{"id":1524999,"date":"2022-06-21T11:19:06","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T15:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1524999"},"modified":"2022-06-21T11:19:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T15:19:11","slug":"biden-usaid-nominee-lavished-praise-on-saudi-arabia-until-it-stopped-funding-her-think-tank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-usaid-nominee-lavished-praise-on-saudi-arabia-until-it-stopped-funding-her-think-tank\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden USAID Nominee Lavished Praise on Saudi Arabia\u2014Until It Stopped Funding Her Think Tank"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-usaid-nominee-lavished-praise-on-saudi-arabia-until-it-stopped-funding-her-think-tank%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1524999&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s\u00a0pick for a top spot at the U.S. Agency for International Development\u00a0praised Saudi Arabia\u2019s &#8220;exciting, productive, inspiring&#8221; social progress after her employer received a large grant from the kingdom\u2014and did an about-face months later when the financial agreement was cut off after Riyadh\u2019s assassination of activist Jamal Khashoggi.<\/p>\n<p>Tamara Cofman Wittes, a longtime fellow at the Brookings Institution, is seeking Senate confirmation for her nomination as assistant administrator at USAID. During her time at the think tank Brookings in 2018, Wittes received as much as $499,999 from Saudi Arabia, according to its annual report. Brookings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2018\/10\/12\/western-walkout-saudi-davos-desert-conference-over-jamal-khashoggi-undermines-kingdoms-modernization-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2018\/10\/12\/western-walkout-saudi-davos-desert-conference-over-jamal-khashoggi-undermines-kingdoms-modernization-plans\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1655852954403000&#038;usg=AOvVaw2yAOl9gAdCDXddTpk_Ix-3\">told<\/a>\u00a0the <em>Washington Post<\/em> the Saudi grant was intended to fund an analysis of the &#8220;Saudi think tank sector,&#8221; which is relatively small compared to other countries in the region. Saudi Arabia has 13 think tanks, according to an unrelated 2020\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/repository.upenn.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&#038;context=think_tanks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/repository.upenn.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article%3D1019%26context%3Dthink_tanks&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1655852954403000&#038;usg=AOvVaw0F0Yyis9RhQqkVDLKbZxLR\">global study<\/a> by the University of Pennsylvania, compared to 87 in Iran, 47 in Egypt, and 29 in Yemen. At the time of the grant, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud was trying to rebrand the country as modernizing and progressive.<\/p>\n<p>Wittes visited Saudi Arabia in February of that year, posting a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/order-from-chaos\/2018\/03\/07\/a-glimpse-inside-saudi-arabia-in-photos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">slideshow<\/a>\u00a0on the Brookings website that highlighted an alleged increase in women\u2019s freedom and a growing tourism industry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The pace of change is really notable compared to my previous visits to the kingdom where there was a sense that the leadership of the country moved very slowly and cautiously. \u2026 It is clear that\u2019s not the case now,&#8221; she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonjewishweek.com\/saudi-expert-eyes-changing-kingdom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a>\u00a0<em>Washington Jewish Week<\/em> in a glowing article headlined &#8220;Saudi expert eyes changing kingdom.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While the nation said it would loosen restrictions on women&#8217;s attire and driving in 2018, Saudi Arabia faced allegations of far-reaching war crimes in Yemen and crackdowns on dissidents and women&#8217;s rights. Wittes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/order-from-chaos\/2018\/08\/02\/what-does-an-empowered-saudi-woman-look-like\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published<\/a>\u00a0a mild criticism of the arrest of a Saudi female driving activist in May 2018, calling it &#8220;deeply sad and ironic&#8221; and a contrast with the &#8220;swift pace of change&#8221; she witnessed in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Her comments could add to concerns from Republicans that Wittes helped bolster the reputations of Gulf state countries that donated to Brookings. Senate Republicans already raised questions during a confirmation hearing last week about Wittes\u2019s praise for Qatar, which donated at least $22 million to Brookings during her employment. The think tank is facing scrutiny after its president, Gen. John Allen, stepped down last week amid a federal investigation into allegations that he worked as an unregistered lobbyist for Doha.