By Kevin McCauley
Patton Boggs has a three-month $150K contract to represent billionaire politician Hamid Al-Ahmar, who helped organize the opposition that brought down Yemen president Ali Abdullah Sahel. Yemen is an Al-Qaeda stronghold and a key target for U.S. drone strikes.
PB is to arrange meetings for Al-Ahmar and other members of Yemen’s parliament with U.S. government officials, think tanks and non-governmental officials.
A U.S. State Dept. 2009 cable unveiled by WikiLeaks described al-Ahmar as a man of “ambition, wealth, tribal power in abundance, a fiery combination anywhere, but especially in Yemen.
PB’s contract is with the Al Hamar Trading Group, which runs the country’s largest cell phone provider, a satellite TV network, KFC franchises and Spinneys supermarkets.
Michael Driver, of PB’s international and energy/natural resources practices, leads the work for Al-Ahmar. |