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| Protestors gather at a hearing in San Diego on Blackwater's plans for a facility east of the city.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) |
By BILL SIZEMORE
The Virginian-Pilot
Increasingly a magnet for controversy, Blackwater USA has encountered a bumpy road implementing its national and international expansion plans.
The Moyock, N.C.-based private military company's plans to open an Asian branch in the Philippines have been scrapped and one stateside proposal has drawn considerable heat.
"We are no longer pursuing a facility in the Philippines," Anne Tyrrell, a company spokeswoman, said this week.
The company's plans for a jungle survival skills training center on the site of the former U.S. naval base at Subic Bay sparked calls for an investigation from a prominent member of the Philippines Senate last summer.
More recently, the head of a United Nations work group on mercenary activity expressed concern about recruitment methods used by Blackwater and similar companies in the Philippines.
Closer to home, Blackwater's drive to open a West Coast outpost has run into a buzzsaw of public opposition. More than half the registered voters of a tiny rural community east of San Diego, the proposed site of "Blackwater West," have signed a petition opposing the project.
A normally routine county planning meeting on the project last week drew dozens of chanting, sign-waving protesters. Attendees had to walk through a gauntlet of police officers and a metal detector.
It was just the latest in a series of brush fires Blackwater has been dealing with in recent months:
In California, Blackwater proposes to build a western training center on an 800-acre chicken and cattle ranch near Potrero, a rural hamlet 45 miles east of San Diego near the Mexican border. The project will require a rezoning and an environmental impact report, a process that could take up to two years.
The company's plans for the property - a grassy valley and foraging ground for golden eagles - include firing ranges, a tactical driving track, training towers, an armory, a bunkhouse, a dining hall, an "urban simulation" training area, ship simulators, classroom buildings and a helipad.
The project won preliminary approval from the local planning board in December, but since then 320 residents have signed a petition opposing it. The town has 435 registered voters.
It will ultimately need the approval of the county planning commission and the board of supervisors, a process that could take up to two years.
Last week, more than 100 protesters showed up at an informational meeting on the project held by the county planning department. They were met by three dozen police and sheriff's deputies and had to go through a metal detector to get into the meeting.
A county spokeswoman said the unusual security procedures were prompted by "a threat." She declined to be more specific.
The display of firepower was puzzling, said Jan Hedlun, an opponent of the project who was recently elected to the Potrero planning board.
"No one in our group had any intention of causing any problems," she said. "We just had questions."
The Blackwater project appears to have brought together an unusual coalition of opponents - rural residents, environmentalists and peace activists.
"The more I learn, the more my concerns grow," Hedlun said. "This is an agricultural area adjacent to a national forest. I left the city for peace and quiet, and that is not what these people are. They are not peaceful, and they are not quiet."
Gordon Hammers, chairman of the planning board and a supporter of the project, said the opponents are spreading misinformation about Blackwater's intent.
"They're not going to be training mercenaries out here," Hammers said. "As the truth comes out, I think a lot of people who have been questioning the project will say, 'Well, maybe it's not so bad after all.'
"A lot of the people who are against this don't live in the community. They're outside Sierra Club people - this group, that group, ACLU. All the liberals have come out of the woodwork."
Tyrrell, the Blackwater spokeswoman, said only about 200 acres of the 800-acre site would be developed. Much of the rest, she said, would remain devoted to agricultural use.
She also said training courses at Blackwater West would be aimed only at military and law enforcement personnel. The company does not plan to use that site to train its security contractors for duty in combat zones, she said.
Meanwhile, Blackwater's new northern base in Illinois - where the company had no local regulatory hurdles to overcome - opened quietly this week, offering a variety of courses in firearms use, law enforcement and military tactics.
The 80-acre facility in Mount Carroll, 150 miles west of Chicago, is a miniature version of Blackwater's 7,000-acre spread in Moyock. It contains nine shooting ranges, a climbing/rappelling/shooting tower, a classroom building and pro shop.
Some area residents objected to the proposal, but because the property had been used previously for firearms training, no local zoning or other regulatory approval was needed.
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Nothing's Being Blown Out Of Proportion.
I live within 35 miles of the new Blackwater North facility near Mt. Carroll, IL. I have talked to some of the local residents, and been involved with research about Blackwater. I have found out that Blackwater has repeatedly said one thing to county officials and people who reside there, and done the opposite. Assurances that no automatic weapon classes will be offered is laid false by the exact type of classes happening. Assurances that they do not wish to expand the 80-acre facility is laid false by the bustle of bulldozers clearing new land. If Blackwater is truly what they told the county zoning commission that htey are,'good, christian neighbors', then why do they skirt the truth and resort to covert activities just to open a new facility? Some of the comments I've read here are the same ones I've heard before. I wish it were otherwise, but all of you that think Blackwater is a good thing at best and benign at worst, are in for a rude awakening.
Let's just try to be sensible...
