Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU
 
Bravo411 Donating Member (263 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:37 PM
Original message
Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
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.
Click here for full article.

Posted by bravo411
http://bravo411.blogspot.com
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
rodeodance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:39 PM
Response to Original message
1. why is it nec. to have this type of guards in NO?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:40 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. It isn't. They are Dick Cheney's business buddies, no doubt.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MnFats Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 07:10 PM
Response to Reply #3
44. sort of like the faceless yet heavily armed thugs outside..
...the Corleone compound. A lot like 'em in fat.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Imagevision Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 11:18 PM
Response to Reply #44
60. Who are they going to shoot, NYPD. Firefighters, they'e time has
come and passed unless reporters start to get accidently shot?


http://downingstreetmemo.com/
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
calimary Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 12:17 PM
Response to Reply #60
68. Unless we look on the bright side. Think of all the shit, bio-decay,
toxic chemicals, and lethal bacteria they get to wade in. Yep, that goes with those nice, fat mercenary paychecks, assholes.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
saigon68 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 07:43 PM
Response to Reply #68
91. VICE EMPEROR BREMER -WAR CRIMINAL & PROCONSUL TO CHENEY


these guys know how to kill "RAG HEADS"
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
reprobate Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 12:45 PM
Response to Reply #3
69. Not buddies. They are Dich Cheney's elite Palace Guard.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Triana Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:41 PM
Response to Reply #1
5. Exactly...
...those people are AMERICANS not Iraqis. There is no reason for this chest-beating, testosterone-laced show of force. Crikey.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bigbrother05 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 03:37 PM
Response to Reply #1
21. Did'nt our goverment
use to put people like this in prison. Sounds like a white supremist group to me. I am sick and tired of everything being contracted out. This is not America, I have lost my country.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 09:39 PM
Response to Reply #1
48. It's a practice run for the next level of rightwing dictatorship. eom
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:25 PM
Response to Reply #48
52. I believe it.There's no logical excuse for using these monsters. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:39 PM
Response to Original message
2. Oh this is just great. Coming soon to a city near you, too.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Lochloosa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:41 PM
Response to Original message
4. This is the National Guards responsiblity
oh yeah...sorry
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. They are starting to come home now. Most of them don't have
homes to come home to, though.

Louisiana National Guardsmen are briefed on their departure from Iraq. Officials said most of the brigade will likely help with hurricane relief.

Photo Credit: Pool Photo/by Anja Niedringhaus Via Associated Press Photo
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Lochloosa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:16 PM
Response to Reply #7
25. That is one of the saddest pics I have seen in the last few days
and there have been a few of them....thanks for sharing
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
LibertyorDeath Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 07:13 PM
Response to Reply #7
45. Wow
Body Language
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ninkasi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 11:55 AM
Response to Reply #7
67. That is heartbreaking
Look at them; they look in shock, or overwhelmed. They are leaving the hell of Iraq, sent to fight Bush's war of choice, to return to what used to be their homes. Sadly, the government will do very little to make their lives any better once they reach there. I am so sad for all of Bush's victims, the numbers alone are staggering.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
phantom power Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:42 PM
Response to Original message
6. And we need these people... why? We still have National Guard.
Sure, they're 40% depleted, but you'd think they could handle New Orleans. It's one city out of the entire country.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rodeodance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:46 PM
Response to Reply #6
10. seems like there is a question as to who authoritzed this group. see here



......Officially, Blackwater says it 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.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
phantom power Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. So.... There's STILL nobody driving this bus.
Or, maybe it's that there are 50 people all trying to drive it at the same time.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Psephos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 06:54 PM
Response to Reply #10
41. Which Dept of Homeland Security? Federal or Louisiana?
"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."

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BeHereNow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 03:57 PM
Response to Reply #6
22. "Lethal force" without Torte Reform limitations.
Edited on Sat Sep-10-05 04:00 PM by BeHereNow
National Guardsmen are not likely to, or
legally able to brutalize fellow citizens with impunity.

