inc postage from PO Box 2474, London N8). Other useful websites
include:
www.ainfos.ca
www.mcspotlight.org
www.protest.net
www.eco-action.org
www.urban75.com
www.statewatch.org