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).
[more inside]
posted by postel's law
on May 14, 2011 -
19 comments
Mysterious Mr. Moto. Severo Moto Nsa, Equatorial Guinea's exiled opposition leader reappeared in Madrid yesterday, after a strange episode in which he first was
presumed abducted (or worse), and then, from an undisclosed location in Croatia, had accused the Spanish government of trying to
kill him. He already made international headlines last year, with the
most bizarre, incompetent coup attempt in a while.
Not that the
dictator he's trying to topple is a nice character (even if his predecessor and uncle,
Francisco Macías Nguema, was even worse).
And, of course, there's
oil involved. Lots of it.
posted by Skeptic
on May 1, 2005 -
11 comments
Red, White and Blue Dogs of War Just found this story in
The Nation about a decision by the Bush administration to hire
Aegis Defense Services to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The trouble is, its boss, ex-British Lt. Col. Tim Spicer, who is responsible for actually starting a coup in Papua New Guinea in 1996, among other things. Perhaps Bush, the free market disciple, is beginning to think that he needs to hire some mercs to make up for all the reserve and Guard guys quitting. If the Army needs more help and advice, they could hire
this or
that homegrown "consulting firm."
posted by Leege
on Jan 11, 2005 -
22 comments
Modern Mercenaries on the Iraqi Frontier In his own way, Stevie is a modern soldier-of-fortune, paid by a private security firm to lead a 44-man unit that is protecting American officials in charge of rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq. He left his native Glasgow, Scotland, to join the British army at 16, served for 24 years in conflicts around the globe, about half that time as a member of the special forces. In the shadowy tradition of his trade, he asked that only his first name be used and declined to say much about the wars he has fought. "That is one topic I'd rather not talk about," he said in his rich brogue, speaking by phone from the Baghdad villa run by Kroll Inc., the company that employs him. Some
bloggers have gotten in trouble of late for using the M-word, but now a wider conversation on Kroll,
Blackwater, and friends seems to be emerging. Is the presence of mercenaries
--both nationals of coalition countries and foreign nationals-- in Iraq part of Rumsfeld's broader
transformation policy? Is their presence in Iraq even
legal in the first place?
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly
on Apr 3, 2004 -
30 comments
Can Mercenaries Protect Hamid Karzai? The US govt is hiring private mercenaries to do it's dirty work overseas.
In short, by hiring private military contractors such as DynCorp, the U.S. government has found an effective way to conduct foreign policy by proxy and in secret. These proxies cannot be monitored, are effectively immune from all criminal sanctions, and are dangerously hard to control since they answer to corporate bosses, not military brass. (easy registration required)
posted by Coop
on Nov 20, 2002 -
12 comments
