UAE Lobbies: Huge Funding from Abu Dhabi to Gain Suspicious Influence
A press inquiry scrutinized the UAE’s extensive expenditure of significant financial resources over an extended period to establish lobbying efforts overseas, particularly in the United States and Europe, to acquire dubious influence.
Despite its compact size of 83,600 km2 and a population of merely ten million, with 89% comprised of foreigners, this entity exerts a significant influence surpassing its physical dimensions.
It actively strives to establish a notable political and strategic position, with aspirations to wield substantial influence globally and regionally, transcending geographical borders and continents.
According to a report released by the (Arabi 21) website, following its involvement in the American invasion of Afghanistan, the UAE earned the nickname “Little Sparta” from former US Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis. This comparison draws parallels to the historical role of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in engaging in warfare, conflicts, and alliances with major powers of its time.
The investigation addressed the suspicious role played by the UAE in regional and international issues and its mechanisms, most notably its strong influence within the United States and the European Union and its influence on their foreign policy through the UAE lobby, which is considered one of the most powerful lobbies.
He pointed out that the driving force for the new Sparta is Mohammed bin Zayed, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Britain.
Former UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Abdul Khaleq Bargash expressed this UAE strategy, saying: “We want to be a global player, breaking barriers, and taking some strategic risks to break these barriers.”
Michael Stevens, an expert in Gulf affairs, highlighted the significance of this role by stating, “Their ability to project influence abroad surpasses that of other Arab nations; however, they are constrained by their size and capabilities.”
Addressing multiple challenges simultaneously carries risks and may ultimately prove counterproductive in the long term.
Emirati lobbies and building global soft power
The Corporate Europe Observatory believes that the UAE, through the many lobbies it spends around the world, aims to achieve its ambitions to be a global soft superpower.
This aims to enhance its reputation as a moderate and amicable ally, actively influencing the global narrative and perceptions, particularly in Europe, regarding its human rights abuses and regional involvement.
The UAE’s autocratic rulers present themselves as a stabilizing force in the Gulf. They portray any attempts at pluralism, the development of civil society, or the activity of competing forces, as a gateway to Islamic chaos and terrorism.
The advocacy groups that purify the UAE’s image, portraying it as a steadfast regional partner, an anti-terrorism ally, and a proponent of secular moderation, are aiding in concealing its less favorable aspects.
The UAE has been accused of committing war crimes in Yemen, crushing opposition and supporting Sisi’s regime in Egypt. Not to mention local human rights violations such as the mistreatment of foreign workers or the crushing of opposition within the borders.
The seriousness of the UAE’s role in the region
Upon closer examination of the UAE’s political positions and military actions, we find that it follows a very narrow agenda driven primarily by stopping the emergence of any Islamic political system in the region, which it considers a threat to the survival of its regime.
Abu Dhabi does not propose any solutions to the region’s problems, but it mainly implements Western and Israeli political plans for the Middle East.
The UAE relies on this interdependence to pursue its specific goal of regime survival, by aligning its foreign policies with those of Britain and the United States, while actively opposing any emerging Islamic political order, both regionally and globally.
Means and Tactics
How can the UAE assert its significance and indispensability to others? This is achieved through the implementation of the following strategies, methods, and instruments:
1- A strong Emirati lobby in the United States and Europe.
2- A strategic alliance with Israel.
3 – Accessing positions of power and decision-making in the targeted or relevant countries that could have an active role in the region.
4- Buying regional loyalties.
5 – Fostering armed conflicts and instigating instability, exemplified by its involvement in Yemen and Sudan.
6 – Toppling governments in various nations, as seen in events unfolding in Egypt, Tunisia, and Sudan.
7- Striving to undermine centralized governments like those of Turkey and Egypt. The UAE has effectively diminished Egypt’s influence and eroded its fundamental sources of power, notably its access to the Nile River.
8- Fighting any Islamic trend or Islamic force with a political orientation, such as Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Ennahdha Party.
9 – Engaging in efforts to suppress any popular effort aimed at breaking free from oppressive regimes in the wider Middle East. This involvement was notable in quashing the Arab Spring uprising.
10 – Controlling the strategically significant sites both regionally and globally, including its significant presence in Bab al-Mandab and the Horn of Africa, leasing major ports in Egypt, and participating in the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum despite not being geographically situated in the region.
11 – Attempting to change the basic pillars of Arab and Islamic identity under the pretext of spreading tolerance and combating extremism.
Emirati Arms Everywhere
In 1999, the UAE sent its forces to participate in the NATO campaign in Kosovo, in that remote corner of the Balkans more than 3,200 km from Abu Dhabi.
This demonstrates the UAE’s ambitions reach beyond the Gulf region. It marked a historic moment as the first Arab nation to deploy its military in Europe to assist NATO.
Following this, Emirati forces also engaged in the American invasion of Afghanistan, backed by an international coalition, shortly after the Taliban’s downfall.
The Emiratis made a limited impact, yet they strategically employed wealth and religious influence to alleviate local distrust towards NATO’s frequently overwhelming presence. Additionally, they engaged in combat alongside British troops in intense clashes within Helmand province.
There is a broad alliance between the UAE and Israel, which includes secret security cooperation between them. The UAE obtained Israeli-made surveillance programs to monitor its citizens.
This alliance was crowned by the Abraham Accords, which launched a wide range of healthcare, biotechnology, cultural and commercial initiatives.
