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A thread about think tank ethics! Dennis Ross was hired by GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy to advise him on Middle East issues. Broidy, at the same time, was taking millions of dollars in Saudi/Emirati money to flack for them and against Qatar. 1/ thedailybeast.com/gop-moneyman-e…
Ross told Broidy he was placing an anti-Qatar, anti-al Jazeera op-ed in The Hill. Broidy thanked Ross, saying “I’m anxious to launch against in a serious way against al Jezeera (sic)… As discussed, you may invoice me at $10K” 2/
Broidy asked Ross to find other people to write similar things. Ross replied that he had “a few people in mind” but warned, “like me they will only write what they believe.” He later reneged on the referrals, saying it “didn’t feel right.” 3/
This raises some obvious issues about Ross’ employer, @washinstitute. Ross was paid through Broidy with Saudi/Emirati money in return for writing things favorable to Saudi/UAE. Ross says he didn’t know this. (Why did he think he was paid $10K for a Hill op-ed??) 4/
@WashInstitute When @lachlan asked, WINEP replied saying it “strictly prohibits its fellows from taking or advocating a policy position in exchange for remuneration under any circumstances. The Institute has no reason to believe that Ambassador Ross acted in contradiction to this policy.” 5/
@WashInstitute @lachlan But surely this raises the question what *would* cause reason to believe that Ross, or anyone, acted in contradiction to this policy, short of an outright confession? Moreover, the availability of foreign money to advocates of particular views structures our debate. 6/
@WashInstitute @lachlan Why should we think that any given distribution of foreign money in DC will produce a debate that conforms to US interests? Moreover, if everything was above board with the arrangement, why didn’t it feel right to Ross to refer others to Broidy? 7/
@WashInstitute @lachlan Unless you prohibit foreign policy authors from taking government money, there is going to be lots of improper-looking activity. I have no reason to believe that Ross didn’t believe what he wrote. But if the DC think tank community is governed by guidelines like WINEP’s, 8/
@WashInstitute @lachlan then the foreign-policy debate in DC is heavily influenced by the availability and distribution of foreign cash to the think tank community. This is not the first time related issues have come up: nytimes.com/2014/09/07/us/… 9/
@WashInstitute @lachlan Think tanks, like most of us, are hungry for funding. But if you don’t have a policy that prohibits scholars from taking foreign money in this way—and without disclosure—then the public has ample cause to be very cynical about what is guiding our debates. 10/10
