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What lies beneath the so-called "Merkel Plan" to deal with the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe? American author and researcher F. William Engdahl suggested that the US and NATO-linked think tanks play a central role in what he calls "the greatest social dislocation across the EU."

Back in October 2015 when thousands of asylum seekers were arriving on the shores of the European continent, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on a popular German TV program that she had a "plan" to handle the crisis.

In his latest article for New Eastern Outlook American author, researcher and strategic risk consultant F. William Engdahl narrated that what was dubbed "the plan" turned out to be a string of inexplicable actions, including the violation of principles of free speech, all to indulge the controversial Erdogan regime.

It is worth mentioning that since spring 2015 more than one million refugees have entered Germany due to Angela Merkel's "open arms" refugee position.

"All of those seemingly inexplicable actions from the once-pragmatic German leader appear to go back to her embrace of a 14-page document prepared by a network of pro-NATO think-tanks, brazenly titled 'The Merkel Plan,'" Engdahl wrote.

Indeed, on October 4, 2015, the European Stability Initiative (ESI), an international think tank with headquarters in Berlin, Istanbul, Brussels and Vienna, issued "The Merkel Plan: A proposal for the Syrian refugee crisis," which was strikingly similar to the strategy that German Chancellor has been recently pursuing in Europe.

"This paper outlines how an agreement between Germany and Turkey could have an immediate and dramatic impact on the Syrian refugee crisis. It would restore control over Europe's south-eastern border without sacrificing compassion for the refugees. But with the far right resurgent across Europe, the window of opportunity for decisive action is closing fast," the paper read.

Interestingly enough, the paper's authors insisted that Germany should agree to grant asylum to 500,000 Syrian asylum seekers "registered in Turkey over the coming 12 months" and call on other EU member states to join "the scheme;" Germany, other participating EU countries and the European Commission should provide Turkey with financial assistance to manage the readmission of refugees; Germany and the European Commission should agree to help Turkey to obtain visa-free travel within the EU in 2016.

It sounds familiar, doesn't it?

The paper argued that the plan is in the EU's and Turkey's best interests:

"The rise of an anti-Muslim, pro-Putin far right in European politics should... be a cause for real concern. It brings the prospect of EU politics moving in the direction of aligned its foreign policy more with the Kremlin," the paper warned, claiming that Turkey and Germany should align to counter this "threat" and handle together the refugee crisis.

The question then arises, who is behind the ESI?

"Current ESI Chairman directly responsible for the final Merkel Plan document is Istanbul-based Austrian sociologist, Gerald Knaus. Knaus is also a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and an Open Society Fellow," Engdahl elaborated.

Remarkably, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is sponsored by American multi-billionaire George Soros. And it is George Soros who is the creator of the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

A further analysis of ESI's list of funders shows Soros' Open Society Foundations, the Soros-tied German Stiftung Mercator, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the European Commission and the United States Institute of Peace all as donors.

"Already it becomes clear that the 'Merkel Plan' is the Soros Plan in fact," Engdahl noted.

In his article for The New York Review of Books published on April 9, 2016, George Soros continued to push ahead with "the plan."

According to the American billionaire, Europe absorbs between 300,000 and 500,000 asylum seekers each year, spending about €30 billion ($34 billion) a year to carry out this plan.

"Thirty billion euros might sound like an enormous sum, but it is not when viewed in proper perspective. First, we must recognize that a failure to provide the necessary funds would cost the EU even more," Soros warned.

Engdahl believes that there is something really sinister about the plan championed by Soros, and his counterparts. There is something in this plan "which threatens to destroy the social fabric of the very core of European civilization."

"Is Germany, as former US presidential adviser and Rockefeller crony, Zbigniew Brzezinski called her, a 'vassal' of US power in the post-1990 world?" the researcher asked.

Whatever the answer will be, the ESI's Merkel Plan has shed light on how the US and NATO-linked think tanks are controlling Europe from behind the Atlantic curtain, he concluded.