Cross posted at Calitics

As of yesterday, Blackwater is back to desperately trying to play pariah. They're accusing San Diego of disobeying a court order by...closely adhering to the court order. Blackwater's complaint is that the city is improperly delaying the final permit needed for the Otay Mesa training facility because of a recent letter from San Diego's chief building official that "placed 64 conditions on the final permit for a ship simulator, including wheelchair access."

The Blackwater argument- sad, desperate, and incoherent as it is- is that because a judge's decision pre-empted the City Council from reviewing Blackwater's permits and restricted the permits to ministerial review, a ministerial review from the relevant city department is improper. City Attorney Mike Aguirre clarified that these decisions "are being made by the professional staff using their own good-faith judgment." Just what Blackwater asked for and received.

Basically, how dare you give me what I want and have it turn out to be undesirable. Blackwater is apparently unfamiliar with The Monkey Paw, but will soon hopefully learn that getting what you ask for isn't always the same as getting what you want.

But for a company that's so desperate to adhere to local laws, Blackwater seems mighty resistant to adhering to relevant state and local regulations. Maybe it's because they won't be able to violate federal laws if they can't first violate state and local laws.

Either way, Blackwater's blatant disregard for local regulation was bound to cause them trouble eventually. They managed for now (there's an appeal pending) to avoid allowing the public to decide if they'd like accused murderers and arms smugglers in their community. They've managed to dance around countless laws and basic morals from Iraq to Afghanistan to New Orleans. But it doesn't get them everywhere, and now people are paying attention. Blackwater admitted up front and city officials confirmed that the misleading shell companies used to apply for city permits were used to fly under the radar of city employees and local activists, but the cat is out of the bag and now people will notice if the city fudges on any letter of the law. Too bad for Blackwater if they can't operate within the law.

Cross posted at Calitics

There's a protest from 3-5pm today at Blackwater's new Otay Mesa facility, and tomorrow Jeremy Scahill will be doing a special Courage Campaign Conversation tomorrow afternoon at 4pm.

In a little noticed vote yesterday, the Merida Initiative passed easily through the House of Representatives 311-106. It provides $1.6 billion with an emphasis on training and equipment to fight drug cartels in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, because as Rep. Brian Bilbray explained:

"Either we can go after these cartels in Ensenada, or we can fight them in Escondido," said Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Carlsbad), who voted for the plan. "I'd prefer that we move now and take care of this problem south of the border. The drug wars in Mexico and in other regions have grown horrendously violent, and their destructive ways must be quashed."

It's tough to directly take issue with any of that, but where does it lead? Potentially to some unpleasant places. In September, the Defense Department opened up five year contracts in support of counter-narcoterrorism efforts to five private companies, including Blackwater USA. "The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract could be worth up to $15 billion for the awardees." The Army Times analyzed the content of the contracts, describing:   Read More »

Tomorrow night, Blackwater author and expert Jeremy Scahill is kicking off three days worth of Blackwater events in San Diego with a talk which I'll be attending (pdf), followed by a protest rally Wednesday (at the Blackwater facility 3-5pm) and a Courage Campaign Conversation Thursday.

Earlier today, Scahill emailed Courage Campaign members about the Blackwater fight in San Diego. He proved yet again that he's likely the foremost expert on Blackwater that we've got (aside from a few that're on the BW payroll presumably), and lays out what's coming in the days, weeks, and months ahead:   Read More »

Clocking in several weeks late and after Mayor Sanders secured re-election, San Diego's internal audit of Blackwater's permit process "found no evidence that the contractor misrepresented itself in its permit applications."

This is not an encouraging development, heading off the best opportunity for the city to intervene and block Blackwater's new facility. It's hardly the end- just a detour- as the fight continues. Nevertheless, Blackwater has moved into its facility in Otay Mesa and training has already begun. Moving forward, it will be vitally important (while keeping up the heat to close the facility outright) to keep a close eye on Blackwater's own claim that the facility will only be used for Navy training. Via Blackwater's own press release:

Critics of the project have used blatant fabrications -- claiming that the facility will be used for border security or immigration purposes -- to build support for their opposition of the facility. The proposed facility will be used for training alone...

