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pecuniumI volunteered to go to Louisiana.
I volunteered more than a week ago.
I am not, all things considered, surprised that I've not been called up. The problems (in all the states affected) are far away, logistics are complex and it won't be cheap to send a bunch of Calif. Guardsmen to the places hardest hit. The 82nd is already being paid, and they have lift, so shipping them in seems reasonable.
But this (and another hat tip to Making Light who are going gangbusters on Katrina) apalls me.
Blackwater, yes Blackwater, the contractors/mercenaries who are famous for losing four guys in Iraq, is, apparently, patrolling New Orleans.
For corroboration, all one need do is visit their web site.
An extract from the piece linked to above
How do you know that we're finally taking the situation in New Orleans seriously? We're sending in the private mercenaries -- the very same folks we've called on to do the dirty work in Iraq. Reports are beginning to surface that New Orleans and environs are crawling with armed private commandos from Blackwater USA, the North Carolina-based security firm that has risen to prominence with its highly visible role in Iraq. The slide show at the top of this entry comes from their Web site.
A Georgia-based doctor and military veteran who blogs under the name Otter has been down in the disaster zone the last few days, and he has seen the private Blackwater security forces everywhere. He wrote yesterday from a police precinct house in New Orleans:
Blackwater Security is here--clean, well-equipped, and armed to the teeth.
The New York Times has seen them too:
No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.
But that order apparently does not apply to hundreds of security guards hired by businesses and some wealthy individuals to protect property. The guards, employees of private security companies like Blackwater, openly carry M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said that he was aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to make them give up their weapons.
The company acknowledged yesterday that it has about 150 people in New Orleans so far:
I'd like to think a lot of things, that this will cost less than twice that many guardsmen from other states, that these guys are actually trained (really trained, like with POST Certification and the like) in police procedure. That they have good weapons discipline and restrictive rules of engagagement. But from what I've heard, and read, of them, I don't really have a lot of hope for that.
They actively sought this out too, and FEMA, or someone, decided they were a better fit for the job than guardsmen.
WTF?
(Edited to add) looking around it seems these are being paid privately, to protect the wealthy, and businesses. If this is the case (private money) I'm not sure how I feel about the passage which gives them the right (as civilian employees of people who are supposed to be evacuating) to stroll around with 1: guns and 2: no direct governtmental oversight. Call me funny, but being allowed to hire one's private army, a la the barons of medieval Europe (with liveried servants) strikes me as a less than ideal circumstance.
I volunteered more than a week ago.
I am not, all things considered, surprised that I've not been called up. The problems (in all the states affected) are far away, logistics are complex and it won't be cheap to send a bunch of Calif. Guardsmen to the places hardest hit. The 82nd is already being paid, and they have lift, so shipping them in seems reasonable.
But this (and another hat tip to Making Light who are going gangbusters on Katrina) apalls me.
Blackwater, yes Blackwater, the contractors/mercenaries who are famous for losing four guys in Iraq, is, apparently, patrolling New Orleans.
For corroboration, all one need do is visit their web site.
An extract from the piece linked to above
How do you know that we're finally taking the situation in New Orleans seriously? We're sending in the private mercenaries -- the very same folks we've called on to do the dirty work in Iraq. Reports are beginning to surface that New Orleans and environs are crawling with armed private commandos from Blackwater USA, the North Carolina-based security firm that has risen to prominence with its highly visible role in Iraq. The slide show at the top of this entry comes from their Web site.
A Georgia-based doctor and military veteran who blogs under the name Otter has been down in the disaster zone the last few days, and he has seen the private Blackwater security forces everywhere. He wrote yesterday from a police precinct house in New Orleans:
Blackwater Security is here--clean, well-equipped, and armed to the teeth.
The New York Times has seen them too:
No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.
But that order apparently does not apply to hundreds of security guards hired by businesses and some wealthy individuals to protect property. The guards, employees of private security companies like Blackwater, openly carry M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said that he was aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to make them give up their weapons.
The company acknowledged yesterday that it has about 150 people in New Orleans so far:
I'd like to think a lot of things, that this will cost less than twice that many guardsmen from other states, that these guys are actually trained (really trained, like with POST Certification and the like) in police procedure. That they have good weapons discipline and restrictive rules of engagagement. But from what I've heard, and read, of them, I don't really have a lot of hope for that.
They actively sought this out too, and FEMA, or someone, decided they were a better fit for the job than guardsmen.
WTF?
(Edited to add) looking around it seems these are being paid privately, to protect the wealthy, and businesses. If this is the case (private money) I'm not sure how I feel about the passage which gives them the right (as civilian employees of people who are supposed to be evacuating) to stroll around with 1: guns and 2: no direct governtmental oversight. Call me funny, but being allowed to hire one's private army, a la the barons of medieval Europe (with liveried servants) strikes me as a less than ideal circumstance.
