Brown LLoyd James

<div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">rfk2</font></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Preferential treatment of world leaders in the media is nothing new, but the Assads have been especially determined to burnish their image — and have hired experts to do so</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Lifestyle magazines and online outlets have published feel-good features about Assad and his wife Asma, often focusing on their glamorous lives. For example, in March of 2011 — just as Assad and his security forces initiated a brutal crackdown on political opponents that has led to the death of an estimated 10,000 Syrians — Vogue magazine ran a flattering profile of the first lady, describing her as walking "a determined swath cut through space with a flash of red soles," a reference to her Christian Louboutin heels. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Assad family paid the <b>DC-based PR firm Brown Lloyd James $5,000 a month to act as a liaison between Vogue and the first lady,</b> according to the firm. The Assads were in many ways ripe for celebrity treatment by the news media — the president, a trained ophthalmologist, received part of his education in Britain, where he met his wife, a Briton of Syrian descent who grew up in London and worked as an investment banker in New York. The campaign to make the ruling family the face of a more Westernized and open Syria began in 2006, when Mrs. Assad approached the<b> PR firm Bell Pottinger in London.</b> Tim Bell, a co-founder of the firm and a former media adviser to Margaret Thatcher, s</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">aid Mrs. Assad contacted the firm after several first ladies, including Laura Bush, began to hold annual meetings and conferences. "She wanted to be a part of that club</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">," Bell told the Times.</span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/pr-qaddafi-mubarak-saudi-yemen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">lost links</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Extreme Makeover: Mideast Autocrat Edition</b></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>From Moammar Qaddafi to the house of Saud, six repressive rulers who hired PR firms to help clean up their images</div><div>
</div><div>By Hamed Aleaziz | Mon Oct. 3, 2011 6:00 AM EDT</div><div>
</div><div>It's gotten tough for Middle Eastern autocrats to keep up appearances. But Western PR firms are ready to help—for a price. As a disgusted former employee of Qorvis Communications [1] told the Huffington Post, "These scumbags will pay whatever you want." Some recent examples:</div><div>Hosni Mubarak</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>PR headache:</div><div>
</div><div>The former Egyptian president's (above left) record of 26 years of economic stagnation and political repression</div><div>
</div><div>Image makeover:</div><div>
</div><div>DC-based Qorvis Communications announces in 2007 that Mubarak has embarked on "a new era of open elections." [4]</div><div>
</div><div>Price tag:</div><div>
</div><div>$125,000</div><div>
</div><div>Bahrain</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>PR headache:</div><div>
</div><div>The 230-year-old monarchy answers calls for reform with arrests, beatings, and shootings.</div><div>
</div><div>Image makeover:</div><div>
</div><div>Qorvis publicizes the regime's $3 million donation to famine-stricken Somalia. Sanitas International and ex-Howard Dean campaign manager <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Joe Trippi </span>sign on to provide "strategic communications counsel." [7]</div><div>
</div><div>Price tag:</div><div>
</div><div>$40,000/month (Qorvis)</div><div>
</div><div>Undisclosed (Sanitas/Trippi)</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Syria</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>PR headache:</div><div>
</div><div>International condemnation for the bloody repression of antigovernment protests</div><div>
</div><div>Image makeover:</div><div>
</div><div>Brown Lloyd James [9] helps get First Lady Asma al-Assad (above left) a spread in Vogue [10]. The magazine calls her "the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies" and Syria the "safest country in the Middle East."</div><div>
</div><div>Price tag:</div><div>
</div><div>$5,000/month</div><div>
</div><div>Yemen</div><div>
</div><div>PR Headache:</div><div>
</div><div>Months of demonstrations and violence threaten the Yemeni government, headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh (above left).</div><div>
</div><div>Image Makeover:</div><div>
</div><div>Qorvis does "media outreach" for the National Awareness Authority, a pro-government propaganda group</div><div>
</div><div>Price Tag:</div><div>
</div><div>$30,000/month</div><div>
</div><div>Saudi Arabia</div><div>
</div><div>Saudi Arabia</div><div>Ammar Abd Rabbo [13]/Flickr</div><div>
</div><div>Saudi Arabia</div><div>NidalM [14]/Flickr</div><div>
</div><div>PR Headache:</div><div>
</div><div>The Middle East's oldest ruling family, headed by King Abdullah (above left), gets a tad nervous about the Arab Spring.</div><div>
</div><div>Image makeover:</div><div>
</div><div>A Qorvis press release emphasizes that the country's restless youth—not oil—are "its greatest natural resource."</div><div>
</div><div>Price tag:</div><div>
</div><div>Undisclosed. (The Saudis paid Qorvis more than $11 million for similar work in 2002.)</div><div>
</div><div>Moammar Qaddafi</div><div>
</div><div>Lybia</div><div>
</div><div>PR Headache:</div><div>
</div><div>The former Libyan president's reputation as a megalomaniacal, terrorism-sponsoring despot</div><div>
</div><div>Image Makeover:</div><div>
</div><div>Brown Lloyd James helps set up Qaddafi's 2009 speech at the UN [9]. Hopps & Associates buses in fans to watch and hands out T-shirts. The Monitor Group, a consulting firm, signs up "to enhance the profile of Libya and Muammar Qadhafi." [17]</div><div>
</div><div>Price Tag:</div><div>
</div><div>$1.2 million (BLJ)</div><div>
</div><div>$665,000 (Hopps)</div><div>
</div><div>$3 million/year (Monitor)</div><div>
</div><div>Source URL: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/pr-qaddafi-mubarak-saudi-yemen</div><div>Links:</div><div>[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/24/lobbyist-mideast-unrest-departures_n_840231.html</div><div>[2] http://Egypt http://www.flickr.com/photos/15237218@N00/962943549/</div><div>[3] http://www.flickr.com/photos/48415143@N00/5404342131/</div><div>[4] http://www.thefreelibrary.com/President+Mubarak+Addresses+9th+National+Democratic+Party+%28NDP%29...-a0170628102</div><div>[5] http://www.flickr.com/photos/15237218@N00/3544940991/</div><div>[6] http://www.flickr.com/photos/19425349@N00/5458931664/</div><div>[7] http://www.scribd.com/doc/63730440/Trippi-Exhibit-AB-20110823</div><div>[8] http://www.flickr.com/photos/syrian-freedom-captured/5736678914/</div><div>[9] http://motherjones.com/rights-stuff/2011/09/human-rights-logo-libya-brown-lloyd-james</div><div>[10] http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/02/vogue-defends-profile-of-syrian-first-lady/71764/</div><div>[11] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/wiki/File:Ali_Abdullah_Saleh.jpg</div><div>[12] http://www.flickr.com/photos/32834977@N03/6013182763/</div><div>[13] http://www.flickr.com/photos/21499556@N04/2701802819/</div><div>[14] http://www.flickr.com/photos/22958489@N04/3801914032/</div><div>[15] http://www.flickr.com/photos/33678919@N07/5737750504/</div><div>[16] https://secure.flickr.com/photos/21499556@N04/6149181881/</div><div>[17] http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/libya-qaddafi-monitor-group</div><div>
