Let’s start with the smoke and mirrors furnished by the CFR in several of their Annual Reports. Then we will provide the other-side-of-the-coin, as observed by quite a number of independent researchers, and writers.

The CFR’s Annual Report for July 1, 1993-June 30, 1994, page 4, states:

"The Council on Foreign Relations is a nonprofit, and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of US foreign policy, and international affairs through the exchange of ideas.

The Council was founded in 1921 shortly after the end of World War I. Several of the American participants in the Paris Peace Conference decided that it was time for more private American citizens to become familiar with the increasing international responsibilities, and obligations of the United States. This decision led to the creation of an organization dedicated to the continuous study of US foreign policy for the benefit of both its members, and a wider audience of interested Americans."

Now, the other side of the coin.

The New World Order, by Pat Robertson, Copyright 1991, by Word, Inc., Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved, page 66-67, states:

"This august body of ‘wise men’ has effectively dominated the making of foreign policy by the United States government since before World War II. The CFR has included virtually every key national security, and foreign policy adviser of this nation for the past seventy years."
Page 96: "In government policy, the most visible expression of the Establishment is the Council on Foreign Relations, and its publication, Foreign Affairs. Out of some twenty-nine hundred members, at least five hundred are very powerful, another five hundred are from centers of influence, and the rest are influential in academia, the media, business, and finance, the military, or government. A few are token conservatives."

Page 97: "According to a man who had been a member for fifteen years, Rear Admiral Chester Ward, former judge advocate general of the navy from 1956 to 1960.
‘This purpose of promoting disarmament, and submergence of US sovereignty, and national independence into an all-powerful one-world government is the only objective revealed to about 95 percent of 1,551 members [in 1975]. There are two other ulterior purposes the CFR influence is being used to promote; but it is improbable that they are known to more than 75 members, or that these purposes ever have even been identified in writing.’

The goals of the Establishment are somewhat strange, and we will discuss them in detail. At the central core is a belief in the superiority of their own skill to form a world system in which enlightened monopolistic capitalism can bring all of the diverse currencies, banking systems, credit, manufacturing, and raw materials into one government-supervised whole, policed of course by their own world army." (Could this be the army of the United Nations?)

CFR membership is made up of present, and past Presidents, Ambassadors, Secretaries of State, Wall Street investors, international bankers, foundation executives, Think Tank executives, lobbyist lawyers, NATO, and Pentagon military leaders, wealthy industrialist, media owners, and executives, university presidents, and key professors, select Senators, and Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices, Federal Judges, and wealthy entrepreneurs.

They hold regular secret meetings including members, and very select guests. Occasionally they will hold a public meeting, and invite the open press (including C-SPAN), in order to give the impression that they are a harmless group engaged only in social activities.

A number of people, when hearing about the CFR ask, "If you say that the CFR is such a secret organization, why is it that we can get a copy of their annual report, which contains a list of their members? Why should I believe you when you say that they are a secret organization?"

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, states that the definition of attribute is "To ascribe by way of cause, inherent quality, interpretation, authorship, or classification..." The literal translation is "You had better not tell the outsiders what we do, or say".
The answer then comes from their own document, the Council on Foreign Relation’s 1992 Annual Report, where they emphatically state, in 20 different places, and in varying terms, that members better not tell:

Page 21: "At all meetings, the Council’s rule of non-attribution applies. This assures participants that they may speak openly without others later attributing their statements to them in public media or forums, or knowingly transmitting them to persons who will."

Page 122: "Like the Council, the Committees encourage candid discourse by holding their meetings on a not-for-attribution basis".

Page 169: Article II of the by-laws states: "It is an express condition of membership in the Council, to which condition every member accedes by virtue of his or her membership, that members will observe such rules, and regulations as may be prescribed from time to time by the Board of Directors concerning the conduct of Council meetings or the attribution of statements made therein, and that any disclosure, public, or other action by a member in contravention thereof may be regarded by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion as grounds for termination or suspension of membership pursuant to Article I of the by-laws."

Page 174: "Full freedom of expression is encouraged at Council meetings. Participants are assured that they may speak openly, as it is the tradition of the Council that others will not attribute or characterize their statements in public media or forums or knowingly transmit them to persons who will. All participants are expected to honor that commitment."

