Millions Paid to Influence American Foreign Policy

Egyptian Defense Minister and Military Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (before he was president) and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

The UAE, as you read here, spends more to influence American foreign policy than any other country on earth. Do Americans benefit from having such a pot stirred? It is time America disengaged from the Middle East and the Muslim world in general. Let these countries fight their own ancient battles. Our national security is not at stake. Continued involvement in the Muslim world only makes America less safe. A policy of non- intervention is the policy that will best keep America safe.

In other words, a senior Treasury official responsible for U.S. policy toward the Emirates leaves the U.S. government and forms a new lobbying company, which is then instantly paid millions of dollars by the very same country for which he was responsible, all to use his influence, access and contacts for its advantage. The UAE spends more than any other country in the world to influence U.S. policy and shape domestic debate, and it pays former high-level government officials who worked with it – such as Epstein and his company – to carry out its agenda within the U.S.

What did Camstoll do for these millions of dollars? They spent enormous of amounts of time cajoling friendly reporters to plant anti-Qatar stories, and they largely succeeded. Their strategy was clear: target neocon/pro-Israel writers such as the Daily Beast‘s Eli Lake, Free Beacon‘s Alana Goodman, Iran-contra convict Elliott Abrams, The Washington Post‘s Jennifer Rubin, and American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Rubin – all eager to promote the Qatar-funds-terrorists line being pushed by Israel. They also targeted establishment media figures such as CNN’s Erin Burnett, Reuters’ Mark Hosenball, and The Washington Post‘s Joby Warrick.

In the latter half of 2013, Camstoll reported 15 separate contacts with Lake, all on behalf of UAE’s agenda; in the month of December alone, there were 10 separate contacts with Goodman. They also spoke multiple times with Warrick. At the same time, they were speaking on behalf of their Emirates client with their former colleagues who were still working as high-level Treasury officials, including Kate Bauer, the Treasury Department’s Emirates-based Financial Attaché, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Danny McGlynn.