Private security forces

So, there’s obviously a lot of Katrina stuff that I could rant about, but I feel like the blogosphere mostly has that covered.

However, one thing that I find startling, more in how much no one else seems to be startled than in the thing itself, is this whole Blackwater Security thing.

To quote from Wiki News (where you can find links to lots of related articles):

As of September 1, 2005, Blackwater USA [1] sent equipment and security forces to the Hurricane Katrina disaster area, including a SA-330J Puma helicopter, with the stated purpose of assisting in the evacuation of citizens from flooded areas. A later press release on Blackwater USA’s web site confirms that their privately contracted forces are on the ground in New Orleans, being used to secure petrochemical facilities and provide security services for the federal government.

Private citizens are also reported to be hiring Blackwater “military warriors” and bodyguards to protect them and/or their expensive homes in New Orleans, such as in the Garden District, despite the repeated mandatory evacuation orders of all civilians by local, state, and federal authorities. One publication has reported that the number of soldiers for hire could be in the hundreds, as told to them by the commander of Blackwater’s operations in the city. Israeli mercenaries from the firm known as ISI were also seen guarding a gated community, and were wearing full military gear including bulletproof vests and M16 assault rifles.

Blackwater has a history of being employed by the U.S. government and by private contractors across Iraq over the last two years to protect civilian and military convoys and provide security and bodyguarding services.

So, there’s lots of obvious questions about this that people should be asking, right?

The more I read about this though, the more the questions become even more striking in terms of BlackWater’s history in Iraq than they are in New Orleans. And then even more striking in terms of what the future implications of this deployment might be. For example, from an interview with Jeremy Scahill:

And so, we tracked them down, found them down the street, and just approached the Blackwater mercenaries and began talking to them. Two of the guys that we talked to had served on the personal security details of L. Paul Bremer, the American pro-counsel in Iraq originally, the head of the occupation, as well as the U.S. ambassador — former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte. One of the guys had just gotten back from Iraq two weeks ago. These are some of the most highly trained killers, professional killers in the world. And they had served in Iraq in a number of cities and in a number of capacities.

I find it interesting that with the entire U.S. Military more or less at his disposal, Bremer chose mercenaries for his body guard. I wonder how the people in uniform felt about that.

Scahill continues:

And one of them was wearing a golden badge, that identified itself as being Louisiana law enforcement, and in fact, one of the Blackwater mercenaries told us that he had been deputized by the governor of Louisiana, and what’s interesting is that the federal government and the Department of Homeland Security have denied that they have hired any private security firms, saying that they have enough with government forces. Well, these Blackwater men that we spoke to said that they are actually on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and indeed with the governor of Louisiana. And they said that they’re sleeping in camps organized by the Department of Homeland Security.

Hm, so the government, which couldn’t get it’s own resources there in time has hired these mercenaries… I wonder which crazy cynical angle I should take in my thinking: A) They don’t want to admit to hiring private firms because that would mean admitting they are overcommitted in Iraq, B) More Haliburton style graft, by hiring these forces they transfer the federal “aid” money into the pockets of corporate cronies, or C) all of the above.

One of the Blackwater guys said that when he heard New Orleans, he asked, “What country is that in?” And he was bragging to me about how he drives around Iraq in what he called a State Department issued level five explosion-proof BMW. This, as U.S. soldiers don’t even have proper armor on their Humvees and other vehicles. And so, we also overheard one of the Blackwater guys talking to, we presume, a colleague, complaining that he was only being paid $350 a day plus his per diem, and that other firms were paying much more. And we’re seeing many of these Blackwater mercenaries and other private security agents roaming the streets of New Orleans.

Here again are somethings that I bet the men and women in uniform would not be delighted to hear. Rumsfeld can’t supply armor plate, but apparently DHS can hire these guys at WAY more than any soldier makes, plus the BlackWater overhead, plus the cost of supplying them with top of the line equipment. Interesting.

And what’s significant is that the way it’s being reported and the way the company is presenting it is that they are here to help with the hurricane relief efforts, but they told us clearly that they are engaged in quote, “stopping criminals” and that they’re actually patrolling the streets. In fact, we saw them take over a building on Bourbon Street when we were walking around with them. And now they have set up shop there on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. So this is very, very disturbing, I think, for anyone who knows the record of Blackwater. Of course, they do not ask questions first. They shoot first, and that is their reputation in Iraq. And so, Americans should be asking right now what these kinds of trained killers are doing on the streets of New Orleans, apparently on contract from the Department of Homeland Security.

This should also be more scary than I think people see it. It’s one thing for a bully administration to have a private army in the field in a foreign campaign, it’s a whole nother thing when Caesar crosses the Rubicon with his army and starts putting them in place in the “homeland”, no?

Did mention these guys have been “authorized” to shoot to kill?

Well, this is a very special case, right? Not the sort of thing that could happen outside a disaster?

Scahill again:

And another key point is that these Blackwater guys said that they were given the authority to use lethal force, as well as the power to make arrests. And when we asked them about this use of them in the United States, they said that they believe that we’re going to see a lot more of this and that this is a trend.

Yarg.

At least someone sees some funny in all of this.