Hired Christian thugs used to quell labor disputes and civilian uprisings. What would Jesus do? Jeremy Scahill author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated] speaks with Democracy Now.

The United Arab Emirates has confirmed hiring a company headed by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of the military firm Blackwater. According to the New York Times, the UAE secretly signed a $529 million contract with Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign mercenaries. The troops could be deployed if foreign guest workers stage revolts in labor camps, or if the UAE regime were challenged by pro-democracy protests like those sweeping the Arab world. Prince has one rule about the new force: no Muslims.