ktlight
16th May 2011, 09:34
The founder of the controversial security company Blackwater – whose employees faced criminal charges over the killing of civilians in Iraq – is setting up a paramilitary force of foreign mercenaries in Abu Dhabi, it has been claimed.
Fighters from Colombia and South Africa have been flown into the Emirate, where the Sunni rulers are deeply apprehensive about the popular unrest of the "Arab Spring" as well as the perceived threat from Shia Iran.
Erik Prince, who sold his stake in Blackwater, had arranged a $529m deal to form an 800-strong battalion with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Sandhurst-trained Abu Dhabi Crown Prince who is the effective ruler of the United Arab Emirates, according to reports.
Some of the South African recruits are said to be veterans of Executive Outcomes, which was set up in the early Nineties, by, among others, Simon Mann, a former British SAS officer who was later jailed in Equatorial Guinea for his part in the so-called "wonga coup" – the attempt to unseat the country's despotic leader.
Documents detailing the Abu Dhabi agreement, which have been obtained by the New York Times, appear to show details of how the imported guards would defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from terrorist attacks, and put down internal revolts.
American federal laws prohibit US citizens from training foreign troops if they did not secure a licence from the State Department.
Mark C Toner, a spokesman for the department, would not confirm whether Mr Prince's company had obtained such a licence, but said the department was investigating whether the training effort violated American laws.
Mr Toner pointed out that Blackwater (which renamed itself Xe Services) paid $42m in fines last year for training foreign troops in Jordan and other countries over the years.
The UAE's ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, declined to comment for this article. A spokesman for Mr Prince also refused to comment.
source
http://uruknet.info/?p=m77733&hd=&size=1&l=e
Fighters from Colombia and South Africa have been flown into the Emirate, where the Sunni rulers are deeply apprehensive about the popular unrest of the "Arab Spring" as well as the perceived threat from Shia Iran.
Erik Prince, who sold his stake in Blackwater, had arranged a $529m deal to form an 800-strong battalion with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Sandhurst-trained Abu Dhabi Crown Prince who is the effective ruler of the United Arab Emirates, according to reports.
Some of the South African recruits are said to be veterans of Executive Outcomes, which was set up in the early Nineties, by, among others, Simon Mann, a former British SAS officer who was later jailed in Equatorial Guinea for his part in the so-called "wonga coup" – the attempt to unseat the country's despotic leader.
Documents detailing the Abu Dhabi agreement, which have been obtained by the New York Times, appear to show details of how the imported guards would defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from terrorist attacks, and put down internal revolts.
American federal laws prohibit US citizens from training foreign troops if they did not secure a licence from the State Department.
Mark C Toner, a spokesman for the department, would not confirm whether Mr Prince's company had obtained such a licence, but said the department was investigating whether the training effort violated American laws.
Mr Toner pointed out that Blackwater (which renamed itself Xe Services) paid $42m in fines last year for training foreign troops in Jordan and other countries over the years.
The UAE's ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, declined to comment for this article. A spokesman for Mr Prince also refused to comment.
source
http://uruknet.info/?p=m77733&hd=&size=1&l=e