WASHINGTON – The founder of the private military company known asBlackwater has hired a lobbyist to sell his plan to privatize the Afghanwar that will turn much of the Afghan war over to private securitycontractors, a news report said on Wednesday.Eric Prince, a former Navy SEAL and the brother of US Education SecretaryBetsy Devos, had been trying to convince the government to privatizecounter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, but his proposal was rejectedby the administration of President Trump last year, who instead dispatchedmore American troops to the war-ravaged country.The refusal has done little to dent the aspirations of Prince, who visitedKabul last month to again float his proposal to the government inAfghanistan, which is struggling to contain the Taliban-led violence withthe help of the international forces.Prince has made a controversial career out of providing security for hireto the United States and others. He cut his ties to Blackwater, the companyhe founded and that was accused of heavy-handed practices in Iraq, and nowruns a Hong-Kong-based company called Frontier Services.Prince has now hired Ron Phillips of Gavel Resources, a former House ArmedServices Committee staffer, who has started representing him and reportedlobbying Congress and the Defense Department on his behalf in a disclosurefiling, the report by online news portal POLITICO.Phillips said in an interview that he has set up meetings for Prince withmembers of Congress and administration officials to discuss his proposal ofcontracting anti-terrorism operations to private security contractors.“There is no ask other than he’s providing information.” According to thereport, Bill Jarrell, a former aide to former House Majority Leader TomDeLay and a Gravel partner is also engaged in the effort.In an op-ed, he wrote for The New York Times last year, Prince said thathis proposal is for a “sustainable footprint of 2,000 American SpecialOperations and support personnel, as well as a contractor force of lessthan 6,000, much less than the strength of 26,000 troops now in the country.After making his case to Afghan leaders in Kabul, Prince is now said tohave been focusing on winning support in Washington, notably PresidentTrump. The report, quoted Prince saying that President Trump has discussedthe proposal with Prince’s sister DeVos.A separate news reporter from Kabul said that during his stay in thecapital, he met with influential political figures within and outside theadministration of President Ashraf Ghani, who has reportedly opposed theidea as, saying under no circumstance that would be allowed.The head of the US Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel , told reportersrecently that he did not agree with Prince’s contention that he could winthe war more quickly and for less money with a few thousands hired guns. -APP