By now most Americans have accepted that the political elite, backed by the billionaire elite, rule this country and the peasants are just along for the ride. But it may surprise you to know that money in D.C. speaks with numerous accents.
More than a dozen prominent Washington research groups (think tanks) received tens of millions from foreign governments in recent years to “nudge” our elected officials and government bureaucrats to adopt policies that don’t reflect America’s priorities.
An agreement signed last year by the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs was explicit: For $5 million, Norway’s partner in D.C. would push top officials in the White House, at the Treasury and in Congress to double spending on a US foreign aid program. Norway’s mouthpiece, the Center for Global Development, is one of those think tanks that supposedly provides lawmakers and the politically elite with “independent” policy analysis. By independent, I’m assuming they mean independent of U.S. taxpayer interests. Norway has committed at least $24 million to an array of think tanks over the past 4 years to enhance their role in NATO, expand oil drilling in the Artic and push their global warming agenda.
D.C.’s most influential think tanks, which include the Center for Global Development, the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Atlantic Council, are major recipients of overseas funding to produce policy papers, host forums and organize private briefings for senior government officials. Most of the money comes from countries in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia, particularly the oil-producing nations of the United Arab Emirates {UAE}, Qatar and Norway.
UAE quietly helped fund the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ new glass and steel headquarters located not far from the White House, with a donation of more than $1 million. Qatar agreed last year to make a $14.8 million, 4 year donation to the Brookings Institution, which helped fund a Brookings affiliate in Qatar and a project on U.S. relations with the Islamic world. Both UAE and Qatar have been especially generous in donating to America think tanks to push their countries security needs of maintaining US military presence in the region. Qatar also pushes the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic politics as the Arab world’s best hope for democracy. UAE, on the other hand, pays to push the view that the Brotherhood is a dangerous threat to the region’s stability.
Japan, a long time donor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in an effort to “persuade officials to accelerate negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has given the organization at least $1.1 million, which the Center has used to house visiting scholars and government officials from Japan and holding events to pressure the White House to complete the deal.
The scope of foreign financing is difficult to determine but since 2011, at least 64 foreign governments, state-controlled entities or government officials have contributed to 28 major US based research organizations. Since think tanks don’t provide much information about these foreign donors, a check on public records and lobbying reports filed by foreign representatives gives an indication of a minimum of $92 million in direct “donations” and commitments from overseas government interests over the last four years. If the truth were know, I’m sure $92 million would be a drop in the bucket to the true figure.
The terms of these deals with foreign governments are not disclosed to the general public nor do the think-tanks have to register as representatives of the donor countries, an omission that may or may not be in violation of federal law. But don’t hold your breath waiting for anything to change.
Special interests groups have corrupted government for a long time and no one has any ambition to change the game. The first thing that you have to understand is that Washington does not operate according to principle. Policies and laws to enact those policies do not flow from principle: they flow from money.
A new book Extortion, by Peter Schweizer describes how the money flows in Washington and how the politicians control those flows. According to Schweizer, if Washington, D.C. were run by the Mafia, it wouldn’t look or feel very much different than it does today. The main difference is that what the Mafia does is illegal; what the politicians do is legal.
Read: Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks by Eric Lipton, Brooke Williams and Nicholas Confessore
