"The Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq has officially opened a D.C. lobbying office, which is headed by Qubad Talabany [3]," reports O'Dwyer's. "His goal is to mobilize grassroots support for Kurdish interests," including by establishing a Kurdish Congressional Caucus and a Kurdish-American business council. Talabany, the son of Iraq's president, will also "promote Kurdish educational and cultural links with the U.S." The regional government, through its public / private partnership the Kurdistan Development Corporation [4], previously launched "The Other Iraq [5]," a PR and ad campaign to encourage investment and tourism in the region. That campaign was led by the Republican-associated PR firm Russo Marsh & Rogers [6], as the Center for Media and Democracy [7] and others noted. Back in 2004, the Kurdish Democratic Party hired the Barbour, Griffith and Rogers [8] lobbying firm, "to ensure that Iraqi Kurdistan maintains its autonomy from Baghdad," according to [9] O'Dwyer's.