Tag Archives: Blackwater

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Harman Speaks to Westside Progressives in Los Angeles

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My post about Jane Harman’s remarks at a town hall meeting yesterday about the secret “torture memos” revealed this week by the New York Times is up at Think Progress, submitted through their Blog Fellows Program, which I can’t recommend enough.  Let me contextualize those remarks a bit more, and add some of the other interesting things Rep. Harman had to say.

I asked the question to Harman about the secret memos.  Earlier this week, the White House claimed that all relevant members of Congress had been fully briefed on the classified program sanctioning harsh interrogation techniques by the CIA.  At the time of the memos, Harman was a member of the “Gang Of Eight” routinely briefed on intelligence matters.  Harman was shaking her head as I asked the question if she was fully briefed, chuckling almost in disbelief.  Her answer:

We were not fully briefed. We were told about operational details but not these memos. Jay Rockefeller said the same thing, and I associate myself with his remarks. And we want to see these memos.

over…

Harman is now the third member of the Gang of Eight, joining Jay Rockefeller and Nancy Pelosi, to reject the White House’s claim that they were fully briefed about these memos.  The Administration is lying, again, and it is now incumbent upon Congress to make every effort to obtain those memos and to enshrine into law a full repudiation of the arguments therein described.  The follow-up question I wanted to ask Rep. Harman, but could not, was how she would go about pressuring the White House to get those documents.  Obviously the vehicle for this is through the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey.  Considering that these memos came out of the Justice Department, there should simply be no movement on his confirmation without an exchange of the memos.

Let me add some additional information about the town hall.  I wrote in my Think Progress post this tidbit:

Harman later revealed that she was speaking with an unidentified Republican in her office, who told her that if President Bush were to attack Iran, then even he would vote for impeachment.

You have to understand the environment of this town hall meeting.  The audience included the hardcore progressives that made up the core of the Marcy Winograd primary challenge to Harman in 2006; in fact, Winograd was on a panel right before Harman’s arrival.  These people were SCREAMING for impeachment; the first two questions were about this issue.  And Harman could do nothing but reiterate that Nancy Pelosi, not her, had taken impeachment off the table.  She went on to describe her no votes against the Clinton impeachment and how MoveOn.org was born out of the impeachment debate (odd of her to approvingly cite MoveOn, considering she voted to condemn their remarks in the “General Betrayus” ad).  But when she brought up Iran, she said “this little anecdote should make you smile,” and mentioned the above exchange.

Here are some of the other notable tidbits in Harman’s meeting.

• She recommended Jack Goldsmith’s “The Terror Presidency” as the best source for understanding how the Bush Administration attempted to expand executive power through neutering the Office of Legal Counsel.  She had the book with her.

• She reiterated that “intelligence was politicized again” on the FISA bill, referring to the fake terror attack hyped by the White House designed to get wavering Democrats to sanction warrantless surveillance.  It was a cold-blooded tactic, and it should be heavily publicized.  I thanked Rep. Harman for speaking out on this, and I hope that she’ll continue as well as encourage other members to corroborate her allegations.  Harman said she is working to change the new FISA bill, which will “probably be introduced this week.”  The goals are that any surveillance must be done through the FISA court, with a warrant, and with minimization protocols if a US national is involved.

• Harman spoke about her legislation to close Guantanamo, restore habeas corpus, and end the use of national security letters outside their initial purpose.  She spoke glowingly about the vote this week to put Blackwater contractors under the auspices of US law, and thanked both Rep. Waxman and Rick Jacobs, who produced Iraq for Sale, with their efforts to get the word out about Blackwater’s numerous abuses and how they fell into the “legal black hole” regarding their activities.

• She recommended the Seymour Hersh article about developments with respect to Iran, and said that she has invited him to speak to the Congress.  Harman was adamant in saying that “targeted sanctions are working” with Iran, and that the government should “stop the saber rattling” that could lead us to another catastrophic war.

