But reliance on military aid and other old methods of securing influence inside Middle Eastern countries may have dangerous consequences.
They have a limited chance to secure influence and then peddle it; with the clock ticking, they rush to grab the cash.Two disgraced Kims, you might object, are not enough to make a trend.
With only a little more than a week until the election, though, Sunnis still view the voting booth as the best place to secure influence in Iraq, according to American and Iraqi officials and dozens of interviews with residents.
Nevertheless, the unique issues facing candidates in Alaska, which is both heavily dependent on federal subsidies and fiercely independent-minded, leaves November's race between Sullivan and Begich looking like one of the closest in the country, with both parties emphasising their ability to secure influence in Washington.
And while the State Department is embarking on a vast expansion of its operations, critics say it is missing an opportunity to secure influence here in the seat of Iraq's Shiite clerical establishment, which is an important power center in the new Iraq.
This was to try to secure influence over the chain, that was also owned 31% by SAS.
In January 1155 Theobald helped to secure the Chancellorship for his protégé, Thomas Becket, an action that Barlow speculates happened because Theobald hoped to secure more influence with the king through Becket.
In one incredibly vital way, McCoy's legacy is already secure, his influence evident every April.
It may now seem ironic that their democratisation campaign was aimed at securing more influence for the left.
Saif al-Islam is the ultimate bargaining chip for Zintan, keen to secure maximum influence in the new government above other regional claimants.
Referring to the way outside powers are jockeying to secure greater influence in Afghanistan, Qayuum Karzai told me, "Peace is now war by other means".