Page 175: "It would not be in compliance with the reformulated Rule, however, for any meeting participant (i) to publish a speaker’s statement in attributed form in a newspaper; (ii) to repeat it on television or radio, or on a speaker’s platform, or in a classroom; or (iii) to go beyond a memo of limited circulation, by distributing the attributed statement in a company or government agency newspaper. The language of the Rule also goes out of its way to make it clear that a meeting participant is forbidden knowingly to transmit the attributed statement to a newspaper reporter or other such person who is likely to publish it in a public medium. The essence of the Rule as reformulated is simple enough: participants in Council meetings should not pass along an attributed statement in circumstances where there is substantial risk that it will promptly be widely circulated or published."

... "In order to encourage to the fullest a free, frank, and open exchange of ideas in Council meetings, the Board of Directors has prescribed, in addition to the Non-Attribution Rule, the following guidelines. All participants in Council meetings are expected to be familiar with, and adhere to these Guidelines. ..."

Page 176: "Members bringing guests should complete a "guest notice card", and acquaint their guests with the Council’s Non-Attribution Rule governing what is said at meetings."

Later on page 176: "As a condition of use, the officers of the Council shall require each user of Council records to execute a prior written commitment that he will not directly or indirectly attribute to any living person any assertion of fact or opinion based upon any Council record without first obtaining from such person his written consent thereto."

In "A letter from the Chairman" in the 1994 Annual Report for the CFR, Peter G. Peterson states on page 7, that:

"... Members had occasion to meet in intensive off-the-record sessions with Secretary of State [Warren] Christopher, National Security Advisor [Anthony] Lake, Secretary [of State emeritus, George Pratt] Shultz, Ambassador [Mickey] Kantor, Under Secretary of the Treasury [Lawrence H.] Summers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other ranking officials. Next on our agenda are plans for reaching out to congressional leaders as well, an opportunity we will fashion as one component of an enhanced Washington Program."

The CFR’s 1999 Annual Report, page 5, states their three goals:

1. Add value by improving understanding of world affairs and by providing new ideas for US foreign policy.

2. Transform the Council into a truly national organization to benefit from the expertise and experience of leaders nationwide.

3. Find and nurture the next generation of foreign policy leaders and thinkers.

These are "THEIR" words, not mine. I am simply reporting these facts to you. If this is not a secret organization, then why would they be so emphatic, and state in 20 different ways that non-attribution (or you better not tell) was so important, in their very own annual report? In addition, if you are proud of what you say, and do, then you don’t care whether it becomes public knowledge, or not. The other side of this coin is: if you are doing something illegal, immoral, unethical, unpopular, and/or unconstitutional, you will do whatever is necessary to see that it is kept secret.

In his book, "The ANGLO-AMERICAN ESTABLISHMENT", Dr. Carroll Quigley writes,

"One wintry afternoon in February 1891, three men were engaged in earnest conversation in London. From that conversation were to flow consequences of the greatest importance to the British Empire, and to the world as a whole. For these men were organizing a secret society that was, for more than fifty years, to be one of the most important forces in the formulation, and execution of British imperial and foreign policy.

The three men who were thus engaged were already well known in England. The leader was Cecil Rhodes, fabulously wealthy empire builder, and the most important person in South Africa. The second was William T. Stead, the famous, and probably also the most sensational, journalist of the day. The third was Reginald Baliol Brett, later known as Lord Esher, friend, and confidant of Queen Victoria, and later to be the most influential advisor of King Edward VII, and King George V.

The details of this important conversation will be examined later. At present we need only point out that the three drew up a plan of organization for their secret society, and a list of original members. The plan for organization provided for an inner circle, to be known as "The Society of the Elect", and an outer circle, to be known as "The Association of Helpers". Within The Society of the Elect, the real power was to be exercised by the leader, and a "Junta of Three". The leader was to be Rhodes, and the Junta was to be Stead, Brett, and Alfred Milner. In accordance with this decision, Milner was added to the society by Stead shortly after the meeting we have described."

