The criminal organisation in the last two James Bond films, namely QUANTUM, might be a source of inspiration given that it is derived from SPECTRE.
The Luciferian Crusade: A Collaborative Timeline
- Thread starter Mr_ Bondoc
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The problem that I have with companies/corporations like QUANTUM or Extensive Enterprises (see G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero) is that a corporation by itself, has to submit itself to so many regulations and scrutiny. I'm guessing that a smarter way to launder money would be through a multinational bank similar to The International. Either way, a corporate environment, either through banking or manufacturing can certainly provide a good cover, as seen by the many James Bond villians....
Here is two characters that could certainly make things interesting for the philosophy of the group:
A) Savitri Devi Mukherji (a.k.a. Maximiani Portaz) 1905-1982; creator and missionary of Aryan Neo-Paganism. Starting in 1948, she started preaching about the idea of a "New World Order". Apparently she even had an affair with Otto Skorzeny starting in 1961.
B) Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola 1898-1974; Italian philosopher believed that humanity existed in a "dark age of unleashed materialistic appetites, spiritual oblivion and organised deviancy". To counter this and call in a primordial rebirth, he called for the creation of "the Tradition".
Now we just need someone to blend these beliefs and/or traditions with a form digestible to the Islamic world...
A) Savitri Devi Mukherji (a.k.a. Maximiani Portaz) 1905-1982; creator and missionary of Aryan Neo-Paganism. Starting in 1948, she started preaching about the idea of a "New World Order". Apparently she even had an affair with Otto Skorzeny starting in 1961.
B) Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola 1898-1974; Italian philosopher believed that humanity existed in a "dark age of unleashed materialistic appetites, spiritual oblivion and organised deviancy". To counter this and call in a primordial rebirth, he called for the creation of "the Tradition".
Now we just need someone to blend these beliefs and/or traditions with a form digestible to the Islamic world...
Orville_third
Banned
Well, considering the bank in "The International" was based on BCCI...that would be very appropriate.
-BCCI was a bank of choice for the CIA.
-BCCI helped the Soviets get NAVSTAR info.
-BCCI sold weapons to Israel and Iraq, among others.
-BCCI had a charismatic head, with utopian ideals, who one person suggested was a telekinetic (Same person thought he might be the Antichrist...)
Which part, the part that there was a stay-behind network intended to resist Soviet occupation or the part they conducted terrorist attacks?
Something I've only seen done once before (in an RPG setting) but would be interesting is *Cobra Commander being an American war hero and nationalist who's convinced the USA's lost its way (Why? Any reason you want).
Oviously, you can modify this any way you want - an Englishman whose appaled by the Empire's breakup, a Tsarist nobleman, even a Mexican who wants California back. The point is it makes for a more interesting dynamic than the old "Survivng Nazis in Brazil" routine, allowing him to fight his homeland's traditional enemies (as the root of the problem) and his homeland (as traitors to its ideals).
Oviously, you can modify this any way you want - an Englishman whose appaled by the Empire's breakup, a Tsarist nobleman, even a Mexican who wants California back. The point is it makes for a more interesting dynamic than the old "Survivng Nazis in Brazil" routine, allowing him to fight his homeland's traditional enemies (as the root of the problem) and his homeland (as traitors to its ideals).
I think even the latter assertion is pretty well documented. You might want to read, for example, NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe, by the Swiss researcher Daniele Ganser. Most of it is available at Google Books. While I do not support Ganser's view on the stay behind-network in toto, in showing the links between the Gladio network and domestic right wing terrorism, especially in Italy, his is only the most recent book in a long line of studies spanning, by now, several decades.
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Should we have the head of BCCI working with the "Cobra" ATL analogue, or should we create a new bank altogether. Either way, this looks like a major development. I certainly like where this lead went....
Another cool item for some people, are going to be the weapons and weapons systems. Can anyone submit some ideas or weapons that a "Cobra/ Brotherhood of Nod"-style organization would be able to obtain with the proper amount of money? The more powerful and the more unique ones would be intereresting to see.
Just remember that until the 1990s, they are relatively unable to maintain and/or secure territorial bases. After c.1995, all bets are off...
