Control of the state media is not the only way the oil-rich island kingdom polishes its reputation. A month before the arrests, one of Washington's most powerful lobbying firms began working for Bahrain.
Qorvis, a lobbying and public relations giant with a roster of high-profile clients from Intel and the Washington Post to Saudi Arabia and Equatorial Guinea, began work under a subcontract with Britain's Bell Pottinger. Among its goals: to position Bahrain as a key ally in the war on terror and as an advocate for peace in the Middle East. As part of its work, Qorvis pitched major media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times, reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily.
One Qorvis staffers working on the account, former State Department Official Matt Lauer, was recently named one of Washington's most influential people under 40.
Lauer did not return several requests for comment. It is unclear what advice Qorvis is offering the government amid Bahrain's current unrest, in which government soldiers have fired live rounds on thousands of protesters and at least six people have been killed and hundreds injured.
Active links added above. Continue reading here and see who represented Libya's King of Kings in K Street until recently. And brownie points if you can guess who was his most recent high power DC visitor in his tent in the desert ...
Matt J. Lauer, according to his bio was the executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at the Department of State prior to joining Qorvis. The commission, a bipartisan panel appointed by the president, analyzes and evaluates the U.S. government’s international public relations capabilities.
” But the fact is, whether we choose to admit it or not, we are engaged in a global conflict against those who wish us mortal harm. We should empower government officials to apply reasonable skepticism, statistical data and common sense in screening those who wish to visit the U.S."
