Jake Pohlman, 10, gazed at the site in Potrero where Blackwater USA wants to build a military and law enforcement training facility. Posted on 10/08/2007 5:16:25 AM PDT by radar101
Jake Pohlman, 10, gazed at the site in Potrero where Blackwater USA wants to build a military and law enforcement training facility.
Wearing a bright green “Stop Blackwater” T-shirt, Rep. Bob Filner urged about 200 protesters yesterday to keep up their fight against Blackwater USA's plans to build a military and law enforcement training center in the backcountry community of Potrero.
“We're going to stop them,” Filner, D-San Diego, told the demonstrators who gathered about a mile from the site of the proposed training camp. “Blackwater is a black mark on American democracy.” Filner has proposed a bill in Congress that would allow mercenary training only on military bases. Opponents of Blackwater say the company's workers in Iraq are mercenaries. The North Carolina company says that label doesn't apply to its security guards who are working under government contract.
Blackwater's plans for a training center have aroused intense controversy in Potrero and beyond. Five members of the nine-member Potrero planning group who voted in favor of Blackwater's plans now face a recall. Opponents are concerned about the noise and traffic they say the training center will bring. They also oppose Blackwater's role as a military contractor in Iraq, particularly in light of recent reports about fatal shootings of Iraqis by Blackwater guards.
Kit Giguere, a Potrero resident, said she fears traffic to the training center will disrupt the quiet community.
“It just doesn't belong here,” Giguere said. “This isn't the place.”
Across the road from the rally, about 15 people wearing black Blackwater T-shirts or baseball caps gathered to show their support for the project.
“I think this is wonderful that they want to come to Potrero to train,” Potrero resident Chris Lelevier said. “It's kind of nice to get some jobs out here.”
After the speeches, the opponents marched a mile to the gates of the Potrero property, where they were greeted by Brian Bonfiglio, a Blackwater vice president who has been in San Diego seeking county approval of the project. The plans ultimately must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Raymond Lutz, a Democratic activist who has led opposition to Blackwater's plans, had a brief, low-key exchange with Bonfiglio. Lutz asked Bonfiglio to take down the chain blocking the dirt road and allow the marchers onto the property where Blackwater plans to build the training camp. Bonfiglio said he couldn't do that.
Bonfiglio answered questions from a few other marchers before the group turned around and walked back to the rally site.
Bonfiglio said Blackwater's project should be judged solely on the effect it will have on the environment, not on the company's reputation. He said he wasn't concerned about the demonstration.
“I think it's doing us good instead of harm,” he said. “This is a political circus.”
The far left wing is so thoroughly politically invested in our defeat, they’ll stoop to just about any level, and everyone who plays any role in the war is fair game to them.
I got a cool Blackwater logo hat and shirt at http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/ I wear them hoping that some idiot will assail me over the war. BTW, we would love to host that training center in TEXAS!
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