Most Powerful Groups in the World - Trilateral Commission Part 2

About the history of the organization known as the Trilateral Commission which plays a part in world politics and policy.

WHO'S IN CHARGE?--SIX POSSIBLE CONTENDERS

TRILATERAL COMMISSION

Exploits: The Trilateral Commission's tentacles have reached so far afield in the political and economic sphere that it has been described by some as a cabal of powerful men out to control the world by creating a supernational community dominated by the multinational corporations. Nowhere has the commission's influence been more evident than within the Carter administration. Carter became one of the group's original members in 1973, after the up-and-coming Georgia governor was brought to the attention of Rockefeller. It's been noted that Carter's ascent to the White House was greatly aided by the powerful network of financial leaders he gained access to through membership in the commission. Even one of Carter's own deputy campaign chiefs acknowledged that fact when he remarked. "David Rockefeller and Zbigniew have both agreed that Carter is the ideal politician to build on." Carter himself treated the commission as a crash course in foreign policy, saying that it "provided me with a splendid learning opportunity." Many of Carter's campaign speeches on foreign policy, often written by Brzezinski, reflected Trilateral thinking, most notably one in 1976 in which he remarked, "The time has come for us to seek a partnership between North America, Western Europe, and Japan." His recurrent election platform on foreign affairs also had a Trilateral ring to it: "We must replace balance-of-power politics with world-order politics." Carter drew heavily on Trilateral members to stock his administration, with no fewer than 25 top officials having ties to the commission. Carter's support from the commission was not without a price, however Rocke-feller and fellow Trilateral member Henry Kissinger were said to have pressured Carter to let the deposed Shah of Iran into the U.S. for medical treatment, an event which triggered the taking of American hostages in Tehran in. 1979.

Although the commission's influence peaked with the Carter administration, it was widespread for several years previously. One of its primary aims has been to revitalize international institutions that can "make the world safe for interdependence," according to a Triangle Paper. As part of that program the commission has supported the strengthening of global financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and it advocated the IMF's selling off its gold stock to raise money for loans to developing countries long before it actually did so. The Trilateral Commission also played a key role in reconciling French and American attitudes on energy and monetary matters in 1975. The commission's emphasis on an international economy is not entirely disinterested, since the oil crisis forced many developing countries with doubtful repayment abilities to borrow heavily from many of the financial institutions represented amongst commission members (not the least of which is Rockefeller's Chase Manhattan Bank), which have all together lent nearly $52 billion to developing countries.

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