Lawmakers ask SOS Clinton to clarify Erik Prince’s deal to provide mercenaries to the UAE

Blackwater founder Eric Prince

As a long-time supporter of Hillary Clinton and as one who deplores the activities of Erik Prince and Blackwater, I am anxious to hear Clinton’s response to the letter described below in a recent article in the Nation by Jeremy Scahill.

Scahill reports the Nation has obtained a copy of a letter recently sent by five Democratic lawmakers to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL), John Conyers, Jr. (MI), Maurice Hinchey (NY), James P. Moran, Jr. (VA), and Peter Welch (VT) are concerned about Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s deal to provide an army of  mercenaries to the United Arab Emirates.

The letter says in part:

“We question whether private US citizens should be involved in recruiting and assembling forces, as well as providing military training and support to foreign governments and militaries,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Representative Jan Schakowsky, a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. “The implications of allowing a US citizen to assemble a foreign legion in any foreign country, and especially in a combustible region like the Middle East, are serious and wide-ranging.”

Scahill’s article in the Nation continues:

On May 14, the New York Times revealed that Prince was leading an effort to build an army of mercs 800 strong—including scores from Colombia—in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. They would be trained by US, European and South African special forces veterans. Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, also known as R2, was bankrolled to the tune of $529 million from “the oil-soaked sheikdom,” according to the Times, adding that Prince was “hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi” Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

According to the lawmakers, under US law, Prince’s company is exporting a defense product and therefore falls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), requiring him to “first seek the approval of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls before the defense services are provided.” The DDTC is controlled by the State Department. “Has Mr. Prince, or any of the other Americans involved in the training contract, received such approval from DDTC?” the lawmakers ask Clinton in the May 23 letter [PDF], a copy of which was obtained by The Nation. Past attempts by The Nation to obtain certain DDTC records on Blackwater-affiliated companies have been rejected by the State Department.

Read more: