...There are other signs of the Saudi PR machine gearing up. Qorvis Communications has expanded and made some significant personnel additions in recent months. There are slick ads for Saudi Arabia in such glossy magazines as The New Republic. Interestingly, the December 12 cover story by Spencer Ackerman explaining why Islam in the United States is moderate is sandwiched around a 6-page special advertising section paid for by the Saudi Arabian embassy. And the donation to Georgetown will serve more of a PR function than most people probably realize at first glance. John Esposito, CMCU's director, has for years been one of the U.S.'s foremost apologists for radical Islam, and he's already stated that a large part of Prince Alwaleed's donation "will be used to beef up the think tank part of what the center does." Esposito's explanation of the "think tank part" of the Center shows that he has a heavy PR component in mind:

Up to now, he said, the center has not had enough resources "to respond to the tremendous demand that is out there, from the government, church and religious groups, the media and corporations to address and answer issues like, 'What is the actual relationship between the West and the Muslim world? Is Islam compatible with modernization?' Now we can run workshops and conferences [on these subjects] both here and overseas."...