In ‘long-term strategy,’ Saudis spending millions to propagandize Americans

Even as it leads a campaign to save Saddam Hussein from the U.S., continues to back extremist Muslim causes, and represses female American military personnel, Saudi Arabia is spending millions of dollars on Washington image-makers in an attempt to show that Riyadh is an “ally” of the United States.

Meanwhile, back home, Saudi leaders tightly control their own press, which has been laced with bitter anti-American propaganda, and forbid any U.S. group from running influence activities there.

The Saudi regime and other Saudi interests plan to exploit the upcoming anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and to spend even more money among Democrat and Republican influence-peddlers in Washington – many of whom, in turn, give lavishly to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

According to the New York Times, the Saudis are “appropriating the techniques of an American political campaign to overhaul its image in this country. The strategy involves hiring a new publicity team, being more accessible to the press, sending officials on speaking tours, cultivating research organizations inside and outside the Washington Beltway and polling Americans on their opinions.

“Already, the Saudi government has run hundreds of television and radio commercials in virtually every major media market in the country, and placed advertisements in publications like People magazine and Stars & Stripes. From San Diego to Cleveland, the ads extol Saudi Arabia’s decades-old alliance with the United States and affirm the Saudi’s commitment to fight terrorism.”

Says the New York Times, “The Saudis have studied how much money other nations pay to lobby in the United States and, for the first time, have budgeted for a long-term strategy.”