The Qatari Octopus.

Submitted by Dave (United States), Jun 18, 2022 at 14:46

Here are some items from a 5/2020 article in Al Arabiya ("How Qatar is paying US institutions $1.3 billion to gain 'dubious influence'")on Qatar's influence peddling:
-Qatar pays alone $1.3 billion from the $2.2 billion provided by all Gulf countries (since 2012).
-It states that Doha is seeking to gain political influence in Washington by funding academic institutions like Georgetown University, "which is situated in the seat of power, near the State Department, and its experts are frequently cited by groups shaping policy". The article confirmed that the university has "received nearly $333 million from Qatar since 2011 — far more than any other US school has received from any foreign nation".
-For its part, the Qatar Foundation has itself filed a lawsuit against Texas attorney general on 12 October 2018 to hide information about a massive $225 million donation the country has awarded to Texas A&M University since 2011. The article also raises concerns about the dean of Georgetown University's Qatar campus Ahmad Dallal, who the Middle East Forum describes as a long-time and enthusiastic supporter of the "US State Department-designated terrorist group Hezbollah".
-The vast majority of funds from Qatar were contracts, the Education Department data shows, requiring Georgetown to do something in return for the money, unlike gifts.
-Qatar paid nearly $15 million in a four-year grant to create the Brookings Doha Center, according to the New York Times, which revealed that Qatar funded some research and studies' center, led by the Institute of Research and Studies in America, the Brookings Institute. The Center organized the Doha Forum, which was marked by turning it into a platform for Iran to attack the United States and the Gulf states.
-Qatar also hired Avenue Strategies Global, former Trump campaign manager Corey Leandowski's lobbying firm, according to Politico.
-Qatar's tactics in financing research institutions, all over the world, has led to mistrust in evaluating all bodies working on researches and studies focusing on the Gulf, irregardless to their outputs' quality.
"Amen" to the last point.

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