As winter has turned to a democratic spring in the Arab world, the Kingdom of Bahrain has found itself swept up in the region wide protests. Protesters in the country, largely composed of the nation's Shiite majority, took to the streets in February to call on King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, a member of country's Sunni minority, to institute a constitutional monarchy. The peaceful protests were met with an initial crackdown  as protesters were swept out from their encampment in the capital's Pearl Square by an armed police force.

After attempts at discussions, and a brief détente, between the protesters and the government, the King decided to reach out to the Saudi monarchy, a Sunni ruling class in a country with a sizeable Shiite minority, to send their military into Bahrain to end the protests. The King framed the ensuing crackdown in sectarian terms, blaming Shiite Iranian agents for fomenting rebellion in the island kingdom. What has followed has been a brutal crackdown largely captured on YouTube for the world to see.

While the world may watch the murder of unarmed protesters on YouTube, Bahrain is hiring a U.S. PR team to spin events to their benefit. Last Tuesday, day after Saudi troops entered Bahrain to repress protests calling for a constitutional monarchy, a new foreign agent registered for the government of Bahrain. (Update: The contract between Potomac Square Group and Bahrain was signed on February 17, not March 15. This pre-dates the Saudi incursion into Bahrain.) Potomac Square Group, run by former journalist Chris Cooper, registered to do PR work for the Bahraini government at the most controversial moment in the country's recent history.

Cooper is a former Wall Street Journal national and foreign correspondent. The Potomac Square Group is a new firm formed in February of this year and incorporated in Delaware. A LinkedIn profile lists Cooper's work history as well as a description of his work at the Potomac Square Group, which currently does not have a web presence, "Founding parter of a public affairs boutique. Clients include a foreign government seeking help in dealing with an internal crisis."

The Potomac Square Group's work for Bahrain is set by a monthly contract worth $20,000 that client can choose to renew after the first month.

While the Potomac Square Group is the most recent registrant for Bahrain, they are not the country's only PR firm in the United States. Qorvis Communications, one of Washington's biggest PR firms, inked a deal with the island kingdom last year. The firm offered the kingdom's most recent spin on the protest crackdown in a press release highlighting statements made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while omitting her statement that the government was "on the wrong track."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today emphasized the commitment of the United States toward Bahrain and her hope for the success of the National Dialogue in the island kingdom. She also affirmed the "sovereign right" of Bahrain to invite security forces from allied countries, and stated that the U.S. shared the goals of the GCC regarding Bahrain.

Since the uprising in Bahrain began, Bahrain's Crown Prince has called on all parties to engage in a dialogue to reconcile differences. Secretary Clinton said the goal of the United States is "a credible political process that can address the legitimate aspirations of all the people of Bahrain."

Ambassador Houda Nonoo appreciated the Secretary's comments that dialogue should unfold in a peaceful, positive atmosphere that ensures that students can go to school, businesses can operate and people can undertake their normal daily activities. Said Ambassador Nonoo, "The government of Bahrain has consistently maintained that differences should be resolved peacefully around the negotiating table, but unfortunately, the opposition has not responded to this offer and instead has chosen to continue along the path of violence and disruption of normal life in Bahrain. It is my government's belief that wisdom will prevail among the opposition and they will come to the negotiating table to resolve all differences peacefully."

Qorvis' work with Bahrain began a month before an election in the country, which featured the arrest of prominent Shiite clerics and a very favorable outcome for the ruling family.

The United States has long had good relations with Bahrain. The Navy's Fifth Fleet is currently stationed in Bahrain and the two countries have formed close economic ties.

Qorvis is not only contracted with Bahrain, but with the Saudi government as well. The company's representation of the Saudi monarchy was controversial when they signed the contract in 2002. After the 9/11 attacks and revelations that Saudi money flowed to Al Qaeda, the global terror network that executed the attacks, the contract to spin U.S. media and policy makers for the Saudi monarchy was not met well. Three of Qorvis' partners quit in protest.

Recently, Qorvis' work for Saudi Arabia has involved providing advice, preparing press releases, and helping the nation connect to social media. The company's foreign agent statement from last fall states that Qorvis worked to assist "with developing content for the YouTube and Twitter pages."

“Monitor is not a lobbying group."

That was the assertion in one of a series of memos between The Monitor Group and the Government of Libya that were leaked by the Libyan opposition to Muammar Gaddafi’s now-tenuous rule of Libya. The memos, leaked in 2009, detail an extensive plan to promote the Libyan view to government officials and the American public that may leave many wondering why the firm never registered as a foreign lobbying group under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Beginning in 2006, Monitor began work as a consultant for Libya to “Enhance the Profile of Libya and Muammar Qadhafi” and to help the country establish an economic strategy. Monitor stated that it charged the Government of Libya $250,000 a month along with an open expense account that would not total more than $2.5 million.

In a memo dated July 3, 2006, The Monitor Group spelled out their plan of action for the Gaddafi government. This included mapping “critical figures … among policy makers, government, media, think tanks, academics, journalists, private sector companies and lobby groups,” providing support for “publication of positive articles on Libya,” and coordinating with Libya’s “existing lobbyists to ensure an integrated program.”