• She trumpeted her contribution to the House energy bill, a measure to retire the incandescent light bulb by 2012.

• On trade, she made a disappointing statement.  Despite voting against NAFTA and CAFTA and claiming that she was proven right on those votes, she said that some trade deals are admissable with proper labor and environmental standards as well as trade adjustment assistance, and referring to the current Peruvian Free Trade Agreement that will come up for vote in a couple weeks, she said that “It was approved by Charlie Rangel.”  Uh-oh.  We know that this bill, crafted in the dead of night to appease corporate interests, does not go nearly far enough to ensure labor and environmental standards, and would be nothing more than NAFTA-light.

• Someone asked Rep. Harman about the Walt-Mearshimer book “The Israel Lobby” and AIPAC’s support for endless war, including war with Iran.  Harman, who has been linked in the past to lobbies like AIPAC, said “I’m not a member of AIPAC… I support a two-state solution where Palestine can thrive economically with borders that are defensible to Israel.”  She pretty much dodged the question.

• On the still-unresolved EPA waiver that would allow California to make their own rules on tailpipe emissions that contribute to global warming, Harman said that she signed on to a letter protesting the slow-rolling from the EPA and the Department of Transportation, and she added that Gov. Schwarzenegger should work harder to get DoT to “back off” (they’ve been accused of lobbying lawmakers to pressure the EPA to block the California law).

• Finally, Harman asked for education activists to call her office and tell her about the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.  While she said that Rep. Miller has claimed to her it has been improved, she said “I am prepared to oppose it” if the changes are not satisfactory.

Uncategorized

Issa: “Nice Committee Chairman You Got There, It’d Be A Shame If Something Happened To Him.”

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TPM has the video.

Henry Waxman is doing yeoman work today at a House Oversight Committee hearing on Blackwater, not only taking them to task for the irresonsible and lawless behavior of their security personnel within Iraq, but directly blaming the State Department for blocking meaningful investigation.

Waxman pointed to a Dec. 2006 incident, in which a drunken Blackwater contractor shot the guard of the Iraqi vice president:

The State Department advised Blackwater how much to pay the family to make the problem go away and then allowed the contractor to leave Iraq just 36 hours after the shooting. Incredibly, internal e-mails documented the debate over the size of the payment. The charge d’affaire recommended a $250,000 payment but this was cut to $15,000 because the diplomatic security service said Iraqis would try to get themselves killed for such a large payout.

Waxman noted that in light of such evidence, it’s hard “not come to the conclusion that the State Department is acting as Blackwater’s enabler.”

In response to these revelations, another member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Darrell Issa, basically threatened Waxman with a fragging.

If Henry Waxman today wants to go to Iraq and do an investigation, Blackwater will be his support team. His protection team. Do you think he really wants to investigate directly?

It’s hard to characterize this as anything but a veiled threat.  Disgraceful.

(Incidentally, for another California connection, the CEO of Blackwater was an intern for Dana Rohrabacher many years ago.  Can you say “conflict of interest”?)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, California

Blackwater: “indiscriminate killers” take action!

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(cross-posted on Daily Kos)

This morning I opened my email and found a tirade by a friend currently serving in Iraq about Blackwater killing all of those civilians and the U.S. Army having to go in and stop them.  First of all, I was relieved to see that he was alive, as I am any time I get an email from him.  Then I was incensed by what he wrote.  I asked if he would be willing to share what he has seen of Blackwater on the ground in Baghdad.  Here is his statement, as a Army Captain, West Point graduate and a Combat Patrol Leader in Baghdad.

My impression of Blackwater after having served 10 months of my tour in Baghdad is that they are trigger happy, unrestrained by our army’s rules of engagement, a danger to Iraqi civilians and coalition forces alike, behave as if they are above the law, are viewed as indescriminate killers by the population, and have no business operating in a combat theater.  The consensus among my peers is they are a liability, not an asset.  Our government’s money would be better spent on increasing the size of our regular army than on hiring thrill-seeking cowboys loyal only to a paycheck.

