National Journal on Adelson and Freedom’s Watch

The always excellent National Journal has published a fairly lengthy profile, entitled “Betting Man,” of Freedom’s Watch sugar daddy Sheldon Adelson in its May 10 edition, which you can access here. Particularly interesting is the opening about last October’s private gathering of the “‘best and the brightest’ conservative voices talking about the terrorism threats posed by radical Islam and Iran,” including David Horowitz, Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute, Clifford May of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum, all of whose groups, the Journal notes, have all benefited from Adelson’s largesse. The story brings in the Adelson’s Netanyahu-Likud and AIPAC connections, although it doesn’t break any new ground on those fronts. Much of the article is devoted to Adelson’s ties with and interest in China and his broader business ambitions in Asia.

A propos the latter, it appears that the president of the Las Vegas Sands, William Weidner, operates as a kind of alter ego for Adelson, not just in his business affairs, but in his philanthropy and politics, as well. During the Suen trial I wrote about last week, Weidner reportedly explained to the court why he was unable to identify a Chinese official whom he and Adelson allegedly dealt with in obtaining the Macau concession. “All Chinese look alike,” he said. You can read more about Weidner’s testimony here.

Jim Lobe

Jim Lobe served for some 30 years as the Washington DC bureau chief for Inter Press Service and is best known for his coverage of U.S. foreign policy and the influence of the neoconservative movement.

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