The Emirati Lobby and Foreign Influence Operations in the U.S. w/ Ben Freeman

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft's Ben Freeman returns to discuss his report The Emirati Lobby in America and his upcoming report on Saudi lobbying in the United States. We begin the conversation by discussing the nature of the U.S./UAE relationship and the way the military, economics, and weapons sales figures into that relationship. We then delve into the activities, legal and illegal, of the Emirati Lobby in the United States and the ways it seeks to influence U.S. foreign policy. Ben's Quincy report details the political activities of 25 firms registered as working on behalf of the UAE under FARA (the Foreign Agents Registration Act). Ben and I delve into the cases of former Trump advisor Tom Barrack, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, and the high-ranking military officials that have worked on behalf of UAE interests. Additionally, we discuss the UAE in relation to other Gulf State countries, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Moreover, Ben and I discuss Kristen Sinema and the F-35 deal that benefitted Saudi Arabia; the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (or just Akin Gump); how the Emirati Lobby donates to influential D.C. think tanks; the Abraham Accords; the Dubai Expo 2020; the war in Yemen; the issue of dark money; why having FARA is better than not having FARA;  why the UAE has such significant lobbying efforts in the U.S. compared to some other Middle Eastern countries; foreign influence operations and academia; cultural exchange vs. foreign influence ops; how the Emirati Lobby and other foreign lobbies are actually not one group but a constellation of organizations and firms; PR and perception management; PR efforts by foreign lobby's to put attention on countries other than their own; how foreign lobbies can impact not only U.S. foreign policy, but also negatively impact smaller, more economically disadvantaged countries; arms sales; and much, much more!