WASHINGTON - the Abu Dhabi crown prince hired the founder of the private security firm Blackwater Worldwide to implement a battalion of 800 members from troops foreign to the United Arab Emirates United, the New York Times said Sunday.
The Times said that it has obtained documents that showed the unit being formed by the new company of Erik Prince reflex responses with 529 million dollars, the United Arab Emirates United would be used to thwart the internal revolt, special operations and defend the oil pipelines and the skyscrapers of attack.
The newspaper said the decision to hire the contingent of foreign troops was made before a wave of popular unrest spread throughout the Arab world, recent months, including neighbors in Gulf United Emirates Arab United BahrainOman and Saudi Arabia.
The United Arab Emirates United itself saw no serious problems. The majority of its population consists of foreign workers.
Blackwater, which once had lucrative contracts to protect us in Iraq officials, became famous in the region in 2007 when his bodyguards opened fire in the circulation of Baghdad, killing at least 14 people in what the Government of Iraq has called a "massacre".
A former Blackwater Guard has pleaded guilty to charges of homicide involuntary guilty of the killings and a US Court reinstated charges against five other last month. Prince sold since the firm, which changed its name to Xe. The firm denies fault.
The newspaper said the Emirates, a close ally of the United States, had support in Washington for the new project of the Prince, although he did not step clear if it had official approval of American.
Two officials of Government of the United Arab Emirates United contacted by Reuters declined immediate comment on the report of the New York Times, and the Embassy of the United States in the United Emirates Arab United was also no immediate comment. It was not possible to locate the Prince for comment.
The times quoted a U.S. official who was aware of the program by saying: "The Gulf countries and the United Arab Emirates United in particular, do not have much military experience." It would be logical if they looked beyond their borders to help. ?
The spokesman for the Department of State Mark Toner told the Times the Department was investigating to see if the project has broken us laws. U.S. law requires a license for American citizens train foreign troops.
The military of the United Arab Emirates United stated that "all commercial entities by the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces commitments United are consistent with international law and relevant conventions".
"The UAE armed forces United currently exercise a number of third parties, such as spectrum, that provides capabilities for Training Academy; "Horizon, a partner in the pilot training and R2 that provides operational support, planning and training," said the statement made by the WAM news agency.
The statement was not named Blackwater or Prince.
"NO MUSLIMS."
Toner also pointed out that Blackwater had paid $ 42 million of fines in 2010 for the training of foreign forces in Jordan without a licence, the Times said.
According to former employees of the project and the American authorities cited by the times, the troops have been brought to a training camp in the United Arab Emirates United of Colombia, South Africa and other countries, from the summer 2010.
They have been trained by U.S. military and Veterans retired members of the German and British special operations and the Foreign Legion units, the Times said.
Prince had insisted force hire no Muslims, because they "could not count on to kill their Muslim counterparts," said the paper.
Former employees also told the newspaper the Emirates hoped that the force could be used to counter any threat of the Iran, which the Gulf Arab States are considering an enemy.
While the Times said the documents, that it had obtained did not mention Erik Prince, former employees told the newspaper that he had negotiated with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the contract.
Emirati officials had proposed expanding the force of a brigade of several thousand if the first battalion has been successful, the newspaper said.
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