Blackwater Wants Strict Accountability Standards in California

Blackwater supports proposed legislation to standardize accountability for firearms training in California, where it has opened up a new facility for the Navy.

The company announced support for a proposed bill that, in its words, "would serve to hold all responsible firearms training facilities to a common standard, allow training of responsible citizens, and, hopefully, reduce firearms capabilities of dangerous criminals."

"Blackwater endorses AB2498 and urges it be passed.

"Blackwater, which recently opened a facility in San Diego County, has long supported a strict credential policy, requiring every student it trains to provide documented proof of their suitability for training and eligibility to possess firearms. The company is committed to safe training on the use and handling of firearms, but is equally committed to ensuring that those firearms are in the hands of capable and confident citizens, not prohibited felons."

(Photo: Interior of new Blackwater training range in San Diego County.)

Harassment: San Diego Wants Navy Ship Simulator to be Wheelchair Accessible

Among the scores of items the city of San Diego is throwing in the path of a US Navy training facility: A demand that a ship simulator be made wheelchair accessible.

No ship in the US Navy is wheelchair accessible, and no naval ship simulator is, either. But San Diego is insisting that the training site, run on contract by Blackwater Worldwide, be accessible by wheelchair. That means that the ship simulator's gangways, hatches, ladders, and decks be unrealistically modified so that people in wheelchairs can use them - even though wheelchair-bound people are not allowed to serve in the Navy.

Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater, who is running the San Diego operation for the Navy, says that city officials are trying to block a federal judge's ruling that the training facility proceed. He adds, "They have admitted that they realize that you don't have Navy personnel on wheelchairs on Navy vessels."

Law Upheld in San Deigo

Federal District Court Judge Marilyn Huff ruled yesterday that the Blackwater facility in San Diego may continue to operate with the permits it currently has, the AP reports. What this means is that local political forces cannot make up new permit requirements just because its election season and they want to score points with certain voters. Finally, Blackwater can get on with the work of training US Navy personnel to defend their ships from terrorists.

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?

Audit Proves Blackwater Critics are Wrong Again

An audit by the city of San Diego has proven that critics of Blackwater are wrong, and that the company honestly and fairly represented itself when it applied for permits to build an indoor firearms training range for the US Navy.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that opponents of the company tried to stop Blackwater from building the range after activists agitated against development of an outdoor training facility.

The opponents alleged - falsely - that Blackwater had misrepresented itself when applying for permits. Those false accusations led San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders (pictured) to try to prevent the company from executing its training contract with the US Navy and keep the facility from opening.

According to the Union-Tribune, Mayor Sanders requested an audit of the company's permit application on May 5, and tried to block Blackwater from opening the Navy training facility on May 19. Blackwater appealed to a federal court, which ruled in its favor and blocked San Diego from obstructing the company. The city's internal auditor, Eduardo Luna, stated in a report last week that "we determined that Blackwater did not misrepresent their identity."

“I think the auditor's report is clear,” said Blackwater VP Brian Bonfiglio. “It basically exonerated us from being misleading or intentionally doing anything inappropriately or incorrectly.”

The next round in federal court is June 16, but the judge, according to the Union-Tribune, "has already indicated that Blackwater is likely to prevail."

"Peace" groups opposed to a US victory in Iraq have organized the local anti-Blackwater campaign.

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)

Judge to Decide Permit on Tuesday

US District Court Judge Marilyn L. Huff said she will decide until Tuesday whether to order officials of the City of San Diego to issue a permit that would allow Blackwater Worldwide to open a training center for the Navy, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

But in questions and comments to lawyers Huff indicated she was inclined to grant the company's request for a temporary restraining order, which would allow them to begin operations.

"Questions came hard and fast from U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Huff as the city laid out its claim that Blackwater misled officials about the nature of the facility, which includes indoor firing ranges and a multi-level mock ship bulkhead built out of cargo containers: Did Blackwater fail or skip any required inspections? (It did not.) Why hadn't other firing ranges undergone the same degree of scrutiny the city proposes for Blackwater? Did the city object to Blackwater itself?" the Union-Tribune writes in another article.

Moreover, the Union-Tribune points out that Huff's ruling will come on election day, depriving any city council candidates - either incumbents or challengers - of political fodder.

City of San Diego Obstructs Navy Contract

Blackwater has asked a federal judge to help it meet the terms of US Navy contract by removing obstacles placed by the City of San Diego. The private security contractor's deal with the Navy requires them to open a training facility by June 2, but city officials have politicized the process and gone back on their word regarding permits. So now Blackwater is petitioning the federal judiciary to order the city to issue the due certification.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, the North Carolina-based company noted that city clerks and inspectors already had signed off on permits for turning the warehouse into classrooms and an indoor firing range when Mayor Jerry Sanders, City Attorney Michael Aguirre and other city officials voiced concerns. Blackwater said its training center was being scrutinized more intensely than similar facilities that previously won the city's approval. The company also said that politics was playing a role in the dispute, noting that both Sanders and Aguirre face re-election votes on June 3.... “We have met all of the permitting requirements, and withholding the certificate of occupancy is in violation of law,” said Michael Neil, a San Diego attorney who represents Blackwater in the suit.

A spokesman for Mayor Sanders said his office would not comment on the litigation.

The facility in question will be used to teach sailors will marksmanship, weapons assembly and disassembly, basic arrest and apprehension techniques and how to safely handle the latest weapons. Blackwater, which has never attempted to hide the nature of the facility or the company's role in training US Navy personnel, has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovating the facility.

AP video describes Blackwater 'tent city' for fire victims

The Associated Press has run a highly informative video of Blackwater's "tent city" for victims of the wildfires in southern California. The quick, 92-second video describes the charitable relief operation and shows how the temporary housing is being put together for those made homeless by the fires. Click here to view the video.

