Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans...

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Sun, 25 Sep 2005 15:48:39 -0700

Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans...

 

 

THE NATION

Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans...

Sun Sep 25, 2005 19:30

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=92160;title=APFN

 

THE NATION September 21, 2005 (October 10, 2005 issue)

Blackwater Down

 

Jeremy Scahill

 

The men from Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans right after Katrina

hit. The company known for its private security work guarding senior

US diplomats in Iraq beat the federal government and most aid

organizations to the scene in another devastated Gulf. About 150

heavily armed Blackwater troops dressed in full battle gear spread out

into the chaos of New Orleans. Officially, the company boasted of its

forces " join[ing] the hurricane relief effort. " But its men on the

ground told a different story.

 

Some patrolled the streets in SUVs with tinted windows and the

Blackwater logo splashed on the back; others sped around the French

Quarter in an unmarked car with no license plates. They congregated on

the corner of St. James and Bourbon in front of a bar called 711,

where Blackwater was establishing a makeshift headquarters. From the

balcony above the bar, several Blackwater guys cleared out what had

apparently been someone's apartment. They threw mattresses, clothes,

shoes and other household items from the balcony to the street below.

They draped an American flag from the balcony's railing. More than a

dozen troops from the 82nd Airborne Division stood in formation on the

street watching the action.

 

Armed men shuffled in and out of the building as a handful told

stories of their past experiences in Iraq. " I worked the security

detail of both Bremer and Negroponte, " said one of the Blackwater

guys, referring to the former head of the US occupation, L. Paul

Bremer, and former US Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte. Another

complained, while talking on his cell phone, that he was getting only

$350 a day plus his per diem. " When they told me New Orleans, I said,

'What country is that in?' " he said. He wore his company ID around his

neck in a case with the phrase Operation Iraqi Freedom printed on it.

 

In an hourlong conversation I had with four Blackwater men, they

characterized their work in New Orleans as " securing neighborhoods "

and " confronting criminals. " They all carried automatic assault

weapons and had guns strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were

covered with pouches for extra ammunition.

 

When asked what authority they were operating under, one guy said,

" We're on contract with the Department of Homeland Security. " Then,

pointing to one of his comrades, he said, " He was even deputized by

the governor of the state of Louisiana. We can make arrests and use

lethal force if we deem it necessary. " The man then held up the gold

Louisiana law enforcement badge he wore around his neck. Blackwater

spokesperson Anne Duke also said the company has a letter from

Louisiana officials authorizing its forces to carry loaded weapons.

 

" This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government, "

says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional

Rights. " These private security forces have behaved brutally, with

impunity, in Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is

frightening and possibly illegal. "

 

Blackwater is not alone. As business leaders and government officials

talk openly of changing the demographics of what was one of the most

culturally vibrant of America's cities, mercenaries from companies

like DynCorp, Intercon, American Security Group, Blackhawk, Wackenhut

and an Israeli company called Instinctive Shooting International (ISI)

are fanning out to guard private businesses and homes, as well as

government projects and institutions. Within two weeks of the

hurricane, the number of private security companies registered in

Louisiana jumped from 185 to 235. Some, like Blackwater, are under

federal contract. Others have been hired by the wealthy elite, like F.

Patrick Quinn III, who brought in private security to guard his $3

million private estate and his luxury hotels, which are under

consideration for a lucrative federal contract to house FEMA workers.

 

A possibly deadly incident involving Quinn's hired guns underscores

the dangers of private forces policing American streets. On his second

night in New Orleans, Quinn's security chief, Michael Montgomery, who

said he worked for an Alabama company called Bodyguard and Tactical

Security (BATS), was with a heavily armed security detail en route to

pick up one of Quinn's associates and escort him through the chaotic

city. Montgomery told me they came under fire from " black gangbangers "

on an overpass near the poor Ninth Ward neighborhood. " At the time, I

was on the phone with my business partner, " he recalls. " I dropped the

phone and returned fire. "

 

Montgomery says he and his men were armed with AR-15s and Glocks and

that they unleashed a barrage of bullets in the general direction of

the alleged shooters on the overpass. " After that, all I heard was

moaning and screaming, and the shooting stopped. That was it. Enough

said. "

 

Then, Montgomery says, " the Army showed up, yelling at us and thinking

we were the enemy. We explained to them that we were security. I told

them what had happened and they didn't even care. They just left. "

Five minutes later, Montgomery says, Louisiana state troopers arrived

on the scene, inquired about the incident and then asked him for

directions on " how they could get out of the city. " Montgomery says

that no one ever asked him for any details of the incident and no

report was ever made. " One thing about security, " Montgomery says, " is

that we all coordinate with each other--one family. " That

co-ordination doesn't include the offices of the Secretaries of State

in Louisiana and Alabama, which have no record of a BATS company.

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