Mercs, on the other hand. have no such limitations
or consciousness about doing so- they have been
brutalizing civilians in other countries for many years-
they will make no distinction when it comes to
Americans, they are conditioned to follow
orders and get paid handsomely for doing so.
BHN
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
niceypoo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:44 PM
Response to Original message
8. Privatized disaster = Profit$
$$$$ I wonder how much that firm donates to Bush and the GOP???
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
daninthemoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:45 PM
Response to Original message
9. Did someone say "Brownshirts"?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
IndyOp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 06:47 PM
Response to Reply #9
38. I did not say, but I was thinking it. (nt)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Pachamama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 09:26 PM
Response to Reply #9
47. "Blackshirts"....I forget but I believe the SS in Germany had the Black
shirts and that's what the "Blackwater" contractors wear....

I thought the exact same thing...my stomach is nauseated from what is taking place there. I keep hearing about how they have residents/homeowners in the French Quarter and other areas that are not flooded and are actually being cleaned up and police, nat'l guard etc. are going and telling people they have to leave and TAKING ANY WEAPONS?

WTF? Are they testing how easily they can take Americans weapons away before the rise up? Why isn't the NRA and every Libertarian et al who feels as passionately about the 2nd Amendment as I do about the 1st Amendment?

Hello? America? Anyone home? :eyes:

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
daninthemoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #47
51. SS had black shirts & skulls on their hats. Their predecessors
were the brownshirts, who were Hitlers army before he was chancellor. They are the ones who tore up Jews houses and worse on kristalnacht, so named for all the broken glass left on the streets.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Pachamama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:40 PM
Response to Reply #51
54. What about the Gestapo? I just remembered them too...
Yeah, I need to brush up on the exact details of the rise of Hitler & the Nazis, but a lot that I know is from my grandparents themselves who escaped Nazi Germany. In fact, it was the very events of KristallNacht that led to them leaving...within 2 months of KristallNacht they left...Early 1939 I believe is when they left...they were lucky...they weren't jewish and had money outside Germany...others weren't so lucky...

I've been having the chilling feeling lately that the events playing themselves out right now are OUR KristallNacht.... :scared:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
UncleSepp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 11:59 AM
Response to Reply #54
84. Gestapo = secret police. Blackshirts = Italian Fascists.
Gestapo were the Geheime Staatspolizei, or secret state police - state as in government, not state as in subfederal administrative unit. Brownshirt refers to the Sturmabteilung or SA, a party organization which did a lot of the street fighting and political organizing in the early days. Blackshirt usually refers to Italian Fascists, although members of the British Union of Fascists could also be referred to as Blackshirts. The SS (Schutzstaffel, not sure how to say it in English but "security force" is pretty close) started out wearing the brown shirts of the SA in the early days, but eventually developed their own distinctive black uniforms, hence the confusion with the Blackshirts. SS were Himmler's organization, and operated almost like a state within a state: they had security, police, espionage, and military sections of their own.

The BayPoPo was important early on as well and often gets left out - those would be the Bavarian political police, a feared organization with a silly name. Also, don't forget the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, or security service).

Just some random ramblings here :-) good luck in your brushing up. Stay brave.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Pachamama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 01:20 PM
Response to Reply #84
85. Thanks for the info AuntJen! Yes, I now remember a lot of those details
all very important and the specifics and differences are important too. What would be interesting is to study how each of those groups developed independently, and what their specific "duties" were, and how they evolved.

I knew the SS wore "black", thus my reference to "Blackshirts" and ofcourse the fact that the Blackwater security is wearing black.

My family on my dad's side is from Bavaria outside of Munich. I lived there as a child, so I speak german too.

I am trying to stay brave. I often feel as if I'm in a bad dream and having a sense of deja vu all over. I swear, this last week I could "feel" the people in New Orleans dying and was (and still am) a blubbering mess. As strange as this may sound, I almost felt the pain on a cellular level and a sense that I've been here before. Between the tears and disgust, I'm so furious and angry. I try to take breaks from the news and turning on the tv because its so painful, but I'm not running away from it either as I notice some of my neighbors. I think its important to stay informed, but I'm also trying to stay balanced and not let my rage and fury get the better of me. Cool heads prevail as they say...

:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
UncleSepp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 05:39 PM
Response to Reply #85
87. :: hugs :: to you
Big hugs for you, pachamama. The feelings you're having sound hard enough to deal with without also feeling bad about the feelings themselves. Be gentle with yourself :-) PM if you need to vent or throw things or whatever you need to do.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Mr_Jefferson_24 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 02:19 AM
Response to Reply #9
66. That's exactly what they are. nt.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:46 PM
Response to Original message
11. This article says companies hired them, not state or fed government
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702214.html

Private Security Contractors Head to Gulf

By Griff Witte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 8, 2005; Page A14

Companies in the Gulf Coast area hit by Hurricane Katrina are turning to an unusual source to protect people and property rendered vulnerable by the storm's damage -- private security contractors that specialize in supporting military operations in war-torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The mission is to guard against looters, not fend off coordinated insurgent attacks. But the presence of the highly trained specialists represents an unusual domestic assignment for a set of companies that has chiefly developed in global hot spots where war, not nature, has undermined the rule of law.

North Carolina-based Blackwater USA, for example, has 150 security personnel in the Gulf Coast region. The company, which provided personal security for the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority and continues to have a large presence in Iraq, began by donating the services of a helicopter crew to help the Coast Guard with rescue efforts. But it since has added commercial clients that either have buildings in the region, such as hotels, or are sending employees there to help with the reconstruction.

more
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rodeodance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #11
13. but later it says the feds and gov. of LA hired them.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:53 PM
Response to Reply #13
14. So why the contradiction? Shame on the WaPo
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rodeodance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:54 PM
Response to Reply #13
16. they obviously do not follow-points your guns down, this is not Irag -from
Gen. Honore.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Pachamama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:42 PM
Response to Reply #13
55. Article says they are being "deputized"...
OMG....New Orleans is becoming our American Fallujah... :wow:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
neohippie Donating Member (410 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:59 PM
Response to Reply #11
17. just another government handout to one of their favorite corps.
Edited on Sat Sep-10-05 03:00 PM by neohippie
nothing to see here, why use the national guard when we can pay private companies three times the amount to do the same job. heck turn back those offers of aid, and tell the volunteers to go home...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
kath Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:24 PM
Response to Reply #17
29. Can you say "lucrative no-bid contracts"?
I knew you could.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
belle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 10:47 PM
Response to Reply #11
79. Is there really a difference at this point?...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 02:54 PM
Response to Original message
15. "We are a turnkey solution provider for 4th generation warfare." (website)
From Blackwater USA's website

We are not simply a "private security company." We are a turnkey solution provider for 4th generation warfare. We assist with the development of national and global security plans, train, equip and deploy public safety and military warriors, build combat live-fire indoor/outdoor ranges, MOUT facilities and shoot houses, create ground and aviation operations and logistics support packages, develop and execute canine solutions for patrol and explosive detection, and can design and build facilities both domestically and in austere environments abroad.


http://www.blackwaterusa.com/about/
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Lochloosa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:23 PM
Response to Reply #15
28. and can design and build facilities both domestically and in austere envir
and can design and build facilities both domestically and in austere environments abroad.


WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN....DOMESTICALLY AND IN AUSTERE...

GIVE ME BACK MY COUNTRY!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
HysteryDiagnosis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 08:28 PM
Response to Reply #28
46. It means that war is peace. nt.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
applegrove Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 03:12 PM
Response to Original message
18. But only after the army went in Friday and made it safe.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Coventina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 03:26 PM
Response to Original message
19. These people are THE LOWEST SCUM OF THE EARTH!
Edited on Sat Sep-10-05 03:27 PM by Coventina
They've been hired to harass and kill their fellow citizens!

They have no heart, soul or conscience.

They are beneath contempt.

:puke:

on edit: I really hope this news gets to the people of Iraq, so that they can see that we, the AMERICAN PEOPLE are suffering under the same evil regime that is being visited upon them.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
slay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 07:55 PM
Response to Reply #19
93. Killers for hire
Always money to be made in being an asshole it seems. :(
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
nadinbrzezinski Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 03:37 PM
Response to Original message
20. hmm why do I think I am readying a bad
shadowrun adventure?

Oh never mind...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BeHereNow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:02 PM
Response to Original message
23. Wonder how the Freepers and Bushbots will like having Mercs
take their guns away from them, by fellow
citizens, no less?
Idiots.
We tried to warn them.
We really did.
Too late.
BHN
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mod mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:18 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. the Blackwater Mercenaries are probably recruited from the FR.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Joanne98 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 07:03 PM
Response to Reply #23
43. They don't think they'll take THEIR guns away. Idiots.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bluestateguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:10 PM
Response to Original message
24. Thugs
These people should be spat on.

Yes, spat on.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tom_paine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:22 PM
Response to Original message
27. As we continue heading back to the 1590s
Today the Hessians and we ruled by a Line of Kings.

