Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

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Wed, 14 Sep 2005 02:46:29 -0400

Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.democracynow.org/static/Overkill.shtml

 

 

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.

 

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. Visit

www.democracynow.org for in-depth, independent, investigative

reporting on Hurricane Katrina. Email: jeremy