Private Mercenaries

Direct link to this page: https://copswiki.org/Common/PrivateMercenaries

See Also: Blackwater Worldwide Blackwater Otay Blackwater In Southwestern College Blackwater Potrero Blackwater In Moyock Blackwater North Blackwater Intro Video

Protest/Comment at the Board of Governors' Meeting -- May 13

The Board of Trustees voted to renegotiate the contract with Blackwater, removing most of the ridiculous provisions of the prior agreement on March 11. This topic came back before the Governing Board on May 13 at the Southwestern College Board Room. Thank you to everyone who attended and spoke their mind on this issue. Here is the video of the meeting:

• (M786) 2009-05-13 Southwestern College Board, 2009-05-13, Blackwater-Xe Item -- Raymond Lutz, Citizens Oversight, almost 2 hrs; Blackwater In Southwestern College
• (M781) 2009-05-13 Memorandum of Understanding between Xe Services, LLC and Southwestern Community College District -- , Southwestern College, Blackwater In Southwestern College
• (M783) 2009-05-12 Letter from CitizensOversight to SouthwesternCollege Governing Board regarding renegotiated XeBlackwater Agreement. -- Raymond Lutz, Citizens Oversight, Blackwater In Southwestern College

Hot News:

• Claims by AIG by contractors in Iraq: 214,000 contractors in Iraq right now, more than uniformed personnel. 1,400 killed and 31,000 have reported injuries. This is not private insurance but insurance paid for by taxpayers. 44% of the claims are disputed. 60% of psychological claims are disputed. See this story on DemocracyNow!
• Court Cases Against Xe - A summary of the court cases against Xe-Blackwater.
• Stop Blackwater Conference - Saturday April 25th - Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton, located at 219 North Pearl Street in Stockton. Info...
• Blackwater In Southwestern College Blackwater reaches tentative agreement with Southwestern College to allow college to use Blackwater Otay shooting range in trade for use of classrooms and conference rooms at the college plus cost reimbursal.
  • Blackwater Teach-In to occur on April 2, 2009 at Southwestern College, Rm 214, 2pm to 4pm. See Blackwater In Southwestern College for details.
  • Protest / Public comment on the issue at the April 15 Meeting of SWC Board of Trustees. MORE INFO: See Blackwater Otay and Blackwater In Southwestern College . Location: Coronado Unified School District Meeting Room, 201 Sixth St., Coronado, CA 92118.
  • Protest / Public comment on the issue occurred March 11 Meeting of SWC Board of Trustees. MORE INFO: See Blackwater Otay and Blackwater In Southwestern College.
• Procinctu Group is attempting to add 193-acre Blackwater-style training camp in Riverside
  • Rally/Protest scheduled at Riverside Board of Supervisors meeting on March 17. More Info: See Procinctu Group
• Wind Zero is attempting to install a 600+ acre training facility in Imperial County between I-8 and SR-98 in the Ocotillo/Nomirage area. There is significant resistance to the project by the local community mainly regarding water availability. Interacting with Imperial Valley College to get their endorsement of the project removed from Wind Zero's website.

Sub-projects

Topic	Description	Status	Parents
Blackwater Los Coyotes	Blackwater-Xe mercenary training camp at the Los Coyotes Reservation, near Warner Springs.	Closed	Private Mercenaries
Blackwater Otay	Opposition to private mercenary training center in Otay Mesa, San Diego	Closed	Private Mercenaries
Blackwater Worldwide	Considers the entire family of companies related to Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Lodge Training Center.	Closed	Private Mercenaries
Covert Canyon	A shooting range training area in East San Diego County, off Japatul Valley Rd and operated by Marc Halcon.	Closed	Private Mercenaries
Eagle Rock Training Center	Blackwater-like training facility on Los Coyotes reservation near Warner Springs	Closed	Private Mercenaries
Procinctu Group	Opposition to development of "The Ranch", a mercenary training center in Riverside County	Closed	Private Mercenaries
Wind Zero	Mercenary-style trainging camp just east of San Diego County in Ocotillo/Nomirage.	Closed	Private Mercenaries