So when the inevitable grab for exactly those sorts of functions arrives, we'll have to be ready to fight back.

But in the meantime, this proves to reinforce the necessity of federal action to put companies like Blackwater out of business. Localities can keep up this fight but ultimately the fix must come from DC. Already, presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama has led the party to reject lobbyist and PAC money. If we can stop taking dirty money, we can stop paying money out to dirty contractors and murderers. In the meantime, Rep. Shakowsky's Stop Outsourcing Security Act is a bill whose time is past due. Blackwater relies on being indispensable to military operations, largely because Pentagon leadership gamed the system to create such failings. It's vital to start now on the road to fixing our military system and Blocking Blackwater.

Cross posted at Calitics

A day later than expected, a federal judge today ruled in Blackwater's favor, ruling "that 'the public interest weighs in favor' of allowing the company to open its facility" in Otay Mesa. The ruling will allow Blackwater to occupy the facility, which they're expected to do in the morning. Court hearings will continue on June 17th when the City of San Diego will again present its case that Blackwater misled city officials during the ministerial review of permits. This doesn't end the case, but it does rob the city of some of its thunder. The legal wrangling will continue, and in the meantime, Blackwater still has more permits pending that will hopefully receive quite a bit more scrutiny.

In related news, the political landscape shifted considerably in elections yesterday. Mayor Sanders avoided a runoff in his bid for a second term, which could either free him to do the right thing or lessen his concern for public opinion. Incumbent City Attorney Mike Aguirre will be heading for a runoff in November, coming in second to GOP candidate Jan Goldsmith. If activists locally are savvy and get the support they need, Blackwater can become a central issue in that campaign. That runoff also knocks termed-out City Council President Scott Peters out of the equation- it will be interesting to see what he does with the remainder of his time in office on this issue. He's spoken out with us previously and his will be an important voice going forward.

As more develops, we'll continue with the updates. The next date circled on my San Diego/Blackwater calendar is June 10, when Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army author Jeremy Scahill will be in town to speak on the depth and breadth of Blackwater in America (pdf).

Blackwater got its day in court pretty quick- yesterday in fact. Lawyers for Blackwater and the City of San Diego appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn L. Huff to debate the permit process for Blackwater's Otay Mesa facility. Blackwater claimed it had been honest and transparent throughout the whole process (blatantly and entirely untrue: see every other post on this subject), and the City did a pretty good job of establishing that Blackwater has sought to obscure its identity and intentions all along. The judge, rather ominously, said according to the UT "that it appeared that Blackwater had met all the city's requirements until officials on May 19 said further review was needed before they would issue an occupancy permit, the final hurdle for Blackwater to open the training center." An official ruling is expected from the judge on Tuesday (June 3).

Observer Mark Smith was at the courthouse, and notes that

[i]n order to get a temporary restraining order in federal court, Blackwater had to show that otherwise they would suffer irreparable injury. The San Diego attorney cited rulings stating that loss of income is not an irreparable injury and the judge asked the Blackwater attorney to state what the injury was. Instead he began talking about our brave fighting men and women defending our country.

Nothing about the actual legal questions involved, just parroting irrelevant platitudes about patriotism that haven't been in fashion since 2003. Local activist and previous Blackwater slayer Ray Lutz was also there and notes that Judge Huff is on dicey (to say the least) ground regarding jurisdiction:

This is a[n] unbelievable precedent, meaning that if you don't like the ruling of the planning department, then perhaps you should go to federal court. With enough money, you can probably work the system, just like Blackwater is. His (attorney for the City) second point is that there is no "irreparable" harm. The claim that Blackwater might lose money or lose a contract is not irreparable. Money is not a harm that is irreparable as it can be repaid. He cited the case of the Colosseum, where the football league claimed they were harmed irreparably, and the court found that it was based on nothing more than business that might or might not be lost in the future.