He is right.  We have the best military in the world.  Our proud men and women are more than capable at protecting our embassy staff and fulfilling other security roles.  There is no reason for Blackwater to be in Iraq in the first place.

Many of us feel like there is little we can do about Blackwater.  it appears that Blackwater is under no jurisdiction: not Iraqi law, not U.S. law, not international law.  The Iraqi government may not even be able to prosecute Blackwater’s mercenaries, since a law issued by the U.S. occupation before the Iraqis were given their sovereignty in 2004 gives all American contractors immunity from Iraqi prosecution.

But you know what?  There is something we can do right now to stand up to Blackwater and we need your help.

Blackwater has a 7,000 acre training facility in North Carolina. It also has a large facility outside of Chicago. But that is not enough: Blackwater is now trying to open an 824-acre facility in east San Diego County that will have as many as 700 people present at any given time. The obvious goal? Blackwater wants to guard the California border with Mexico.

Imagine the headlines when they gun down unarmed civilians on the border. Or when they “show up” for an emergency like an earthquake in Los Angeles or San Francisco armed to the teeth — as they did in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina — and offer their services? Will they go away quietly? Will we have to call in our own National Guard to get them to leave, just as happened in Iraq?

Join thousands of activists and Courage Campaign in helping stop, as Rick Jacobs says in the KNBC clip, “the creation of a mafia-like organization”.  This nation can no longer afford to support mercenaries on our soil or off. We certainly cannot allow Blackwater to open a base in California.

Now that the Iraqi government is attempting to ban Blackwater USA, will Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer move to ban Blackwater West from California?

Sign the petition and tell Senators Boxer and Feinstein and Governor Schwarzenegger to stop Blackwater.

Courage Campaign just sent out an email to all members urging that they sign the petition.  Will you join them?  We already have 4,000 names on it.  Add yours.

Special thanks to Brave New Films for grabbing that video and putting it up.

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August 15, 2007 Blog Roundup

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San Diego

Potrero Mounts Up – Taking a Stand Against Blackwater

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The U-T gives this its justice (oddly):

In recent days, planning group members have learned they are the subject of a lawsuit, a recall drive and a petition demanding that they retake a December vote approving the project.

During a raucous, 2½-hour meeting at the Potrero Community Center on Thursday night, the group agreed to vote again and asked residents to temper their emotions.

“We’re trying to govern here in a sane way,” group chairman Gordon Hammers said. “All this political frenzy is counterproductive.”

Yeah right. Political frenzy…don’t you hate that?  First, the nuts and bolts of what’s happened.

The planning group has decides to retake the inital December vote in which Blackwater was approved 7-0.  This vote is scheduled for July 12, be there or be…well, screwed.

Recall procedings have begun for six of the eight planning board members.  If 130 signatures are gathered in favor of recall (more than 300 have signed the anti-Blackwater petitions), it would go to the county Board of Supervisors to schedule a special election.  Unclear at this time whether they have a choice in the matter…anyone is welcome to educate me on this point.

A lawsuit has been filed against the planning board, the SD Board of Supervisors and the Department of Planning and Land Use alleging that there wasn’t sufficient notice given before the December vote nor sufficient information provided regarding the proposal.

What concerns me is that the ramifications are not being fully embraced here.  The U-T cites concerns about noise and traffic as driving this opposition, and while I’m not much interested in believing the U-T, I would imagine it’s not all THAT far off.  Blackwater West, at this point, is facing two forms of opposition: Noise and traffic is one, moral is the other.  There hasn’t yet been fire (that I know of) about the potential consequences.  As wu ming in particular has been pointing out in comments around Calitics, this is just the opening salvo in an attempt to change wholesale the way security functions in this country.

