Palestinians, Libya, Qatar go on lobbying binge
Some of last year’s biggest losers on Capitol Hill are spending big to avoid a repeat in 2015.
WASHINGTON — Middle Eastern nations that took a drubbing in the halls of Congress last year are beefing up their lobbying rosters in hopes of getting a better outcome in 2015.
The Palestinian Authority and its mission to the UN have hired two US firms to shore up Ramallah’s beleaguered Washington envoy in a bid to prevent threatened cuts to US aid.
Libya has retained the services of two consulting companies out of Texas in its bid to get its hands on millions of dollars in frozen assets and otherwise “strengthen” relations with the United States as the country spirals toward all-out civil war.
And Qatar kicked off 2015 by inking deals with Washington lobby and communications shops as it seeks to convince Congress that it’s on the right side of the war against Islamist extremism.
