The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is a think tank which describes itself as "dedicated to increasing America's understanding of the world and contributing ideas to U.S. foreign policy. The Council accomplishes this mainly by promoting constructive, closed debates and discussions, clarifying world issues, and publishing Foreign Affairs."

It began in 1921 and is one of the most powerful private organizations with influence on U.S. foreign policy. It has about 4,000 members, including former national security officers, professors, former CIA members, elected politicians, and media figures. It is a co-sponsor of the Task Force on the Future of North America.

Though the council is not a formal institution within US policy making, there are several conspiracy theories surrounding the CFR, most recently inspired by the council's involvement in planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq [1].

Board of Directors

Executive

• Peter G. Peterson, Chairman
• Carla Anderson Hills, Vice Chairman
• William J. McDonough , Vice Chairman
• David Rockefeller, Honorary Chairman
• Maurice R. Greenberg, Honorary Vice Chairman

Officers

• Peter G. Peterson, Chairman of the Board
  
• Carla Anderson Hills, Vice Chairman of the Board
  
• William J. McDonough , Vice Chairman of the Board
  
• Leslie H. Gelb , President
  
• Michael P. Peters , Executive Vice President, CEO, and Director of Studies
  
• David Kellogg , Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, and Publisher
  
• Janice L. Murray , Senior Vice President and Treasurer
  
• Irina Faskianos , Vice President, National and Outreach Programs
  
• Elise Carlson Lewis , Vice President, Membership and Fellowship Affairs
  
• Abraham Lowenthal , Vice President
  
• Anne R. Luzzatto , Vice President, Meetings
  
• Robert C. Orr , Vice President; Director, Washington Program
  
• Lisa Shields , Vice President, Communications
  
• Lilita Gusts , Secretary of the Corporation
  

Current Directors

• Fouad Ajami
• Jeffrey Bewkes
• Henry Bienen
• Lee Cullum
• John M. Deutch
• Kenneth Duberstein
• Margaret Peggy Rockefeller Dulany
• Jessica Einhorn
• Martin Feldstein
• Leslie H. Gelb ex officio
• Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
• Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke
• Robert D. Hormats
• Bette Bao Lord
• Vincent A. Mai
• George J. Mitchell
• Michael H. Moskow
• Ronald L. Olson
• Thomas R. Pickering
• Robert E. Rubin
• Warren Bruce Rudman
• Theodore Sorensen
• George Soros
• Joan Edelman Spero
• Laura D'Andrea Tyson
• Garrick Utley
• Vin Weber
• Andrew Jackson Young, Jr.
• Joseph S. Nye Jr.
• Fareed Zakaria

Directors Emeriti

• Charles McC. Mathias, Jr.
• Robert A. Scalapino

Other well-known members

• Richard V. Allen, former National Security Advisor
• William F. Buckley Jr. Founder, National Review
• Dick Cheney Current Republican Vice President 2001-
• Bill Clinton
• Bob Dole Former Republican House Majority Leader and 1996 Presidential Candidate
• Newt Gingrich Former Speaker of the House
• John Kerry
• Joe Klein
• Adam Michnik
• Dan Rather Former CBS Nightly News Anchor
• Raymond Tanter
• Richard Butler (diplomat) Diplomat-in-Residence
• David Rockefeller former chairman

External links

• Council on Foreign Relations website
• Council on Foreign Relations page at Sourcewatch
• Focus on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
• long list of members