Blackwater founder builds foreign force in UAE: report

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Blackwater founder builds foreign force in UAE: report

Reuters – Sun, 15 May, 2011

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The crown prince of Abu Dhabi has hired the founder of

private security firm Blackwater Worldwide to set up an 800-member battalion of

foreign troops for the United Arab Emirates, The New York Times reported on

Sunday.

The Times said it obtained documents that showed the unit being formed by

Prince's new company Reflex Responses with $529 million from the UAE would be

used to thwart internal revolt, conduct special operations and defend oil

pipelines and skyscrapers from attack.

The newspaper said the decision to hire the contingent of foreign troops was

taken before a wave of popular unrest spread across the Arab world in recent

months, including to the UAE's Gulf neighbors Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE itself has seen no serious unrest. Most of its population is made up of

foreign workers.

Blackwater, which once had lucrative contracts to protect U.S. officials in

Iraq, became notorious in the region in 2007 when its guards opened fire in

Baghdad traffic, killing at least 14 people in what the Iraqi government called

a " massacre. "

One former Blackwater guard pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in those

killings, and a U.S. court reinstated charges against five others last month.

Prince has since sold the firm, which changed its name to Xe. The firm denies

wrongdoing.

The newspaper said the Emirates, a close ally of the United States, had some

support in Washington for Prince's new project, although it was not clear if it

had official U.S. approval.

Two UAE government officials contacted by Reuters declined immediate comment on

the New York Times report, and the U.S. embassy in the UAE also had no immediate

comment. It was not possible to locate Prince for comment.

The Times quoted a U.S. official who was aware of the programme as saying: " The

Gulf countries, and the U.A.E. in particular, don't have a lot of military

experience. It would make sense if they looked outside their borders for help. "

State Department spokesman Mark Toner told The Times the department was

investigating to see if the project broke any U.S. laws. U.S. law requires a

license for American citizens to train foreign troops.

Toner also pointed out that Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, had paid $42

million in fines in 2010 for training foreign forces in Jordan without a

license, the Times said.

According to former employees of the project and U.S. officials cited by the

Times, the troops were brought to a training camp in the UAE from Colombia,

South Africa and other countries, starting in the summer of 2010.

They were being trained by retired U.S. military, and former members of German

and British special operations units and the French Foreign Legion, the Times

said.

Prince had insisted the force hire no Muslims, because they " could not be

counted on to kill fellow Muslims, " the paper said.

Former employees also told the newspaper the Emirates hoped the force could be

used to counter any threat from Iran, which the Arab states in the Gulf consider

a foe.

Although The Times said the documents it obtained did not mention Prince,

former employees had told the newspaper he had negotiated the contract with Abu

Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Emiriati officials had proposed expanding the force to a brigade of several

thousand if the first battalion was successful, the newspaper said.

(Additional reporting is by Mahmoud Habboush)