39)Jimmy Carter was a member of The Trilateral Commission:-
We've Been Asked Campaign attacks on George Bush and John Anderson for membership on the Trilateral Commission again are putting the spotlight on a contro- versial international organization. Conservative critics claim that the commission constitutes a conspiracy seeking to gain control of the US. government and to create a new world order. Bush and Anderson are not the only presidential aspirants with Trila- teralist links. An adviser on Ronald Reagan's team, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Cas- par Weinberger, is a member. Presi- dent Carter also was in the organiza- tion before. his election, as were nearly 20 present or former top members of his administration. What is the commission? It is a group of 275 prominent busi- nessmen, labor leaders, scholars, statesmen and politicians from the world's three major non-Communist industrialized regions-North Arneri- ca, Western Europe and Japan. What are its goals? The commission's avowed aim is to increase political and economic co- operation among the three regions. This is done by analyzing major is- sues of common interest and devel- oping practical proposals to deal with these problems. The commission has published 20 reports, covering such topics as energy, East-West relations and economics. When and how did it start? David Rockefeller, head of Sew York's Chase Manhattan Bank, con- vened a meeting of leaders from the three regions in 1972 to discuss a plan "to bring the best brains in the world to bear on problems of the fu- ture." As an upshot of the meeting, the Trilateral Commission was founded 1.1 1973. Its first full-time di- rector: Zbigniew Brzezinski, now Carter's national-security adviser. How is it organized? A 35-member executive commit- tee manages the group's activities between annual meetings. There are three headquarters-New York, Par- is and Tokyo-each with a small, full- time staff. Rockefeller is chairman of the North American section. When and where does it meet? The full commission gathers once a year for several days, rotating the meetings among the three areas rep- resented. The annual meetings are closed to the media and public and are reported in a quarterly magazine published by the commission. This year's meeting was held in London March 23-25. The program, underscoring the importance the British attach to the group, included dinner with Prince Philip, a recep- tion with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and speeches by former Prime Minister James (Lhghan and Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington. Who finances the commbrion? The North Americaxi share of the current three-year budget totals 1.67 million dollars. Of this, $644,000 comes from foundations, $530,000 from corporations, $220,000 from in- dividuals and $84,000 from invest- ment income. The Rockefeller name is conspicuous on the list of donors: $180,000 from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, $100,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation, $150,000 from David Rockefeller's personal funds. There is no government mon- ey involved. How are members of the commls- don chosen? An 11-member American execu- tive committee nominates candi- dates for the North American delega- tion. Nominations are made on the basis of interest in international af- fairs but with an attempt to strike a balance among areas of the country and professions. Who serves on the commission? Among the 76 U.S. members are 8 congressmen, 3 state and local gov- ernment officials, 17 businessmen, 13 academicians, 7 bankers and finan- ciers, 10 officials of nonprofit organi- zations and institutes, 7 lawyers, 4 trade-union officials, 3 journalists or media executives and 1 representa- tive of agriculture interests. Cornrnis- sion members who join the executive branch of government must resign, but they often rejoin when their offi- cial service ends. What .bout conspiracy charges? George Bush, who resigned from the organization in 1978, says: "To suggest that those that belong to the commission . . . are involved in a con- spiracy is absurd." Reagan loyalist Weinberger, who describes himself as "very conservative," says "the Tri- lateral Commission is performing a very valuable service in strengthen- ing ties between the U.S. and our natural allies." How influenthl is the commission in shaping go- policy? Its voice is undoubtedly heard. Be- sides Carter, former Trilateralists in- clude Vice President Mondale, Sec- retary of State Cyrus Vance, Secretary of Defense Harold Brown and Brzezinski-the entire foreign- policy and national-security team. Still, foreign-affairs experts make this argument: The policies pursued by the Carter administration have produced results that conflict with the commission's goals of closer coop- eration among the non-Communist industrial regions and between this group and the Third World. Rela- tions between the U.S. and its indus- trialized allies, these experts say, have frayed seriously over the past three years, and ties with a number of Third World nations-such as Iran-have rarely been worse. Three Trilateralists in the Presidential Race Bush "" Anderson ? Carter Republican candidates George Bush and John Anderson md Democrat Jimmy Car- ter are present or fonnew mbon of the Trilateral Comrnlssion. U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT. Apr~l 7. 1980 2
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