Judge Huff was appointed by the first President Bush and does not exactly the best ratings in the world to say the least. But regardless, this is where the actual and nefarious potential for "judicial activism" lies. It isn't about applying existing laws to new societal problems or changing conditions as so many on the Right like to scream about. It's about deliberately misapplying straightforward law to advance an agenda.

It's also good to keep in mind that Tuesday is the primary election, which will redefine the politics of both the Mayor and City Attorney races in San Diego. A lot may change then, we'll have to wait until Tuesday for the actual ruling and figure out our next steps then.

Cross posted at Calitics

Earlier today, Blackwater ratcheted up the San Diego battle, suing the City of San Diego on federal charges. Blackwater claims that the revocation of its occupancy permit (so that the public has a chance to comment and review) violates not only state and federal rights, but Blackwater's Constitutional protections under the Commerce Clause. You can read the entire complaint in pdf form here, but I can assure you that the irony of a company who operates outside of all law- Constitutional and otherwise- trying to claim those same rights runs right through the whole thing.

The argument rests on a number of misrepresentations, including the assertion that Otay Mesa is a "remote" and maintaining that fulfilling a military training contract somehow corresponds to a closed-to-the-public "vocational school." But the crux of it all is that Blackwater thinks it's unconstitutional for there to be a public review of its permit. Which of course inaccurately attempts to convince us all that Blackwater is just another business. That's the Blackwater pitch through all of this, and (hopefully) it's never going to fly. Blackwater likes being a special case when it's insulated from murder prosecution, but not when it screws up their permits. Speaking with KPBS, City Attorney Mike Aguirre said "It's not really something that in my judgment is a appropriately before a federal court. [sic]"

Brian Bonfiglio for his part as Blackwater West's shill accused the city of trying to suck up to activists (when was the last time that happened ANYwhere?) in defense of the lawsuit. This is a whole new level, we'll see what comes next.

Cross posted at Calitics

The City of San Diego has decided against issuing a certificate of occupancy to Blackwater (pdf):

Dear Mr. Bonfiglio,

The City will not issue a certificate of occupancy for the above referenced project pursuant to Section 129.0114 of the San Diego Municipal Code (SDMC). The portions of the building identified for use as a shooting range and vocational/trade school shall not be occupied until a certificate of occupancy has been issued for this change of use or occupancy pursuant to SDMC Section 129.0113.

Which basically means that Blackwater can't open up shop until going through a full public review process as ordered by the Mayor (replacing the previously planned stop-work order). In the meantime though, San Diego's development services director Kelly Broughton continues to play dumb, telling KPBS "I don't see that I would have had any other choice but to approve it because it complied with our municipal code and the California Building Code." Of course, it doesn't comply at all, which is why Rep. Bob Filner, several members of the City Council, the City Attorney and Mayor have all now stepped in to correct the flawed process.

For his part, Blackwater spokesman Mike Neil is grasping almost laughably at straws in response:

Neil said Blackwater's own analysis shows that the company is entitled to occupy the Otay Mesa facility and a delay could jeopardize Blackwater's long-standing contract with the Navy to train sailors in anti-terrorism tactics. A delay could damage the company's business reputation and "cause harm to national security."

I'm really not impressed that Blackwater has decided that Blackwater is right. And if Blackwater is so concerned about hanging onto this contract, they might have wanted to engage in this process honestly. But at least they continue to blow off even the pretense that this would be a vocational school. Not even lip service to the notion. Finally, for all the lame bluster about the threat to national security if Blackwater loses this contract, let's not lose sight of the fact that, even if this were true (obviously it's not true and is in fact absurd), it's not a good thing. Blackwater's contention is that San Diego should break its local government because the military can't handle its own training.

