Correspondence reveals Mills, Brkic, Oppenheimers as US propagandists

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Correspondence between NATO operative Greg Mills and the Ukraine Minister of Defence has exposed an integrated media programme to manipulate political discourse. The request for an interview, dated on the 5th of April 2023 reveals the depth of collusion between Western intelligence and South African media for propaganda purposes.

In the letter sent via email, Mills describes the propaganda work he has done for the Western regime for an African audience.

Mills goes on to describe how the Brenthurst Foundation, established by South African oligarchs, the Oppenheimer family, has published over thirty op-eds and five videos as pro-NATO propaganda.

“All these have maintained a consistent theme that Africa must defend Ukraine given the risk of authoritarianism on our continent,” writes Mills.

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Interference in the global South

Mills writes that “the Brenthurst Foundation’s core role is to prepare growth and stabilisation strategies for governments, mainly in Africa, but also including others such as Colombia. I am currently on secondment as the strategic advisor to the president of Zambia.”

“I intend to produce a video on this trip, and write several articles including for the Daily Maverick and RUSI (where I serve on the advisory board), which has published several of my Ukraine pieces. I am also completing a book with David Kilcullen, the former advisor to [former US Secretary of State] Secretary [Condoleezza] Rice and General David Petreaus as a sequel to our book on Afghanistan”.

RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, describes itself as “the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank”. Mills’ biography on that site states that:

“With Brenthurst, Greg has directed numerous reform projects with African heads of government, including Rwanda (2007-8), Mozambique (2005-11), Swaziland (2010-11), Malawi (2012-14, and again 2020/1), Kenya (2012 and 2020), Lesotho (2008; 2019-20), Liberia (2006/7), Zambia (2010; 2016), Zimbabwe (2009-13), Ghana (2017), Ethiopia (2019-20), Nigeria (2017-18), and almost continuously at various levels of government in South Africa from the Foundation’s outset. He sat on the Danish Africa Commission and on the Africa Development Bank’s high-level panel on fragile states, and served four deployments to Afghanistan with the British Army as the adviser to the commander. He has also worked extensively in Colombia, and with a variety of African governments in both improving the conditions for peacebuilding and investment, including through the Zambezi Protocol on the natural resource sector.”

Greg Mills is embedded in the US / UK military and intelligence complex. The board of the Brenthurst Foundation includes:

Nick Carter, former Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom,

Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military, and

Rory Stewart, a British diplomat with a murky background in British intelligence circles. Stewart served as Deputy Governor in Maysan and Dhi Qar for the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to Stewart’s Wikipedia page:

“Some have suggested that Stewart was an employee of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) during his time as a British Representative to Montenegro – allegedly being recruited to MI6 shortly after he graduated from Oxford University. Stewart has said that his career progression and his father’s work for MI6 might “give the appearance” that he worked for MI6, but says he did not work for MI6 while a diplomat. Stewart has acknowledged that due to the Official Secrets Act, even if he had worked for MI6, he would not be able to admit it.”

The Daily Maverick’s role in propaganda and disinformation

In a letter of credentials from Daily Maverick editor and founder Branko Brkic dated January 2022, Greg Mills is described as “Daily Maverick editor-at-large”.

The Daily Maverick has recently come under fire for publishing an investigative piece into corruption at South African state owned power utility Eskom that “contained no facts“. Other media houses declined to publish the story, which was based on false information concocted by self-confessed apartheid era killer Tony Oosthuizen for George Fivaz Forensic and Risk. The dossier was commissioned by former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, who solicited R18 million from Business Leadership South Africa. The total cost of the fake dossier was R50 million.

At the time of writing, Daily Maverick’s page on the investigation is still live. There has been no retraction, correction, or apology from the Daily Maverick. Other publications did not mention Daily Maverick’s role in publishing false information.

Daily Maverick has been an uncritical cheerleader for NATO and US interests at almost any cost. While other media houses did not publish the story that contained no verifiable facts, the Daily Maverick served as stenographers simply because the dirty dossier claimed that Russia was “actively involved in sabotage and (the) destruction of Eskom”.

When News24 asked Geroge Fivaz about the allegation of Russian involvement, he admitted that “he had no evidence to substantiate his allegation.”

Daily Maverick has housed propaganda pieces published by Mills and Ray Hartley, a frequent writing partner and another pro-NATO and US propagandist. The pieces are also housed on the Brenthurst Foundation’s site, all of which have a pro-US, pro-NATO, and oftentimes anti-ANC government bias.

In prioritising NATO and Western propaganda over fact checking, Brkic has disavowed his ethical duty not to publish unverified claims. According to the Daily Maverick’s “About Us” page, “The overall business and editorial strategy for the organization is set by the founders, Branko Brkic (Editor-in-chief) and Styli Charalambous (CEO), in consultation with our team leaders.”

Trips to Ukraine and parallel foreign policy

Mills boasts of his reach into opposition and faith leaders on the continent.

“I have visited Ukraine five times over the last year including taking opposition politicians from South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Archbishop of Cape Town, his grace Thabo Makgoba on three separate visits,” wrote Mills.

The visit to Ukraine by South African opposition leader John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in May of 2022 received much criticism. Steenhuisen initially refused to reveal the funder of the trip, but under public pressure it was revealed that the Brenthurst Foundation was the sponsor. Mills said the foundation’s aim was to provide “a level of education” about geopolitical matters.

The DA has conducted a parallel programme of international relations in opposition to the policies of the government of South Africa, with former leader Mmusi Maimane forging ties to the secessionist DPP in Taiwan, and Prime Minister of apartheid Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba and Mills published a piece in Daily Maverick where the Archbishop wrote “As Africans we know, probably better than most, what it means to suffer under the yolk (sic) of a violent oppressor.”

When contacted for comment about whether the Archbishop was aware of Mills’ role in the illegal Afghanistan invasion and occupation, as well as the position of the Archbishop in collaborating with individuals and organizations who have played an active role in regime change operations, a spokesperson said that the Archbishop was traveling and would issue a comment on his return. We will update this piece accordingly.

Roscoe Palm is a director of the Pan-African Institute for Socialism

*This article has been amended on Monday 8th of May to denote Palm as author.