[News] Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

[Anti-Imperialist News]

     Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
       By Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo
       t r u t h o u t | Report

       Saturday 10 September 2005

       New Orleans - Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the
  Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq,
  are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the
  mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor;
  indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges
  on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their
  arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland
  Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force.
  Several mercenaries we spoke with said they had served in Iraq on the
  personal security details of the former head of the US occupation, L.
  Paul Bremer and the former US ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte.

       "This is a totally new thing to have guys like us working CONUS
  (Continental United States)," a heavily armed Blackwater mercenary
  told us as we stood on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. "We're
  much better equipped to deal with the situation in Iraq."

       Blackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared professional
  killers in the world and they are accustomed to operating without
  worry of legal consequences. Their presence on the streets of New
  Orleans should be a cause for serious concern for the remaining
  residents of the city and raises alarming questions about why the
  government would allow men trained to kill with impunity in places
  like Iraq and Afghanistan to operate here. Some of the men now
  patrolling the streets of New Orleans returned from Iraq as recently
  as 2 weeks ago.

       What is most disturbing is the claim of several Blackwater
  mercenaries we spoke with that they are here under contract from the
  federal and Louisiana state governments.

       Blackwater is one of the leading private "security" firms
  servicing the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. It has several US
  government contracts and has provided security for many senior US
  diplomats, foreign dignitaries and corporations. The company rose to
  international prominence after 4 of its men were killed in Fallujah
  and two of their charred bodies were hung from a bridge in March
  2004. Those killings sparked the massive US retaliation against the
  civilian population of Fallujah that resulted in scores of deaths and
  tens of thousands of refugees.

       As the threat of forced evictions now looms in New Orleans and
  the city confiscates even legally registered weapons from civilians,
  the private mercenaries of Blackwater patrol the streets openly
  wielding M-16s and other assault weapons. This despite Police
  Commissioner Eddie Compass' claim that "Only law enforcement are
  allowed to have weapons."

       Officially, Blackwater says it forces are in New Orleans to
  "join the Hurricane Relief Effort." A statement on the company's
  website, dated September 1, advertises airlift services, security
  services and crowd control. The company, according to news reports,
  has since begun taking private contracts to guard hotels, businesses
  and other properties. But what has not been publicly acknowledged is
  the claim, made to us by 2 Blackwater mercenaries, that they are
  actually engaged in general law enforcement activities including
  "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals."

       That raises a key question: under what authority are
  Blackwater's men operating? A spokesperson for the Homeland Security
  Department, Russ Knocke, told the Washington Post he knows of no
  federal plans to hire Blackwater or other private security. "We
  believe we've got the right mix of personnel in law enforcement for
  the federal government to meet the demands of public safety." he said.

       But in an hour-long conversation with several Blackwater
  mercenaries, we heard a different story. The men we spoke with said
  they are indeed on contract with the Department of Homeland Security
  and the Louisiana governor's office and that some of them are
  sleeping in camps organized by Homeland Security in New Orleans and
  Baton Rouge. One of them wore a gold Louisiana state law enforcement
  badge and said he had been "deputized" by the governor. They told us
  they not only had authority to make arrests but also to use lethal
  force. We encountered the Blackwater forces as we walked through the
  streets of the largely deserted French Quarter. We were talking with
  2 New York Police officers when an unmarked car without license
  plates sped up next to us and stopped. Inside were 3 men, dressed in
  khaki uniforms, flak jackets and wielding automatic weapons. "Y'all
  know where the Blackwater guys are?" they asked. One of the police
  officers responded, "There are a bunch of them around here," and
  pointed down the road.

       "Blackwater?" we asked. "The guys who are in Iraq?"

       "Yeah," said the officer. "They're all over the place."

       A short while later, as we continued down Bourbon Street, we ran
  into the men from the car. They wore Blackwater ID badges on their
  arms.

       "When they told me New Orleans, I said, 'What country is that
  in?,'" said one of the Blackwater men. He was wearing his company ID
  around his neck in a carrying case with the phrase "Operation Iraqi
  Freedom" printed on it. After bragging about how he drives around
  Iraq in a "State Department issued level 5, explosion proof BMW," he
  said he was "just trying to get back to Kirkuk (in the north of Iraq)
  where the real action is." Later we overheard him on his cell phone
  complaining that Blackwater was only paying $350 a day plus per diem.
  That is much less than the men make serving in more dangerous
  conditions in Iraq. Two men we spoke with said they plan on returning
  to Iraq in October. But, as one mercenary said, they've been told
  they could be in New Orleans for up to 6 months. "This is a trend,"
  he told us. "You're going to see a lot more guys like us in these
  situations."

       If Blackwater's reputation and record in Iraq are any indication
  of the kind of "services" the company offers, the people of New
  Orleans have much to fear.

       -----

       Jeremy Scahill, a correspondent for the national radio and TV
  program Democracy Now!, and Daniela Crespo are in New Orleans.
  <<http://visit%20www.democracynow.org/>http://Visit%20www.democracynow.orgVisit 
<http://www.democracynow.org/>www.democracynow.org for
  in-depth, independent, investigative reporting on Hurricane Katrina.
  Email: 
<<mailto:jeremy at democracynow.org>mailto:jeremy at democracynow.orgjeremy@democracynow.org.







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