you do. if u read the book inside the hardened edition it says that. gay i know. the app is kinda working on 360 now,for me  n e ways.

I have been experiencing the same issues with elite and have the same questrions about starting a clan.  When I was fortunate enough to get into elite, I got to the clan page and couldn't find anything to do with starting a clan.  Elite kept telling me that I had to start a clan first or join a clan first, bnut there was no obvious way to do that.

I would like to know officially or have someone from IW just say "its not available yet..."

From what I have read, you do have to be 18 to use the app (well, YOU don't have to be, just the LIVE account holder's age).   If the LIVE account shows that you are under 18 you will see a "not eligible" message.  However, you are more than likely running into the connection problems that have plagued the app since its launch.