</div><div></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">srchwtch</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Brown Lloyd James</b> (BLJ) is a PR firm with offices in New York, Washington and London.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;" /><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><h2 style="color: black; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; display: inline; line-height: 1.3; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents</font></font></font></font></h2> <span class="toctoggle" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"> [<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brown_Lloyd_James#" id="togglelink" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">hide</a>] </span></div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brown_Lloyd_James#Working_for_Al_Jazeera" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Working for Al Jazeera</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brown_Lloyd_James#Personnel" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Personnel</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brown_Lloyd_James#Contact_details" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Contact details</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brown_Lloyd_James#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></font></a></li></ul></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;" /><h2 style="color: black; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Working_for_Al_Jazeera"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Working for Al Jazeera</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Al_Jazeera" title="Al Jazeera" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Al Jazeera</a> International has retained Brown Lloyd James (BLJ), a PR firm with offices in New York, Washington and London, as its agency of record. Set to launch in 2006, Al Jazeera International will be the 24-hour English-language news channel run by the Qatar-base company. According to PR Week, BLJ will promote the channel to industry trade publications and may eventually target news "consumers." BLJ received $37,500 for work in 2003 to help build political support in Washington for Iyad Allawi in his bid to become prime minister of Iraq. BLJ clients include the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/BBC" title="BBC" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">BBC</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Disney" title="Disney" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Disney</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Ford_Foundation" title="Ford Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Ford Foundation</a> among others. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=239890&site=3&setcookie=1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">[1]</a></font></p><h2 style="color: black; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Personnel"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Personnel</font></span></h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sir <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Nicholas_Lloyd&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nicholas Lloyd (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Nicholas Lloyd</a>, Chairman</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sheila_Thompson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Sheila Thompson (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Sheila Thompson</a> Executive Vice President</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Peter_Brown" title="Peter Brown" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Peter Brown</a> President</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mike_Holtzman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mike Holtzman (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Mike Holtzman</a> Executive Vice President</font></li></ul><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Howell_James" title="Howell James" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Howell James</a> Founding Partner</font></li></ul><h2 style="color: black; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contact_details"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contact details</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown Lloyd James
25 Lower Belgrave Street
London SW1W ONR
Phone: 00 44 20 7591 9610
Fax: 00 44 20 7591 9611
</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">41 West 57th Street, 8th Floor
New York, 10019
Phone: 001 212 486 7070
Fax: 001 212 486 7091
</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1749-51 St. Matthews Court, NW,
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 001 202 686 6577
Fax: 001 202 966 1359
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7/26/2015 <b>Wikileaked: Lobbying firm tried to help Syrian regime polish image as violence raged </b>| Foreign Policy</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>
</div><div>http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/06/wikileakedlobbyingfirmtriedtohelpsyrianregimepolishimageasviolenceraged/ 1/5</div><div>
</div><div>BY JOSH ROGIN JULY 6, 2012 - 4:16 PM</div><div>
</div><div>The lobbying firm that brought you a Vogue story featuring the Syrian first lady was still trying to help the</div><div>Syrian regime improve its image abroad two months after the notoriously ill-timed article was published</div><div>and then scrubbed, as the country descended into violence, according to a document revealed by</div><div>Wikileaks.</div><div>
</div><div>The international firm Brown Lloyd James (BLJ) was officially employed by the Office of the First Lady of</div><div>the Syrian Arab Republic Asma al-Assad in Nov. 2010 for $5,000 per month to help arrange and execute</div><div>the article, which appeared in the March 2011 edition of Vogue. The fawning piece, entitled, "Rose of the</div><div>Desert," was actually scrubbed from the Vogue website out of embarrassment when Assad began a brutal</div><div>crackdown on non-violent protests that month. But you can still read it here.</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">BLJ’s contract with the Assad regime, signed by BLJ partner Mike Holtzman and Syrian government</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">official Fares Kallas, expired in March of last year,</span> according to documents posted on the Foreign Agents</div><div>Registration Act website.<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> The firm had claimed its work on behalf of the Assads ended in Dec. 2010.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But in May 2011, BLJ sent another memo to Kallas and the Syrian government, giving them advice on how</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">to improve their image an</span>d institute a more effective public relations strategy amid the exploding violence</div><div>in Syria.<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> The memo was published by the Wikileaks website in their dump of 2.4 million Syrian documents</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">this week.</span></div><div>
</div><div>7/26/2015 Wikileaked: Lobbying firm tried to help Syrian regime polish image as violence raged | Foreign Policy</div><div>http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/06/wikileakedlobbyingfirmtriedtohelpsyrianregimepolishimageasviolenceraged/ 2/5</div><div>"It is clear from US government pronouncements since the beginning of the public demonstrations in</div><div>Syria that the Obama Administration wants the leadership in Syria to survive," begins the May 19, 2011,</div><div>memo. "Unlike its response to demonstrations in some other countries in the region, there have been no</div><div>US demands for regime change in Syria nor any calls for military intervention, criticism has been</div><div>relatively muted and punitive sanctions — by not being aimed directly at President Assad — have been</div><div>intended more as a caution than as an instrument to hurt the leadership."</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The memo was sent only days after Syrian military forces stormed the town of Baniyas and moved into the</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">cities of Hama and Homs, where civilian massacres soon followed.</span> Three days before the memo was sent,</div><div>20 bodies of murdered civilians were discovered in a shallow grave in the city of Daraa. President Barack</div><div>Obama called for Assad to step down that August.</div><div>
</div><div>The memo goes on to warn the Assad regime that the mood in Washington is turning against the regime,</div><div>as evidenced by tougher statements coming from Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and increasingly critical stories</div><div>in the U.S. media. BLJ warns the Assads that if they don’t get smart about public relations quick, the U.S.</div><div>system might just turn against them.</div><div>
</div><div>"[Increasing bad PR] not only reinforces the Administration’s change of tone, it is emboldening critics —</div><div>who maintain that Syria’s reform efforts are not sincere–and building up pressure on the US government</div><div>to take further, more drastic steps against the country," the memo states.</div><div>BLJ then goes into an extensive set of recommendations for how the Assad regime can put a better spin on</div><div>the largely government-led violence.</div><div>
</div><div>"[S]oft power is needed to reassure the Syrian people and outside audiences that reform is proceeding</div><div>apace, legitimate grievances are being addressed and taken seriously, and that Syria’s actions are</div><div>ultimately aimed at creating an environment in which change and progress can take place," BLJ explains.</div><div>The Assad regime should appoint one figure to "own" the reform agenda to convince Syrians and the</div><div>outside world the reform effort is "sincere," BLJ advised.</div><div>
