A Secret Conference Thought to Rule the World

Alan Cowell & David M. Halbfinger, New York Times

Since its first meeting 50 years ago, the Bilderberg conference, a secretive gathering of global power brokers, has inspired layer upon layer of conspiracy theories, which it has done little to dispute. Over the years, the deeds laid at the conference's devious door have included the creation of the European Union, the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Serbia — all to service its most cherished goal: the creation of a world government.

The conspiracy theories bubbled to the surface anew last week, after it was reported that a well-received speech by Senator John Edwards at the conference last month in Stresa, Italy, was one reason for his selection as John Kerry's vice-presidential running mate.Is the Bilderberg confab now molding domestic American policy?

Roughly 130 delegates attend the invitation-only annual gatherings, named for the Dutch hotel where the first Bilderberg conference was held in May 1954, to debate issues surrounding the cold war.

The meetings are hardly a monument to transparency. The hotels involved are usually closed off to other guests.

Unlike the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, journalists are not invited to cover it — although a few attend as participants — and all delegates promise to keep quiet about what they hear and say.

"They do not have to sign anything, but they understand that they do not talk," said Maja Banck-Polderman, the organization's executive secretary. In a telephone interview, she said she was the only employee at the Bilderberg administrative office in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Secrecy understandings aside, prying details loose about Mr. Edwards's appearance was not difficult so long as the chattering chieftains were not identified.

Mr. Edwards, several said, joined Ralph Reed, the Republican strategist, in giving a presentation on the American election. After Mr. Reed spoke about how Mr. Kerry was vulnerable on "values," Mr. Edwards presented a characteristically positive case for Mr. Kerry's election, focusing on the insecurity of American workers that persists even when economic statistics turn north.

Two Democrats in the room said Mr. Edwards sparked a rule-breaking round of applause when he finished, though a nonpartisan witness did not recall such an ovation.

"He spoke with great passion, in a meeting that is usually rather dry," said the nonpartisan veteran attendee. "He was able to make it a cross between his stump speech and an intimate conversation in a small room."

The group's meetings, Ms. Banck-Polderman said, are financed by corporate sponsors in the host countries and are regularly attended by tycoons, politicians and diplomats in Europe and the United States, including Henry A. Kissinger, the former secretary of state, and Richard N. Perle, the former head of the Defense Policy Board. This year's list also included Richard C. Holbrooke, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations, and, of course, Senator Edwards.

The guest list and membership would more or less overlap with the "Wanted" posters of anti-globalization protesters. Indeed, one former participant, Will Hutton, a British journalist and economist, has been widely quoted calling the Bilderberg set the "high priests of globalization."

Former participants have generally played down the conspiracy theories, saying the secrecy is merely designed to foster a climate of open debate, allowing participants to speak their minds freely.

But critics of the Bilderberg conference argue that while it may not make formal decisions, it sets a consensus that spreads among business and political elites, molding the global agenda.

Some argue, for instance, that the first intimations of American determination to wage war in Iraq came from a Bilderberg gathering in 2002.

"What I call for is more openness in what they do," said Tony Gosling, a British researcher and former journalist who has followed the Bilderberg meetings and believes they are designed to unite opinion around major, global ideas.

"I don't think the participants should be sworn to secrecy," he said in a telephone interview from Bristol, England. "I think that a forum where so many rich and powerful people meet should be open to public scrutiny."

Whatever else, the selection of Mr. Edwards as Mr. Kerry's running mate seems to show that the Bilderberg delegates have an eye for a contender.

But Democrats please note: they do not always back the winner. This year's delegates list showed that Giulio Tremonti attended as Italy's minister of economy and finance: four weeks later, he resigned in a political dispute — perhaps not the best of omens for Senator Edwards.