Personally I see this issue differently than others.
CTR could have been a Mason.....not a big surprise, since many people were back then. There could be connections between the wts and other cults, maybe not. I see no harm in believing there was, or was not...what to believe is really a personal choice since there is no way to prove it.
It can be helpful to learn about other cults' techniques; comparing and contrasting helps you put your own experience into perspective.
However, IMO, it does not matter if the wts has connections to other cults. Our bad experiences in the wts and long healing process after getting out are valid considering what we endured. We went through terrible things; our feelings are valid in themselves, without regard to whether or not the borg in crooklyn allied themselves with other destructive groups.
Also, we can prove to a certainty that the wts is not god's organization as they claim--without determining if they were involved with other groups. Their own literature proves they are not what they claim; it gives us overwhelming evidence, enough for us to all feel confident we made the right decision when we left. (Examples from their own literature: www.jwinfo.8m.com/activism.htm )
