There's a simple reason why those Washington think tanks like the Brookings Institute and other groups keeping coming up with out-of-this world ideas -- they are riddled with space aliens!

That is the startling revelation of Dr. Bernard Galthman, a former member of the prestigious Holt-Ventman Institute, who admits that his own group includes two extraterrestrials!

"Most people believe that think tanks are made up of geniuses handpicked from universities and the business world, and indeed, many members are," he said in a 20-page document sent to Weekly World News and other news organizations.

"But some members are in fact visitors from space who are eager to pass on their vast knowledge of science, technology, sociology and other fields to mankind."

Dr. Galthman, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, says he was sworn to secrecy on the alien issue when he joined the Institute in 1988, but decided to quit and make the matter public earlier this year.

"It dawned on me that the people have a right to know who is influencing their leaders," he explained in his letter.

"Many government initiatives originate in these think tanks."

Of the 26 major think tanks in the United States, 18 include at least one alien -- and some have as many as five onboard, the Washington-based scientist says.

The slightly built beings, who come from the planet orbiting the star Sirius B and have large, slanted eyes, sit in on meetings with earthly eggheads and join in freely on all discussions

"The first time I wanted into a conference room and saw them sitting there, I couldn't take my eyes off them," the professor recalled. "But after a while you just got used to them."

Dr. Galthman says that aliens have been advising U.S. think tanks since 1941 and have been the guiding force behind many important government policies.

These, he claims include: