Blackwater Down

Private Troops: The SA? Freikorps? Or back up for the 'good guys'?

The Left is in a tizzy over the use of private security companies in New Orleans following the destruction of Hurrican Katrina. And it has less to do with the fact they have been used on US soil than the fact that they exist at all. I have absolutely no problems using such companies overseas (I wish we could just hand over the entirecountry of Iraq to such a company), but as a free ‘non-serf’ citizen I am always on guard against strong arm tactics by government on any level that may endanger the rights of the citizenry. But all I see here is a bunch of well armed men protecting refugees and property from predators, looters, and armed street gangs in a disaster situation. Hardly worthy of hand-wringing and chest beating by the opposition.

The OH MY GOD squad at Pandagon.net is shrieking fascism and totalitarianism, rape and thuggery, but that’s probably to be expected from those who wouldn’t know a merc from a security consultant.

If the Blackwater types are becoming the American equivalent of the French Foreign Legion fighting ‘unpopular wars’ for national interest, then they have my blessing. The wars that the US will be fighting around the globe need to be fought utilizing special forces, overwhelming air power, proxy armies, native militias, warlords, tribal clans, good intelligence, massive power, and, if need be, private US ‘armies’ of ex-military types willing to risk it all for a good paycheck. Anything to avoid bogging the military down as we have succeeded in doing in Iraq, reduce US military casualties, and ensure victory against Islamo fascists and this countries enemies throughout the world.

In an hourlong conversation I had with four Blackwater men, they
characterized their work in New Orleans as “securing neighborhoods” and
“confronting criminals.” They all carried automatic assault weapons and had guns
strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were covered with pouches for extra
ammunition….

…”This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the
government,” says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional
Rights. “These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in
Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is frightening and possibly
illegal.”…

…Montgomery told me they came under fire from “black
gangbangers” on an overpass near the poor Ninth Ward neighborhood. “At the time,
I was on the phone with my business partner,” he recalls. “I dropped the phone
and returned fire.”

Montgomery says he and his men were armed with AR-15s and
Glocks and that they unleashed a barrage of bullets in the general direction of
the alleged shooters on the overpass. “After that, all I heard was moaning and
screaming, and the shooting stopped. That was it. Enough said.”