WASHINGTON, Nov 13 interfere in US foreign policy, according to the Washington Post.
«US intelligence has compiled a secret report detailing the UAE's extensive attempts to manipulate the US political system,» the publication reports.
Several people told the newspaper who read the report. The document spoke of legal and illegal attempts to direct US foreign policy in favor of the Emirates. Allegedly, these desires to exploit vulnerabilities in the system of American governance have embraced several US administrations, the report says. Intelligence points to the US system's reliance on campaign contributions, susceptibility to lobbyists, and lax enforcement of disclosure laws to protect against interference by foreign governments. Some of the operations described in the document are similar to espionage, the newspaper reports.
The UAE has also spent more than $154 million on lobbyists since 2016 and hundreds of millions more in donations to expert organizations and universities that drafted policy documents in favor of Gulf states, the report said.
Specifically, the report refers to the UAE's employment of three former US intelligence officials who tracked dissidents and politicians to help hack computers in the States, last year they admitted in court that provided the Emirates with sophisticated hacking technology and agreed to pay about $1.7 million in fines, the publication points out.
The National Intelligence Council brought the contents of the document to top US officials, the report said. The UAE embassy said they were proud of the country's influence in the United States, which was «achieved with difficulty» and «well deserved», the report says.