Background

In the early 1990s, Dick Cheney, then secretary of defense, orchestrated a significant downsizing of our military in a program called "BRAC" -- Base Realignment and Closure. Ostensibly, this action was appropriate because of the "peace dividend" of the implosion of the Soviet Union. No one argues that all the bases were necessary, but it is also expected that some mistakes would be made. One of those mistakes is the fact that we were left with too few training facilities such as shooting ranges, driving tracks, and other infrastructure that is necessary both for local law enforcement and military training. (It was also the fact that the logistical needs of the military would be later filled by Cheney's former company, Halliburton, in the war on Iraq.)

Seeing a need for such training facilities, a large number of start-up firms rose to the occasion, such as Blackwater Worldwide. Started in 1997, the firm first provided training and then progressed to providing their own deployable private military troops, otherwise known as mercenaries. We use the term "mercenary" here not as a derogatory term but as a means to differentiate from other private military contractors that provide strictly logistics support, such as Halliburton, and firms that provide reconstruction expertise.

The introduction of the large number of mercenary forces seems to be linked to a spat between Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. Finding Rumsfeld unwilling to provide protection to State Department officials, Rice hired mercenary firms, most notably Blackwater Worldwide, to fill that role.

Remember the bill passed just before the November, 2006, elections to fund the military? ("John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007" (H.R. 5122)) Well, hidden in that bill are provisions that seriously weaken 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". 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.

These are bases of an invading force that is bent on stealing our country from us, right under our noses! CONNECT THE DOTS!

We’ve been witnessing an unprecedented abuse of federal muscle at the Cal-Mex border where Blackwater has opened their so-called “vocational training” facility – a toehold of a new invasion of our country, shrouded in the flag and hidden in national security dogma. (Details...)

Simply speaking, private profiteering and public security are a dangerous mix. First explained by President Eisenhower in 1961, (view video) he noted the rise of the armament industry of vast proportions and the danger of unwarranted influence by the military industrial complex. “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals.”

The military-industrial complex has taken another step in a extreme privatization agenda which has enabled private contractors, such as Halliburton, KBR, CACI, Titan, and many others to step beyond the fabrication of armaments and engage in military operations. With the advent of Blackwater and other mercenary firms, contractors engage in battlefield deployment. With higher profits ensured for a battle that continues without end, the Iraq occupation is proof that Eisenhower was right. This must stop. We must wake up.

Blackwater used the federal courts with a disgusting series of steps shielding their activities from public scrutiny to gain a foothold in California, a new base at the border that will grow without bound like a cancer. All patriotic citizens must throw down the gauntlet and say stop to this madness.

Related Research

• Gunfire Noise Analysis - Our attempt to critique the "computer Model" of the gunfire analysis
• Paramilitary Camps - Various paramilitary and lethal force camps
  • Blackwater Worldwide - The parent company of Blackwater, formerly known as Blackwater USA.
    • Blackwater Potrero - Blackwater's attempt to set up an 824-acre warfare training facility in East San Diego County.
    • Blackwater Otay - Blackwater's successful circumvention of local public oversight to allow them to set up an indoor training facility on the US-Mexico border.
    • Nisour Square Massacre - Event of Sept. 16, 2007 where 17 civilians were cut down by Blackwater gunfire and grenades.
  • Covert Canyon - discovered in May 2007 and the County stopped operation. Was Blackwater behind exposing this (competitor) facility? Perhaps. There is certainly less need for shooting ranges, etc. if Covert Canyon was already in operation.
  • Wind Zero - New proposal in the Imperial valley, just after the split of I-8 and 98.
  • Procinctu Group - "The Ranch" -- Camp in riverside.
• Paramilitary Law - Laws that restrict the formation of private armies withing the US.
• Suitable Locations For Training - Existing or closed military bases may be more suitable for training. (This whole topic assumes you think private training camps is a smart idea. Most people I talk with don't, for many reasons.)