</div><div>7/26/2015 Wikileaked: Lobbying firm tried to help Syrian regime polish image as violence raged | Foreign Policy</div><div>http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/06/wikileakedlobbyingfirmtriedtohelpsyrianregimepolishimageasviolenceraged/ 3/5</div><div>"Refocusing the perception of outsiders and Syrians on reform will provide political cover to the generally</div><div>sympathetic US Government, and will delegitimize critics at home and abroad," the memo reads.</div><div>BLJ even recommends that First Lady Asma al-Assad should "get in the game," do a "listening tour" with</div><div>the president, and start doing press interviews to create an "echo chamber" in the media that reinforces</div><div>the idea that Assad is reform-minded.</div><div>
</div><div>"The absence of a public figure as popular, capable, and attuned to the hopes of the people as Her</div><div>Excellency at such a critical moment is conspicuous. The key is to show strength and sympathy at once,"</div><div>BLJ writes.</div><div>
</div><div>BLJ also recommends that the Assad regime get more serious about containing negative media stories and</div><div>the voices of the Syrian opposition around the world, which the memo calls "the daily torrent of criticism</div><div>and lies." BJR told the Assads they should institute 24-hour media monitoring in the United States and</div><div>challenge and then remove any websites that are "false."</div><div>
</div><div>Overall, the memo recommends that the Assad regime get smart on messaging and start trying to convince</div><div>the world that the Syrian government is benevolent, that all killings by the military were not officially</div><div>sanctioned, and that the crisis is not as bad as the international community believes.</div><div>"Efforts should be made to convey ‘normalcy’ and a contrast to current news depicting Syria as being on</div><div>the verge of chaos," the memo reads.</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Contacted for comment by The Cable Friday, Holtzman said that their official work with the Syrian</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">government came at a time when many, including the U.S. government, had high hopes for progress in</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">opening up Syria. He also said that the May 2012 memo was a "last-ditch" effort "to encourage a peaceful</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">outcome rather than violence."</span></div><div>
</div><div>Holtzman said that BLJ was not paid for writing the memo and that the firm hasn’t done any work for the</div><div>regime since. He framed the memo as an attempt to get the Assad regime to behave better.</div><div>
</div><div>7/26/2015 Wikileaked: Lobbying firm tried to help Syrian regime polish image as violence raged | Foreign Policy</div><div>http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/06/wikileakedlobbyingfirmtriedtohelpsyrianregimepolishimageasviolenceraged/ 4/5</div><div>
</div><div>"We noted that if the regime was serious about dramatic reform that ‘reform-oriented outreach must be</div><div>dramatically improved’, and recommended that Syria begin to directly ‘engage families and young people’</div><div>in these reforms," Holtzman said. "Unfortunately, our advice was ignored and our professional</div><div>involvement in the country ended, just prior to new U.S. sanctions being put into effect."</div><div>
</div><div>David Kenner contributed reporting to this article.</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">bs</font></div><div><p class="Body1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(52, 40, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Holtzman graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1992 with a B.A. in Government.  Mr. Holtzman was Director of Public Affairs at The Council on Foreign Relations and served in the federal government as a Advisor in the US Department of State’s Office of Policy Planning and to the US Trade Ambassador in the Executive Office of the President of the United States.</font></p><p class="Body1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(52, 40, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Holtzman was named “2001 PR Person of the Year” by PR Week Magazine. He successfully managed a global campaign on behalf of China’s bid to host the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which was named “Campaign of the Year” by PR Week. He also managed international PR for Vancouver’s successful bid to host the 2010 Olympics and Qatar’s winning campaign to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.</font></p><p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(52, 40, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Holtzman’s clients include world leaders and senior diplomatic, business, and cultural figures.</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">bs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Named “PR Person of the Year” by the authoritative industry publication PR Week Magazine, Michael Holtzman is one of the most honored and sought-after communications strategists in the world.</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>
</div><div>Michael managed the successful global public relations campaign on behalf of China’s bid to host the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This extraordinarily successful engagement was named “Campaign of the Year” by PR Week. Michael also headed the international communications team behind Vancouver’s successful bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Most recently, he led his firm’s work on behalf of Qatar’s winning bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. He also worked with Iraqi Governing Council member Ayad Allawi, who went on to become Iraq’s first post-Saddam Prime Minister, and was a close advisor to Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Al Bolani.</span></div><div>
</div><div>Michael specializes in high-level strategy and advice, including messaging, creative direction, international political strategy, and media relations.</div><div>
</div><div>Michael’s clientele includes a broad range of non-governmental, academic, media, corporate, and governmental organizations in the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and Asia. A founder of the firm’s Arabian Gulf headquarters in Doha, Qatar, his high-level international political and business clientele includes various United Nations bodies, the Republic of<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Gabon, the Kingdom of Morocco, and Ecuador</span>. Michael has spearheaded a number of innovative people-to-people initiatives between the US and China, Russia, and elsewhere.</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At the government’s request, Michael was seconded to the <b>Federal Emergency Management Agency </b>following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Reprising a role he held with FEMA during the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, Michael served as a media liaison from Ground Zero.</span> He later served as an advisor to the Director of Policy Planning Staff at the US Department of State during the tenure of Secretary Colin Powell. [hhmn] During the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Clinton Administration, Michael worked in the Executive Office of the President as Special Advisor for Public Affairs to the United States Trade Ambassador.</span> He was Director of Public Affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations from 1996-1998.</div><div>
</div><div>Michael is the author of a number of articles on foreign affairs, including two important commentaries on US public diplomacy published in the New York Times.</div><div>