Well that's exactly what Donald Rumsfeld had in mind back in 2001 when he decided it was time to save the Pentagon from itself by privatizing everything in sight. As I remember it, the ensuing years have demonstrated that Donald Rumsfeld is not right about very much, and this is one example. So even if Blackwater were right that its vital to military readiness- that would just be all the more reason to put the training back in the hands of the military. Blackwater has been nothing but trouble, and cementing any "necessity" for them would be wrong on so many levels. Good for their bottom line- which is what they care about- but not good for San Diego, the U.S. military, the country overall or the world at large. Less Blackwater is the goal.

But who's complaining? We've had a pretty good run of good news in the past week or two- something we haven't really been used to over the past few years. We come up with lots of ideas at the Courage Campaign, and obviously we think they're generally pretty good. But as we look forward to build on the momentum from recent victories, we need to hear from you.

That's why we've opened up the Courage Campaign Suggestion Box. Our Managing Director Eden James explained all the details yesterday via email:   Read More »

On Friday, San Diego's City Attorney issued a full opinion on the Blackwater issue, calling for an immediate stop-work order and environmental impact report. This was most certainly a welcome development, but even more encouraging was the response from Mayor Sanders, who agreed and "ordered work to stop on Blackwater Worldwide's proposed military training facility in Otay Mesa."

A Sanders spokesperson explained that the Mayor would revisit the issue after the city's CEO completes an ordered review of the permitting process- due May 23. So this buys at least a week and is a demonstrable step in the right direction from the Mayor's office. If he does in fact stick to his good governance guns, there's simply no way that Blackwater's new facility fits under the permits that have been issued. It will be important to find out what went wrong in the process and fix it, but first we've got to prevent the bad outcome.

Brian Bonfiglio, for his part, did his usual bang-up job of making Blackwater look condescending and tone-deaf:   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

Yesterday the Union Tribune reported that according to Kelly Broughton, San Diego's development services director, Blackwater's city permits could not be appealed. The article held out one glimmer of hope though- that Mayor Sanders' call for investigation could bear fruit:

Broughton said yesterday that the internal review could lead to Blackwater's permits being revoked, after a public hearing, if it turns out that staff made mistakes or relied on bad information.

Certainly one compelling bit of "bad information" might be the use of Southwest Law Enforcement and Raven Development Group on the permits instead of Blackwater. Another might be...you know...blatantly lying about the planned use of the property in Otay Mesa and what would be installed there. Well today City Attorney Mike Aguirre weighed in on exactly that, calling for a stop work order to be immediately issued and establishing the need for environmental impact study:

The City Attorney issued a legal opinion on Friday indicating that a series of building permits issued by the City of San Diego's Development Services Department to a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, a global security firm whose work in Iraq has fallen under criticism, were obtained improperly and a more rigorous permitting process should be completed. The City Attorney opined that a stop work order should be issued immediately and a more rigorous application process undertaken.

Southwest Law Enforcement Training Enterprises, a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, obtained permits for tenant improvements to an existing warehouse in Otay Mesa the area of the City of San Diego. The permit applications specified that the building was to be used as a "training facility." The original building was formerly used as a warehouse. One of the three applications filed by Southwest Law Enforcement stated that the proposed use of the building as "same (no change)."

As a result of the representations in the permit application the permits were issued under the DSD's "ministerial" process, which meant no City Council or other discretionary approval was required.

More recent tenant improvement application submitted by Southwest Law Enforcement Training Enterprises was to construct an "indoor firing range."

The legal opinion issued by the City Attorney's Office also states that California Environmental Quality Act is also necessary in order to address the environmental impacts of a firing range

Which is a long way around to smacking down Blackwater on about every point that's been raised by the locals objecting to the project. Local NPR on the way home earlier reported that Mayor Sanders was on board with some or all of the City Attorney's opinion, still waiting to get an official response from Sanders.

Cross posted at Calitics.

