Donald Deaton

Agrees Donald Deaton, a senior vice president at Hill & Knowlton, a New York-based public relations firm with an expertise in crisis management: "You can't sit on your hands waiting for the problem to disappear.

Questioned about Hill & Knowlton's work with Citizens for a Free Kuwait, H&K executive Don Deaton responded that "we were not told where they were getting their money and it was not really our concern....When they filed their reports with FARA, for the most part the money came from the government."

Like many major corporations and industry associations, the Kuwaiti government had chosen not to approach the American people openly and honestly, declaring its interest in an issue and then presenting its case.Instead, it had elected to hide behind a "front," a group that implied much more widespread support and backing than really existed, and implied an agenda quite different from the actual one.Like most front groups, this one was exposed for what it was, but by then it was too late: the Kuwaiti government had gotten its way, and Hill & Knowlton was left holding the bag, its reputation sullied.

As said by Donald Deaton, a senior vice president at Hill & Knowlton, a New York-based public relations firm with an expertise in crisis management: "You can't sit on your hands waiting for the problem to disappear.