Global Engagement Center - Dr. Rich Swier

Qatar is a Muslim Brotherhood hub. Most major Muslim organizations in the U.S. are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has the stated goal (according to a captured internal document) in America of “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within, and sabotaging its miserable house.”

And this tool of Qatar is going to fight against “foreign propaganda.” Given the proclivities this administration, that could mean that Rubin is going to fight against pro-American material.

Biden Taps Qatar Shill To Lead Effort To Counter Foreign Propaganda

by Chuck Ross, Washington Free Beacon, December 19, 2022:

The State Department’s Global Engagement Center is charged with understanding and countering propaganda from America’s adversaries. So a man who has shilled for Qatar, Zimbabwe, and a Turkish state bank linked to Iran may be an awkward fit as its leader.

As a partner at the firm Ballard Partners, James Rubin until 2020 lobbied State Department and White House officials on behalf of Qatar, the oil-rich Gulf nation that funds terrorist groups and is allied with Iran, according to disclosures filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Rubin, who served in the State Department under President Bill Clinton, also represented Halkbank, a Turkish state bank indicted in a gold-for-oil scheme with Iran. He shilled for the government of Zimbabwe in its effort to alleviate sanctions over the “unusual and extraordinary threat” the regime poses to the United States.

Biden on Friday appointed Rubin to serve as special envoy and coordinator of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, formed to identify and expose foreign propaganda “that threatens the security of the United States, our allies, and partners.” According to the State Department, Rubin will focus on countering foreign disinformation and propaganda with a focus on Russia, China, Iran, and terrorist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda….

Rubin, the ex-husband of CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, is the latest in a string of foreign agents hired by the Biden administration….Erin Pelton, who served as special assistant to Biden, lobbied for Qatar prior to joining the administration. George Salem, appointed chairman of a board at USAID this year, represented the Palestine Monetary Authority, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Disclosures filed with the Justice Department show Rubin met frequently with State Department and White House officials on behalf of his foreign clients. He registered as an agent of Qatar in May 2019 as Ballard Partners worked for “the betterment of U.S.-Qatari bilateral relations.” The Gulf nation has long funded and provided a safe-haven for ISIS and al Qaeda extremists. Qatar’s foreign minister offered condolences to Iran after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

Rubin registered as a lobbyist for Halkbank and Zimbabwe in March 2019, according to his foreign agent disclosure.

In 2017, the Department of Justice accused Halkbank of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by trading gold for Iranian oil and gas. Prosecutors indicted Halkbank executives in 2018 and filed additional charges in 2019 for evading sanctions. During meetings with his lobbying contacts at the State Department and White House, Rubin reportedly suggested the United States go easy on Halkbank because of Turkey’s membership in the NATO alliance….