Reflex: to act without thinking

May 14, 2011 8:54 PM

Who is Reflex Responses Management Consultancy LLC? Only "the Premier Security Consultant and Training supplier for the United Arab Emirates," of course. Frequently referred to as R2, the company specializes in nuclear facility security, special-forces operations, revolt quelling, cybersecurity, and (somehow) protecting the U.A.E from Iran with one battalion of foreign mercenaries. Oh, and it's led by Erik Prince, formerly of Blackwater (now Xe).

An alternate link for the NY Times article. Erik Prince most recent previously. Blackwater most recent previously.

posted by postel's law (19 comments total)

evil people hire evil people, news at 11.
posted by tomswift at 9:02 PM on May 14, 2011

Obama's people seem happy with the arrangement:

“The gulf countries, and the U.A.E. in particular, don’t have a lot of military experience. It would make sense if they looked outside their borders for help,” said one Obama administration official who knew of the operation. “They might want to show that they are not to be messed with.”

I guess he doesn't want another messy Egyptian revolution to deal with.

Such troops could be deployed if the Emirates faced unrest or were challenged by pro-democracy demonstrations in its crowded labor camps or democracy protests like those sweeping the Arab world this year.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:06 PM on May 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

When I saw the headline on that NYT article I was convinced he was going to be in Bahrain.

(And the name of that company is like something out of a bad Orwellian satire. Reflex Responses Management Consultancy, really?)
posted by immlass at 9:10 PM on May 14, 2011

So is Erik Prince an actual badass? Like, SEAL 6 quality badass? Or is he the pointy-haired manager of ex-badasses?
posted by five fresh fish at 9:44 PM on May 14, 2011

If we are lucky, the entire lot of mercenary scum will be wiped out when the people of the UAE decide they're tired of dictatorship.
posted by 1adam12 at 9:57 PM on May 14, 2011 [4 favorites]

I'm a bit heartened that they're having trouble finding qualified candidates.
posted by Harald74 at 10:07 PM on May 14, 2011

Prince was also involved in a recent effort to create mercenary armies in Somalia.
posted by lullaby at 10:10 PM on May 14, 2011

So is Erik Prince an actual badass? Like, SEAL 6 quality badass? Or is he the pointy-haired manager of ex-badasses?

His secret evil power is management skills. Mercenaries are just dime-a-dozen meat that you throw paychecks at. The ones to watch out for have the stock options and handshake with the bosses at the top. Prince will be a Rumsfeld in some future Bush III or IV administration, no doubt.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:13 PM on May 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

Prince was also involved in a recent effort to create mercenary armies in Somalia.

I'm gonna party like it's...oh, that Prince.
posted by jessssse at 10:17 PM on May 14, 2011 [3 favorites]

"...crowded labor camps..."

Always turns out well
posted by From Bklyn at 11:23 PM on May 14, 2011

If we are lucky, the entire lot of mercenary scum will be wiped out when the people of the UAE decide they're tired of dictatorship.

Not any time soon, the ruling families of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are genuinely quite popular with 95% of their people. As long as they maintain the lavish flow of oil revenues to the people through extremely well paid government jobs, this will probably continue to be the case.

What they're worried about is mass labour unrest, and most of their military and police are actually Pakistani and Yemeni respectively so they couldn't necessarily count on them in a pinch.
posted by atrazine at 11:45 PM on May 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

If there's anything this world doesn't need, it's more merceneries, more weapons, more people trained and paid to kill other people. Particularly in that region. This will not end well.

Erik Prince is reportedly an end-times evangelical Christian with ties to Tim LaHaye of the 'Left Behind' books. You have to wonder why he's such good buddies with these Muslim dictators. Does he have hidden motives? Maybe he thinks he's been chosen to help bring about the apocalypse. Or is it all just about money?
posted by wadefranklin at 5:03 AM on May 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

quite popular with 95% of their people

And their people make up what, 20% of the population? I'm looking forward to the People's Republic of New Pakistan some day soon.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:23 AM on May 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

And their people make up what, 20% of the population? I'm looking forward to the People's Republic of New Pakistan some day soon.

Oh yes. It's actually worse than that because in the critical population centres the population is even more skewed. They may import all their infantry from Pakistan and all their police from Yemen and Jordan, but note that they don't bring them in from the same place. Emirati officers from important tribes will not advance in the army as quickly as ones from the minor tribes to prevent power concentrations. Divide and conquer and all that.
posted by atrazine at 7:00 AM on May 15, 2011

Along the lines of divide and conquer, the bit about not hiring Muslims because they couldn't be trusted to shoot other Muslims particularly caught my eye.
posted by postel's law at 7:09 AM on May 15, 2011

When I saw the headline on that NYT article I was convinced he was going to be in Bahrain.

Bahrain seems to be managing with their own security forces, at least for now.

Schoolgirls 'beaten' in Bahrain raids

Bahrain medics claim confession under torture

'Hundreds held' in Bahrain crackdown
posted by homunculus at 10:19 AM on May 15, 2011

Who says there are no second acts in American lives?
posted by Trurl at 3:45 PM on May 15, 2011

Jeremy Scahill on Blackwater Founder Erik Prince’s Private Army of “Christian Crusaders” In the UAE
posted by homunculus at 9:21 AM on May 18, 2011

UK training Saudi forces used to crush Arab spring
posted by homunculus at 9:14 AM on May 29, 2011