Hassan HassanVerified account

When a lobbyist working for Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Qatar harass people, good people should realize what’s happening & take action against it, not encourage it. Certainly, do NOT just take their word for it & turn away those critics. That's disgraceful, esp to editors/analysts

There are many vulnerable writers and analysts who have to bow to the pressure or seize their opportunities.

I also knew I was going against well-connected operatives with extensive contacts in DC, and that their rumors would go far & wide. I was a new comer to DC, I arrived here in 2016. Those have been paying millions upon millions to nurture contacts to amplify their messages.

I lost so much by insisting to speak my mind. I knew it would cost me my jobs & long-term gigs — and powerful platforms. But I’m stubborn, and that’s sometimes a good thing. This city is a true swamp.

A typical UAE game was to try and limit my work to extremism rather than MENA geopolitics. I was asked to do just that.

It didn’t end there, Gulf diplomats & their operatives/stooges/employees in DC started to spread rumors I was working for the Qataris, and would harass everyone I worked or wrote for. Some of those I worked for had no choice but to bow to the pressure.

Even after removing the mention of his center from the bio, he still wanted to scrutinize my @TheAtlantic articles because “it takes just a Google search to make the connection even if the affiliation is not spelled out in the article.” Immediately I emailed my intend to resign.

At this point, I knew this was going nowhere. Lorenzo was overseas so I demanded to speak on the phone. He said he couldn’t speak on the phone. So we exchanged emails. I asked him to explain the source of panic. I had no idea whether there were any existing ties with the UAE.

I woke up in the morning to see an “URGENT” email from the Program director to The Atlantic asking them to urgently remove the mention of the program from the “problematic” article. (The editor said that’s not how it works & Hassan should send that request himself.)

On the first day at the office, the director told me he received an angry call from a “senior” Gulf person about hiring me. The person said I'd switched sides lately & was writing critically about the Saudis & Emiratis. Director refused to tell me details about who the person was

Remember: 1) this is an academic environment. 2) I was writing about human rights abuses & growing authoritarianism in the MENA region. 3) I was writing under my name. Talk about First Amendment.

Later, when Saudi Arabia confirmed the news, I went ahead & wrote a piece for @TheAtlantic. Pressure to scrutinize & “clear” my articles intensified quickly. At one point, the deputy was joking “oh, I’m sure you started regretting committing to write for @TheAtlantic."

Also, the common friend brought up risks to family members living in the UAE & Saudi Arabia at the time. I was asked to wait till Riyadh confirmed the news; it was denying it at the time. I communicated some of this to my editor & put off writing that piece about Khashoggi.

I was drafting the piece when the person who connected me to the Program advised me to speak to its director Lorenzo Vidino, saying he may not be happy about it. I messaged Lorenzo about it, and he made it clear I shouldn’t write it. He was out of office, in NY at the time.

Fast forward. By this time last year, I started writing for @TheAtlantic & just joined George Washington University's @gwupoe, @GWtweets. When news of Khashoggi’s death came out, I was asked to write on it. That’s when troubles started with @gwupoe.

A top UAE official later kindly offered to explain the “miscommunication” to the paper, but I politely declined the offer. I had already wanted to leave, for additional reasons, and to write freely. All I wanted was to write freely, despite the massive opportunity costs.

A week later, the editors regretfully said I could no longer write for them. They said this was out of their hand & came from high up. Aside from the provocative headline, which I didn't write, the piece was an objective analysis that displeased BOTH sides of the Gulf conflict.