<\/p>\n<p>After Brookings terminated the Saudi funding in response to Khashoggi\u2019s assassination, Wittes gave a much bleaker assessment of the country\u2019s leadership\u2014arguing that Khashoggi\u2019s murder &#8220;catalyzed concerns that had already been growing about the young crown prince and his policy choices on other issues as well,&#8221; and praising the U.S. Senate\u2019s decision to cut off funding for Saudi Arabia\u2019s war in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;President Trump\u2019s [supportive] behavior toward the Saudis and his statements make it look more like he\u2019s the one being used. Like he\u2019s being Mohammed bin Salman\u2019s [son of a bitch] if you will,&#8221; Wittes said on a Brookings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/podcast-episode\/why-the-senate-went-against-trump-on-yemen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">podcast<\/a>. &#8220;He doesn\u2019t mind their gross violations of international norms, whether it\u2019s murdering a journalist, hitting civilians with bombs, or other moves in regional policy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wittes also called for the United States to take a tougher stance against Saudi Arabia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/20\/world\/middleeast\/saudi-arabia-biden-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">telling<\/a>\u00a0the <em>New York Times<\/em> after Biden\u2019s election that the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia has &#8220;a lot of value&#8221; but &#8220;it simply cannot continue in the way it has for the last four years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wittes did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans raised\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/funded-by-a-foreign-nation-who-is-not-our-friend-cruz-blasts-biden-aid-nominee-for-taking-money-from-qatar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concerns<\/a>\u00a0at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week about Wittes receiving from the Qatari government\u2014a country with a record of human rights abuses and anti-Israel terror financing\u2014and for posting criticism about the historic peace accords between Israel and Arab states.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The president of Brookings has resigned over [his financial ties with Qatar], but you ran the Middle East Center at Brookings,&#8221; said Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas). &#8220;Should the American taxpayers be concerned that President Biden wants to put in charge of distributing millions of dollars of taxpayer money someone who has spent years being funded by a foreign nation who is not our friend?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Free Beacon<\/em> first\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/in-biden-aid-nominee-repressive-gulf-monarchy-found-enthusiastic-ally\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>\u00a0last week that Wittes described Qatar&#8217;s capital city Doha as a &#8220;global gathering place for dialogue&#8221; and amplified Qatari leaders&#8217; claims that they support human rights and oppose &#8220;extremists who exploit religion to incite violence,&#8221; while Brookings was raking in millions from the government.<\/p>\n<p>She also posted articles on Twitter decrying the Abraham Accords, Israel\u2019s normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, as misogynistic, a &#8220;new Naksa&#8221;\u2014referring to the Palestinian word for &#8220;setback&#8221;\u2014and as a &#8220;triumph for authoritarianism.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wittes denied that she opposed the accords, telling Cruz that she was &#8220;skeptical when the Emiratis made their announcement, which was breathtaking, in August 2020. I was skeptical that other Arab states would join them, and I was proven wrong.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Martin Indyk, the former vice president of Brookings who helped raise the funds from Doha, denied that the Qataris exercised any influence\u00a0over the think tank\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They never showed any interest in what we wrote, the content,&#8221; Indyk, who also served as former president Barack Obama&#8217;s Middle East envoy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2022\/06\/17\/john-allen-brookings-institution-fbi-qatar-00040380\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a>\u00a0<em>Politico<\/em> in an article last week. &#8220;What they were interested in was the cachet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If confirmed, Wittes wouldn&#8217;t be the first Biden administration official who received funding from the Qataris. Robert Malley, the special envoy for Iran and Biden&#8217;s point man for the nuclear negotiations, ran the International Crisis Group <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/author-nyt-anti-israel-piece-works-group-funded-qatar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">when<\/a>\u00a0it took in $4 million from the Qatari government.<\/p>\n<p>Hady Amr, the administration&#8217;s special envoy to the Palestinians, was the founding director of the Qatari-funded Brookings Doha Center.\u00a0Senior administration adviser Erin Pelton was previously a registered\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-hires-qatari-agent-as-senior-adviser\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lobbyist<\/a>\u00a0for Qatar.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-usaid-nominee-lavished-praise-on-saudi-arabia-until-it-stopped-funding-her-think-tank\/\">Biden USAID Nominee Lavished Praise on Saudi Arabia\u2014Until It Stopped Funding Her Think Tank<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\">Washington Free Beacon<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s\u00a0pick for a top spot at the U.S. Agency for International Development\u00a0praised Saudi Arabia\u2019s &#8220;exciting, productive, inspiring&#8221; social progress after her employer received a large grant from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1524999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1524999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1524999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1524999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1524999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}