The military doesn’t have enough volunteers anymore, so it can’t keep up with the demands.  The National Guard is filling in the gaps, which leaves it dangerously hamstrung domestically.  The fire fighters of California are absolutely heroic and would go down swinging if Hell itself erupted in California, but Catalina needed support from as far as Fresno; they’re outmatched if a major fire gains momentum.  The police, well…they’re disgustingly undermanned in San Diego, they’re attacking journalists and peaceful protesters in LA and generally stretched to the breaking point all over the place.  So what does a lazy Republican government do?  Redouble investment in security infrastructure? Lead public servants at the national, state and local level responsibly?  Do anything to make public service both honorable and a reasonable way to support a family? No. Hire mercenaries.

This is the next step towards the wholesale outsourcing of American security and American principles.  That’s what we’re fighting in Potrero.  And I’m glad the locals are ready to battle.

Los Angeles Area, Orange County, San Diego

How deep is the Blackwater

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(And you thought Dana was just crazy… – promoted by atdleft)

Thanks to a tip from an OC friend, I started to look at the connection between Dana Rohrabacher and Blackwater, the mercenary soldier of fortune organization that was founded by Erik Prince, himself once a Navy Seal.  I did not have to look very long.

I have not thought very much about civilian armies.  I know that the militia stories that circulated all over after Oklahoma City bombing were scary.  Maybe we have all been anesthetized by the military entertainment complex churning out Rambos or Delta Force or television’s 24 Hours or The Unit. But I grew up on a higher class of movie. More like The Manchurian Candidate or Dr. Srangelove.

Connect it all to Crazy Dana on the jump.

The result of all of that is I don’t always trust the government and I surely don’t trust the creation of an army created precisely because they don’t have to play by the rules of engagement.  We have seen the results when America’s forces step over the line: Abu Graib for example.  Even when it was not intentional, like today’s US Air Strike that hit an Iraqi school, it turns the non-committed into committed enemies.  So, Blackwater’s army lets us do the dirty work without taking the blame… except that everyone knows who these “contractors” are.

How difficult would it be to take that same Blackwater force and to start it operating within the US? That is where the television series would take us. We should not be hiring thugs to do what we don’t want to have blamed on us.  We should be wary of government officials who have anything to do with them.

It was easy to find direct connections between Blackwater and Rohrabacher.  According to a story posted recently at Democracy Now, Prince once interned with Rohrabacher.  There is no clear definition of exactly what he did for Dana, but there are plenty of examples of an ongoing relationship.

This is from the Democracy Now source:

But also, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater worked as an intern for Representative Dana Rohrabacher, another California Republican. In fact, when Blackwater was founded, both Dana Rohrabacher and Representative John Doolittle were brought out, at the company’s expense, to be at Blackwater’s grand opening. So these are deep Republican ties in California that Blackwater has.

Those deep Republican ties also includes Duncan Hunter.

This is going to be an long story.  Rohrabacher has left a trail behind him that should be easy to follow.  For example, did he actually account for that trip to the big show by his one-time intern?  The FEC filings do not show it and the other online source of records of Congressional travel American Radio Networks,  does not go back before the year 2000.  There is probably another story for someone who wants to go through all of those trips. I would bet you could like a few to the Taliban photo I have heard about.

Cross-posted from Ditch Crazy Dana

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Local Opposition To Blackwater Training Camp in CA Grows

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(cross-posted from Courage Campaign also at dailyKos)

If you've been following the story up to now, you know that Blackwater USA, the war profiteering private mercenary firm currently under investigation by Congress, has plans to open a mercenary training camp outside of the tiny, peaceful rural town of Potrero in San Diego County. Luckily, many community members and activist groups around the state have other plans entirely.