Exclusive! Blackwater camp for California fire victims

Blackwater has been quietly helping victims of the wildfires in southern California by providing food, water and shelter for those left homeless. It hasn't done much to promote that fact, any more than it has in Iraq, where it runs humanitarian projects frequently but seeks no credit.

We got this exclusive photo of Blackwater's freshly made camp for fire refugees in San Diego County.

Blackwater starts bringing relief to California fire victims

You wouldn't know it from the headlines, but relief work is an important part of Blackwater's mission, both as a business and as a service-oriented company. Because the company seldom issued press releases until recently, it hasn't told the public of its humanitarian work around the world and here at home.

The company's hometown newspaper, the Virginian-Pilot, reported this weekend that Blackwater has started to help deliver food and supplies to victims of the wild fires in southern California.

So far, according to the report, "Blackwater has made three deliveries of food, water, personal hygiene products and generator fuel to 300 area residents, many of whom have been trapped for days without supplies."

Photo: California firemen pass San Diego blaze.

Anemic anti-Blackwater turnout in San Diego

Opposition to Blackwater's plan to build a training facility in San Diego County, California, seems much weaker than expected.

A meager 200 activists turned out over the weekend to protest Blackwater's planned facility in San Diego California, despite the presence of a local congressman, a gaggle of reporters, and international controversy that makes the company a hot issue.

Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), awaiting trial for assault and battery against a woman in a Washington-area airport, pledged to stop the security provider. “Blackwater is a black mark on American democracy.”

The activists were organized by a group that was founded after 9/11 to oppose the military hunt for al Qaeda.

When the group marched to the gate of the proposed training site, a Blackwater official came to speak with the marchers and answer their questions. He told the San Diego Union-Tribune that we welcomed the attention. "“I think it's doing us good instead of harm,” he said. “This is a political circus.”

The local 9-person planning board voted unanimously last year to approve the Blackwater site. Protesters have organized a recall vote for a December ballot.

One local anti-Blackwater activist says that he expects the town of Potrero to go ahead and approve the company's plans to build the facility. "Realistically, it looks like Blackwater will be given the okay to come to Potrero by the Board of Supervisors," he says in an article posted on an Italian website that supported Saddam Hussein. "However, if the pressure from the public grows enough, even they may have to back down and consider the Blackwater move a political liability."

Moonbats to protest Blackwater in San Diego

A coalition of fringe groups opposed to fighting terrorists and a congressman awaiting trial for assault and battery of a woman are protesting this weekend against Blackwater's planned facility in San Diego County, California.

One of the protest organizers, the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice (SDCPJ) was founded in September, 2001, to oppose the military hunt for al Qaeda terrorists and the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban. The group urged non-violent ways to capture those responsible for 9/11.

Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), who made headlines in August for assault and battery against an airport employee, is joining the "peace" coalition. SDCPJ says Filner is scheduled to speak at the protest. Filner is awaiting trial in Virginia where he allegedly assaulted a female airline worker because he was upset that she was helping another customer instead of him.

Filner is under a cloud among his colleagues, with the House Ethics Committee investigating him pending a court ruling. He bullied a Hispanic immigration official in 2003, telling the officer, "I am a Congressman and I can do whatever I want." Filner was scheduled in court on October 2, the day Blackwater CEO Erik Prince testified before Congress, but the trial was postponed. (Click here for the text of the criminal complaint against Congressman Filner.)

The SDCPJ website keeps a list of "recent events." The group's 2007 events listed on the page include:

January 27 - Protest demanding "the immediate and complete withdrawal" of US troops from Iraq (regardless of the consequences). SDCPJ co-sponsored the event with the International Socialist Organization, Code Pink, and the International Action Center. The International Action Center is staffed by members of the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party. Its founder, Ramsey Clark, offered to be on the legal defense team of Saddam Hussein).

February 5 - Rally in support of Lt. Ehren Watada prior to his court-martial for failing to go with his unit to Iraq and for conduct unbecoming an officer.

March 12 - Protest to pressure lawmakers to stop supporting the troops in Iraq, by cutting off a $93 billion supplemental appropriations request.

March 17 - Anti-war protest in cooperation with MoveOn.org.

March 27 - Anti-war protest in cooperation with Guerrero Azteca (Aztec Warrior) Peace Project, a group set up to discourage young people from choosing a life of military service. Aztec Warrior does charity work in cooperation with Code Pink.

April 2 - Event with S. Brian Willson, a pro-Marxist activist who lost both legs in 1987 by trying to stop a freight train reported to be carrying weapons destined to be used against Communist forces in Central America.

April 5 - Anti-Blackwater protest; participation in the Public Scoping Meeting of the County Department of Planning and Land Use, to voice opposition to approving an 824-acre training facility in Potrero.

July 9 - Protest against the blockade of the Fidel Castro regime in Cuba. Included a showing of a Michael Moore film.

July 21 - March in the San Diego GBLT Gay Pride parade.

August 6 - Protest against the atomic bombings that ended World War II.

August 24 - Book signing for the president of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), a radical legal pressure group that has provided legal advice to convicted members of terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic Jihad's Sami Al-Arian. The NLG president, Marjorie Cohn, was a collaborator with Soviet international front organizations during the Cold War. The SDCPJ website refers to her activity with one of those groups, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL). Now a tiny fringe group without its KGB subsidies, the IADL remained committed to its old causes. IADL held a conference in Havana, Cuba, in 2000 where delegates denounced the United Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein's regime.

September 21 - Protest against the war in Iraq, in cooperation with IraqMoratorium.org.

October 6-7 - "Stop Blackwater West" protest. The main coordinator of the event is the Peace Resource Center of San Diego. The group's page for the anti-Blackwater protest is here.