You say it is like some big secret. It is just a think tank that practically everyone in DC is a member of. Heck, even some businesses who do international business have group memberships for their employees. If you want the scoop, just to go their own websites and on-line library and read their own documents. They are in the business of researching and helping politicians create position papers. For example, If XX congressman is working up a trade deal with Japan over widgets, he brings this proposal to the CFR to research ramifications. They will analyze the supply line, international relation impacts, etc, and provide a paper of what they foresee the impact of this deal would be.
Obviously I would avoid Internet conspiracy sites. I know we have some freepers who are members who can give you a more realistic view versus all the nutty stuff that pops up around them.
Ahem, we prefer not to discuss the CFR in an open forum like this. It should be clear that the CFR is only interested in the betterment of the human condition and that discussing our strategies to achieve that goal works against us. Ahem.
http://mapper.nndb.com/start/?id=102022
I ran into this last night thought you folks might be interested. I just cut and pasted this site not sure if it will work.