Media Bias Hypes Assault Rifles

Several media outlets have reported that "Blackwater Worldwide has been able to keep 17 AK-47s at its armory under a deal that sidesteps federal laws prohibiting private parties from buying automatic weapons." The suggestion from headlines like "Blackwater Deal Allows Company to Keep AK-47s" is that the private security contractor is building some sort of private arsenal. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

"Blackwater financed the purchase of 17 Romanian AK-47s and 17 Bushmasters and gave ownership of the guns to the Camden County sheriff. Sheriff Tony Perry said his department has only used the AK-47s in shooting practice at Blackwater and that none of his 19 deputies are qualified to use them. The agreements [were] signed in the summer of 2005 with the sheriff's office."

So not only is this 'news' quite old, but the whole thrust implied by the taglines is wrong. In fact, Blackwater is helping to train local law enforcement, training which includes assault rifles. The weapons are owned by the sheriff's office, are strictly for training and are used strictly by the sheriff's office. Let's not make a bigger deal out of this than we ought.

Blackwater Seeks Rule of Law Over Local Political Biases

Though District Judge Marilyn Huff's decision to issue a temporary restraining order against the City of San Diego - seen as a landmark case for the rule of law - has allowed Blackwater Worldwide to begin training US Navy personnel to better defend their ships, the order was only temporary. Now Blackwater is making the full case that the operating permits should be made permanent, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

“In a legal document filed Friday, the company states: 'At the simplest level, Blackwater seeks the protection of the federal court system to avoid parochialism and local political bias.' Blackwater maintains its position that it was entitled to open the training center with its existing permits; that its civil rights to due process are being violated; and that failure to open on time would jeopardize its contract with the Navy.”

Put simply, Blackwater wants the rights granted to any other business in San Diego, which would in turn allow it to honor its US Navy contract and help keep American sailors safe. The company wants to stop local politics from subverting the rule of law. Is that too much to ask?

Federal Court Decision a Victory for 'Rule of Law' Against 'Pandering Politicians'

The editors of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote an excellent editorial piece praising a federal court's defense of Blackwater as a victory for the "rule of law" against "pandering politicians."

The newspaper praised US District Judge Marilyn Huff's decision to force the City of San Diego to issue the permits Blackwater had coming for its naval training facility. The editors contend that the recent decision "should put a damper on the political posturing and petty pandering over Blackwater Worldwide before it winds up costing San Diego taxpayers millions of dollars in a legal judgment."

Moreover, the Union-Tribune editorial board points out that "as a candidate for city attorney, City Councilman Scott Peters started the hullabaloo. Considering his distant third-place finish in the race last week, voters were not too impressed with his huffing and puffing over Blackwater's plans to open an anti-terrorism training center for Navy personnel." The editors conclude:

At times like this, thank heavens for the rule of law and the role of the courts in enforcing it in the face of countervailing political opinion. After Blackwater made a strong case that its rights to due process were being violated arbitrarily by pandering politicians, Judge Huff issued a temporary restraining order requiring Peters, Aguirre and Sanders to get out of the way and allow the project to proceed....

The opponents never had a case on land-use grounds. Their opposition was really rooted in Blackwater's unpopularity as a controversial military contractor in Iraq. Blackwater's political opponents are entitled to voice their opinions, but they are not allowed under the law to deny a valid land-use permit to Blackwater simply because of their political objections. Thank you, Judge Huff, for setting the politicians straight.

Blackwater Gets Go-Ahead for Navy Facility

Federal District Judge Marilyn Huff has ordered the City of San Diego to issue Blackwater Worldwide the permits to open its new training facility, the Associated Press reports. Blackwater sued after the city refused to issue the permits, in spite of the fact that the conditions had been met.

Huff found that other firing range operators in the city had not been required to undergo similar reviews.

Classes for Navy sailors will begin Thursday, according to Brian Bonfiglio, a Blackwater executive overseeing the project. They were originally set to begin at the center Monday but were suspended pending the judge's ruling.

The facility will be used strictly to train US Navy personnel in small arms, a growing concern to the Navy since the bombing of the USS Cole, diagrammed below.(Click the image to see a larger version)

State Department Renews Blackwater Contract

Mom always said actions speak louder than words. The big news today is that the US State Department has renewed the contract with Blackwater Worldwide to provide diplomatic security in Iraq.

The BBC, the AFP, the Washington Post, and everybody else is carrying the story. No matter how much any of them try to spin the story, several key points are obvious:

1. The US government still depends upon private security contractors (PSCs).

2. Blackwater's service has been exemplary, winning them another year on the contract.

In spite of all the pressure from trial lawyers, anti-war protesters and elements of the Democratic Party, the State Department has still come to the conclusion that no one - including the State Department's own Bureau of Diplomatic Security - can provide the quality of service that Blackwater does.

"I have requested and received approval to have Task Order 6, which Blackwater has to provide personal protective services in Baghdad, renewed for one year," the State Department's Gregory Starr said.

When asked about allegations against Blackwater, he replied: "I am not going to prejudge what the FBI is going to find in their investigation. I think really, it is complex. I think that the US government needs protective services. Essentially I think they [Blackwater] do a very good job."

Blackwater Founder to Address Grand Rapids Economic Club

Erik Prince, founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide, will be addressing the Grand Rapids Economic Club at a luncheon on Tuesday, the Associated Press and the Grand Rapids Press report.

Prince, a former Navy SEAL, is a native of Holland, Michigan and still has family in the area, among them a sister who sits on the Economic Club’s board.
Blackwater Worldwide, based in Moyock, North Carolina, protects US officials in Iraq, supplies frontline US forces in Afghanistan and provides a variety of other services to the US government.

'Blackwater Worldwide' - Company re-brands for growth

Reflecting confidence in future demand for its products and services, Blackwater USA has re-branded itself as Blackwater Worldwide. The change has been in the works for 9 months, and has taken effect amid the global media controversy about its diplomatic security services in Iraq.

Longtime Blackwater critic Bill Sizemore of the Virginian-Pilot, the Norfolk-area daily that's a hometown paper of sorts to the company, says that Blackwater has lots more business beyond its State Department security contracts, and that it can afford to lose Foggy Bottom as a client.

Says Sizemore, "Losing the huge State Department contract – which has brought the company more than $800 million in revenue since 2004 – would undoubtedly be a blow to Blackwater, but it would not be a death knell. The 10-year-old company has developed many other lines of business:

• It provides tactical training to every branch of the armed services and many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.


• In the past two months, it has been named one of five companies to share a five-year federal counter narcotics contract that could be worth up to $15 billion and has won a four-year, $92 million contract to provide aviation services in central Asia. Its aviation affiliate owns 40 aircraft.


• It has acquired an oceangoing ship for training and potential paramilitary use.


• It is building and marketing an armored personnel carrier and a surveillance airship.


• It continues to seek a role providing private armed forces in support of international peacekeeping and nation-building operations. The company is organizing a symposium to promote the idea Dec. 4-5 in Washington.

Reflecting its broadening horizons, the company has recently changed its name from “Blackwater USA” to “Blackwater Worldwide.” Anne Tyrrell, a company spokeswoman, said the rebranding has been in the works for nine months.