Ok, so we have hardline conservitives who love Blackwater and all it stands for; and we have moderates and liberals who hate the war; hate anything Republican or associated with GWB. Am I the only one here that would like to see some sensible arguments and discussions? There is no gurantee that without Blackwater there would be a draft. There is also no link to GWB with Blackwater. It would be nice for some of those who made their comments to do a little reading and studying of history before spewing out their thoughts and showing their ignorance. This is a free country; the Blackwater developers saw an opportunity and went with it. But I, for one, am not happy to see war, or profiteering from it. Neither do I want to see either of my two sons drafted and shipped off to an area of the world where neighbors cannot co-exist. I'll be glad to see everyone come home finally.
Food for thought!
As a family member of a civilian employee of Blackwater I have to say I hope you thought carefully before rejecting a company that is training people to do the very job that many would not. How many protesting families would have one or more loved ones in Iraq as we speak if not for Blackwater? I for one have a cousin in Baghdad and thank Blackwater for their contractors going over and attempting to help keep him safe and bring him home to his wife, kids and other family members. Just do all your research before protesting a company that is doing you a favor.
Blackwater Expansion....
So how much did Blackwater pay off Liar in Chief Loser
George W Bush,Vice Liar Draft Dodger Delusional Dick
Cheney and Former Sec of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to
get into the so called security business? We have no
oversight over Blackwater and Halliburton so how does
that save taxpayer money? The US could hire a couple more
soldiers or Marines for the cost of one Blackwater Clown!
always a need
there will always be a need for a company like blackwater. They do more than field a private army. they train bodyguards and executive security, and play an important role in our defense structure. Why would some of you want our defense weakened?? I just consider the source.
God bles out troops
Once again the liberal tree huggers have swarmed to a pinnacle of misinformation. Case in point the "Imus Radio fiasco" has nothing even remotely similar to anything involving Blackwater. Without these guys the draft would have been re-instated a long time ago, hell, congress just found out what we currently have is under equipped and in far less numbers than whats needed for current Iraq operations. Why do you think so many units have had unexpected "extended" deployments? God bless our troops, and god bless the men and women of Blackwater.
Rid the U.S. of Blackwater
If Imus deserved being banned (and he did), Blackwater should be eliminated. It is an atttempt to legalize killing for profit.
Blown way out of proportion
I live in Moyock and we hardly ever even hear the training at Blackwater, aside from occasional faint gunfire sounds, and by occasional I mean maybe a couple times a month. In the meantime, the contractors spend their money around town when they're here and have been nothing but nice. Obviously, the people incensed over Blackwater coming to their town in California really haven't done their homework on the effects on their town. It's not like we have guys with guns running all over the place; driving by, an outsider would never even know what it was.
War Breeds This Type
Companies like this thrive on war. What happens when the wars are over? Eventually, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will end (wishful thinking?). It would behoove Blackwater to think about cutting its losses early because as soon as there is no more fighting, there will be no more contracts, and Blackwater will have to start closing down its many facilities.
Oh Blackwater.....
....keep on rolling. Outta here.
No Blackwater? Here comes the draft!
I hope that at some point in time the tree-huggers and soccer moms come to realize one basic truth: if it weren't for Blackwater and several other companies, we would have the draft reinstated. Period. Read it again: no Blackwater.....draft. Are the protesters willing to trade the lives of their children for their cause? Let's not forget that, unlike previous wars, there are as many "contractors" battling and providing security in Iraq as there are regular military. Without them.....we'd have a draft. There would be no other options.
Location
Again, BlackWater is a Camden based firm.
Where Did All the Objectivity Go?
Why all the one-sided recitations of scandal and activist half-truths from blogs? Facts:
- Potrero's just another part of San Diego county, population millions
- Turns out many of the 'registered voter' signatures were of children and non-residents
- what does the conduct of the Baghdad contractor, the Air Force officers, whoever was trying to bribe for testimony against Blackwater, etc. have to do with this project?
I'd think that given the Navy's presence here, The Pilot would be able to understand and report on the huge need of our military and law enforcement for workable training facilities, and talk about that side of the story, instead of just attacking the plan with every ugly item you can pack in. This isn't about Blackwater mercenary work, it's about our training.
Shooting Over The Heads of Blackwater
The California raptors and golden eagles will not be impacted significantlly, if at all. These birds are very resiliant. I thought there was going to be a noise abatement issue, but it is not close enough to the notably quiet San Diego to fall under their NA regulation. Overall, this type of business has less impact on the environment than almost any business that comes to mind. I have lived near gasoline refineries, auxillary power generation plants, airports, and shopping malls. This area is a swamp, and if we accept progress, we accept environmental impact, so no need to fleece every effort to construct viable businesses. Moyock is a common struggle that all businesses and residents experience, where expansion detrimentally encroaches on the nearest residential areas. The California resistance is mainly due to the type of business that trains men to protect citizens that voted for gun laws that render them incapable of protecting themselves. Whoda thunk it. Disneyland pollutes more.