Since we launched our petition calling on our governor and senators to do whatever is in their power to block this project, I've been amazed at the diverse coalition that has united in opposition to Blackwater West. Everyone from anti-war groups such as Code Pink, to environmental groups such as The Sierra Club to progressive faith groups such as United For Peace and Justice have been fighting Blackwater's  invasion of California. But truly the most moving appeals I've heard in opposition of this training camp have been from people who actually live there, who would actually have to live with a mercenary training camp in their backyard. 

Some local perspective over the flip…

Anne in Jamul, CA signed our petition and offers this plea:

I moved to Jamul, CA to be in a peaceful, quiet place. I can see where the proposed "Blackwater" site will be built from my front window. However, I'm most concerned with the possiblity for fire that keeping many bunkers of amunition create. There have already been at least 4 fires that required evacuation from my area since I have lived there and I do not believe that corporation will take the measures necessary to keep the civilians in the area out of harms way, if they can make some money.

And this from Cheryl, also in Jamul:

I am opposed to this project on many levels. Locally, it would be an environmental disaster and would destroy the community character of Potero forever. Traffic and other environmental impacts would have far reaching effects. Every community along scenic Hwy 94 would be impacted negatively. Communities would likely suffer from the influence of and potential harm from the unsavory characters that this project would attract.

And Coral:

I am vehemently opposed to the training center being built there. I am afraid that one of the last family oriented back country communities will be destroyed by noise and war training by Blackwater. This will be devestating to our peaceful living environment. We moved out here 6 years ago to live in the peace and tranquility of natural suroundings. Please don't destroy our community and don't devalue our property.

You probably won't be shocked to learn that starting in May of last year, Blackwater began to infiltrate the local planning board, which is an elected advisory committee. Between May and October, there were meetings where local residents were largely left in the dark to the point that once the community began to rise up in protest of the proposed training camp that fall, it was too late to prevent the planning group from voting 7-0 in favor of Blackwater moving forward. Well, they may come to regret that vote.

Terry at TerryFacePlace has a great post about what's going on locally on this issue. She informs us that…uh oh, one of the planning group members who voted in favor of Blackwater isn't even eligible for the post.

A little bit of digging has revealed that Potrero Planning Group member Emil Susu is not a registered voter and not eligible to hold the elected office. The County has declared his seat vacant. Susu is registered to vote in Florida, not California. Mr Hammers says when Susu reregisters in Potrero, he'll appoint him to the PPG. Sounds like a nice little kingdom he's got out there.

Terry also informs us that local residents have launched a recall movement against several members of the Potrero Planning Group and one resident has filed suit to have the 7-0 vote thrown out.

The suit alleges several violations of the Brown Act, the open government mandate in California, including issues involving the inadequate public notice, and the right to anonymous comment. The Brown Act states that citizens may not be compelled to sign in at a public meeting in order to be allowed to speak. Hammers would not allow this individual to comment at the March meeting because she didn't feel comfortable signing in and wanted her name off the written record. Raymond Lutz of Citizen Oversight was attending that meeting, and read the provision of the Brown Act aloud to the PPG and they still would not allow her to speak.

Additionally, In their December 14, 2006 meeting, the PPG mandated certain conditions for their endorsement of this project, including satisfactory results in a "live fire" noise test in the valley. That noise test has not occurred, because the current owner of the property would not allow it. Additionally, a review of the County records reveal the vote record that was turned in to the County reflecting the PPGs approval of the Blackwater West project is blank, and there is nothing in the record documenting the PPG's noise test requirement. There are also no meeting minutes, nor a transcript of that meeting. Based on the written record, you'd never know that anyone in Potrero was opposed to Blackwater USA setting up camp in their backyard.

And speaking of that live fire test, this is classic:

I understand that Mr Hammers took his gun out to the valley, and shot off a few rounds and is satisfied noise won't be an issue.

Unfortunately, his private and personal live fire test made enough noise that a resident across the valley called Jan Hedlun, another PPG member (and the ONLY one opposed to this training camp) and said, "someone is firing a gun in the valley".

As for Ms. Hedlun, she has been a forceful voice as the lone planning group member opposed to Blackwater West (it should be noted that she was elected to the planning group in November and was not made aware that she was eligible for the Blackwater vote; she would have voted against it.) I had the pleasure of meeting her when I was in San Diego for the CDP convention and she told me that some of the other members of the planning group were flown to Blackwater's home base in North Carolina to see first hand just what a pleasant place a Blackwater training camp can be. Funny, Jan wasn't invited.

Here's video I took of Jan at a press conference down in SD:

So where does Blackwater West stand now? Well, because the 824-acre plot of land that Blackwater wants to build on is currently zoned for agriculture, there are a bunch of hoops that they need to jump through before this can go forward in any meaningful way. The first is an environmental impact report, public comment for which is being taken until the end of the month. Ultimately it will be up to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, which may not take up the issue until 2009, but that's why we need to work to defeat it now.

In addition, Congressman Filner has vowed to do whatever he can at the federal level to stop Blackwater in their tracks. He has sent letters to Congressman Waxman and thinks the way to stop them is put a hold on any private development until the investigations into the waste and fraud charges currently under way in the House are resolved. Thank you, Congressman for all your hard work. And thanks to everyone who has signed and forwarded our petition. In just ten days, it's gotten over 2,300 signatures and steadily climbing every day. Please add your name to it today to let California's statewide leaders know you oppose Blackwater in California and let the local community know you're standing with them. It is, after all, their backyard.

Uncategorized

Blackwater West Update (now w/video)

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(cross-posted from Courage Campaign)

On Friday, Raymond Lutz, intrepid President of the East County Democratic Club, presented a late resolution opposing Blackwater West to the resolutions committee at the California Democratic Convention. That committee meeting started at 3:30pm and didn't end until they got through all 104 timely resolutions and then finally got to the late ones. Raymond wasn't up until after 7pm. Unfortunately, after he presented his resolution, there was an objection from the committee, which rendered the resolution dead. They wouldn't even hear it. The committee member who objected cited the fact that California has dealings with Blackwater (do we now?) and he had an issue with the second resolved phrase of the resolution. The only reason we know the objector's reasoning was that Raymond got up after the objection and passionately pleaded to be able to take the resolution to the floor. The committee chair was moved enough to dig into it deeper but the objection stood. Join me…

That didn't stop Raymond's planned press conference the next morning, which featured the lone Potrero Planning Board member who opposes Blackwater West, Jan Hedlun and the congressman representing the area, Bob Filner. Remarkably, during the press conference, Congressman Filner promised to take the resolution and turn it into federal legislation. Here’s the video:

Raymond remarked to me in the aftermath of all of this that he had really underestimated the lack of knowledge about the issue among people at the convention. That's what we're trying to turn around with our petition. After sending it out on Thursday, in two days we had received almost 1,500 signatures. Please sign it today and let's get that number up over 2,000.

We'll follow the progress of the resolution as it hopefully at least gets debated on the floor of the House of Representatives. But in the meantime, the resolution Raymond wrote has been referred to the July e-board meeting up in Sacramento. 

Look forward to an upcoming post about the latest Potrero drama: the recall election of the 7 planning group members who are in favor of Blackwater West. A few of them reportedly were flown to North Carolina to see the main Blackwater training camp and apparently Filner was wined and dined on Blackwater's yacht in San Diego Harbor this weekend. The one planning group member who opposes the deal, Jan Hedlun, was at the protest as well and it was a pleasure to meet her. Watch her speak out here:

Blackwater is desperate to have this training camp pass through the Board of Supervisors and we're going to have some work to do in order to stop it.

Visit stopblackwater.net for more and as always, visit Terry at Terry Face Place, a great local blog. She’s been following this way longer than I have.

