For those that read this.  I think the issue was actually related to an amazon account issue.  Apparently when you have a brand new account they don't let you provision right away.  I spontaneously got an email from Amazon saying they had fixed things, and I know longer get this error.  I have no idea what they fixed: Dear AWS Customer, Thank you for using Amazon Web Services! You recently requested an AWS Service that required additional validation. Your request has now been validated for AWS US East (Ohio) region(s). If you are still experiencing difficulty, please contact us at aws-verification@amazon.com. Thank you for your patience. —The Amazon Web Services Team If other encounter this issue, I guess you need to wait until amazon sees what you are doing and 'fixes' it. ... View more