Recent Articles and Media: (Add | All Media)

This is the most recently published 20 articles, most recent first.

• (M1570) 2015-04-14 BLACKWATER GUARDS SENTENCED IN DEATHS -- Men deny guilt in killing of 14 unarmed civilians in Baghdad traffic circle in 2007 -- Spencer Hsu, Union Tribune,
• (M1460) 2014-05-29 THE RISE OF THE OLIGARCHS Empire interview with Erik Prince -- , Al Jazeera, Features Erik Prince
• (M1260) 2012-05-08 Imperial County Board of Supervisors Rescind Approval of Wind Zero (AKA Coyote Wells) Project -- Ray Lutz, Citizens Oversight, Conclusion of Wind Zero project is feather in the hat of People Against Wind Zero (PAWZ) and Citizens Oversight
• (M1237) 2012-02-02 Judge rules training center eviction was legal -- J Harry Jones, Union Tribune,
• (M1837) 2011-10-10 Tribe wants training center off reservation -- J Harry Jones, Union Tribune,
• (M1173) 2011-05-26 News 8 takes rare tour inside Eagle Rock Training Center - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB -- , News 8,
• (M1167) 2011-05-15 Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder -- Mark Mazzetti, New York Times,
• (M1158) 2011-04-23 Marines, SEALs confirm training on Indian reservation -- J Harry Jones, Union Tribune, Blackwater Los Coyotes, Includes promotional video
• (M1159) 2011-04-23 Ex-Blackwater Guards Face Renewed Charges -- James Risen, New York Times, Case was in arbitration but recently abandoned due to lack of funds. BW mers were given immunity by govt (state dept) akin to episode on '24' before they could testify.
• (M1152) 2011-04-14 Military training facility on Indian reservation is revealed -- J Harry Jones, Union Tribune, Blackwater Los Coyotes
• (M1148) 2011-02-24 At what risk? Correcting over-reliance on contractors in contingency operations -- , Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan,
• (M1160) 2011-01-26 Blackwater deaths suit tossed after six years -- Mike Baker, Washington Post, An unfortunate likely consequence when you pick a fight with a corporation with deep pockets and who was likely just following black-ops contract provisions designed to sacrifice the BW contractors in an orchestrated ambush so that the Bush admin had an excuse for the siege of Fallujah. You need money to use our court system if you want to be treated with any measure of fairness. No money, and you will not be able to withstand the tactics of a deep-pocket adversary. Very sad. --Ray
• (M1122) 2010-12-13 Hearing on Wind Zero on 2010-12-13 by Imperial County BOS -- Raymond Lutz, Citizens Oversight, Video has 9 parts
• (M1004) 2010-08-08 Foreign mercs must leave, Karzai says -- AS/HGL, Press Tv,
• (M968) 2010-03-23 AP Exclusive: Charges eyed for ex-Blackwater chief -- DEVLIN BARRETT and MIKE BAKER, Associated Press,
• (M967) 2010-03-21 Protesters march at site of proposed training facility near Ocotillo -- SILVIO J. PANTA, IVPress Online,
• (StopOutsourcingSecurityAct) 2010-02-23 Stop Outsourcing Security Act -- Jan Schakowski, Bernie Sanders, Congress,
• (M932) 2010-01-26 Coyote Wells (AKA Wind Zero) Draft EIR -- , Imperial County,
• (M927) 2010-01-23 Biden: U.S. to appeal dismissal of Blackwater charges -- Dan Lothian and Samira Simone, CNN, Nisour Square Massacre
• (M923) 2010-01-21 Police academy suspends classes -- Kristina Davis, Union Tribune, (Note: this academy recently pulled their contract with Blackwater/Xe to use the Blackwater Otay training facility. See Blackwater In Southwestern College for the full story on our 10-month battle to stop that contract. This additional scrutiny of their training facility may be a result as well.)

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