Contracts with TigerSwan (Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

All contracts (and their amendments), memorandums of understanding, intergovernmental service agreements, and any agreements of any sort entered into by any Department of Defense agency or service for all services, equipment, and activities in Syria involving/provided by/contracted for regarding TigerSwan, LLC through any of the aforementioned agreements.

Responsive materials should include but not be limited to:

• the initial Invitation to Bid, Request for Proposal, or equivalent call for contractors
• the responsive materials provided by the winning bidder
• all other vendor responses
• all evaluation material, scorecards, reports, and notes generated in the selection process
• the current contract
• all exhibits
• all amendments
• all invoices/receipts detailing compensation received as a result of any agreements
• all agreements related to the provision of services, such as water and sewage
• all financial agreements (such as loans or bonds) entered into as a result or in association with any of the aforementioned agreements

You may limit your search to the timeframe between 15 June 2014 and 8 February 2019.

TigerSwan is a limited liability corporation registered in North Carolina and located at 3467 Apex Peakway, Apex, NC 27502-5757. According to the New Yorker, TigerSwan was engaged in demining operations in Raqqa, Syria in December 2018 under the auspices of the U.S.-led military coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/a-year-after-the-end-of-isis-control-in-raqqa-a-ruined-city-looks-to-rebuild)

I am seeking expedited processing of my request pursuant to 5 U.S.C.§ 552(a)(6)(E) because there is an urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity.

On December 9, 2020, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Levant Affairs and Special Envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn confirmed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee that U.S. officials arranged for a company called Delta Crescent Energy, LLC to receive a deal to modernize Syrian oil fields. (https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2020/12/09/trump-administration-helped-gop-donors-get-syria-oil-deal/) TigerSwan founder James Reese is a partner in Delta Crescent Energy, as has been reported by multiple outlets. (https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/07/us-oil-company-deal-syria-kurds-kobani-turkey-russia-sdc-sdf.html and https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/delta-crescent-energy-syrian-oil-391033).

In response to Rayburn's remarks during the December 9 hearing, Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas noted that Delta Crescent Energy was co-founded by a prominent donor to Republican Party causes. "We are re just leaving what has been a dark period of corruption and graft, sometimes fraud, that has been looked the other way, sometimes, I would argue, encouraged by the Trump administration," Castro said.

This request concerns a Federal government activity in a matter of current exigency to the American public.

President Donald Trump had stated in October and November 2019 that U.S. military forces are remain in Syria "only for the oil" and that they "may have to fight for the oil." At least two U.S. service members have died in Syria since he made these statements, and at least four were injured in an August 2020 skirmish with Russian forces (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/26/us-troops-injured-russian-forces-syria-402347).

Foreign countries have condemned the U.S. presence on Syrian oil fields, increasing the risk to Americans stationed there. The Turkish foreign ministry called any U.S. move to extract Syrian oil "utterly unacceptable" (https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-slams-us-over-oil-deal-with-ypg-in-syria-157090), while the Syrian government denounced the rumored deal as "an assault against Syria’s sovereignty" and "a continuation of the U.S. hostile approach towards Syria" (http://www.sana.sy/en/?p=198923).

James Reese, the founder of TigerSwan, has endorsed the continued U.S. presence in Syria. "We own the whole eastern part of Syria. If you take a line from Kobane and run it down the Euphrates River, all the way back [to] Iraq? That’s ours. We can’t give that up," he told Fox News in a 2018 interview with Fox News.

Therefore, the public has an urgent need to know as much as possible about TigerSwan and Delta Crescent Energy, LLC's relationship with the U.S. Government and with U.S. Government activities in Syria, especially as U.S. troops are risking life and limb to safeguard Syrian oil fields.

Additionally, federal courts have recognized the public's interest in breaking news, which "conveys information the public wants quickly,” “would lose value if it were delayed" (Am. Civil Liberties Union of N. Cal., 2006 WL 1469418 at *6.), and may have an "impact" on the public's political decision-making (Id. at *7).

Syria policy certainly could impact the public's political decision-making process. The Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria in October 2019 caused several congressional hearings and an high volume of news coverage. The public would undoubtedly have an interest in understanding further developments in U.S. policy in the same region of Syria, especially as the transition to a new presidential administration approaches in January 2021.

I am willing to pay up to $100 in fees, but I also believe that I qualify for a fee waiver as a media requester. I am an investigative journalist who has been published in the Daily Beast, the Asia Times, Responsible Statecraft, National Interest, Reason Magazine, America Magazine and the Armenian Weekly, and am requesting these documents in an editorial capacity.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Matthew Petti