Democracy Now! Blackwater mercenaries ...unanswered questions

[G_j]

according to DN, one said he was deputized by the NO police, another said they were hired by the Governor. BW camps set up by HLS but HLS says they don't know who hired BW?

anyone hear this?

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Yeah, I caught that too.

Subcontracted through halliburton. Betcha.

[Wind Dancer]

2. Amy Goodman is in NOLA.

There is a very frightening scenerio taking place in the Gulf region. You can read the transcripts or watch on FSTV, LINK or on the net.

Here is a part of the transcript re: Blackwater.

-snip-

AMY GOODMAN: And Jeremy, as we went around, saw other figures, we didn't know who they worked for, like those in front of Hibernia Bank, as we were driving by and John Hamilton was filming. They flagged down our car. They said, “Stop the filming.” And we said, “Why?” And they said, “We just said ‘stop the filming.’” They said, “These are our streets,” and made clear next to their sports shirt, you could see clearly that they were carrying guns.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Yes, that's right. And they also alleged that they had been deputized. 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. So, I think that this is a very, very disturbing development that we are seeing here on the streets of New Orleans, Amy.

www.democracynow.org

[G_j]

3. didn't know the transcript was up yet

much thanks!

[Wind Dancer]

5. You're welcome.

She has done a fine job covering this story, hope we get more info tomorrow re: the Blackwell situation.

[G_j]

4. some of the most feared professional killers in the world

OVERKILL IN NEW ORLEANS
Jeremy Scahill, Daniela Crespo, AlterNet

Blackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared
professional killers in the world. What are they
doing prowling the streets of Nola?

http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25320/

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 U.S. occupation, L. Paul Bremer and the former U.S. 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 two 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 U.S. government contracts and has provided security for many senior U.S. diplomats, foreign dignitaries and corporations. The company rose to international prominence after four 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 U.S. retaliation against the civilian population of Fallujah that resulted in scores of deaths and tens of thousands of refugees.

Who Sent In the Mercs?

..more..