Middle East Lobbying:
The Influence Game
Select a country/region to see their lobbying history.
Welcome to Al-Monitor's series on Middle Eastern powers and their efforts to influence US policy.
The Saudis spent a record $14 million last year in a failed bid to stop terrorism victims from dragging them to court.
The Gulf states are throwing money left and right as they try to undercut Qatar in the eyes of President Donald Trump and undo his predecessor’s fledgling reconciliation with Iran.
And the Turkish government and its critics are locked in a multi-million battle for American politicians’ hearts and minds.
Those are some of the top stories from our latest annual update to Al-Monitor’s lobbying series. But it’s also chock-full of other revelations that help make sense of US relations with the Middle East, from Libyan rivals’ Washington wooing to the continued battle between US allies Morocco and Algeria over the future of the Western Sahara.
The series, which won this year’s Online Journalism Award for Explanatory Reporting, summarizes hundreds of lobbying and financial records to bring you the most comprehensive resource available on Middle East lobbying in Washington. It reveals the who, the why - and the how much - discreetly guiding all aspects of foreign policy, from weapons contracts and foreign aid to trade deals and financial sanctions.
All that information would be pretty useless, however, without some way to measure foreign nations' success at getting what they want. That's why we've also pored over State Department budgets, Pentagon arms deals and more to reveal the quantifiable ups and downs in US bilateral relations beyond the political spin and diplomatic platitudes. Our handy navigation toolbar lets you effortlessly explore all the latest lobbying contracts, US aid budgets and arms deals.
And while numbers really can tell a story, it wouldn't be complete without Al-Monitor’s authoritative reporting and exclusive interviews with some of the key diplomats driving the conversation in Washington. So just click on any of the countries above to find out just who’s helping shape US policy in the Middle East.
