Editing Safari Club (section)

==Conclusion==
The Safari Club was a covert intelligence alliance formed in 1976 by Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and France to counter Soviet influence in Africa and the Middle East, operating when CIA activities were restricted by Congress. Its CIA connections were informal but significant, with the agency using the group as a proxy to achieve anti-communist goals through figures like [[Richard Helms]], [[Theodore Shackley]], and George H.W. Bush. BCCI, closely tied to the Safari Club via Kamal Adham and Agha Hasan Abedi, served as a financial conduit for CIA covert operations, including support for the Afghan mujahideen and the Iran-Contra affair. While the U.S. was not a formal member, the Safari Club’s alignment with CIA objectives, facilitated by shared networks and financing, made it a de facto extension of U.S. intelligence, often described as a “second CIA.”