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I've had to change my mind about CFR. GW has ties to http://www.cfr.org (council for foreign relations) if not membership. His father has been a member. I wouldn't be surprised if Soros has been a member, as suggested in this thread. CFR may be criticized in several ways, but we should ignore the conspiracy theories, especially the Illuminati bunk. Good and bad politicians have been CFR members, including Reagan.

CFR was created by the Rockefellers in 1921 and one of the first things it heroically did was encourage the Anglosphere's involvement in the middle east. It was this simple but astute effort that secured our access to fossil fuels during WWII. Without it, the west might have collapsed.

How does CFR influence its members? That's a good question, but my suggestion would be that one start with its mission statement below. A simple answer would be through association and common ambitions.

It's clear that some of our best and some of our worst foreign policy efforts have been led by CFR members or people who were listening to them. CFR is literally the history of our government's involvement overseas over the last 80 years. Those who accuse CFR of controlling our country are either falling prey to anti-Americanism or are actively seeking to sew discontent and anger within our midst. CFR members run the gamut of political opinions and ideals, and often differ with each other in significant ways. I would complain that CFR members have had too much confidence in American power, and not enough confidence in our ideals. Mission statement:

Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, national membership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated to producing and disseminating ideas so that individual and corporate members, as well as policymakers, journalists, students, and interested citizens in the United States and other countries, can better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments. The Council, which is headquartered in New York with an office in Washington, DC, does this by:

Convening meetings in New York, Washington and in other select American cities where senior government officials, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together with Council members to debate and discuss the major issues of our time;
Conducting a wide-ranging studies program where Council fellows produce articles and books that analyze foreign policy issues and make concrete policy recommendations;
Publishing Foreign Affairs, the preeminent journal covering international affairs and U.S. foreign policy;
Maintaining a diverse membership, including special programs to foster interest and expertise in the next generation of foreign policy leaders;
Sponsoring independent task forces whose reports help set the public foreign policy agenda; and
Providing up-to-date information about the world and U.S. foreign policy on the Council's website, www.cfr.org.