Tomorrow, the Liberal Witch Burnings begin.

I pity the poor bastards who will live to see Imperial Amerika 2050.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
sattahipdeep Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:25 PM
Response to Original message
30. Isn't that old news?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 01, 2005

BLACKWATER JOINS HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORT!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4570927&mesg_id=4570927
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bigbrother05 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 04:47 PM
Response to Original message
31. Remember some of the early pics
in NO where there were a couple of guys in black with what looked like sniper rifles. Thought they looked like Blackwater then. The MSM said NOPD, but they had a Rambo look unlike any other locals shown. Within a day or two, came reports that local corps. (businesses and hotels) had hired private security, then later Blackwater was mentioned. No direct evidence, but given their MO, still think I was right about BW being there by Tues/Wed after Katrina passed through. They are the advance men for the Corporazis, think we have to be vigilant.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 05:08 PM
Response to Original message
32. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
sattahipdeep Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 05:23 PM
Response to Reply #32
33. Falluja (Blackwater Mercenaries)
Remember the four "contractors" pulled out of their vehicle, killed and burned?
Remeber what the Iraqi's were saying about that incident?

They said that the four were killed because they had been driving
through the streets randomly shooting civillians.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
saigon68 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 07:49 PM
Response to Reply #33
92. DANGER DANGER graphic photo of MERCENARY BARBECUE


A television grab shows hands in flames as a body burns next to an attacked vehicle yesterday in the volatile Iraqi town of Falluja.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
buzzsaw_23 Donating Member (631 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 05:27 PM
Response to Original message
34. Army Times Headline-"Troops Begin Combat Operations in New Orleans"
Not Rescue-Not Humanitarian-COMBAT: That's the Headline, That's the Mentality, That's the Policy, That's the reality.

Troops begin combat operations in New Orleans

By Joseph R. Chenelly
Times staff writer

NEW ORLEANS — Combat operations are underway on the streets “to take this city back” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“This place is going to look like Little Somalia,” Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, commander of the Louisiana National Guard’s Joint Task Force told Army Times Friday as hundreds of armed troops under his charge prepared to launch a massive citywide security mission from a staging area outside the Louisiana Superdome. “We’re going to go out and take this city back. This will be a combat operation to get this city under control.”

Jones said the military first needs to establish security throughout the city. Military and police officials have said there are several large areas of the city are in a full state of anarchy.

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1077495.php
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
54anickel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 06:04 PM
Response to Reply #34
36. Well, that explains the Karen Hughes piece, making it sound like
the entire city has fallen into a criminal, lawless, "looter-ville".
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
psychopomp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 11:59 PM
Response to Reply #34
62. “This place is going to look like Little Somalia,” Brig. Gen. Gary Jones
Holy shit white supremacists in high places are pulling their hoods off!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
crimnos Donating Member (27 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 05:59 PM
Response to Original message
35. My Tinfoil Meter is Off the Scale
This is making me very nervous, and I can't quite put my finger on why. Could it be that Iraq was a rehearsal for just such a scenario, and now it's slowly moving into our own country?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
texanwitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 06:48 PM
Response to Reply #35
39. Yes, you are right. I have been saying this to people for over two years.
Our troops have to have their humanity sucked out of them, the Iraq war was just the place to do it. I will likely be flamed for saying this but our National Guard were pointing guns at Americans for no reason, the Guard could have helped them but didn't.

My neighbor was in Guard and he can't understand how they stand by and not help because he said he would have orders or no orders.

I am a veteran, I do understand the military.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BamaBecky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:31 PM
Response to Reply #39
75. Who "accidentally" shot the "contractors" or was it "policeman"
that were accidental shot? And who shot them? And more importantly WHY were they shot? Perhaps they knew something about the "explosions" that have been rumored to have taken place on the levees?????????

What's going on down there?

Bama
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Cookie wookie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:15 PM
Response to Reply #35
50. It does look like we are becoming a police state
All the soldiers with machine guns in NO and razor wire being put up in Mississippi..New Orleans looks more like Iraq than an American city. since when did natural disasters get treated like wars?

I'm very concerned about the direction they are taking. Heard on CNN about how Homeland Security and other agencies hadn't trained for "civil unrest" but now were talking about adding that to their curriculum.