Furthermore, it paved the way for the establishment of a significant strategic military and security alliance, combining cutting-edge Israeli technology with the UAE’s substantial financial resources and worldwide ambitions.
The UAE actively opposed the Arab Spring and vehemently worked to suppress it, as well as any similar movements aiming to secure freedom rights for people or minorities across the broader Middle East region.
Mohammed bin Zayed dedicated substantial resources to combatting jihadism, which involved forging strong alliances with countries that were actively suppressing their Muslim populations.
In August 2019, Mohammed bin Zayed awarded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the highest civilian honor, just two weeks after India annexed Kashmir.
Similarly, in 2019, when over 20 countries collectively presented a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemning China’s severe oppression of the Uighur Muslim minority, the UAE aligned itself with 36 other countries in supporting China’s actions toward Uighurs and other minority groups in Xinjiang.
The UAE has gained significant public standing by inserting itself into various trouble spots in the Middle East. In Yemen, the UAE joined Saudi Arabia in the Decisive Storm War when it began its air strikes in 2015.
The UAE has created private armies, supported separatists in the south, and controlled strategic waterways in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea.
Before his death, the UAE offered both financial and military assistance to the ousted Ali Abdullah Saleh, enabling him to withstand numerous assassination attempts by leveraging intelligence provided by the UAE.
In Libya, the UAE supported tribal forces, especially in eastern and western Libya, with weapons and money.
Similar to Yemen, the UAE did not provide any political solutions to Libya’s problems, as it supported former officials during the Gaddafi era and the United States, which was looking to gain influence in the country through Khalifa Haftar.
The actions taken by the Emiratis align seamlessly with the European initiative, suggesting that the UAE’s involvement is just a component of a broader conflict unfolding in Libya, particularly evident in the absence of a political framework.
The UAE lobby in the United States
The National Intelligence Council serves as the main analytical hub within the intelligence community, consolidating insights from America’s 18 intelligence agencies to provide unified perspectives on national security matters.
The Council drafted a confidential report in 2022, revealing the UAE’s vigorous attempts to impact American political decisions through a mix of lawful and unlawful methods aimed at influencing US foreign policy.
The report underscores that the UAE tactically engaged with multiple branches of the American government, capitalizing on vulnerabilities like dependence on campaign contributions for Congress and the presidency. Furthermore, they made use of lobbying firms, exploiting deficiencies in American enforcement of disclosure laws designed to prevent foreign intervention in domestic matters.
The UAE has spent more than $150 million on lobbying since 2016, and hundreds of millions more on donations to American universities and think tanks, many of which prepare political and research papers supporting the UAE’s interests.
This major spending shows how foreign money can affect American democracy.
Another example of the UAE influence campaign is the hiring of three former US intelligence and military officials to help the UAE monitor dissidents, politicians, journalists, and American companies. The three officials admitted to providing advanced hacking technology to the UAE.
Among the important figures that the UAE has employed on its behalf is Thomas Barrack, a long-time advisor to former President Donald Trump, who exploited his connection to Trump for the benefit of the UAE and worked through a secret communications back channel to pass sensitive information to UAE officials.
Also among these individuals is General Jim Mattis, the former Secretary of Defense in the Trump administration. Eighteen months after seeking federal permission to work in the Emirates, Mattis received an offer in December 2016 to join the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, whom he was not closely acquainted with. However, Mattis respected Trump’s reputation as a strong military leader and supported his assertive stance on Iran.
The UAE has employed high-ranking retired American military personnel. Over the past seven years, 280 retired American military personnel have worked as military contractors and advisors for the UAE, more than for any other country.
The UAE provided them with legally permissible compensation packages of considerable generosity, sometimes surpassing a quarter of a million dollars, even for those in lower-ranking positions.
The UAE also spent billions of dollars to purchase American military equipment and weapons. It is the third-largest recipient of US weapons in the past five years.
The UAE has used the Abraham Accords to further militarize American foreign policy in the Middle East.
It has taken advantage of the normalization of relations with Israel to push for more US military engagements, including access to some of the most advanced weapons such as F-35 jets in the US military’s arsenal and a formal security agreement with the United States.
The economic and military issues driving US foreign policy in the Middle East have been strongly influenced by Emirati interests that often conflict with American interests.
The UAE Lobby is the Most Powerful and Well-Funded Lobby Group
In 2020 and 2021, the activity of the UAE lobby was notably significant. Analysis conducted by the Quincy Institute indicates that foreign agents representing the UAE were exceptionally active during this period.
In those two years, they reported about 10,765 political activities. On an annual basis, these reported political activities are significantly more than the significantly active Saudi lobby.
The Glover Park Group, one of the companies contracting with the UAE, said it helped the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority build relationships with thought leaders and policymakers in Washington.
Yousef Al Otaiba and Building the UAE Lobby
Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, was a key factor in the formation and penetration of the UAE lobby, as he established strong relationships with powerful politicians and business leaders from across the political spectrum.
He says that he is “proud of the UAE’s position and influence in the United States.” “It is the product of close cooperation and effective diplomacy, and reflects common interests and shared values.”
The UAE lobby in the European Union
The UAE has large and powerful EU lobby groups based in Brussels, from a research council for former European prime ministers to consulting firms specializing in privatized diplomacy, and the use of discredited social media disinformation companies.
Examples include the Bosola Institute, public relations firm Project Associates, Westphalia Global Advisory, and strategic communications firm Smith Taverner.
