Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
 

Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/printer_091005A.shtml

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.