The central focus of the program was the invitation of prominent individuals to visit Libya and talk to regime leaders including Gaddafi and his sons. The July 3 memo lists two qualifications for the selection of visitors, “the appeal of their ideas” and “the strength of their influence in guiding US foreign policy.”

According to The Lobbying Manual published by the American Bar Association, there are a few key definitions that an organization has to meet to be required to register as a foreign agent under FARA. In most cases, whether a firm’s action fall under the definition of the term “political activities” determines their registration status.

The precise definition of “political activities” under FARA is

“…any activity that the person engaging in believes will, or that the person intends to, in any way influence any agency or official of the Government of the United States or any section of the public within the United States with reference to formulating, adopting, or changing the domestic or foreign policies of the United States or with reference to the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party.”

The Monitor Group memos outline a strategy that is based on the need to influence both government officials in relation to U.S. policy and public opinion in regards to the Government of Libya and its leaders.

In a 2007 memo The Monitor Group states that their strategy is to “introduc[e] to Libya important international figures that will influence other nations’ policies towards the country.” This memo also states, “Many of the visitors brought to Libya have individually briefed all levels of the United States government including specifically the President, Vice President, Heads of National Security and Intelligence as well as the Secretary of State.”

One visitor to Libya was Nicholas Negroponte, the director of the MIT Media Lab and the founder of One Laptop Per Child. Negroponte’s brother is John Negroponte, at the time the Deputy Secretary of State. The memo indicates that Nicholas Negroponte “briefed his brother and other senior officials in the White House upon his return from Libya.”

Many other visitors are touted for their connections to policy makers in the United States. Author Bernard Lewis is said to have briefed then-Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones and “the entire political and economic staff at the U.S. Embassy in Israel on his visit to Libya.” Professor Benjamin Barber is stated to consult “regularly with … Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, former Senator Bill Bradley.” Anne-Marie Slaughter is listed as an advisor to Barack Obama and a “potential cabinet member.”

Monitor does not only explain their strategy to influence U.S. policy through the visitors program. They also explicitly state their own work in lobbying the U.S. government: “At a critical time when the United States was debating its recognition of Libya, Monitor met with senior officials in the United States government to share its perspective on Libya.” While Monitor may claim it was only sharing “its perspective” it was under contract with the Government of Libya to promote the country and improve its image at the time.

The memos also show Monitor’s work to influence opinion through the publication of articles by participants in the visitors program. Registration under FARA is not limited to the direct publication or dissemination of materials to influence public policy or public opinion. Indirect publication or dissemination is also included under registration requirements.

Monitor cites articles that Princeton professor Andrew Moravcsik wrote after his visit to Libya in Newsweek and the Financial Times and an appearance by Barber on NPR as positive examples of the kind of press that their work for Libya has produced.

Monitor also promotes itself as a voice to the media for discussions about Libya, “Monitor continues to speak directly to the media about Libya, and is willing to be quoted in the international press.”

On February 24 Monitor released a statement explaining “we do not discuss specifics of our work with any client … we are deeply distressed and saddened to witness the current tragic events in Libya. … Our work was focused on helping the Libyan people work towards an improved economy and more open governmental institutions. This is within a context of a period that was widely perceived as holding meaningful potential for reform within, and new opportunity for, Libya. We sought, consistently, to enable such progressive developments.”

(More Sunlight coverage of lobbying by governments facing protests and revolts in the Middle East.)

Imagine if you could get a list of all the meetings with members and staffers of the House and Senate initiated by lobbyists for the likes of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, CitiGroup, American International Group, Washington Mutual, Wachovia and other parties with, shall we say, something more than an academic interest in the $700 billion financial bailout that the Senate just approved? Suppose you could see, for each meeting, the subject discussed. Suppose you could also get a list of the dates and amounts of campaign contributions those lobbyists had made, the expenses they'd incurred on behalf of their clients, even lists of calls to reporters and columnists and editorial writers that they'd made to sway public opinion for their clients?

For those clients, of course, you can't -- the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 doesn't require that sort of detail. But for lobbyists representing foreign governments, political parties, organizations and individuals, there is a different disclosure regime -- and Sunlight's new FARAdb prototype let's you search and sort a sampling of these forms to get a sense of how lobbyists work the Hill.

The forms--required by the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) -- are filed twice a year by firms hired to lobby Congress and the executive branch by foreign clients. The lobbying firms disclose specific details about which government officials, including members of Congress and their staffs, were contacted by lobbyists for each client, and gives details about what specific issues were discussed. The firms must also disclose all the campaign donations made by their employees who lobby for foreign clients.

The database covers two years worth of forms -- January 2006 to December 2007 -- filed by lobbyists representing 15 countries; they've reported collecting more than $67 million in fees and expenses while pushing the agendas and bolstering the images of foreign governments and organizations in the United States.

The database allows users to search by clients, government officials contacted, lobbyists and issues, making it easy to navigate the data. Using the search function, users can quickly learn that, according to FARA reports, lobbyists for these countries contributed $97,000 to the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain between the latter part of 2005 to the end of 2007. His Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, received $11,000 from lobbyists for these countries during the same period. For more details, and more digging into the disclosures, check the Real Time Investigations blog.