I & S Safi 22 May 2011.
Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater Worldwide, a company accused of serious abuses and killing of civilians in Iraq, and eventually expelled from Iraq, was contracted by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to establish an 800-member battalion of foreign troops. Prince is now residing in the UAE after facing legal problems in the United States in relation to his former security business.
It is reported that the mission of this new contract private army is to conduct special operations inside and outside of the UAE, defend the oil installations, pipelines and skyscrapers from terrorist attacks and, interestingly, to put down internal revolts. It is also reported that an added benefit of this development is the message it will send to Iran.
The deal struck between the UAE government and Prince is a step forward into the past. The concept is not new. Rome had its own mercenaries and infamous gladiators. Today’s France has its own Foreign Legion. But the deal between Prince and the UAE portends to something most sinister; the slippery slide towards international anarchy and lawlessness.
Ashamed of their own actions, warring nations had enough decency to sign agreements such as the Geneva Convention and to establish organisations such as the United Nations (UN) and its Security Council, needless to mention the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Questions arise as to the efficacy of these organisations in implementing international laws and resolutions when countries such as the United States find ways to be shielded from the ICC by refusing to join.
International laws and its validity are further compromised by situations such as the UN Security Council consistently favouring and protecting an Israel that seems to be above international law. When countries such as Israel refuse to adopt UN Resolutions, history will always record this as an indictment against them. Despite the ICC being unable to summon George W. Bush into its chambers, it is at least able to put other war criminals on trial; a modest step in the right direction perhaps.
When it comes to “private companies” such as the infamous Blackwater and Prince’s latest venture, there will be no rules of law to be followed, no legal accountability and no internationally accepted criteria as they will operate outside any known jurisdictions and most probably in stealth.
This new venture in the UAE has the hallmarks of government-sponsored military anarchy. The recent history of Blackwater in Iraq clearly demonstrates this lack of accountability and that their rules of engagement are reduced to an open slather of shoot-as-you-please, trigger happy, testosterone laden mercenaries.
Mercenaries are survival driven, they are not fighting for a cause and there is no guarantee that they will refrain from opening fire at the slightest inkling of threat, particularly when protected by impunity.
History tells us that once humanity moves in a particular direction it becomes very difficult to divert the course of events. The salient question to ask is whether this contract will turn into a precedent and if so, what of?
Will we one day be looking at a world in which private armies for the rich and powerful are in control of what used to be known as law and order?
Will it mean that a government ashamed of a particular military action against another nation, or even their own people, might sign a contract with a private army to do the “dirty work” for them, leaving no one accountable? This is not too far-fetched and it is not scare-mongering.
If a government instructs its mercenary army to assassinate a prominent humanitarian because his/her thoughts and words are a thorn in the side of this regime and, if this becomes known, then that government can simply state that it did not give such orders, that this private army has a chain of command problem and were not following orders.
Additionally, this surrogate army will not only be unaccountable for its actions, but it will be able to use this scenario for publicity. Potential clients will see in this assassination proof of this “army for hire” getting the job done and not bowing to any external pressure.
The UAE’s rush to establish this contract with Prince coincides strongly with the “Arab Awakening” and with the growing UAE discomfort of Iran’s activities. This move came only a few weeks after Bahrain asked for Saudi intervention to quell its uprising. Both nations are low in population and have limited home-grown military capabilities. Needless to say, they are both oil rich members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Will Qatar ever find itself in a similar predicament? On the surface Qatar appears to have a good relationship with Iran but, through its endorsed media outlet Al Jazeera, reporting on Syria, the ally of Iran, is harsh and at times highly questionable to say the least. This indicates that the Qatari-Iranian relationship is not as robust as stated. Despite Qatar possessing similar dispositions to its neighbours, Qatar on many levels, gives the impression that it is immune from such uprisings and/or regional conflicts.
Western-style governments may not be able to openly disclose their involvement in establishing such armies. But what is to stop them from entering into such contracts covertly? Private operatives can achieve the same objectives as the CIA for instance but, if and when caught out, they will not be embarrassing governments.
Taking warfare along this course is a step back in time to the days of Genghis Khan, a time when military commanders had no rule of law and no international accountability or, alternatively, to the period of Adolf Hitler where international law to him existed merely on paper and was to be flouted.
In this fast changing world the concept of introducing legislation for something previously unwarranted must be urgently recognised. In the world of IT such responses occurred where the world jumped to protect individuals and corporations from issues such as hacking and piracy.
Given this new development in the UAE and the far reaching and potentially devastating implications of this, it is imperative that we ensure that accountability is universal, and that legislation developed. is beyond reproach, leaving no legal loopholes for any individual, corporation or government.
