Mercenaries guard homes of the rich in New Orleans

[True_Blue]

Hundreds of mercenaries have descended on New Orleans to guard the property of the city's millionaires from looters.

The heavily armed men, employed by private military companies including Blackwater and ISI, are part of the militarisation of a city which had a reputation for being one of the most relaxed and easy-going in America.

After scenes of looting and lawlessness in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, as well as 70,000 national guard troops and active-duty soldiers now based in the region.

more....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1567656,00.html

[bluestateguy]

1. Thugs

What a despicable way to earn a living.

[babylonsister]

2. Is Blackwater connected to the missing

billions in Iraq? Their name is setting off alarms...

[bettyellen]

10. they are in Iraq, and were the ones hanging off the bridge....

Blackwater, one of the fastest-growing private security firms in the world, which achieved global prominence last year when four of its men were killed and their bodies mutilated in the Iraqi city of Falluja, has set up camp in the back garden of a vast mansion in the wealthy Uptown district of the city.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I wonder if it is legal for them to be in the city at this time...

maybe the police will mistake them for looters and shoot them

[kath]

4. yeah, I thought everyone was supposed to leave the city??

Oh, wait that's only for poor people.

[Yupster]

17. I was wondering about that too

when I was looking up the New Orleans museums to see if they came through this okay. I was hoping someone was guarding them and thinking that everyone may be forced from the city leaving who knows how many national treasures unguarded.

The info I'm getting is not clear. There's reports that the D-Day museum has had looting,but others say it was only the gift shop. Very unclear.

It does seem clear that Jefferson Davis' mansion at Beavoir Mississippi was pretty much completely destroyed. Amazing that a building could stand through hurricanes for 200 years and then get totalled when one hits it.

[jimshoes]

7. I know the analogy to Germany's SS troopers will

ruffle some feathers but I can't help but think of that when I hear about a privatly trained elite corp of soldiers. If I recall the SS were Hitler's own elite body guard and were seperate from the army and answered directly to him.

[alfredo]

12. Bush sent them and they have been deputized.

So we may be paying big bucks to have the landed gentry's homes protected. Shouldn't they be paying for their own security?

[Coventina]

5. If I were ever to wish harm on a fellow human, it would be these thugs.

Selling their souls for money.

:puke:

[jaxx]

6. Making a lousey $350.00 a day

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

Just goes to show the NG should be home instead of in Iraq.

[rwheeler31]

9. It is frightening

to have hired thugs in an American city. Dammit we have police, we have the Guard, we have a military. Who are these trained killers and are they Americans?

[hardrainfallin]

18. yeah and that "lousy 350 a day"

is a helluva lot more than our NG are making.

[Guaranteed]

22. It's only worth it if they also get to shoot somebody. nt

[bettyellen]

8. who's paying Blackwater? I bet it's us and not the homeowner's association

[0007]

13. Indirectly the poor folks!

[lutefisk]

14. Well, FEMA has $52,000,000,000.00 of our tax dollars....

So I'm guessing they are handing it out freely to every company with a connection to Bush, Inc.

[Zynx]

11. Anyone in this country working as a mercenary here or abroad...

should have their citizenship stripped from them and thrown in prison for a life sentence.

[brentspeak]

15. We'll be seeing more of this in the years to come

The gap between the rich and everyone else in this country will naturally create a lot of hard feelings. Expect to see gated communities and very rich people to employ more and more armed security guards.

[jimshoes]

21. Ah, trickle down

economics IS working. See!

[buzzsaw_23]

16. Blackwater Security Consulting to Assist in the Gulf Region

Blackwater USA responds to the call for assistance in the Gulf region.

September 01, 2005

BLACKWATER JOINS HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT!

This morning (September 1, 2005), Blackwater USA joined the ongoing relief effort in the Gulf Region devastated by Hurricane Katrina by dispatching a SA-330J Puma helicopter to help assist in evacuating citizens from flooded areas.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Erik Prince stated, “At this time, all Americans should band together and assist our countrymen who have been struck by this natural disaster.”

Anyone having a security or evacuation request may call
[phone]. All requests shall be prioritized and acted upon as quickly as possible.

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/securityconsulting/

[aquart]

19. Why, it sounds like they are generously donating their time.

Doesn't it?

[ladylibertee]

20. WOW....Putting there lives and health in jeapordy......

and for what? MATERIAL wealth. Stupid I say, stupid