Eric Prince presents plan to privatize much of Afghan war

(August 6) The Trump administration is considering a plan to turn over much of the Afghan US war effort to private contractors supposedly as a means of breaking the stalemate in the war against the Taliban.

 

The plan is being pushed by Erik Prince the founder of the firm Blackwater that was active during the Iraq war earlier and also in Afghanistan. Prince sold the company in 2010. The Prince proposal would see 5,500 private contractors used to advise Afghan combat forces. Many of those hired would be former US Special Operations troops. The plan also includes a 90-plane private air force that would provide air support for Afghan forces. President Trump has grown more and more frustrated with the lack of progress in defeating the Taliban insurgency.

The US already has 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. They are supposed not to have any combat role but are present to train, advise, and guide local forces. Presumably, under Prince's plan these troops would gradually be replaced by those hired by Prince. Prince was a former Navy Seal. He is now chair of the Frontier Services Group a logistics company that focuses on Africa and South Asia. There are rumours that his hired pilots are flying planes in Libya. He is also under investigation for money laundering as discussed on the appended video. However, he appears to have close ties to the Trump administration and is rumoured even to be acting as an advisor. His sister Betsy De Vos is Trump's Minister of Education.

There are already many more private contractors in Afghanistan than US troops: "The latest figures available, for the first few months of 2016, show nearly 29,000 defense contractors still in Afghanistan, with fewer than 9,000 U.S. troops stationed there. About two-thirds of the contractors were foreign nationals, but only about 10 percent were providing security services. " Some White House officials such as Stephen Bannon favor using more private contractors but H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser and also his defense secretary Jim Mattis have misgivings about the project. The White House would not comment on Prince's plan.

Prince is selling his plan as a huge cost saver at less than $10 billion a year compared to more than $40 billion the Pentagon is budgeting for the war in Afghanistan. Prince's plan would see his personnel work directly with Afghan combat battalions as advisers, while his air force would be used for medical evacuation, fire support, and moving troops. His employees would be "adjuncts" of the Afghan military. One wonders if Prince has contacted the Afghan government to see what they think of that status for foreigners.

Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State, admitted that the White House is looking for a new strategy to end the Afghan war. He said recently in Manila: “To just say we’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing, the president is not willing to accept that, and so he is asking some tough questions.” The war is now in its sixteenth year with no end in sight and the Taliban gaining ground. Prince rejects criticism that he and others would profit from his plan, pointing out that there would be a huge saving to US taxpayers and that innovation and risk such as his plan involves is part of the American way. It is not clear however, how the plan could end the stalemate and turn the tide against the Taliban. When the US had many more troops who played a combat role they still were unable to defeat the Taliban. Why would one expect Prince's hired hands to turn the tide? The debate over Prince's plan is also happening on Twitter. One tweet says: "Bannon is leading PR campaign to fire McMaster because donor Devos bro Eric Prince want war in Afghanistan fought by his private company". Bannon is a main advisor to Trump.

A US appeals court has just recently thrown out the first-degree murder charge against a Blackwater Security guard who was sentenced to life. The verdict resulted from the 2007 massacre of 14 unarmed Iraqis at a Baghdad traffic circle. The appeals court also ordered re-sentencing for three other guards convicted in the incident. 17 people were also wounded in the incident. The employees were immune from the application of Iraqi law to their cases. The original sentences at least showed that the US was willing to punish its own citizens for their actions in Iraq but with the decision of the appeals court there will be even more resentment in Iraq against Americans.

Eric Prince founder of Blackwater probably behind mysterious Libya bombings

An article by Arnaud Delalande in War Is Boring reports that Intelligence Online (IOL), which covers most world intelligence services, claims that pilots flying from Al-Khadim air base in Libya work for Erik Prince former head of Blackwater.

Blackwater provided security services for US troops in Iraq and was founded by Prince. He was CEO until 2009 and later chairman until the firm was sold in 2010. He now heads the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group but is also chair of the Hong Kong-listed Frontier Resource Group. He lives both in Abu Dhabi, UAE and In Middleburg Virginia.

In Iraq Blackwater became embroiled in controversy after what is called the Nissour Square Massacre:On September 16, 2007, employees of Blackwater Security Consulting, a private military company, shot at Iraqi civilians killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad while escorting a US embassy convoy.[1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States.[4] In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried[5] and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.[6]

The pilots are flying converted Air Tractor attack planes IOXMAX AT-802 from the UAE. The mercenary pilots are said not to be Arab and most are American according to IOL. Prince has denied involvement in the UAE operations.

Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater USA

Wikimedia Commons

The UAE along with Egypt and now Russia are strong supporters of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar commander of the Libyan National Army associated with the government of the House of Representative. The first AT-802 was spotted at an airbase in Libya in June 2015 but with its national marking obliterated. In June of 2016 the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC) released photos showing an AT-802 in the sky in Benghazi over the Garfouda area that they controlled.

Eric Prince has close ties to the UAE as he moved to Abu Dhabi in 2010 in the same year he sold his stake in Blackwater. He founded Reflex Responses Company or R2 then. In January of 2011 he was hired by several Arab countries to train a private army of 2,000 Somalians. In May of the same year, the New York Times reported that the UAE had signed a contract with Reflex Responses worth $529 million. The contract was to recruit and train a "Security Support Group" of 800 members for counterrorism and internal security purposes. Prince's Frontier Resources Group a logistic and transport company is investing in Africa with cash collected from Asian investors.

Haftar's rival Libyan Dawn Air Force also hired foreign companies Glissada, Amber TIger and Caravana Middle East to recruit pilots for its small fleet of aircraft and helicopters in 2015. One pilot may have died when he crashed in June 2016 over Sirte, perhaps brought down by enemy fire. The House of Representatives (HoR) government has also recruited pilots under contract with various foreign countries including Moldova-based Sky Prim Air. Given the recent meetings between Haftar and Russian officials perhaps there will soon be Russian pilots competing with those of Eric Prince. As the appended video shows, Prince is suspected of other shady activities in Libya.