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ACTION: Help Us Keep Blackwater Out of California

(cross-posted from Courage Campaign also at dailyKos)

As I wrote HERE, Blackwater USA, the private "security" firm under investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for fraud and corruption for its war profiteering in Iraq, has grand plans for an 824-acre mercenary training camp just outside the tiny rural town of Potrero, CA, 45 miles east of San Diego. The facility would be a haven for war profiteers all the while ruining the peace and quiet of a tiny rural town, destroying the habitats of who knows how much local wildlife and threatening fire damage to a fire-prone area.  Luckily, we have some intrepid local opponents of the project working overtime to defeat Blackwater's best laid plans. More than 300 of Potrero's 450 registered voters have signed a petition opposing the sight; Rep. Bob Filner has vowed to do whatever he can to beat back Blackwater's advances; and Raymond Lutz, the intrepid president of East County Democratic Club, has launched a website, StopBlackwater.net, to aggregate and disseminate information about the threat of Blackwater West.

Which brings me to how you can help.

Courage Campaign has joined forces with the folks in East County to spread the word about Blackwater West and organize people on a statewide level against the project. To that end, we've launched a petition drive targeting Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Boxer and Senator Feinstein to pressure them to do whatever is in their power to stop this dangerous project. More…

The petition reads, in part,

Blackwater is currently under investigation by the House of Representatives for their mercenary activity in Iraq and should not be able to use our great state to perpetrate further fraud against the American people. California has a history of saying NO to those who work against the public interest. It's time to take a stand against Blackwater and send a clear message that the era of war profiteering has ended.

Please join us in opposing Blackwater in California by signing the petition today:

http://couragecampaign.org/page/petition/Blackwater 

In addition, we are going to do whatever we can to support Lutz in his latest endeavor: passing a resolution on the floor of the CA Democratic Convention in San Diego this weekend. Please spread the word to all the delegates you know to support this resolution. Lutz is going to present it to the resolutions committee on Friday and hopefully it will make it to the floor without having to get 300 delegates to sign it, but if we need to do that, we'll do that. Proposed text of the resolution is as follows:

  WHEREAS, Blackwater USA, a North Carolina-based private security firm under contract to the Pentagon to supply armed personnel for duties in the Iraq War, proposes to build a large mercenary and paramilitary training compound called Blackwater West near Potrero, in San Diego County, on an 824-acre parcel that includes Cleveland National Forest acreage, borders a proposed wilderness area adjacent to the Hauser Wilderness, and is both an important watershed and an environmentally sensitive habitat for wildlife; said mercenary and paramilitary activities are inherently dangerous and pose serious risks–including severe fire danger–to surrounding communities and wilderness areas, will deplete groundwater, substantially increase traffic, increase noise from shooting ranges, driving track, and helicopter activities, among many other environmental concerns.

  WHEREAS, Blackwater USA and other private contractors are not subject to an effective system of oversight and accountability with respect to their operations and government contracting activities, and are the subject of ongoing hearings before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse; Blackwater USA has resisted attempts to subject its private soldiers to the Pentagon's Uniform Code of Military Justice, claiming they are civilians, and has simultaneously claimed immunity from litigation under civil law in the United States, asserting its forces are part of the Pentagon's "Total Force."

  AND WHEREAS, the "John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007" (H.R. 5122), which was signed into law by President Bush in October 2006, seriously weakens two bulwarks of liberty–the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act of 1807–by expanding the power of the president to declare martial law and use troops as a domestic police force in response to a "public emergency" or any "other condition"; and Blackwater troops (which were deployed domestically in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina) or other private mercenary and paramilitary forces pose a severe threat to the civil liberties of the American people and now could be deployed to quell public dissent, put down popular uprisings, or even to stop opposing points of view through intimidation or outright force.

  THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Democratic Party opposes mercenary training by private concerns anywhere in the State of California, including the Blackwater West project.