- Quigley, Carroll (1910-1977), The Anglo-American Establishment, From Rhodes to Cliveden, 1981, Books In Focus, NY, NY pg. 3

Of the Secret Societies goals, and methods of operation Quigley writes,

"The goals which Rhodes, and Milner sought, and the methods by which they hoped to achieve them were so similar by 1902 that the two are almost indistinguishable. Both sought to unite the world, and above all the English-speaking world, in a federal structure around Britain. Both felt that this goal could best be achieved by a secret band of men united to one another by devotion to the common cause, and by personal loyalty to one another. Both felt that this band should pursue its goal by secret political, and economic influence behind the scenes, and by the control of journalistic, educational, and propaganda agencies... - " Quigley, Carroll (1910-1977), The Anglo-American Establishment, From Rhodes to Cliveden, 1981, Books In Focus, NY, NY pg. 49

Between 1910-1915 the Secret Society evolved into an international group of coconspirators called Round Table Groups that were established in seven nations: Britain, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India, and the United States. (The British Round Table was actually created in England in Feb. 5, 1891. In the US it is called the Council on foreign Relations, in England it is the Royal Institute for International Affairs, in Canada the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, in Chile it is the Chilean Council on Foreign Relations, and so on.)

In 1920 the Secret Society evolved into the Institutes for International Affairs, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Many of the founding fathers belonged to America's first intelligence agency the INQUIRY.

Note - The above quotes were furnished by "Round Table", who has a web site at: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807

The CFR could not accomplish their goals without complicity of the mainstream news media, which they absolutely control with an iron fist. They do this using psychological operations (PSYOPS). The RAND Corp. is one of the chief users of this technique. This is clearly explained by the following Internet message:

"Not many people have heard of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) or know how they operate. This is not an accident, the group has purposely maintained a low profile. The CFR is a branch of an international group of coconspirators called the Round Table Group. This group has been controlling public opinion throughout the world for over 100 years.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff have defined psychological operations (PSYOPS) as those that: "include psychological warfare, and, in addition, encompass those political, military, economic, and ideological actions planned, and conducted to create in neutral or friendly foreign groups the emotions, attitudes, or behavior to support achievement of national objectives." Another proposal "develops the concept of 'strategic psychological operations' as aimed at influencing, and shaping decision-makers' power to govern, or control their followers." The American people, are among the groups being targeted, and controlled.

"Tactics of Deception" are formalized psychological warfare techniques. "Tactics of Deception" build a psychological environment that differs from the material environment. "Tactics of deception" are used to create false reality worlds. In terms of perceptual psychology, "Tactics of Deception" provoke illusory precepts. To influence behavior the deception must follow three basic rules. First, the deception must be "reasonable"; second there must be no simple way of checking the facts in the case; and third the use of deception should not discredit a source which may have valuable future potential.

One way to stop this group is to expose them, and their techniques to the people they are manipulating. One "Tactic of Deception" used to achieve Council on Foreign Relations aims, is to place Council members on both sides of an issue. Another "Tactic of Deception" is to use CFR control of the legal, legislative, and court systems to create the perception that laws are being followed when in fact, Lawyers, Legislators, and Justices are committing blatant illegalities to further CFR aims. A third "Tactic of Deception" is simply to lie."

Source: roundtable’s Web Page: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807

Another excellent example of deception and cover up is the book, "The Kennedy Tapes". Two CFR members, Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow, supposedly listened to all of President John F. Kennedy audio tapes and wrote this book quoting all of the interesting facts so as to assure the public that there were no other important statements made on these tapes that the public would care to know about. There were to motives involved here: (1) to print only what the Elite wanted printed about the JFK assassination, and (2) to throw any other potential researchers off the trail. This was a very grueling task of listening to hundreds of hours of taped conversations. Therefore, other researchers should just "take their word" that they had printed all of the interesting facts from these tapes. I suspect that two non-CFR researchers would have written an entirely different book.

Historian Michael Beschloss listened to the White House tapes transcribed by Lyndon Johnson during his time in office, and wrote a book, "Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964". Is it not strange that this author is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations?

As Peter Grose stated in his Council on Foreign Relations Book, Continuing the Inquiry (1996) on page 5:
"They (the British) proposed a permanent Anglo-American Institute of International Affairs, with one branch in London, the other in New York."

The headquarters for the CFR is The Harold Pratt House located at 58 East 68th Street in New York City, New York 10021. Oddly enough, this building is located just across the street from the Russian (former Soviet) Embassy.