</div><div>Michael serves on the Board of Trustees at Washington College in Maryland and on the Advisory Board of the Reves Center for International Studies at The College of William and Mary in Virginia, his alma mater.</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://nypost.com/2012/07/16/assads-new-york-coddlers/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Assad’s New York coddlers</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">By Chuck BennettJuly 16, 2012 | 4:00am</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Assad’s New York coddlers</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">SCRUPLE-FREE: Sheherezade Jaafari helped arrange publicity for the Assads.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Months after a high-powered New York publicist insisted he cut ties with Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad, he attended an opera with the dictator’s glamorous wife — with the help of his intern,<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Sheherezad “Sherry” Jaafari, a blockbuster e-mail reveals.</span></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Jaafari, 22, the daughter of Syria’s UN ambassador who got into Columbia University with the help of Barbara Walters, was an “account executive” intern for Mike Holtzman, a principal of the p.r. firm Brown Lloyd James.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">His work in Syria came under fire last year when he helped arrange a puff piece in Vogue about Bashar’s wife titled “Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">It appeared in the March 2011 issue — just as Bashar launched a bloody crackdown against people protesting his regime. An estimated 15,000 people have died in the ongoing violence.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">After taking flak for the Vogue piece last year, Brown Lloyd James claimed it had cut ties with the regime.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But a Feb. 7, 2011, message Jaafari sent from her Brown Lloyd James e-mail account — made public by WikiLeaks — shows that her boss, <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Holtzman, attended an opera in Damascus with Asma in early 2011.</span></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Holtzman, a White House staffer in the Clinton administration, attended the performance at the Dar al-Assad opera, sitting one seat away from Asma, according to a seating chart included in Jaafari’s e-mail.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Sitting between them was Jay Snyder, a Democratic Party activist who served on Gov. Cuomo’s transition committee and also runs the charitable Open Hands Initiative.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“That was completely different than working for the government in Syria. We were there on behalf of an American organization,” said Marc Smrikarov, a vice president at Brown Lloyd James.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Open Hands Initiative yanked its contract with Brown Lloyd James in mid-2011 after learning it was also doing paid work for the Assad regime, although Holtzman remains an unpaid member of the charity’s advisory board.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Brown Lloyd James was also condemned last September by the Public Relations Society of America for its work with the Syrian regime and earlier advocacy for the regime of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Snyder, a State Department adviser whose charity promotes greater understanding of disabled children in Syria and other Middle East countries, declined to comment.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Jaafari became media liaison for Bashar al-Assad himself later in 2011.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Throughout her stint as Assad’s media contact, she remained in contact with Holtzman, e-mails released earlier this year show.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">She was also instrumental in helping Walters secure an exclusive December 2011 interview with Assad.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Walters later contacted Columbia on Jaafari’s behalf.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">She was admitted to the School of International and Public Affairs earlier this year, sparking a furor on campus.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Jaafari did not return e-mails seeking comment, and a woman who answered the phone at her Manhattan town house said that she was “away on vacation."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">wikifluff</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Brown Lloyd James</b> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations" title="Public relations" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">public relations</a> firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, and Doha.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[1]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Notable_campaigns">Notable campaigns</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown_Lloyd_James&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Notable campaigns" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The firm has represented a number of high-profile clients, including Al Jazeera English, the Shafallah Center for Children with Disabilities, and the Kingdom of Morocco.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-washingtonpost.com_3-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-washingtonpost.com-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a></sup> In 2006, the firm coordinated the launch of Al Jazeera English in the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-AJE_5-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-AJE-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The firm has been criticized for representing controversial clients such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_al-Assad" title="Asma al-Assad" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Asma al-Assad</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi" title="Muammar Gaddafi" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Muammar Gaddafi</a> and supporters of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Mujahedin_of_Iran" title="People's Mujahedin of Iran" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">People's Mujahedin of Iran</a> (PMOI/MEK/MKO).<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-MJ01_7-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-MJ01-7" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-MJ02_8-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-MJ02-8" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[8]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 2011, it was criticized for working with the First Lady of Syria to organize a Vogue profile.<sup id="cite_ref-TH01_9-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-TH01-9" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a></sup> In July 2012, Ynetnews described the firm's May 2011 email released by WikiLeaks as one of the Syria Files by stating that the email gave advice "on how to create the appearance it is pursuing reform while repressing the uprising".<sup id="cite_ref-Syria_Files_2089956_11-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-Syria_Files_2089956-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Ynet_12-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-Ynet-12" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a></sup> The firm responded that the document was not paid for, was a "'last-ditch' effort 'to encourage a peaceful outcome rather than violence', which the government subsequently ignored and that it was sent to Asma al-Assad, the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.<sup id="cite_ref-FP_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_note-FP-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; 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list-style-type: decimal;"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.brownlloydjames.com/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">About</a>, company webpage.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; 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-webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-AJE_5-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text"><span class="citation web" style="word-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prweekus.com/pages/login.aspx?returl=/al-jazeera-international-appoints-brown-lloyd-james-global-aor/article/52830/&pagetypeid=28&articleid=52830&accesslevel=2&expireddays=0&accessAndPrice=0" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"Al Jazeera appoints AOR"</a>. PR Week.</span><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABrown+Lloyd+James&rft.btitle=Al+Jazeera+appoints+AOR&rft.genre=book&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prweekus.com%2Fpages%2Flogin.aspx%3Freturl%3D%2Fal-jazeera-international-appoints-brown-lloyd-james-global-aor%2Farticle%2F52830%2F%26pagetypeid%3D28%26articleid%3D52830%26accesslevel%3D2%26expireddays%3D0%26accessAndPrice%3D0&rft.pub=PR+Week&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text"><span class="citation web" style="word-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/29/joan-juliet-buck-my-vogue-interview-with-syria-s-first-lady.html" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"Joan Juliet Buck: Mrs. Assad Duped Me"</a>. <i>The Daily Beast</i>. 30 July 2012<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">30 July</span> 2012</span>.</span><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABrown+Lloyd+James&rft.atitle=Joan+Juliet+Buck%3A+Mrs.