Politics & Policy

Former Defense Official Creates Firm To Lobby in Washington for Turkey

By John J. Fialka
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
643 words
16 February 1989
The Wall Street Journal
English
(Copyright (c) 1989, Dow Jones & Co., Inc.)

WASHINGTON -- Richard Perle, who among other things supervised U.S. military assistance to
Turkey during his recent seven-year hitch in the Pentagon, has created a company in Washington to
lobby for Turkey.
The company, International Advisers Inc., is headed by three men, including two who worked under
Mr. Perle at the Defense Department. According to a statement the company filed with the Justice
Department, it will "assist in the efforts for the appropriation of U.S. military and economic assistance"
to Turkey.
Mr. Perle said he isn't required to register as an agent of a foreign government, because he will function
only as chairman of the firm's advisory board and not as an agent representing Turkey. In an interview,
Mr. Perle said he will be paid "a very modest amount" by the company, which received an $875,000
annual retainer from the Turkish Embassy shortly after it was organized in January. So far, the advisory
board consists of one man -- Mr. Perle.
"It's an honest intellectual effort to find a group of people who will give expression to ideas," said Mr.
Perle, who said he won't be involved in lobbying. "I find very distasteful this business where people
leave the government and the next thing you know, they're on the other side of the table negotiating
with the U.S."
Mr. Perle confirmed reports in the Turkish press that he sold the idea for the new company to Turgut
Ozal, Turkey's prime minister, at a meeting in New York last May. The details were ironed out with
officials of Turkey's Foreign Ministry when Mr. Perle visited Ankara last fall.
Hill & Knowlton Inc. already has a $1.1 million contract to perform lobbying and public relations
services for Turkey. "We have been given to understand that our contract will be renewed," said Charles
Pucie, a senior vice president of Hill & Knowlton, who said its current contract runs until July.
Many foreign embassies have employed professional lobbying firms here in recent years, and the
Turkish account is one of the more eagerly sought. According to Pentagon statistics, there is a good
deal at stake: Last year, Turkey received $623 million in U.S. military assistance, ranking it third
behind Israel, which received $3 billion, and Egypt, which got $2 billion.
Mr. Perle left his job as assistant secretary for international policy at the Defense Department in May
1987 to write a novel. He also writes a column for the weekly magazine U.S. News and World Report.
In his Pentagon job, Mr. Perle oversaw military policy and security assistance to U.S. allies in Western
Europe and Turkey. He was, he said, regarded as a "champion" within the government for increased aid
to Turkey.
Regulations banning dealings between former Pentagon officials and clients with whom they dealt in
their government jobs don't apply to Mr. Perle's situation, according to David Ream, a senior attorney
in the office of the Defense Department's general counsel.
The rules would apply, he said, only if Mr. Perle were to act on behalf of Turkey at the Defense
Department. Mr. Perle said he is merely advising the lobbying firm. "I am not representing Turkey in
any way whatsoever," he said.
Mark Feldman, a director of the new firm and a former deputy legal adviser to the State Department,
said the company will devote all its time to Turkey.
He said two other principals in the firm will be Douglas Feith, a lawyer who served as deputy assistant
secretary under Mr. Perle, and Michael Mobbs, who represented the Pentagon at arms-control talks in
Geneva, an activity also under Mr. Perle's purview.

Perle Not an Agent For Turkish Interests

299 words
2 March 1989
The Wall Street Journal
English
(Copyright (c) 1989, Dow Jones & Co., Inc.)

John Fialka's story of Feb. 16 concerning me is misleading.

I have not created a company to lobby for Turkey and I did not supervise military assistance to Turkey
when I served in the Defense Department.
The firm to which the story refers, International Advisors Inc., was created by Douglas Feith, a
Washington attorney. I am not a stockholder, director, officer or employee of the firm. I will not lobby
for nor represent the government of Turkey. I will chair an advisory board that is only now being
formed.
I concluded while at the Pentagon that the U.S. government was unable to implement a policy toward
Turkey that fully reflected American interests because of widespread ignorance of Turkey's crucial role
in Western defense. In discussion with various Turkish officials I did urge the creation of a firm that
would assist Turkey in Washington, and I am delighted that the Turkish government has now done so.
While at the Pentagon I advocated levels of assistance for Turkey significantly higher than Congress
would approve. This reflected my belief that the modernization of the Turkish armed forces is vital for
American security. But I never supervised military assistance to Turkey.
Mr. Fialka quotes me as saying that I am not required to register as an agent of a foreign government
because I will function "only as chairman of the firm's advisory board." He then misleadingly writes
that the advisory board to International Advisors "consists of one man -- Mr. Perle." The clear
implication is that the advisory board is a subterfuge for evading regulations concerning lobbying on
behalf of foreign countries. I told Mr. Fialka clearly that the advisory board, like International Advisors
itself, is only now being formed.
Richard Perle
Washington