Qatar and Influence

Qatar's Influence campaign is not much different than what any public relations firm in Washington D.C. does.  It looks very familiar to anyone who lives and works around this area.  Every country has causes it favors and to get through to government leaders, countries use these firms to steer attitudes, values and beliefs towards their own goals.  It is a long-term process.  They influence who they can;  they neutralize as much contrary comment as they can, and they disrupt or dispute comments made by those with conflicting opinions.  The Wall Street Journal lays all this out today in a story about Qatar and a campaign to influence the Trump Administration.  Let's call this a classic case study on what worked well to achieve an objective, because that is what it is. 

For some, like  Alan Dershowitz, the feeling of being duped carries over to this day.  Having been there, it is not hard to sympathize.  I once got an invitation to visit a foreign country and an offer to meet someone I really wanted to meet.  Because of my security clearances, I reported to my government leaders.  They said, "Don't be ridiculous. You aren't going there."  It was all over in a few seconds, but I already knew what the answer would be anyway, so I wasn't too disappointed.  They never contacted me again after that, and no doubt knew I would not be coming before extending the invitation.

Well known public figures get these kinds of invitations all the time, and one probably looks a lot like all the others.  Only they can be more than just a friendly invite.  They can be manipulation, as this article accurately points out.  This kind of appeal often goes hand-in-hand with espionage inside the host country.

The public relations and lobbying firms call it "influence" not manipulation.  It is easy to see it their way, since they are not usually pushing very hard on their campaigns.  People see through that pretty quickly.  When it becomes obvious why the invitation is being made, the ability to influence is lessened.  China, Russia, Iran and Qatar influence programs are all cut from the same cloth because they cooperate and learn from one another.   Of course, those firms downtown are not part of that mix, are they?