THE INFLUENCE GAME

Pushing a Mideast nuclear deal

[April 23, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United Arab Emirates is wise to the ways of Washington. With Capitol Hill soon to review a deal to send American nuclear power technology to the U.A.E., the oil-rich nation has enlisted a pair of heavyweight lobbying firms to convince lawmakers the agreement won't be a boost to neighboring Iran's pursuit of atomic weapons.

Since July, the U.A.E. has paid nearly $1.6 million in fees to Akin Gump and DLA Piper, according to foreign agent registration records on file with the Justice Department.

Both sides of the political aisle are covered. On the U.A.E.'s lobbying team are Vic Fazio, a former 10-term California Democratic congressman now at Akin Gump, and DLA Piper's Dick Armey, the former Republican House majority leader from Texas, the records show.

Putting sensitive nuclear gear into the hands of a country that once recognized the Taliban and is a trading partner with Iran has unnerved a small but vocal group of lawmakers who want President Barack Obama to put the deal on hold. But the U.A.E. and its lobbying corps are pressing for speedy passage, holding out the promise of jobs for American companies hit hard by a sagging economy.

What the U.A.E. wants to avoid is a repeat of a 2006 debate on Capitol Hill over a Bush administration plan for a U.A.E.-owned company, DP World, to manage operations at key U.S. ports. The U.A.E. was caught off guard as critics blasted the country for being a poor partner in the war against terror groups.

After Congress torpedoed the DP World plan, U.A.E. officials realized their country had become a U.S. ally with an asterisk.

"We've learned a lot about how to do business in the U.S., whether it's a business deal or whether it's a political deal," Yousef al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the U.S., told The Associated Press.

Chief among the lessons learned: Congress can't be neglected.

"In our part of the world, we tend to think that the seat of power is always with the executive branch," al Otaiba said. "But the Hill is one of the most, if not the most, important parts of this relationship."

Even as the U.A.E. presents itself as a reform-minded country, evidence indicating otherwise surfaced Wednesday. ABC News obtained a videotape showing Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, a member of the country's royal family, brutally torturing a man who allegedly shortchanged him on a grain delivery. Issa is the brother of the U.A.E.'s crown prince, Sheikh Mohamed.

Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., co-chairman of the House Human Rights Commission, viewed the tape and said it can't be ignored. "I, for one, would feel very uncomfortable about extending our relationship to nuclear cooperation," he said.

The pending nuclear agreement creates the legal framework for the U.S. to transfer sensitive nuclear items to the U.A.E. When the pact was signed in January by the departing Bush administration, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed it as a model for the peaceful use of nuclear power.

The decision on whether to move the deal forward was left to the Obama administration. If the president approves, it would go to Congress, which would have 90 days to amend or reject it. U.A.E. officials say they've received positive signals from Obama officials, but the new administration hasn't publicly disclosed its plans.

The U.A.E., a federation of seven separate states, wants nuclear power by 2017 to meet its growing demand for electricity. Although the emirates are flush with oil, they must import 60 percent of the natural gas they use to generate electricity. The U.A.E. no longer wants to depend on outside sources for its energy needs and settled on nuclear power as the most economical and environmentally friendly option.

The U.A.E. would import, rather than produce, fuel to be used in its nuclear reactors. It also has committed not to enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel for plutonium, which is used in nuclear bombs.

Despite those safeguards, several lawmakers are threatening to block the deal unless Obama gets the U.A.E. to take stronger action to keep Iran from obtaining materials that could help it develop nuclear weapons.

Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., have led criticism of the nuclear trade deal. In an April 6 letter to Obama, they said it's been five years since Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan revealed the role U.A.E.-based companies played in his weapons-smuggling network. Yet there are still holes in U.A.E. export-control laws, they wrote.

"The perception that the U.A.E. is the so-called gateway to Iran is very much out of place," al Otaiba said.

There is also concern that if the Persian Gulf kingdom gains atomic power, others will begin rushing their own programs along, leading to more instability in an already shaky region.

Al Otaiba, who was appointed ambassador in July 2008, said he has also has been visiting members of Congress to discuss the deal. "Everybody that I've connected with has indicated support," he said.

Frederick Jones, a spokesman for Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, said Kerry won't comment on the agreement until he's had a chance to review it.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has called the deal "encouraging." But he wants stricter rules to ensure Iran's nuclear program doesn't benefit.

To counter the perception the U.A.E. is too cozy with Iran, Akin Gump lobbyists e-mailed to key congressional offices a copy of a letter from al Otaiba highlighting the steps the country has taken to prevent illicit goods from moving across its borders, including stopping and inspecting cargo ships.

In one case, U.A.E. authorities, alerted by US intelligence reports, impounded a Chinese shipment of specialized aluminum sheets that could be used in the manufacturing of ballistic missiles, says the Sept. 17, 2008, letter to then-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. In another, the U.A.E., tipped by German sources, seized a Turkish shipment of advanced computers after finding the export papers had been forged.

Congressional aides have been invited to attend briefings on nuclear energy issues held by the US-UAE Business Council, according to foreign agent registration records. Formed two years ago and affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the council promotes business activities between the two countries.

Among the council's corporate members are Akin Gump, DLA Piper and Patton Boggs, another high-powered law and lobbying firm. While Patton Boggs does not represent the U.A.E. government, the firm has offices in Abu Dhabi, the country's capital.

Several U.S. companies already have contracts with the U.A.E. for consulting and architectural work on the nuclear power project. Good Harbor Consulting, a firm run by former White House counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke, is determining the safest location to build the reactors, al Otaiba told the AP.

The project's big money is in building the reactors and other facilities requiring sensitive components. For U.S. businesses to compete against European and Asian companies, the nuclear trade agreement needs to be in place. If it fails, the U.A.E. plans to push ahead.

"We'll proceed with the other countries that are involved, mainly Japanese and French companies at this point, and we'll still have nuclear power in 2017. It just won't be with the benefit of U.S. industry," al Otaiba said.

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On the Net:

U.A.E. Embassy: http://www.uae-embassy.org/

[Associated Press; By RICHARD LARDNER]

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