Abstract

Blackwater Down

Offers a look at the involvement of private security company Blackwater USA in New Orleans, Louisiana, after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. Report that 150 armed Blackwater troops arrived in New Orleans; Experience of Blackwater troops as security guards for U.S. diplomats in Iraq; Report that the Blackwater troops viewed their mission in New Orleans as securing neighborhoods and confronting criminals; Claim of one Blackwater member that the troops were authorized under the Department of Homeland Security and could make arrests and use lethal force if necessary; List of other private companies that have sent mercenaries to guard private businesses and homes in the area; Question of why private security companies are needed to guard federal projects in Louisiana; Report that Blackwater's Chief Executive Officer Erik Prince has given tens of thousands to Republicans.