  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all military, paramilitary, or related security/law enforcement training operations in California, whether private, governmental, or some combination of the two, will be conducted on, and only on, secured U.S. military bases or other established government-regulated facilities designed for that purpose.

Just to reiterate, this language may change still, but this is as it stands now. Again, please spread the word to CA delegates to please support this resolution when it comes up for a vote this weekend.

Look for updates on the progress of the resolution all weekend. 

Uncategorized

Blackwater Plans To Build A Mercenary Training Camp Right Here In CA?

(cross-posted from Courage Campaign also at dailyKos)

Oh, hell no!

It’s bad enough that an ex-Blackwater lobbyist holds a prominent position in the California Department of Homeland Security. But now the private “security” firm Blackwater USA wants to build an 824-acre mercenary training camp outside the tiny rural town of Potrero in San Diego County.

If it is approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the “Blackwater West” training facility would mark the third point in a so-called Blackwater Triangle that already includes their main base in Moyock, NC and their just recently opened facility, Blackwater North, in Mount Carroll, Illinois.

Creeped out yet? More on the project and the efforts underway to stop it over the flip.

According to a great Raw Story piece from earlier this month, the proposed Blackwater West facility

would include 15 firing ranges for automatic and semi-automatic weapons and small caliber guns, as well as an emergency vehicle operator’s course the length of ten football fields — 3,280 feet in length and 1,320 feet in width, according to a project description. The facility would also include bunkhouses and commando-type training facilities, ship simulators, and law enforcement and rescue safety training towers with rock-climbing walls and platforms.

The facility would house as many as 360 instructors and students at any given time, in a town of only 840. Remarkably, the project has already been approved by the Potrero planning group (an advisory body) in a 7-0 vote last December. Not that all members of the planning group support Blackwater mind you.

Jan Hedlun is the lone Potrero planner opposing the project. Elected in November, Hedlun didn’t vote at the December meeting because she says she wasn’t told she was eligible.

“I’m in the middle of a battle,” Hedlun said. “I am a lamb in a lion’s den. They’re pushing this through quicker than anything I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

The San Diego Reader concurs, calling it an “ambush.” While Blackwater was busy laying the groundwork gaining the support they’d need to get the OK from the planning group during much of last year, the public wasn’t informed of the plan until October.

The planning for this assault was well down the road before Potrero citizens even knew about it. “They have been trying to build support without notifying anybody here,” says resident Carl Meyer. “I have proof that since May they [Blackwater] have been meeting privately with Department of Planning and Land Use personnel. They have been trying to get standards lowered” in noise, roads, and other parts of the plan.

Not even Representative Bob Filner, in whose district the training camp would reside, was immune from the ambush. According to The San Diego Union Tribune:

company officers did not contact him until after they met with county planners, and after the local planning group unanimously approved a preliminary proposal.

Now that people are aware of it, however, they’re not happy. Of the 450 registered voters in the town, more than 300 of them have signed a petition opposing the project. There may even be an effort underway to recall the 7 members of the planning board that voted in favor of the project last year. And Filner is working to block the project.

He told the AP that he is exploring legislation that would block the deal pending further review by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has included Blackwater in its review of Iraqi war contractors.

In addition, the grassroots uprising has been phenomenal. An April 5, a Department of Planning and Land Use scoping meeting to discuss the environmental impact of the proposed facility attracted more than 100 protesters. Video is HERE and a local NBC news report can be viewed HERE.

In addition, Raymond Lutz, president of the East County Democratic Club has started StopBlackwater.net, which links to a great wiki. He’s been really leading this fight. 

And Terry over at TerryFacePlace has been intrepidly blogging on the subject. 

Now, the good news is that Blackwater West is not in danger of becoming a reality any time soon. Because the area is currently zoned for agriculture, an environmental impact report is required to change the zoning before it actually goes to the Board of Supes. This process should take up to 22 months. So we have time, but all the more reason we need to fight now.

Stay tuned for more very soon including what YOU can do to help!