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Solari Report
Civilization at the Crossroads
with Alastair Crooke
“We in the West are going to feel the consequences—directly. There won’t be petrol in the petrol stations…. There will be difficulty getting your children to school…. There will not be the food that you want. You will not have aluminium foil in the shops…. We are in this ‘never world’ at the moment.”
~ Alastair Crooke (April 27, 2026)
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Civilization at the Crossroads
May 12, 2026
By Catherine Austin Fitts
Former British diplomat and intelligence officer Alastair Crooke is an independent commentator whose perceptive Middle East and global geopolitical analysis diverges sharply from the boilerplate Anglo-American policy consensus. Since founding the Beirut-based Conflicts Forum think tank in 2004, Crooke has addressed such important themes as the structural decline of U.S. and European power (and Western elites’ lost capacity for strategic realism), the emergence of a multipolar order (led by what he calls the “civilizational states” of Eurasia), and the ideological roots of Israeli policy.
John Titus and I have had frequent recourse to Crooke’s insights on Money & Markets, and this week I am delighted to have Crooke join me for his first interview on the Solari Report. And none too soon, given the fast-moving developments in Iran and the wider Middle East!
One of the most pressing questions we discuss is how to view the current conflict’s multiple fronts—military, trade, financial—on an integrated basis. We also discuss the escalating war on energy and U.S. efforts to control or bottleneck trade routes all over the world. The methodical shutting down of pipeline, production, and refining capacity suggests two possible (and not necessarily mutually exclusive) agendas: (1) an unacknowledged war between China and the U.S. to engineer the lowest cost of capital and energy (by curtailing access to essential resources) or (2) a radical and forced reduction in the general population’s energy usage.
I was also interested in getting Crooke’s assessment of developments related to the dollar as reserve currency and the U.S. competitive position compared to China. Though the unproductive financialization model, weighed down by corruption and grift, clearly seems to be coming to an end, its oligarchic instigators want to keep it going. The challenge for the rest of us is to avoid the financial repression and chaos where we can and stay focused on rebuilding civilization and a human future.
Crooke’s fascinating experience—Ireland-born, Rhodesia-raised, Scotland-educated, and with a stint in London banking before a three-decade career with Britain’s MI6 and twenty-plus years in direct contact with the movements that the intelligence apparatus was built to counter—make for penetrating analysis that can help you understand the deeper stories and the complex cultural dynamics behind propagandistic headlines.
The word Crooke chooses to describe the road ahead is “catharsis”—we are heading into a difficult time. His insights inspire our pathway forward and the possibility of the human future that makes it so worthwhile.
Note: This interview is public.
Money & Markets
In Money & Markets this week, John Titus and I will cover the latest events and discuss the financial and geopolitical trends Solari is tracking in 2026—and the pushback rocking and rolling us around the globe. Post questions at the Money & Markets commentary here.
You can also submit questions to Ask Catherine & the Solari Team.
Links
Alastair Crooke (Wikipedia)
Alastair Crooke (Powerbase)
Netanyahu’s Terror Attack on Lebanon Destroys Trump’s Ceasefire (Tucker Carlson interview with Crooke at timestamp 59:50)
Iran War Now a Global War for a New World Order (Glenn Diesen interview with Crooke)
Pump Prices Keep Climbing as Crude Oil Remains High
Global Fuel Shortage Pushes Governments toward Demand Controls
Latest Money & Markets and Ask Catherine
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Amazing and very insightful conversation. It would be great a regular quarterly wrap-up with Mr. Crooke.
Here here. Concur, if Mr. Crooke is willing and able.
Excellent interview Catherine. I was just reading Alastair’s article titled “Iran’s War To The Roots” on Substack. He discusses the US reliance on expensive and outdated military tech like cumbersome aircraft carriers based on a Cold War model of outspending the enemy. While this certainly seems true, I’m wondering about the black budget secret weapons that I believe exist. Does the US not have satellite weaponry, electromagnetic weaponry, plasma weaponry, or other kinds of exotic tech at its disposal? If so, it appears that it has not been used much or at least so we are told. What would be the reason the US won’t deploy these? Does the US not control this weaponry? Does the US not intend to win the war with Iran? I recently read Dr Pharrell’s Babylon Banksters book as well as Temple’s A New Science of Heaven. Based on the discoveries over the last two centuries in physics and electromagnetism that these two books discuss, one would think very advanced weaponry has been developed. Why aren’t we seeing deployment of these technologies?
This interview brings in very insightful info about what’s happening in Europe, where Crooke lives (around 50 minute mark). His clarity and analysis regarding the lack of a political bridge out of the current situation, for reasons which he highlights, and the resulting potential for ‘revolution’ resonates profoundly with the daily experiences observed here. The coming ‘catharsis’ of a “constructive destruction’ and a need to look for the ‘green shoots’ worth tending for an upward impulse of civilization in its wake, offers a way of making sense of the madness. The analysis is buoyed up by Crooke’s optimism about the future. Thank you for sharing this wise voice to light the way in a sea of murkiness.
Another superior interview, but very sobering and clarifying the need for implementing a new vision for the US. Perhaps Thomas Massie will emerge as a leader who can unify us, with each of us contributing what we can to rebuild a broken society.
I am so grateful for having found Solari, for your insightful work, and for your example of courage, Catherine. Thank you!
Catharsis is upon us I agree with that! And it was a very enlightening interview for sure. My question is it a managed process where by the nation states politicians are Epstein network controlled and “war”(of the kinetic variety with tanks, ships and drones) is managed on all sides(for depopulation purposes)? Alastair makes a compelling argument looking for the “green shoots”(of the catharsis), but given his MI6 background (from a security perspective) one can’t help think about it being a controlled chaos especially when he talks about the new middle east security architecture emerging… When asked about AI, Crooke contrasted it with China being about efficiency vs AI in the west being about control(he agreed with Catherine). However, the technocratic AI social credit score in China is very real(CBDCs are alive and well in China https://cbdctracker.org/ ). And China does have an oligarchic structure (not communistic) with the NPC(National People’s Congress) made up of billionaires(controlled by those index funds if not the Epstein network). So why does he paint the AI differently except to make it appear there are sides?
So rare to have a person finish their sentences and be coherent. I love how deliberately Mr. Crooke speaks.
China has worked for years to increase consumption – with the caveat that it is not consumption of imported goods or services. Local goods or services – definitely. This is “official policy” since 2020.
Its called the dual circulation economy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_circulation
…prioritizing domestic consumption (“internal” or “domestic circulation”), making the economy more self-reliant in key sectors, reducing dependence on foreign markets, while also remaining open to international trade and investment (“external” or “international circulation”).
This means consumption of locally produced goods, local services, and domestic travel. For imports, only low valued added raw materials to support the local high value added market.
This is not just an economic policy, it has financial and geopolitical implications.
Mr. Crooke, you have spoken with wisdom I have not heard elsewhere on current events. The example of young people on the bridge in Iran made me think about how every individual in the world can lead themselves (not leaders leading them) through a bifurcation as discussed in the interview. To heal we need self realization. You talked about what I consider to be the most important 3 directions we can take in this bad dream. You made the complicated understandable. It has nothing to do with business, technology, food or skills. It is a mindset that stands unequivocally for the elimination of oppression and repression and helping the dispossessed. Once these three essentials are realized all that needs to be done will follow because we are then joined with the Divine. It can feel like falling off a cliff in a world where you do risk your life if you stand firmly for this. Yet it is the first and most important curriculum for any school. Thank you for using language that clarifies the real inner issue we all face.