This is an extremely bad direction to be going in. When I saw the post about the razor wire, I though to myself where did "Keep Out" signs go? That's the way these things used to be handled. "No trespassing" etc. This is such a worrying over-reaction. The people running things are not intelligent enough to be doing it the jobs they are doing, and can't see anything but force as the way to handle things. They are barbarians, in power, and people are letting them continue to escalate this police state behavior.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
onecent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 06:44 PM
Response to Original message
37. Stuff like this scares me, what can WE do to help solve this crap?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
IndyOp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 06:53 PM
Response to Reply #37
40. Flood it with direct sunlight -
email it to TV, newspaper, and internet sites; call as many congressional people as possible, write letters to the editor. Tell, tell, tell, tell, tell! If each of us dedicates a couple of hours a week to blasting the media and goverment and citizens - the truth will come out. (And change can happen quickly as a result.)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
AX10 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 07:02 PM
Response to Original message
42. Blackwater are PIGS.
I have no sympathy for them.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
AnnInLa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 09:54 PM
Response to Original message
49. AmericaBlog and Will Pitt at Truthout.org
both have stories up about talking to these mercenaries. They say they were hired by Gov. of Louisiana. I have my doubts about that...I tend to think that's what they were told to say.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Nothing Without Hope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 11:19 PM
Response to Reply #49
61. Yes, I agree. She wouldn't have done that. These are Rummie's pet
monsters and the harbingers of martial law. They are there to terrify people and they are damned expensive. Imagine all the infant formula and food their salaries would pay for.

The truth about this must be exposed. It would be a CRIME, surely, for funds intended for disaster relief to be siphoned off to these evil goons.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Liberty Belle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:37 PM
Response to Original message
53. Death squads in America. What have we come to?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Freedomfried Donating Member (684 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 10:49 PM
Response to Original message
56. GOOON SQUADS!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
NuttyFluffers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 11:12 PM
Response to Original message
57. for the love of fuck, why!? may they get cholera and die.
are we at the tipping point yet? are we? jeebus fucking christ! mercenaries being openly used on our soil against our people! no freaking due process of goddamn law! and confiscating the people's guns to boot! conservatives should be spontaneously combusting from rage right now! AAAARRRGGGGHHH! :nuke:

i hope and pray alligators, copperheads, and cholera kills off a good number of them.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tomg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 11:15 PM
Response to Original message
58. On another thread, I posted
that I wasn't worried about the upcoming demonstrations in D.C. My logic was that for violence to erupt, there had to be intense animosity between law enforcement and demonstrators, and that simply doesn't exist in the United States, generally speaking, as it did in the 60s. In fact, a look around DU, Kos and other progressive communities suggest the exact opposite.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1769659&mesg_id=1770170

This bit of news, though, adds a very different twist to it. I honestly don't think that there will be violence at the D.C. demonstrations. However, the introduction of Blackwater really could change the historical model. We might not be looking at a re-run of the sixties. If not the homegrown equivalent of the Brown Shirts, the use of Blackwater is closer in style to tactics used by private detective agencies like Pinkerton and Baldwin-Felts during the worker's rights battles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Think Homestead Strike, Matewan, Harlan County. I am not a tinfoil hat person ( despite the pleasure I take in Thomas Pynchon's novels), but this is some serious shit.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
passy Donating Member (780 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:29 AM
Response to Reply #58
65. I was thinking the same thing..
If Blackwater shows up in DC on the 24th who knows what might happen.
They could use the excuse that they are hired by shop owners and the like for protecting their property.
But their mere presence would certainly infuriate protesters.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BamaBecky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:34 PM
Response to Reply #58
76. CNN is reporting that the greatest threat to NO now is friendly
fire!!!!!! With Blackwater there......that's a resounding Duh!
Bama
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
belle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 10:54 PM
Response to Reply #58
80. Dunno the reference, but turn of 20th century sounds about right, since
that's pretty much where the neocons have been headed all this time. Return to the Gilded Age, and the robber barons, and the pre-union, pre-anything days. "The Jungle," triangle shirtwaist fire...yep, looking pretty damn similar these days.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Nothing Without Hope Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-10-05 11:16 PM
Response to Original message
59. This must be OPPOSED. They are violent thugs paid exorbitant fees out of
hurricane relief funds. They are more likely to incite violence than to calm it. They were hated in Iraq for good reason, and now they will add more hate and fear to New Orleans.