+Assad+Duped+Me&rft.date=30+July+2012&rft.genre=article&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fnewsweek%2F2012%2F07%2F29%2Fjoan-juliet-buck-my-vogue-interview-with-syria-s-first-lady.html&rft.jtitle=The+Daily+Beast&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-MJ01-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-MJ01_7-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text">Suebsaeng, Asawin, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/mujahedin-iran-mek-lobby-brown-lloyd-james" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"Lobbying for Backers of a Terrorist Group"</a>, <i>Mother Jones</i>, October 3, 2011.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-MJ02-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-MJ02_8-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text">Gilson, Dave, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://motherjones.com/rights-stuff/2011/09/human-rights-logo-libya-brown-lloyd-james" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"A New Human Rights Logo, Brought to You By Qaddafi's PR Firm"</a>, <i>Mother Jones</i>, September 9, 2011.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-TH01-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-TH01_9-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text">Bogardus, Kevin, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/175149-pr-firm-worked-with-syria-on-controversial-photo-shoot" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"PR firm worked with Syria on controversial photo shoot"</a>, <i>The Hill</i>, 08/03/11.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-10" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text">Carter, Bill and Amy Chozick, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/world/middleeast/syrian-conflict-cracks-carefully-polished-image-of-assad.html?r=1&hp" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"Syria’s Assads Turned to West for Glossy P.R."</a>, <i>The New York Times</i>, June 10, 2012. Retrieved 2011-06-11.</span></font></li><li id="cite_note-Syria_Files_2089956-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-Syria_Files_2089956_11-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text"><span class="citation web" style="word-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wikileaks.org/syria-files/docs/2089956_political-communications.html" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"Political Communications"</a>. WikiLeaks. 2011-05-19.<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.webcitation.org/68zGXdMde" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">Archived</a> from the original on 2012-07-07<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved<span class="nowrap" style="white-space: nowrap;">2012-07-07</span></span>.</span><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABrown+Lloyd+James&rft.btitle=Political+Communications&rft.date=2011-05-19&rft.genre=book&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwikileaks.org%2Fsyria-files%2Fdocs%2F2089956_political-communications.html&rft.pub=WikiLeaks&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook" class="Z3988" /></span></font></li><li id="cite_note-Ynet-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; -webkit-column-break-inside: avoid; page-break-inside: avoid;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Lloyd_James#cite_ref-Ynet_12-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up</span>^{</a></b></span> }<span class="reference-text"><span class="citation news" style="word-wrap: break-word;">Haas, Sa'ar (2012-07-07). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4252268,00.html" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">"WikiLeaks: Western firm advised Assad on media spin"</a>. 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</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">City, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris, Moscow, and Madrid, Brown Lloyd James is an independent public relations firm with a powerful network of contacts, extensive experience in executing high-profile campaigns, and a proven strategic approach to help clients shape images, protect and enhance reputations, achieve business objectives, and influence public opinion. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown Lloyd James is managed by an elite group of distinguished former news executives, top-level White House and Downing Street political advisors, high-profile entertainment industry executives and experts in international affairs. Our staff have been at the right hand of presidents, prime ministers, media barons – and yes, even The Beatles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Specialties</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Public Relations, Public Diplomacy, Public Good Campaigns</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Website</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.BrownLloydJames.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Industry</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Public Relations and Communications</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Type</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Privately Held</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Headquarters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">250 W. 57th St Suite 1311 New York, NY 10107 United States</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Company Size</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">51-200 employees</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/mujahedin-iran-mek-lobby-brown-lloyd-james</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><h1 class="print-title" style="margin-bottom: 0.2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown Lloyd James: Lobbying for Backers of a Terrorist Group</font></h1><div class="dek" style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The international PR firm that repped Qaddafi and Assad takes on a new controversial client: supporters of the Iranian opposition outfit Mujahideen-e-Khalq.</font></div><p class="submitted"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="byline">By <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/authors/asawin-suebsaeng" rel="author">Asawin Suebsaeng</a></span> | <span class="dateline">Mon Oct. 3, 2011 6:00 AM EDT</span></font></p><hr class="print-hr" style="height: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: gray;" /><div class="print-content" style="line-height: 1.8em;"><div id="node-133597" class="node node-type-html node-type-article-full"><div class="node-inner clear-block"><div class="content clear-block"><div class="field field-type-text field-field-short-body"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd"><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Over the years, the Iranian opposition group and State Department-listed terrorist organization Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) has won a bizarro patchwork of high-profile supporters. John Bolton, Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.), big-time Republican lawyers Victoria Toensing and Joseph diGenova, Tom Ridge, Howard Dean, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel have all called on the US government to stop treating the MEK, also known as The People's Mujahideen of Iran, as a terrorist group. This obscure Paris-based outfit—<a target="blank" href="http://www.rezaaslan.com/writings/LAT_dec10_05.html">labeled a cult</a> <span class="print-footnote">[1]</span> by its critics—that has assembled such an impressive roster of backers now also has the help of <a target="blank" href="http://www.brownlloydjames.com/US">Brown Lloyd James</a> <span class="print-footnote">[2]</span>, a major international PR firm with a track record of taking on controversial clients.</font></p><p><span class="inline inline-right" style="display: block; float: right; margin: 5px 0px 5px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a target="blank" href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/pr-qaddafi-mubarak-saudi-yemen"><img width="200" height="125" alt="From Muammar Qaddafi to the house of Saud, six repressive rulers who hired PR firms to help clean up their images" title="From Muammar Qaddafi to the house of Saud, six repressive rulers who hired PR firms to help clean up their images" class="image image-preview " src="https://motherjones.com/files/images/king-saud200.jpg" style="border: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a> <span class="print-footnote">[3]</span></font><span class="caption" style="display: block; width: 198px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Also read: <a target="blank" href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/pr-qaddafi-mubarak-saudi-yemen">Six repressive rulers who hired PR firms to help clean up their images</a><span class="print-footnote">[3]</span></font></strong></span></span><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In late August, hundreds of MEK supporters descended on Washington, protesting the group's foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) listing in front of the State Department with attendees yelling slogans like "We want justice, we want peace, we want MEK off the list!" Speakers including former Rep. <a target="blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNo_W-pSn9Y">Patrick Kennedy</a> <span class="print-footnote">[4]</span> (D-R.I.) and ex-Pennsylvania Gov. <a target="blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ZuY7cmfU0">Ed Rendell</a> <span class="print-footnote">[5]</span> held forth on why they believe the group is the best hope for secular democracy and human rights in Iran. (The MEK's FTO status is currently being considered by a <a target="blank" href="http://www.npr.org/2011/08/25/139948013/iranian-exile-group-lobbies-to-get-off-terrorist-list">court-mandated review</a> <span class="print-footnote">[6]</span>.)