Emiratis spending money in America

According to IRNA, the Emirates Leaks news site wrote today (Sunday): “Quincy” studies center in a report pointing out that the documented efforts of the UAE to direct the foreign (regional) policy of the United States in favor of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf have become a challenge to the national security of this country. added: According to this center, this danger has now been brought to the attention of the US National Intelligence Council, which relies on information from 18 US intelligence agencies and acts as a bridge between the intelligence community and policymakers, according to a recent Washington Post report.

In the continuation of this report, it is stated: The concern of the American intelligence community about the UAE’s efforts to influence the policies [منطقه ای] Washington, compiled in a confidential report, shows that the US intelligence community is closely monitoring Abu Dhabi’s efforts to influence Washington, a trend among journalists and activists that has been documented in recent years.

In other words, the fear of UAE involvement in Washington politics has now become a national security concern in the American intelligence community.

This scrutiny by intelligence agencies is highly unusual because they are mandated to focus on foreign threats and avoid engaging in activities that could be considered a study of U.S. policy or officials.

The activities covered in the report, described by three sources, included illegal and legal efforts to direct American foreign policy is in ways favorable to Arab tyranny.

These sources said: This [گزارش] which includes many US governments, reveals that the UAE has sought to exploit US governance weaknesses, including reliance on campaign donations, susceptibility to powerful lobbying firms, and weak enforcement of disclosure laws intended to protect against interference by foreign governments. .

While the National Intelligence Council’s report on the illegal involvement of the UAE in the US was classified, publicly available information shows that the UAE managed one of the largest legal infiltration operations in the US.

Also, in a short report, the Quincy Institute has documented more than 10,000 cases of political activity in favor of the UAE in 2020 and 2021.

In fact, Emirati lobbyists have approached almost every office in Congress to help sell arms to the UAE and foster further mistrust of Iran, the so-called “Ibrahim” compromise agreement, and many major political decisions at the heart of American foreign policy. promote in the Middle East.

More than half a billion dollars have been paid in the campaign of companies registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that work for the interests of the UAE and have been contacted by these companies to more than 100 members of Congress in 2020 and 2021. .

While some may interpret these practices as a pay-to-play policy, they are not illegal. Based on the supplementary statement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act where this information was obtained, it clearly indicates that the assistance was not provided by the UAE or any other foreign client.

The Washington Post reported that the UAE has spent more than $154 million on pressure groups since 2016, according to Justice Department records. More than hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on grants to American universities and think tanks, and many of them have produced policy reports that benefit the UAE.

The UAE is one of the largest foreign donors to American research institutions, which has paid millions of dollars annually to the most influential American think tanks, including the Atlantic Council, the Brookings School, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Middle East School.

In some cases, UAE-funded think tanks appear to have their opinions and writings aligned with the interests of UAE investors.

Think tanks have even written specific reports at the request of the UAE government, and in at least one case, hired a former Abu Dhabi official to prepare a public report for policymakers on US strategies in the Middle East.

Referring to the exceptional influence of the UAE and other countries on think tanks, the Quincy Institute report calls for the restoration of trust in the think tank sector and states that we demand several rational reforms to improve transparency and accountability regarding the financing of think tanks, especially the requirement of all think tanks to publicly disclose foreign investors. We became ourselves.