The Saudis Take a Stroll on J Street
Talk about a tough sale. Imagine being Saudi Arabia’s public relations firm in the United States in the months after the 9/11 attacks, which were perpetrated by 19 terrorists, 15 of whom were Saudi nationals. Shilling for a tarnished Saudi Arabia was the daunting task that faced Qorvis, a Washington-based PR company. The $14 million contract surely compensated.
In their 2002 contract, Qorvis promised to “draft and/or distribute talking points, press releases, fact sheets, and op-ed pieces in order to promote the [Saudi] Kingdom, its commitment to the war against terrorism, peace in the Middle East, and other issues pertinent to the Kingdom.”
Soon thereafter, a new organization appeared on the American scene, the “Alliance of Peace and Justice in the Middle East.” In April 2002, the organization ran radio spots on dozens of stations across the U.S. extolling the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by then-Crown Prince Abdullah and attacking Israel’s settlements.
According to one ad: “The [Saudis’] fair plan [would] end the senseless violence in the Mideast.” The plan involved Israel’s “withdrawal from the Palestinian land it has unjustly occupied for years. … There will be no more midnight raids and random searches, no more violence.” “Start the peace — end the occupation” is the phrase that ends the ads. It is followed by the words “paid for by the Alliance of Peace and Justice.”
Who was behind the alliance? One American Jewish activist tracked them back to a Virginia address, which just happened to be the offices of Qorvis.
Eight months later, in documents submitted to the U.S. Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Office (FARA), Qorvis began to fess up. They listed receipt of $679,000 from the Alliance of Peace and Justice for “payment for radio, television, and print ads.”
In a tiny footnote, Qorvis added this classic piece of obfuscation:
Registrant [Qorvis] assisted in the preparation and placement of certain advertisements to promote the Saudi Middle East peace plan that were prepared by the Alliance for Peace and Justice, an American organization concerned about the Middle East peace process. The Alliance paid Qorvis for work on the advertisements. At the time of these payments, the Alliance was funded by a bridge loan from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia. The Alliance received its permanent funding from the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, through its Committee for the Development of International Trade and the Alliance repaid the loan to the Embassy. The Council, including the Committee, is based in Saudi Arabia, with its principal offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The advertisements prepared by the Alliance for the Council were filed with the Department of Justice on April 29, 2002.
When he was confronted by reporters in 2002, Qorvis CEO Michael Petruzzello told them that the financial backers of the “alliance” included the Arab American Institute (AAI), the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council, and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
In December 2004, the other shoe dropped when the FBI raided several Qorvis offices as part of FARA compliance investigations. A grand jury was convened, but details of their findings were never made public.
As of November 2009, no FARA registration was ever made by the Alliance of Peace and Justice despite Qorvis’ claim that Saudi institutions paid the alliance, and despite Qorvis’ portrayal of the alliance as a separate American organization. Nor are there FARA filings for one of the organizations named by Petruzzello, the Arab American Institute, despite their receipt of $300,000 from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in that very busy year of 2002.
The Arab American Institute was founded by Arab-American and Democratic Party activist James Zogby, an early supporter of Barack Obama. (Zogby was rewarded for his support in July when he was asked to deliver the keynote address at the Justice Department’s 45th anniversary commemoration of the Civil Rights Act.)
Another AAI leader is Wisconsin businessman Richard Abdoo, a member of the organization’s board of governors.
The Saudis have always been a duplicitous bunch of liars and religious fanatics. They fund the radical madrassas or religious “schools” in Pakistan that produce some of the world’s worst Muslim terrorists. They don’t hide their desire to see the Middle East dominated by their brand of religious fanaticism and, in the grand scheme of things, are probably more dangerous than al Qaeda. Remember, Osama bin Laden is a Saudi. They are all scum of the worst order, religious fundamentalists who pose a clear and present danger to not only the West but to this country in particular. We should STOP BOWING TO THEM, as our “fearless” leader did, and start standing up to them. But, you say, they have the oil we need to survive? So what? We’re also their best and most reliable customer. And there are so very many things we could do overtly and covertly to wreck their day if they refused to sell oil to us. Remember, you can’t hide an oil terminal or an oil well. You would think that, after 9/11, we would stop supporting people who, in turn, support terrorists and terrorism. But that is exactly what we are doing with Saudi Arabia. We should stop doing this now, but I doubt we will do much of anything with our current president, who actually bowed to that turd who runs Saudi Arabia.
I think we need closer ties between the ‘Arab Street’, and the end of a barrel. Before it’s too late.
I saw one of our politicians kissing a Saudi! Holding hands as they strolled! What has come of this country? Traitors! Treasonous wretches! self-serving opportunists! Familial fascists!
So f^%^ing what?
It’s too bad that many high level politicians including former US Presidents,secretaries of State etc. have high level business dealings with these jerks.
Lenny-Ben-David: Look here sonny and the rest of high school drop outs…it is ok to critisize Israel. this whole site is filled with anti global warming people yet this same people defend thoses who created the global warming BS. The Jews. Jews made all this up to make money…
6. mr
I agree, It’s the jews. It’s aaaaallllways the Jews.