In the continuing battle over Blackwater and America's soul, Senator John Kerry called for hearings today into the renewal of Blackwater's State Department contract. Why? In Kerry's words:

To learn that Blackwater's no-bid security contract for Iraq was renewed even as a grand jury investigates the company and the IRS considers its own review of the company's books, raises serious concerns that merit Senate hearings. How was this decision made? What was the process that concluded there were no alternatives? What was the extent of Blackwater's lobbying effort?, said Senator Kerry. "Five years into this war, there's been too much abuse of the contracting process in Iraq and too little oversight, and nowhere do the questions loom larger than in Blackwater's role and the Administration's apparent imperviousness to skepticism where this corporation is concerned.

Coincidentally, this news comes on the same day that news broke that Blackwater vehicle prototypes might be on the Defense Department's shopping list. This is two more fronts in the battle over Blackwater's legitimacy. On the one hand, Blackwater continues to seek out new niches to keep itself afloat after we finally leave Iraq, and on the other hand, Democratic leadership continues to step to block Blackwater. Kerry's hearings will likely take place in the Middle East Subcommittee in the Foreign Relations Committee. Also serving there is Senator Barbara Boxer. Now Senator Boxer has earned the benefit of the doubt over her years in the Senate, but this is a huge issue that goes well beyond this aspect of Blackwater or the State Department. This is a statement about how we as a nation are going to treat organizations like Blackwater.

I have a lot of faith in Barbara Boxer to do the right thing, but that doesn't mean it isn't vital that we watch and make sure she helps drive the point home here. There's simply never any excuse for Blackwater to be paid with our tax dollars. Until we can lay down a federal level smackdown (Rep. Schakowsky's Stop Outsourcing Security Act is another great opportunity) on this sort of thing, it's just gonna be more rounds of whack-a-mole around the country. It's good to see more leadership in DC on this issue, but now we've gotta get the follow-through.

Cross posted at Calitics

By now, nobody should be surprised by the resiliency of Blackwater. They've come back from the brink so many times, it's easy to allow yourself to think they'll never really be gone. So this weekend's New York Times article on Blackwater's comeback might be both demoralizing and par for the course if it wasn't for the strong rhetorical pushback from members of Congress that line up encouragingly with local progress.

As the New York Times chronicles all the near death experiences that Blackwater has come through:

The State Department has just renewed its contract to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq for at least another year. Threats by the Iraqi government to strip Western contractors of their immunity from Iraqi law have gone nowhere. No charges have been brought in the United States against any Blackwater guard in the September shooting, either, and the F.B.I. agents in Baghdad charged with investigating whether Blackwater guards have committed any crimes under United States law are sometimes protected as they travel through Baghdad by Blackwater guards.

Nevertheless, signs indicate that, ever so slowly, the worm is turning. The article notes that the State Department renewed its contract largely for lack of other options, to which Rep. Henry Waxman retorted "I can't understand why Blackwater's contract was renewed. It seems to me the administration should have looked for others who could do the job, including the U.S. military."   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

Local leaders gathered today outside the office of Mayor Jerry Sanders to present him with more than 2,500 signatures to the letter from San Diego Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee calling for an investigation into Blackwater's permit process. There was a somewhat unexpected air of celebration to the event as it was announced yesterday that Mayor Sanders is calling for the city's Chief Executive Officer to conduct a full review of the Blackwater permit process (of course now we'll see what comes of it).

The stage was shared by Jess Durfee (who noted he knows a few things about vocational schools courtesy of a Master's degree in vocational education), Courage Campaign's Rick Jacobs, Humberto Peraza- district Chief of Staff for Rep. Filner, Francine Busby and Ray Lutz from Citizens' Oversight Projects.

All the parties involved have been instrumental in the rapid and effective response to this new Blackwater situation. Remember it's been barely two weeks since the news originally broke of this new facility, yet here everyone was gathered to mark and celebrate a significant people-powered success story.



