A PR Campaign to Sell The Libyan Karzai?
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
"....We want the money
Asia Times
"....We want the money
The "rebel" government - which is now named, after numerous permutations, the Interim Transitional National Council of Libya - has hired Patton Boggs, one of Washington's leading (and one of the most profitable) PR firms, to "advise and assist" them in, well, winning the war - or at least providing the illusion they are winning the war (shades of NATO's PR campaign in Afghanistan).
Patton Boggs is already furiously lobbying for the "rebels" to be globally accepted as the "legitimate government of the sovereign nation of Libya". The agreement was signed between Patton Boggs and former Libyan ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali, the "rebel" top dog in the US. Senior partner Thomas Hale Boggs Jr will be in charge of the account.
Italy, Britain, France, Qatar and now Turkey have already recognized the Interim Transitional National Council; the Barack Obama administration has already allowed them to open a Washington office. But inevitably this is most of all about money; what the council wants are the billions of dollars in frozen funds from the Gaddafi regime held in the US.
Patton Boggs, by some reports, bags a maximum of US$50,000 a month - charged by the hour. The "rebels" will only pay when they have funds - virtually dry at the moment. For nearly three months they've already had another top Washington PR firm, The Harbour Group, spinning their case on a pro-bono basis - especially on that crucial "unfreeze the funds" front.
It's relevant to note that one of the Patton Boggs lobbyists already involved with the "rebels" is Vincent Frillici, a former director of operations at NATO for the alliance's 50th Anniversary Host Committee. That's sweet; a NATO-connected lobbyist selling Libya's alleged popular/indigenous uprising....."
Patton Boggs is already furiously lobbying for the "rebels" to be globally accepted as the "legitimate government of the sovereign nation of Libya". The agreement was signed between Patton Boggs and former Libyan ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali, the "rebel" top dog in the US. Senior partner Thomas Hale Boggs Jr will be in charge of the account.
Italy, Britain, France, Qatar and now Turkey have already recognized the Interim Transitional National Council; the Barack Obama administration has already allowed them to open a Washington office. But inevitably this is most of all about money; what the council wants are the billions of dollars in frozen funds from the Gaddafi regime held in the US.
Patton Boggs, by some reports, bags a maximum of US$50,000 a month - charged by the hour. The "rebels" will only pay when they have funds - virtually dry at the moment. For nearly three months they've already had another top Washington PR firm, The Harbour Group, spinning their case on a pro-bono basis - especially on that crucial "unfreeze the funds" front.
It's relevant to note that one of the Patton Boggs lobbyists already involved with the "rebels" is Vincent Frillici, a former director of operations at NATO for the alliance's 50th Anniversary Host Committee. That's sweet; a NATO-connected lobbyist selling Libya's alleged popular/indigenous uprising....."
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