WASHINGTON – It started in 1952.
Nearly every person elected as president of the United States
since then – and nearly every opponent – has belonged to a
secretive, globalism-oriented organization known as the
Council on Foreign Relations.
Some presidents and their challengers have belonged
to additional clubs of internationalists – the Bilderberg
Group and the Trilateral Commission. Running mates,
too, more often than not have had ties to the groups.
That the groups exert enormous influence on public
policy is indisputable. What is disputed is whether
such groups are, as adherents and members argue, just
discussion forums for movers and shakers, or, as critics
have long alleged, secret societies shaping a new world
order from behind the scenes. On that last point at
least, no one could challenge the critics: All these
groups operate in considerable secrecy, away
from the scrutiny of the American public.
Regardless of how one characterizes them, the fact
that virtually all presidents belong to the same
secret clubs prompts the author of a new book
to wonder if the 2008 election will also be a contest
between globalist insiders. Judging from the list of
frontrunners of each party, Daniel Estulin, author
of "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group," may
be on to something.
According to a variety of sources, the following
presidential candidates are either members of one
of the groups or have strong ties: Hillary Rodham
Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Barack
Obama, John McCain, John Edwards, Fred
Thompson, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson.
Mike Huckabee, though not a member, spoke to the
CFR in September. Since then, his political star has
risen to the point that he has become a top-tier candidate.
So often throughout recent history it has
been the case.
Ever since Democrat Adlai Stevenson challenged
Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and
1956, the odds have significantly favored those
with membership in the elite groups.
In 1960, both John F. Kennedy and Richard M.
Nixon were members.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was not
a member. Neither was his opponent, Barry
Goldwater. But Johnson had already staffed
his administration with plenty of insiders.
In 1968, it was Nixon versus club member
Hubert H. Humphrey.
In 1972, it was Nixon again against Democratic
Party CFR member George McGovern.
In 1976, it was CFR Republican Gerald Ford
losing to CFR Democrat Jimmy Carter.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan was not a member, but
his running mate, George H.W. Bush, was. So
were both of his opponents – Carter and
independent John Anderson. Assuming
office, however, Reagan quickly named
313 CFR members to his team.
In 1984, another CFR member, Walter Mondale,
was nominated by the Democratic Party to
challenge Reagan.
In 1988, CFR member Bush took on
CFR member Michael Dukakis.
In 1992, Bush was challenged by an obscure governor
from Arkansas, Bill Clinton, who won the "trifecta" by
being a member of the CFR, Trlateral Commission
and Bilderberg Group. He was also a Rhodes
scholar – another favored credential of the
worldwide elite.
In 1996, Clinton was challenged by CFR
member Bob Dole.
In 2000, CFR member Al Gore ran against
non-member George W. Bush, but his
running mate, Dick Cheney, was.
In 2004, Bush was challenged by CFR
member John Kerry.
"David Rockefeller, whose family financed the
CFR, is a common denominator among these parallel
groups," writes Estulin. "Not only is he the CFR
chairman emeritus, but he also continues to
provide financial and personal support to the
TC, CFR and Bilderberg Group."
What is the agenda behind these groups, which
Estulin says are comprised of "self-interested elitists
protecting their wealth and the investments of
multinational banks and corporations in the growing
world economy at the expense of developing nations
and Third World countries"?
"The policies they develop," he writes, "benefit them
as well as move us towards a one-world government."
Those questioning Estulin's conclusion as mere
speculation need only recall organizational financer
David Rockefeller's own words as recorded in
his "Memoirs."
"Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working
against the best interests of the United States,
characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists'
and conspiring with others around the world to build a
more integrated global political and economic structure –
one world, if you will," he wrote. "If that's the charge,
I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."
With regard to insider roles in recent U.S. presidential
races, two of the most interesting were 1976 and 1992.
"In the spring of 1972, a high-profile group of men
gathered for dinner with W. Averell Harriman, the
grand old man of the Democratic Party, a Bilderberger
and a member of the CFR," writes Estulin. "Also
present were Milton Katz, a CFR member and
director of international studies at Harvard, Robert
Bowie, who would later become deputy director of
the CIA, George Franklin, David Rockefeller's
coordinator for the Trilateral Commission, and
Gerald Smith, U.S. ambassador-at-large for non-
proliferation matters. The focus of their discussion
was the not-too-distant 1976 presidential
elections. Harriman suggested that if the Democrats
wanted to recapture the White House, "we had better
get off our high horses and look at some of those
southern governors." Several names cropped
up. Among them were Ruben Askew, governor
of Florida, and Terry Sanford, former governor
of North Carolina and, at the time, president
of Duke University."
Katz reportedly informed David Rockefeller of
the viability of Jimmy Carter, then governor of
Georgia. According to the author, he could be
sold politically to the American people. At a
dinner in London, recorded by the London Times,
Rockefeller got acquainted with Carter and became
convinced he could become the next U.S.
president. Carter was invited to join the
Trilateral Commission and quickly accepted.
Later, U.S. News and World Report would have this
to say about the Carter administration: "The Trilateralists
have taken charge of foreign policy-making in the
Carter administration, and already the immense
power they wield is sparking some controversy. Active
or former members of the Trilateral Commission now
head every key agency involved in mapping U.S.
strategy for dealing with the rest of the world."
In 1992, Estulin concludes Bill Clinton was similarly
"anointed" for the presidency at the 1991 Bilderberg
Conference in Baden-Baden. Following the meeting,
Clinton immediately took a trip to Russia to meet
with Soviet Interior Minister Vadim Balatin, then
serving Mikhail Gorbachev. Later, when Boris Yeltsin
won the presidential election, Bakatin became the
new chief of the KGB.
The meeting went unnoticed in most of the press,
with the exception of the Arkansas Democrat, whose
headline told the story: "Clinton has powerful
buddy in U.S.S.R – New head of KGB."
Estulin's book, first written in 2005 in Spain, has been
translated into 24 languages, most recently this English
edition. He has covered the Bilderberg Group as a
journalist for more than 15 years.
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