Today was a great opportunity to cement in no uncertain terms the coalition to Block Blackwater which has formed rapidly and forced action from the Mayor. And we're just getting warmed up. There have been recent revelations that Blackwater is looking to expand operations at current facilities and open a new training facility in Idaho. Why? Because they see the writing on the wall. They know that Iraq isn't going to last much longer, partly because they've behaved so criminally and partly because the war is such a debacle. They know that their survival depends on diversifying and establishing new roles in a post-Bush/Iraq system. It's why they're looking for a few good hundred million in new investment capital. It's because there's no natural place for them to exist once they can't get anymore handouts from the Bush Administration and their cronies.

Today was a victory. Tomorrow we'll likely need another. But we're developing the methods that win.

Blackwater isn't just focusing on the US-Mexico border, it seems. This week we learned that they are trying to open a facility near the Canadian border, in northern Idaho. From the Coeur d'Alene Press:

The North Carolina-based company is negotiating a contract with the Idaho Peace Officer Standards & Training Academy to provide space and instruction to law enforcement personnel. ... Sheriff Rocky Watson expressed concern that Blackwater, which has big military contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, partnering with Idaho POST will create the wrong impression with the public.

"The perception that our law enforcement officers will be trained by mercenaries is a problem," Watson said. "Our jobs are totally different. We're not paramilitary. The perception is important to our customers."

Blackwater officials strongly maintain that no military training will take place at the facility here. ... The company has faced media scrutiny about its role in Iraq. Blackwater is one of three big contractors providing security services to key U.S. personnel. DynCorp., and Triple Canopy also have employees deployed there.

Blackwater personnel are accused of gunning down 17 people, including women and children last September in Iraq. The FBI is investigating claims made by witnesses that Blackwater guards shot and killed without provocation.

   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

Mayor Jerry Sanders got what he asked for when he was elected in 2005. Not just the office, but unprecedented "strong mayor" control over the city's operation. He's had two and a half years, and as he runs for reelection, we have to ask whether he's lived up to the responsibility.

At a recent debate, Mayor Sanders let his frustration get the best of him over the substance, or perceived lack thereof, in the current campaign. Well if he wants to talk about issues, Blackwater is a good one. Steve Francis, a leading contender for mayor, has accused Jerry Sanders of "presiding over the largest pay-to-play system the city has ever seen." If Mayor Sanders wants to get substantive and prove that the good of the community is is his top priority, it's time he get involved in the absurd permit process that has- thus far- allowed Blackwater to waltz into the city and start unpacking within spitting distance of the border.

Earlier today, Courage Campaign partnered with Jess Durfee, the Chair of the San Diego Democratic Party, to introduce a petition calling on Mayor Sanders to launch a full investigation into the questionable process that's brought Blackwater to the City of San Diego. He asked for this responsibility- he still wants this responsibilty. It's time to deliver.

Here is the email that Jess Durfee sent to Courage Campaign's San Diego members today:   Read More »

On the ground in San Diego, Blackwater's latest move to impose itself on the local community has been a shock. Obscuring their purpose on any number of levels, it's a game of catch-up just to establish the ground on which we'll fight back. What's clear above all else is that these guys aren't going to give up. No matter how many times local activists pull together to fight them off, they'll always come back. It has to find a federal solution.

That's where the whole country needs to continue in the anti-Blackwater business just like San Diegans are revving up for another knock-down and drag-out. The long term solution here comes from bills like the Stop Outsourcing Security Act, and Rick Jacobs has the rundown on how we can help get things rolling a little faster:

Blackwater is back in California.

Just a few months after the courageous people of Potrero kicked Blackwater out of their small town on the California border, Blackwater has announced plans to open a 61,600 square-foot "training facility" in San Diego just THREE blocks from Mexican border.

In other words, Blackwater is using your tax dollars on a mercenary war in Iraq -- $320 million paid so far, over 60% in no-bid contracts -- to subsidize building a base of operations inside California.

Blackwater's border bait-and-switch has shocked the citizens of San Diego. Shortly before pulling their plans on Potrero, the private military contractor quietly used a shell company called "Southwest Law Enforcement" to gain city permits for a "vocational trade school" a stone's throw from the Tijuana Airport. While Blackwater denies that this deception is a trojan horse to land border security contracts from the federal government before George W. Bush leaves office, the ominous writing is on California's wall.