At the risk of being a vulgar Marxist, follow the oil. Gee, considering all the congressional health care shenanigans–entire states exempted from federally mandated medicare costs at the expense of other states–maybe the vulgar Marxists were right. It must be fun to be George Soros, a capitalist with a socialist face. I wonder if he got burned by bankrupt Dubai and needs a bail out?
Just to be clear, the US buys very little oil from either Saudi or the other Mid East countries. Most of our imported crude comes from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and West Africa.
We need to tell the Saudis to go fix Palestine themselves; we should be doing every thing we can to hand the Middle East over to the people who rely on them for oil. That would be Europe, China/Far East and India.
We are blowing a precious amount of our country’s wealth protecting a region that has no love for us, while we simply subsidize the energy security of those truly dependent on Mid East oil.
#9 Steeple I am subsidizing your health care
#10 Have no idea how you transitioned the discussion from Saudi Arabia to health care, but I’m very doubtful that you are. But thanks for judging someone you don’t know. I’m a conservative who has been supportive of our efforts in the Mid East, but I’m tired of subsidizing the energy security of others who really don’t appreciate the cost or the personal sacrifice that our military makes in this region. There is plenty of sand for the Saudis to go pound as far as I’m concerned.
Even during Second Temple times, there were Jews who were willing to embrace elements and ideas antithetical to Judaism from the Greek culture. Then it was the Sadducess who were Greek sympathizers. Now it is J Street who are Arab Sympathizers.
There have been many groups in between. They play with words and ignore the essence of the Jewish tradition.
So what. Just imagine what would happen if we got the donor list to AIPAC…..that would be a sight to see. America first, not Israel, not Iraq, not Iran, etc etc etc. Some of you forget what country you are supposed to be loyal to.
6. mr:
Lenny-Ben-David: Look here sonny and the rest of high school drop outs…[sic]it is ok to critisize[sic] Israel. this whole site is filled with anti global warming people yet this same people defend thoses[sic] who created the global warming BS. The Jews. Jews made all this up to make money…[sic]
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It’s funny how so many “high school drop outs’ have a better grasp for reality, spelling and punctuation then you do. But when you don’t really have a solid argument it’s easy to spew out ad-hom attacks, strawmen and blame those dastardly Jews.
How ironic that pernicious saudi lobbyists and registered foreign agents in America speak so often about the supposedly omnipotent Israel lobby and accuse Israel’s supporters of the dual citizenship charge even as these same saudi lobbyists work against American interests.
Lets see, a President who bows to the Saudis, or a president that actually does Multi billion dollar business directly with them and flew them out of the USA circumventing US flight restrictions after 9/11 so they can avoid being interviewed by the FBI..
The Hypocrisy on this site is amazing
Never ceases to amaze me that we put a country like Saudi Arabia on the map, when it doesn’t even have a tenth of the oil that we right have in the United States…..
This “news” is older than dirt. What’s the point of re-hashing 9-year-old lobbying filings?
I think that there’s something fishy about Jstreet (it reeks of Soros) but in theory the S’audi Peace plan is much the same as the “Israeli Peace plan” of Barak, Olmert and now Netenyahu. Obviously Israel won’t budge on the refugee issue (the whole point of a “Palestine” is for Palestinian refugees, like Israel is for Jewish ones) but otherwise it really should be carefully considered. I think that the Iranian threat (to both Sunni’s and Israel) has caused the most pragmatic elements in S’audi Arabia to come up with the plan. I don’t think we need to be totally suspicious of the S’audi’s in this instance. I actually think they realise that a “peaceful” settlement is best for everyone.
#steeple: I was just kidding about the health care..
However what do you exactly meanby”I am a conservetive supporing our efforts in Mid East”? I think there plenty od Middle Easterners who appreciate what the US armed forces are doing to help. my self included. I am from Iran and my own son is in the US Marins and I am very proud of him. Look here Phranc: I love the Jews.
i work for them.
My daughter in law is jewish.
And I have been dating a Jewish woman for the last 5 years and her last name is Kaplan!!
Now listen sonny: that being said simply because I am from Iran that does not mean I should support what ever the Iranian government does.. In fact I hate the governmet.
and sonny: since I love jews that does not mean I have to support the nazi and murderous Israeli government who is on rampage with the help of our tax$$.
Also Phranc: in the past couple weeks the vatican accepted the resignation of some bishop or archbishop in the state of CT for child molestation.. just in case if you didn’t know..
20. mr – it is clear what you are; your shallow attempts to justify your Jew-hatred are pointless.
The only thing worse than someone who blindly hates Jews is someone like you, who blindly hates Jews but is too cowardly to just say so. You are contemptible.
#21 Aaron: why do you say I hate jews? you don’t know me,,in fact I admire them. I do hate the israeli government just as I do saudi, and iranian government. so do you get it? Happy holidays!!
Look closer at Qorvis and Petruzzello
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