On whose orders are they there? Civilians are supposed to NOT have guns. Who is forcing these extremely expensive armed thugs on New Orleans?

HORRIBLE. They will murder without compunction, and who would dare oppose them? It's like one of those ultra-violent blood-and-guts movies come to evil life. We must expose and oppose.

And just think of all the food and other resources the salaries of these thugs would pay. They are there to intimidate and frighten, and that has no place ANYWHERE in America. We must find who hires them, whom they answer to, and get them the hell out of there.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Bravo411 Donating Member (263 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 12:19 AM
Response to Original message
63. "Do we have enough National Guard troops? Of course, we do."
Fri Sep 2, 2:54 PM ET
"Somebody questioned me the other day about: Do we have enough National Guard troops? Of course, we do. These governors have got compacts with other states. If they need to call upon another state, the state will send Guard troops," said Bush.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050902/wl_mideast_afp/usweatherbushiraq_050902185453

Well if that's the case, then why are the Blackwater guys in there?
Bush is spouting Bullshit again.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Blue_Tires Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 12:26 AM
Response to Original message
64. blackwater are pieces of shit
yet, they seem to have an increasing role in 'securing' places, all paid for with our tax dollars
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
halsaxby Donating Member (94 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:10 PM
Response to Original message
70. Blakwater is SS in the making.
You heard it here first.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BamaBecky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #70
72. I agree..n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
aikoaiko Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:26 PM
Response to Original message
71. i know a couple of blackwater guys....
they are ex marines or soldiers who do temp work for them.

They are just people looking for work who happen to have skills that once paid them very little while serving in the military. The call from blackwater offered $200 per day, plus expenses.

Helping to provide security for the NOLA area is a decent thing to do.

But one would think that local, state, and the fed could do it on their own.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Coventina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #71
73. I would scrub toilets before I took up arms against my countrymen.
No matter how much money was waived in my face.

My patriotism is NOT for sale!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BamaBecky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:36 PM
Response to Reply #71
77. It's the corporation that has a odorous reputation
perhaps you could warn your friends......
Bama
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 07:19 PM
Response to Reply #71
78. They are still paid mercenaries!
These guys were paid triple what our soldiers were in Iraq.
It sickens me.

In addition, they seem to be stuck in war mode and that's not right when they are moving amongst US citizens.

"We are a turnkey solution provider for 4th generation warfare."
(From Blackwater USA's website)
http://www.blackwaterusa.com/about/






Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
belle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 10:55 PM
Response to Reply #71
81. Terrific. Temp troopers.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Pachamama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 01:21 PM
Response to Reply #81
86. Temp Troopers indeed....
I laughed when I saw you call it that, but then realized quickly how disgusting and grim of a reality this really is.

:puke:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Piperay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 06:09 PM
Response to Reply #71
89. I hear that some citizens have hired
them on their own to protect their property from looters and for their own personal safety. I can understand why they would if you have the money to do it...I know I would. In a crisis you're on your won, obviously the government is not going to protect anyone.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
aikoaiko Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 08:01 PM
Response to Reply #89
94. its true -- the actual temp hires are just security guards w auto weapons


they're not the monsters some say.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Nihil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-13-05 02:59 AM
Response to Reply #94
95. Aww ... they're just cuddly-wuddlies are they?
> just security guards w auto weapons
> they're not the monsters some say.

You give the average security guard an automatic weapon, tell him that
this is a "zero tolerance" situation and you've created a monster ...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
buzzsaw_23 Donating Member (631 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 01:30 PM
Response to Original message
74. Kinda Looks and feels like an occupation to me






Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
belle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Sep-11-05 10:55 PM
Response to Reply #74
82. It looks like frigging South Africa. About twenty years ago, too.
Edited on Sun Sep-11-05 10:56 PM by belle
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Barkley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 10:32 AM
Response to Original message
83. Did the US pay Blackwater in Iraq Employees Cash?
I recall the US recently sent tons of cash to Iraq to pay contractors (Blackwater?).

To whom are these NO Blackwater workers accountable?

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
NNN0LHI Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 05:44 PM
Response to Original message
88. Its OK! They are down there to save pussy cats and puppy dogs
Honest.

Don
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
FyurFly Donating Member (512 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Sep-12-05 06:14 PM
Response to Reply #88
90. LOL n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Thu Dec 26th 2024, 11:43 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC