Black People : Overkill: Mercenaries Deploy In New Orleans

[Mad Skillz]

September 11, 2005
Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
by Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo

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.

www.antiwar.com/orig/scahill.php?articleleid=7217

 

[rationalMuse]

Additional Articles:

Katrina: Authorities bar Red Cross from NOLA; Blackwater gets carte blanche

Blackwater in New Orleans (Kathryn Cramer blog)

What would you do if one of these big burly Blackwater guys, with sunglasses and a sub-machine gun, showed up on your doorstep and instructed you to evacuate? As nearly as I can tell, New Orleans is awash in rumor. Suppose you had heard that they weren't really rescuing black people, but rather were rounding them up and putting them in concentration camps, something I wish were further from the truth . What happens if the man from Blackwater reacts badly to your response?

And how much is Blackwater being paid to prance around with guns while firefighters who came for free are used as props for political photo ops?

 

[karmashines]

The media has made it very clear that the National guardsmen were ready to use violence. The emphasis on this was made before talk of handing out food and water along with directing people to shelters. So it's not too surprising they would send mercenaries out... disgusting, yes, but not suprising.

 

[river]

You put a pride of bored soldiers on an empty city street where there is no action how much you wanna bet they will use the first opportunity to create some action. And the man says this is a trend. Like Patti LaBelle sings

Who's watching the eatchers
Tell me who's keeping an eye
On those who claim to be keepers
Sitting safe with their view from the sky

Wh's watching their morals
Who says they're okay
Where is it all leading
Is it known for no one will say

Who sees their ambition
Who collects what they pay
Who's going to protect us
When it's the watchman's holiday

I don't know where they're going
I'll never be sure
Now that they're expanding
Standing guard at my front door

Nobody seems to care if they've got their share of the pie
Nobody seems to care until the water's rising high