Just remember that until the 1990s, they are relatively unable to maintain and/or secure territorial bases. After c.1995, all bets are off...
Erm, well seeing as a realistic terror organization can't really hold its own against a government-funded military, any forces it may have will focus on speed, like technicals and whatnot. Think the GLA from CNC Generals.
That is certainly true for the history of the organization until roughly the early 1990s. But afterwards, consider what are some unusual weapons systems that they could obtain, that can either be bought or stolen by the organization in the 1990s until now? I am talking about threats like WMDs (nuclear, biological, chemical, et al.)...
The stranger the better, especially for a "Cobra/Brotherhood of Nod"-style organization....
Well, the most practical things it can get are suitcase bombs, dirty bombs, and the like. If we be generous and assume it has copious funding, it may get primitive ballistic weapons like SCUDs, although what it could do with them is another matter. Potentially, if it gets its tendrils into enough corporate bodies, it may be able to gain some space presence by basically leeching off a satellite belonging to an infiltrated corp.
So, while ion cannons and death rays are obviously out of the question, your classic terrorist WMDs certainly aren't.
Orville_third
Banned
I strongly urge you to pick up "The Outlaw Bank" by Jonathan Beatty and S.C. Gwynne. It has a great deal of info on BCCI and all the things they did/ sold/obtained...
I may repeat myself but I think Comintern and the communist party should be used more as a villain. For one, they where per definition a conspiracy (a group plotting to achive a goal) that managed to take control over many countries, managed to challange the US.
All this done by a small group of well motivated revolutionaries.
All this done by a small group of well motivated revolutionaries.
One of the big problems in my mind is that Joseph Stalin killed the Comintern in 1935, long before the Cold War. While it would certainly work with the idea of a 1930s pulp organization, it doesn't quite work, unless some PODs can be developed. If you can add some PODs based on the Comintern, I can certainly see what can be pulled off...
How about a PoD of 1940? Stronger support for Arab dissent by the Axis, more initial success in Egypt and Iraq, and a stronger subsequent crackdown.
Butterflies see Abedi, the eventual founder of BCCI, seeing his family and friends getting hurt more during the breakup of British India than OTL, opening things up for a greater personal animosity against India.
Handwaving...
The Soviets hold on to northern Iran.
1956 sees Britain and France successfully retake the Suez Canal. Relations cool with the US.
France hangs on in Algeria a few years longer.
Pakistan-India goes nuclear. An unpopular puppet government is put in place, with a long, bloody insurgency. Abedi had sought work and begun a long climb up in Switzerland.
A revolt is launched in southern Iran, and crushed with direct western aid.
Abedi's selective financing nets him influence over a number of disparate organizations across north africa and the middle east. Over the decades they develop closer links but remain relatively decentralized.
A more partisan BCCI, more hostile middle east, and more of a potential for a bigger anti-west fight.
Butterflies see Abedi, the eventual founder of BCCI, seeing his family and friends getting hurt more during the breakup of British India than OTL, opening things up for a greater personal animosity against India.
Handwaving...
The Soviets hold on to northern Iran.
1956 sees Britain and France successfully retake the Suez Canal. Relations cool with the US.
France hangs on in Algeria a few years longer.
Pakistan-India goes nuclear. An unpopular puppet government is put in place, with a long, bloody insurgency. Abedi had sought work and begun a long climb up in Switzerland.
A revolt is launched in southern Iran, and crushed with direct western aid.
Abedi's selective financing nets him influence over a number of disparate organizations across north africa and the middle east. Over the decades they develop closer links but remain relatively decentralized.
A more partisan BCCI, more hostile middle east, and more of a potential for a bigger anti-west fight.
If you can firm up some of the dates, I can certainly see it working. For the issue of Pakistan-India going nuclear , that still has to remain after c.1964 (the date when the USSR helps China gain the nuclear bomb). In OTL, India and didn't get weapons until 1974 in OTL....
I can see Iraqi Communist Party General-Secretary Aziz Muhammad launching a revolt in c.1978, in resistance to Saddam Hussein, with it collapsing before c. 1979/1980. As for Iran, Ali Khavari and Parviz Hekmatjoo could certainly launch a revolt against the Iranian government in c. 1979-1982...
Other than that please feel free to make adjustments...