What will it take to stop Blackwater for good in California and Iraq? Local and national pressure. This time, the Courage Campaign plans to fight a two-front battle against Blackwater -- on the border in San Diego and in the halls of Congress.

To block Blackwater in California for good, we need to put them out of business in Iraq forever. That's why we're supporting Rep. Jan Schakowsky's "Stop Outsourcing Security Act" (H.R. 4102), which would phase out private security companies like Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan. An identical bill in the Senate (S. 2398) has been co-sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton.

   Read More »

When nobody was paying attention, Blackwater found another way into San Diego. After watching every friendly politician in Potrero get recalled handily in February, Blackwater West quietly started pursuing permits to open a facility in the City of San Diego just three blocks from the U.S/Mexico border. 61,600 square feet, zoned for a vocational school but which Blackwater plans to use for training Navy personnel in terrorism response. To echo recent comments by Councilmember Ben Hueso to local news, Blackwater has no business in the City of San Diego unless and until someone can say definitively what laws they are bound by. And certainly, setting up shop *on* the border raises all sorts of extra red flags.

The local response has been fast and furious this week. And thanks to leadership from Congressman Bob Filner, there will be a rally at the proposed site of the new Blackwater facility tomorrow (Friday) morning. Rep. Filner will be joined by Councilmember Ben Hueso, San Diego City Council President Scott Peters, Carol Jahnkow of the Peace Resource Center, Raymond Lutz of Citizens' Oversight Projects, and Sierra Club's Jeanette Hartman at 10:45am at 7685 Siempre Viva Road in Otay Mesa in opposition to Blackwater's latest shady dealings.

Among other organizations, the Courage Campaign is encouraging all local San Diegans to attend if they're able. Rick Jacobs' message to folks in San Diego follows:   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

The Union-Tribune's Anne Krueger is back with a command performance from the stenography pool today, delivering the latest "news" on Blackwater's Otay Mesa facility. Yet even she couldn't avoid the awkward break in logic that the various pieces of today's puzzle delivered:

"As long as it was an educational facility, if they're training future police or security guards, that would be considered a vocational trade," Broughton said.

Bonfiglio said Blackwater has had a contract to train Navy personnel since 2002 through a subcontractor, American Shooting Center in Kearny Mesa. The training will be transferred to the Otay Mesa site once Navy inspectors give their approval to the new facility, he said.

Bonfiglio said Blackwater hasn't determined whether American Shooting Center would assist with training in Otay Mesa.

"We want to improve on the curriculum. We want to improve on the teaching," Bonfiglio said. "We want to improve on the facilities."

Bonfiglio said other agencies may use the facilities occasionally if it doesn't interfere with the Navy's training. He emphasized that no independent contractors working for Blackwater would be trained there.

addition: Brian Bonfiglio explicitly states that this facility will provide military, not civilian training in the article: "Already in place was a ship simulator - a miniature version of a Navy ship - that Bonfiglio said will be used to train sailors for crisis situations at sea...Although the facility has a shooting range, it will emphasize training Navy personnel to be better prepared for terrorist attacks, Bonfiglio said."   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

Just when we thought we had won, Blackwater snuck in the back door and set up shop in San Diego with hardly anyone noticing. Citizen Oversight Projects started spreading the word today that Blackwater will be opening a 61,600 square foot training facility in Otay Mesa, just a block from the U.S./Mexico border. It's also about 4 miles from the Otay Mesa border crossing and about 6.5 miles from the San Ysidro border crossing. This is an indoor facility and obviously much smaller than the 824-acre project Blackwater had pursued in Potrero, but no less nefarious.

This comes at a time when national legislation to block Blackwater and other mercenaries is gaining steam. And perhaps this incident demonstrates that without a major shift at the federal level, we'll just be chasing Blackwater around in macabre version of whack-a-mole into eternity.   Read More »