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 its 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.
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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@democracynow.org.
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