</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The well-organized event and high-profile speakers indicated the kind of large-scale, well-funded MEK lobbying enterprise that has been <a target="blank" href="http://www.salon.com/news/terrorism/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/09/07/mek_speaking_offer">suggested</a> <span class="print-footnote">[7]</span> by various media outlets. Jila Kazerounian, one of the rally's press liaisons, was quick to quash that notion. "There is no MEK lobby, that you read about in these articles," she said. "The closest thing we have to a lobby is the money from grassroots supporters; these Iranian Americans—educated, doctors, businessmen, lawyers, young, old." Nevertheless, in the thick of the crowd was a Brown Lloyd James account executive who told me he was taking notes on the rally for his superiors in Manhattan.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In May 2011, the firm was hired by a Germany-based MEK backer named Ali Taslimi working on behalf of <a target="blank" href="http://campashraf.org/">Camp Ashraf</a> <span class="print-footnote">[8]</span>, a refugee camp in Iraq north of Baghdad that houses over 3,000 Iranian MEK members and supporters. For an initial fee of $40,000, Brown Lloyd James signed on to provide political consulting services and "a broad range of public relations services for the months of May and June 2011" to Camp Ashraf, which is officially listed as the client.</font></p></div></div></div><div class="field field-type-text field-field-article-text"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd"><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown Lloyd James, a US-British company that specializes in government relations (i.e., lobbying), advertising, and "reputation management," handles the accounts of Al Jazeera English, the government of Qatar, <em>Forbes</em>, and even the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. But some of its clients are decidedly less savory. In fact, helping MEK supporters isn't necessarily the most controversial thing Brown Lloyd James has done recently: This year, the firm made news for doing business with the <a target="blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/muammar-gaddafi-us-business-lobby_n_827769.html">Qaddafi regime in Libya</a> <span class="print-footnote">[9]</span> and the <a target="blank" href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/175149-pr-firm-worked-with-syria-on-controversial-photo-shoot">Assad dictatorship in Syria</a> <span class="print-footnote">[10]</span>—in the latter case, $5,000-per-month work that included landing a<a target="blank" href="http://www.slate.com/id/2289021/">fawning <em>Vogue</em> profile</a> <span class="print-footnote">[11]</span> of Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad. In an ironic twist, Brown Lloyd James was <a target="blank" href="http://motherjones.com/rights-stuff/2011/09/human-rights-logo-libya-brown-lloyd-james">hired</a> <span class="print-footnote">[12]</span> to publicize a September 23 New York bash held by the <a target="blank" href="http://humanrightslogo.net/">Logo for Human Rights project</a> <span class="print-footnote">[13]</span>, a competition endorsed by Mikhail Gorbachev that aimed to crowdsource a fresh logo that would "become as iconic as the peace sign and serve to advance the global spread…of human rights." (After the news broke, which highlighted the firm's work for clients with dubious human rights records, the project said that it would <a target="blank" href="http://twitter.com/#!/humanrightslogo/statuses/112187122756227072">sever its ties with the firm</a> <span class="print-footnote">[14]</span>.)</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But while the company is obviously no stranger to controversy, lobbying for delisting the MEK presents uniquely tricky legal issues—particularly when it comes to the <a target="blank" href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002339---B000-.html">material support</a> <span class="print-footnote">[15]</span> for terrorism statute, which prohibits providing aid or resources to designated terrorist organizations. Brown Lloyd James maintains that it works with supporters of the MEK, not the group itself. However, experts on counterterrorism law say the firm's MEK advocacy may still be problematic.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Whether the MEK should or should not be listed is one thing, but the law is very clear that third parties and intermediaries don't insulate you," says <a target="blank" href="http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/facinfo/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&ID=235">David Cole</a> <span class="print-footnote">[16]</span>, a professor of law at Georgetown University. "Think about how the United States would respond if [American] citizens were actively working with a PR organization to support the legitimacy of Hamas in Gaza? Here, the only thing protecting the people involved is that they include the former homeland security secretary, not the kind of people the government wants to prosecute…If circumstances were different, they would be scrambling for a good criminal defense…And the same goes for any public relations firm."</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 1.8em;">Brown Lloyd James denies that it's in murky legal terrain. "Iranian-American communities are perfectly within their rights to work with anyone they want,"</span><span style="line-height: 1.8em;"> </span><a target="blank" href="http://www.brownlloydjames.com/Our_Company/Our_Leadership/Mike_Holtzman" style="line-height: 1.8em;">Mike Holtzman</a><span style="line-height: 1.8em;"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style="line-height: 1.8em;">[18]</span><span style="line-height: 1.8em;">, a partner in the firm's New York office, said in an email. "They are exercising their First Amendment rights." </span>The language of the material support statute is broad enough to encompass the activity of a PR firm, according to <a target="blank" href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/rmc2289/">Robert Chesney</a> <span class="print-footnote">[17]</span>, a professor and international security expert at the University of Texas School of Law. However, Chesney recognizes that a First Amendment defense might have some traction. "There is a free speech issue here, as we are talking about advocating changes to government policy and that is protected if you are doing it independent of the listed group, even if it aids the group indirectly," Chesney says. "At the end of the day, if I were a lawyer advising a PR firm, I would say you have to be very clear as to who you're dealing with here. As a firm doing this kind of work, you have to know that how the facts appear to you might not be how they appear to those pursuing prosecution."</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Though the MEK has built up a powerful base of political support in the West, there is still much debate surrounding the group's true nature. The MEK and their supporters say the group is the oppressed, Western-friendly, and pluralistic antidote to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Islamic republic. But there's more to the story. Since its founding in Tehran in the mid-1960s, the group, which began as a synthesis of Islamic principles, left-wing politics, and violent resistance to the Shah, has been accused of grave breaches of human rights, indiscriminate mass slaughter (including the <a target="blank" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/08/201184132732146192.html">deaths of three Americans</a> <span class="print-footnote">[19]</span> in 1976), and a <a target="blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/why-are-prominent-america_b_934358.html">totalitarian</a> <span class="print-footnote">[20]</span>, <a target="blank" href="http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-06-19/news/17496993_1_maryam-rajavi-mujahedeen-khalq-eiffel-tower">hero-worshipping</a> <span class="print-footnote">[21]</span>culture.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a target="blank" href="http://mobile.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2011/08/10/mek/index.html">Critics claim</a> <span class="print-footnote">[22]</span> that the MEK's zigzagging alliances—initially supporting the clerics in the 1979 revolution, then challenging their power, then fighting on the side of Iraq throughout the brutal Iran-Iraq War—have made the group <a target="blank" href="http://iran.org/news/2010_05_25-10MEKdocs-DOC10.pdf">unpopular</a> <span class="print-footnote">[23]</span> among Iranians, even those who abhor the current regime. <a target="blank" href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/02/dictators_and_violence">Many also allege</a> <span class="print-footnote">[24]</span> that MEK fighters—including current leader Maryam Rajavi herself—were part of a death squad that did Saddam Hussein's bidding during the <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_uprisings_in_Iraq">1991 Shiite and Kurdish uprisings</a> <span class="print-footnote">[25]</span>. </font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The group's supporters brush off the negative press as rooted in the propaganda machines of the Shah, and later the Ayatollah, and <a target="blank" href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/22/its-time-to-lift-terror-tag-from-iranian-opposition-group-mek/">view</a> <span class="print-footnote">[26]</span> the continuation of the MEK's 1997 <a target="blank" href="http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm">Foreign Terrorist Organizations listing</a> <span class="print-footnote">[27]</span> as a cynical, naive sop by the Obama administration to the Iranian government. "Some members of the media have bought all that propaganda wholesale," <a target="blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-safavi">Ali Safavi</a> <span class="print-footnote">[28]</span>, president of Near East Policy Research and an organizer behind the <a target="blank" href="http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-26/politics/us.iranian.protest_1_mek-camp-ashraf-iranian-regime/2?s=PM:POLITICS">well-publicized</a> <span class="print-footnote">[29]</span>State Department rally, said. "The Iranian regime has taken a page right out of Joseph Goebbels' book. [The regime has] spent millions upon millions of dollars in their campaign against the MEK."</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Meanwhile, though, <a target="blank" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/401543">vast sums of money</a> <span class="print-footnote">[30]</span> have reportedly been paid out to speakers at pro-MEK events. Among the recipients is Howard Dean, who has<a target="blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-dean/america-must-keep-its-wor_b_933345.html">written</a> <span class="print-footnote">[31]</span> in support of the organization and has been a <a target="blank" href="http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/05/13/176538/here-comes-the-mek/">paid speaker</a> <span class="print-footnote">[32]</span> at MEK-related events since January 2011. He says that he was hired via the New York-based <a target="blank" href="http://www.harrywalker.com/speakers.cfm">Harry Walker Agency</a> <span class="print-footnote">[33]</span> to appear at events "sponsored by groups in the Iranian American community, not the MEK." MEK supporters and event organizers stress that their advocacy is bankrolled by the "Iranian American community." But what remains a <a target="blank" href="http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-groups-big-money-push-off-us-terrorist-222800109.html">mystery</a> <span class="print-footnote">[34]</span> is exactly where the funding that fuels these costly MEK lobbying operations comes from, or what central entity, if any, coordinates the effort.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown Lloyd James declined to discuss its pro-MEK work or the firm's relationship with supporters and activists, though Holtzman did offer to field questions on "the humanitarian outrages taking place against the <a target="blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hossein-abedini/us-rally-calls-for-protec_b_949818.html">people in Camp Ashraf</a> <span class="print-footnote">[35]</span>." Just the same, Holtzman's firm has a decidedly nuanced view when it comes to the MEK's primary oppressor. <a target="blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Brown%28music_industry%29">Peter Brown</a> <span class="print-footnote">[36]</span>, the president of Brown Lloyd James, <a target="blank" href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1fce20e8-cf61-11e0-b017-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Wo7CaEni">told the <em>Financial</em> <em>Times</em></a> <span class="print-footnote">[37]</span> in late August that he would "love to take on Iran as a client" because "there are areas of commonality that ought to be exploited."</font></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><hr class="print-hr" style="height: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: gray;" /><div class="print-source_url"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Source URL:</strong> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/mujahedin-iran-mek-lobby-brown-lloyd-james">http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/mujahedin-iran-mek-lobby-brown-lloyd-james</a></font></div><div class="print-links"><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Links:</strong>
[1] http://www.rezaaslan.com/writings/LAT_dec10_05.html
[2] http://www.brownlloydjames.com/US
[3] http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/pr-qaddafi-mubarak-saudi-yemen
[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNo_W-pSn9Y
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ZuY7cmfU0
[6] http://www.npr.org/2011/08/25/139948013/iranian-exile-group-lobbies-to-get-off-terrorist-list
[7] http://www.salon.com/news/terrorism/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/09/07/mek_speaking_offer
[8] http://campashraf.org/
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/muammar-gaddafi-us-business-lobby_n_827769.html
[10] http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/175149-pr-firm-worked-with-syria-on-controversial-photo-shoot
[11] http://www.slate.com/id/2289021/
[12] http://motherjones.com/rights-stuff/2011/09/human-rights-logo-libya-brown-lloyd-james
[13] http://humanrightslogo.net/
[14] http://twitter.com/#!/humanrightslogo/statuses/112187122756227072
[15] http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002339---B000-.html
[16] http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/facinfo/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&ID=235
[17] http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/rmc2289/
[18] http://www.brownlloydjames.com/Our_Company/Our_Leadership/Mike_Holtzman
[19] http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/08/201184132732146192.html
[20] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/why-are-prominent-america_b_934358.html
[21] http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-06-19/news/17496993_1_maryam-rajavi-mujahedeen-khalq-eiffel-tower
[22] http://mobile.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2011/08/10/mek/index.html
[23] http://iran.org/news/2010_05_25-10MEKdocs-DOC10.pdf
[24] http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/02/dictators_and_violence
[25] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_uprisings_in_Iraq
[26] http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/22/its-time-to-lift-terror-tag-from-iranian-opposition-group-mek/
[27] http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2801.htm
[28] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-safavi
[29] http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-26/politics/us.iranian.protest_1_mek-camp-ashraf-iranian-regime/2?s=PM:POLITICS
[30] http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/401543
[31] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-dean/america-must-keep-its-wor_b_933345.html
[32] http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/05/13/176538/here-comes-the-mek/
[33] http://www.harrywalker.com/speakers.cfm
[34] http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-groups-big-money-push-off-us-terrorist-222800109.html
[35] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hossein-abedini/us-rally-calls-for-protec_b_949818.html
[36] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Brown%28music_industry%29
[37] http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1fce20e8-cf61-11e0-b017-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Wo7CaEni</font></p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/7/8/syria-propaganda-101-how-pr-firm-brown-lloyd-james-polished.html">http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/7/8/syria-propaganda-101-how-pr-firm-brown-lloyd-james-polished.html</a>

</font><p><em><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Josh Rogin <a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/07/06/wikileaked_lobbying_firm_tried_to_help_syrian_regime_polish_image_as_violence_raged" target="blank">writes on his blog The Cable</a> for Foreign Policy:</font></em>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The lobbying firm that brought you a <em>Vogue</em> story featuring the Syrian first lady was still trying to help the Syrian<strong> </strong>regime

improve its image abroad two months after the notoriously ill-timed

article was published and then scrubbed, as the country descended into

violence, according to a document revealed by Wikileaks.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The international firm Brown Lloyd James (BLJ) was officially

employed by the Office of the First Lady of the Syrian Arab

Republic Asma al-Assad in Nov. 2010 for $5,000 per month to help arrange

and execute the article, which appeared in the March 2011 edition of <em>Vogue</em>. The fawning piece, entitled, "Rose of the Desert," <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/vogue-profile-on-assads-wife-disappears/2012/04/25/gIQAgMWthT_story.html" target="blank">was actually scrubbed</a> from the <em>Vogue</em> website out of embarrassment when Assad began a brutal crackdown on non-violent protests that month. But you can still <a href="http://www.presidentassad.net/ASMA_AL_ASSAD/Asma_Al_Assad_News_2011/Asma_Assad_Vogue_February_2011.htm" target="blank">read it here</a>.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BLJ's contract with the Assad regime, signed by BLJ partner<strong> </strong>Mike Holtzman and Syrian government official Fares Kallas, expired in March of last year, <a href="http://www.fara.gov/docs/5875-Exhibit-AB-20110729-30.pdf" target="blank">according to documents</a> posted on the Foreign Agents Registration Act website. The firm <a href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/175149-pr-firm-worked-with-syria-on-controversial-photo-shoot" target="blank">had claimed</a> its work on behalf of the Assads ended in Dec. 2010.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But in May 2011, BLJ sent <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_documents/120706_320303_Political%20Communications%202.0-1.pdf">another memo</a> to

Kallas and the Syrian government, giving them advice on how to improve

their image and institute a more effective public relations strategy

amid the exploding violence in Syria. The memo was <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/syria-files/docs/2089956_political-communications.html" target="_blank">published by</a> the Wikileaks website in their dump of 2.4 million Syrian documents this week.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It is clear from US government pronouncements since the beginning of

the public demonstrations in Syria that the Obama Administration wants

the leadership in Syria to survive," begins the May 19, 2011, memo.

"Unlike its response to demonstrations in some other countries in the

region, there have been no US demands for regime change in Syria nor any

calls for military intervention, criticism has been relatively muted

and punitive sanctions -- by not being aimed directly at President Assad

--- have been intended more as a caution than as an instrument to hurt

the leadership."</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The memo was sent <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/20115765059910917.html" target="blank">only days after</a> Syrian military forces stormed the town of Baniyas and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13343540" target="blank">moved into the cities</a> of Hama and Homs, where civilian massacres soon followed. Three days before the memo was sent, 20 bodies of murdered civilians <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/16/syria.bodies.found/index.html" target="_blank">were discovered</a> in a shallow grave in the city of Daraa.  President Barack Obama called for Assad to step down that August. </font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The memo goes on to warn the Assad regime that the mood in Washington

is turning against the regime, as evidenced by tougher statements

coming from Sen. <strong>John Kerry</strong> (D-MA) and increasingly

critical stories in the U.S. media. BLJ warns the Assads that if they

don't get smart about public relations quick, the U.S. system might just

turn against them.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"[Increasing bad PR] not only reinforces the Administration's change

of tone, it is emboldening critics -- who maintain that Syria's reform

efforts are not sincere--and building up pressure on the US government

to take further, more drastic steps against the country," the memo

states.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BLJ then goes into an extensive set of recommendations for how the

Assad regime can put a better spin on the largely government-led

violence.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"[S]oft power is needed to reassure the Syrian people and outside

audiences that reform is proceeding apace, legitimate grievances are

being addressed and taken seriously, and that Syria's actions are

ultimately aimed at creating an environment in which change and progress

can take place," BLJ explains.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Assad regime should appoint one figure to "own" the reform agenda

to convince Syrians and the outside world the reform effort is

"sincere," BLJ advised.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Refocusing the perception of outsiders and Syrians on reform will

provide political cover to the generally sympathetic US Government, and

will delegitimize critics at home and abroad," the memo reads.</font>

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BLJ even recommends that First Lady Asma al-Assad should "get in the

game," do a "listening tour" with the president, and start doing press

interviews to create an "echo chamber" in the media that reinforces the

idea that Assad is reform-minded.</font>

<strong><em><a href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/07/06/wikileaked_lobbying_firm_tried_to_help_syrian_regime_polish_image_as_violence_raged" target="_blank"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read full article....</font></a></em></strong>

<strong><em><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/syria-files/docs/2089956_political-communications.html" target="_blank"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read the WikiLeaks document....</font></a></em></strong></p>