Author: mopress

Meet the NEW BOSS…Same as the OLD BOSS
Knee’s Move to Private Sector/DynCorp Not Surprising

By Debbie Russell

You can change the color and gender of the Chief, but that won’t improve the structural problems within the Austin Police Department. Interim Chief Cathy Ellison will continue the “police are above the law” policies of the APD and is expected by community leaders to be as non-responsive to citizen criticism just as Stan Knee was. Meanwhile, the search will begin for a permanent Chief, and the pool of applicants will doubtfully include any reformists, eager to rebuild any vestiges of APD-community trust.

Knee, who serves his last day today as Chief of Police, has moved onto a significantly higher paying job in the private sector where there is a proven lack of accountability to the people who foot the bill – the US taxpayers – yes, even less accountability than that of the city’s police force (surely an attractive feature for Knee). Knee has signed on with DynCorp – a private firm headquartered in Reston, Virginia (with state offices in Ft. Worth; and as DynCorp happens to manage the stations at the US-Mexico border, the Texas ties are thick). Begun after World War II by ex-militia to provide support, technological and security services to the military industrial complex, 95% of DynCorp’s services/sales is to the US government so it survives solely on our taxes.

The company also happens to be known as one of the worst in terms of egregious fraud and human rights violations. It is known as the most notorious of private mercenary contractors, having generated much controversy with whistleblower accusations of rape and sex trafficking of underage girls in Bosnia, the beating of two journalists in Haiti and is responsible for the deaths of thousands through its many global “services.”

“DynCorp itself is a mercenary, making a killing for its services.” – Jeremy Scahill, Common Dreams1

The State Department, a DynCorp client, even spoke out against the “aggressive behavior” of personnel in interactions with European diplomats, NATO forces and journalists. 2

More DynCorp crimes that have not seen justice:
Deadly helicopter crashes in Afghanistan
Plan Colombia – an illicit coca plant eradication program with reports of personnel being directly involved in counterinsurgency efforts and, commonly, a lawsuit by Ecuadorians for damages suffered by toxic spraying of crops
Worker deaths in Angola
Supplying bodyguards to US-installed presidents in Afghanistan and Haiti
Violence and abuse in New Orleans reconstruction “security”
A corrupt Enron power plant deal in India
Shooting down a missionary plane in Peru
Charges of unnecessary repairs billed to the government and padding the payroll

“DynCorp’s employees have a history of behaving like cowboys…. Is the US military privatizing its missions to avoid public controversy or to avoid embarrassment – to hide body bags from the media and shield the military from public opinion?” – US Rep. Janice Schakowsky, IL 3

How did Knee come by the job? Well, perhaps he developed relationships when, from March, 2003 to January, 2005, Computer Science Corporation merged with DynCorp, establishing an intrinsic City of Austin relationship to this global war profiteer. We have CSC to “thank” for our new city hall as it sits ensconced in a $26 million dollar subsidy package that now has direct ties to the bloodiest clamps of the war machine (CSC also has its own Dept. of Defense contracts for technological services). Despite our “City for Peace” resolution passed in February, 2003 — the people of Austin have financially “gained” from the illegal war and the many crimes of this ruthless corporation. Last year, CSC unloaded DynCorp, but its tarnished reputation will not be easily polished by omission.

The road to profit is “paved with political connections”1 as we trace DynCorp’s political ties. It also serves the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense (manages many of the Pentagon’s weapons-testing ranges), the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (US-Mexico border stations), and the Treasury Department. It handles ALL of the State Department’s telecommunications, has board connections to major CIA operatives and supplies fuel and support to the Air Force One team – the Executive Branch’s most secure “back room” of global wheeling and dealing.

As National Guardsmen move to the US-Mexico border, ostensibly to keep “peace” until private contractors (DynCorp certainly will take the lead) can take over in aiming guns at the most oppressed of our society, as Halliburton builds detention centers for immigrants (and lined up next for unlawful imprisonment will surely be citizen-dissenters), as empire is being built in the Middle East by unaccountable private entities, on our dime, and as our local police forces are trained and equipped exactly in the same fashion as our military–which is being used merely as an occupying, not a peace-keeping, force—we will see more and more moves across the private/public “law enforcement” domain such as Stan Knee’s.

Stan Knee likely views his new gig as a giant leap upward professionally…and he will most likely gain in this track, assuming he can continue to ignore his conscience poking at his deeply-buried morality. Good luck in your ventures; and welcome, Interim Chief Ellison…what a legacy!

“These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There’s no authority over them, so you can’t come down on them hard when they escalate force…. They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place.” – Brig. Gen. Karl Horst, deputy commander of the Third Infantry Division in charge of security in Baghdad, speaking of DynCorp and other security firms in Iraq1

References and resources:

1 http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1101-25.htm

2 http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11574

3 http://www.ruckus.org/warprofiteers/cards/clubs/two.html

DynCorp overview:
http://911review.org/Sept11Wiki/Dyncorp.shtml
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DynCorp

DynCorp/follow the money:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/pns/db.aspx?act=cinfo&coid=003242013

http://www.rense.com/general25/whoresofwar.htm

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=18

Austin and “Homeland Security, Inc.” Corporate Welfare for a Notorious Defense Contractor—from an Anti-war City http://www.iconmedia.org/articles/article006.php

The plot to Pentagonize the border with Mexico thickens as I read Scott Bennett’s account of recent conversations with Mexican friends. Is it possible that there are geo-political motives for the Pentagon to make ready at the Rio Grande? I shudder to think.

Writes Bennet at the Dallas Blog: “they believe Mexico is on the verge of a social implosion that will greatly complicate US and Mexican relations. Third, not one thinks there is any way out. The journalist, the businessman and the professor believe it is inevitable the US will have to have its regular Army on the Mexican border within a short time or risk a Tsunami of Mexican chaos sweeping into the US.” See “The Mexico Volcano May Be About to Erupt” by Scott Bennett (Dallas Blog: May 17, 2006)

Greg,

Just finished your last article on Counterpunch. I’m just sick about this. The parallels to Nazi Germany… there are so many participants to this country’s unfolding disaster.

I used to live in Alpine, before it got trendy, so I just looked up the weekly newspaper “Alpine Avalanche” on the web to see if there was some kind of outcry (that whole area, including Marfa did not vote Bush). The lead story is about catching “illegal aliens,” in a culvert, with drugs. The Opinion piece was by the State Rep on military appreciation week.
I live in Eldorado now and recently canceled my subscription to the weekly paper here because I could not stomach the same kind of news (very right-wing), the final straw being opinion pieces by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (on border issues) and my so-called Republican-talking-points Rep (on border issues). One of the last issues I got had a picture of the jail dispatchers (celebrating jail dispatcher week) dressed identical with black boots, some had their pants tucked into their boots. I being an Outsider get followed around when I drive through town, it’s a Neighborhood Watch on wheels. (It’s actually very serious.) They all (small town) follow along with each other (and who are they being led by? I wander).

The police blotter is unbelievable. The people seem to call the police for anything and the police are busy looking for “crime” to help the people be safe. (?) This area is thick with law enforcement, I think they must be training. There is virtually no crime out here (we’re the only town in the county, and it’s likewise around). It’s very excessive.

And, now the “forces” begin to build on the border. I heard Gov Perry say on the radio this morning: “The federal government is not doing enough to protect our border” (or something similar). As he went on to describe the need for money. It’s like a rally cry.

One thing this beefed-up border patrol (as though it’s not already beefed-up, have you been to the border lately? Try Del Rio for one) will provide is JOBS!

I could go on and on… I appreciate what you write, it’s very needed.

Stephanie

posted by permission

The Texas French Bread Bakery at 29th and Rio Grande is a hangout that epitomizes Austin cool. But Friday morning it was the heat of Homeland Security that came crashing in with “guns visible” hauling away five alleged illegal immigrants ranging in age from 28 to 59. Four were deported.
Owner Frederick Murph Willcott “said all of the arrested Austin workers have children and have worked at Texas French Bread for years, in one case about 10 years. He said the restaurant had checked the workers’ documents to make sure they were legal.”

“These people paid taxes. They worked like crazy,” Willcott said. “The people that they took away hadn’t done anything wrong.”

Talk about your wake-up call. Homeland Security is saying that the raid was initiated by the Texas Attorney General, who was busting up an alleged fake-document ring out of Dallas.

By the way, the Texas Attorney General was one of the first to know about militarization plans for the border. According to National Guard Chief General Steven H. Blum, the states’ Attorney Generals were involved in early legal assessments of the Guard deployment that is now official policy. How early is still unclear, but please stay tuned.

This might be a good time to point out that the Texas Attorney General is facing a Democratic opponent in November.

(See Austin American Statesman, “Five arrested on immigration charges after raid in Austin: Owner angry after Texas French Bread kitchen workers arrested, four deported,” By Steven Kreytak, Saturday, June 03, 2006)

Today’s New York Times article by Randal C. Archibold raises questions about the ability of the border patrol to replace National Guard troops within the official timeline of one to two years.

“But as the Border Patrol seeks more agents,” writes Archibold, “its training academy in Artesia, N.M., needs expansion, and some watchdog groups question its ability to prepare so many new agents in so little time.”
Archibold reports that the Homeland Security Inspector General is already concerned about the Border Patrol’s hiring practices. Meanwhile, ambitious targets for funding new patrol agents are being scaled back.

In last week’s Narcosphere, Bill Conroy presented memos from Homeland Security that indicate shortages of prisoner beds, prisoner transportation, and lagging information tools.

Conroy repeats what critics keep saying, that National Guard training is a mismatch for border work.

Like the famous “mission accomplished” celebration that the President staged for the war on Iraq, the political shimmer of this week’s “border fix” will very likely begin to dim as militarization proves to be yet again the ultimate sign of political impotence.