Because of Trump .. an American research center refuses to finance the UAE

LONDON (Reuters) - The Center for American Progress Research will distance itself from what it called autocratic regimes because of doubts about President Donald Trump's position, the Guardian newspaper reported.

The Center, one of Washington's leading liberal research centers, no longer accepts funding from the United Arab Emirates.

The Center pointed out that it distanced itself from the governments it sees as anti-democratic across the world, in an effort to distrust the authoritarian regimes with which the Trump administration established close relations.

"As the non-democratic tide rises across the world, and questions about which side Trump stands, all Americans should take additional steps and show where they stand," a spokesman for the center told the paper.

According to documents obtained by the newspaper, the move by the Center to reject the financing of the UAE began in June 2018 - before the death of Khashoggi - and ended in December last.

The spokesman stressed that this funding has never affected the position of the Center or its policies, but everyone here recognizes that this is right.

The Guardian notes that the Center's move comes amid growing scrutiny of financial ties between authoritarian governments and influential research centers in the US capital.

The center has included funding from the UAE embassy ranging from $ 500,000 to $ 1 million as the highest amount of funding from its donors.

The latest Intercept report questioned the impact of the Center for American Progress on the UAE in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashkheji, although the center condemned the crime and called for Saudi Arabia to be held accountable.

The Center for American Progress, founded in 2003 by John Podesta, former chief of staff of former President Bill Clinton, emerged during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

The Guardian says other research centers in the United States have also been criticized for receiving funds from the UAE and for establishing close ties with its ambassador, Youssef Al Otaiba, who has gained fame as an influential figure in the US capital.

Financial links with the UAE are a source of concern for many US research centers because of the UAE's association with human rights violations, its close partnership with Saudi Arabia and their role in the war in Yemen.

The UAE is known for its deliberate spending in Washington to create a friendly environment and thus achieve its strategic objectives.

But the assassination of Khashoggi was a coup in all of this, especially as critics called on American research centers and universities to adopt the "pledge of democracy" by rejecting Saudi and UAE funds.

It is noteworthy that the UAE ambassador Otaiba played an important role in the provision of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who believes that US intelligence ordered the assassination of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October last.

The UAE also played an important role - in the Guardian - in Trump's Middle East strategy in an attempt to isolate Iran.

The pivotal role played by the UAE and Saudi Arabia in influencing Trump's foreign policy has been further scrutinized by trade and personal ties between members of the Gulf states and those in the president's inner circle, including his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kouchner.

By strengthening its influence in Washington, the UAE has been able to protect itself from scrutiny about its support for Saudi bombing in Yemen, where experts believe the war could soon leave 14 million people on the verge of famine.