Blackwater Fine: $42 Million Deal On U.S. Export Violations

The men from Blackwater USA arrived in NewOrleans right after Katrina hit.



About 150 heavily armed Blackwater troops dressed in full battle gear spread out into the chaos of NewOrleans. Officially, the company boasted of its forces "joining the hurricane relief effort." But its men on the ground told a different story.



Some patrolled the streets in SUVs with tinted windows & the Blackwater logo splashed on the back; others sped around the FrenchQuarter in an unmarked car with no license plates. They congregated on the corner of St.James & Bourbon in front of a bar where Blackwater was establishing a headquarters. From the balcony above the bar, several Blackwater guys cleared out what had apparently been someone's apartment. They threw mattresses, clothes, shoes & other household items from the balcony to the street below. They draped an American flag from the balcony's railing.



They characterized their work in NewOrleans as "securing neighborhoods" & "confronting criminals." They carried automatic assault weapons & had guns strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were covered with pouches for extra ammunition.



What authority were they operating under?



"We're on contract with the DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity. We can make arrests & use lethal force if we deem it necessary."



"This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government," says MichaelRatner, president of the CenterForConstitutionalRights. "These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in Iraq. To have them now on the streets of NewOrleans is frightening & possibly illegal."



http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25858/
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