http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/70388/
Calif. town rejects Blackwater plan POTRERO, Calif.-Residents balked at putting a Blackwater training camp near this sleepy mountain village, voting to recall five members of an advisory planning board that endorsed the global security firm's plan. Hammers said the board's decision had been misconstrued, and that its goal was to investigate what jobs and other perks having Blackwater could mean for the community. "We chose to stay engaged," said Hammers. "Certain elements made it an anti-Bush, anti-Iraq war surrogate and sold that to the community. They were successful." Blackwater wanted to turn an 800-acre former chicken farm into a training camp for law enforcement officers. The facility would have included 11 firing ranges, a driving track and a helipad. But opposition to the plan intensified in September, after Blackwater guards were investigated in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. A call to a Blackwater spokesman early Wednesday was not immediately returned. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/12/calif_town_rejects_blackwater_plan/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news Calif. town rejects Blackwater plan By Allison Hoffman Associated Press Writer / December 12, 2007 SAN DIEGO-Residents balked at putting a Blackwater training camp near a sleepy mountain community, voting to recall five members of an advisory planning board that endorsed the global security firm's plan. The results of a mail-in-ballot recall in the village of Potrero were announced early Wednesday, several hours after polls closed Tuesday night. The board members -- Jerry Johnson, Mary Johnson, Gordon Hammers, Janet Wright and Thell Fowler -- lost by wide margins. A sixth member who was not on the board at the time of the endorsement was not up for recall. Hammers said the board's decision had been misconstrued, and that its goal was to investigate what jobs and other perks having Blackwater could mean for the community. "We chose to stay engaged," said Hammers. "Certain elements made it an anti-Bush, anti-Iraq war surrogate and sold that to the community. They were successful." Blackwater wanted to turn an 800-acre former chicken farm into a training camp for law enforcement officers. The facility would have included 11 firing ranges, a driving track and a helipad. But opposition to the plan intensified in September, after Blackwater guards were investigated in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. Supporters of the project said Blackwater would bring development and turn Potrero, home of about 850 people, into a middle-class town. Opponents say it would increase noise and traffic, compromising the quiet country atmosphere of the area in scrub-covered mountains about 45 miles east of San Diego. Final say over the project rests with the county board of supervisors, who won't consider the plan until environmental impact reports have been completed. Blackwater said it would press on with the project. "Despite the results of the election, Blackwater will continue to seek approval for the Potrero facility because these results have no bearing on the land use or environmental impact report issues, both of which we are confident are not compromised by our proposal," Blackwater West vice president Brian Bonfiglio said Wednesday. "In the meantime, we will work closely with the new planning board to educate them on the realities of Blackwater and the benefits our facility would have on this community." The proposed training camp site is remote and shielded by mountains, but it is also a short drive from downtown San Diego and its array of military bases and federal law-enforcement field offices -- including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. Since the Baghdad shootings, Blackwater says it is focusing on its training operations and trying to wean itself from overseas contracts. On the Net: Blackwater Worldwide: http://www.blackwaterusa.com/ © Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. *** http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/11/5759/ Published on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 by Reuters Iraq Rejects Permanent US Bases: Adviser by Peter Graff BAGHDAD - Iraq will never allow the United States to have permanent military bases on its soil, the government's national security adviser said. "We need the United States in our war against terrorism, we need them to guard our border sometimes, we need them for economic support and we need them for diplomatic and political support," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said. "But I say one thing, permanent forces or bases in Iraq for any foreign forces is a red line that cannot be accepted by any nationalist Iraqi," he told Dubai-based al Arabiya television in an interview broadcast late on Monday. His comments were the clearest sign yet that Iraq's leaders are looking ahead to the days when they have full responsibility for its defense. The United States has around 160,000 troops in Iraq, officially under a United Nations mandate enacted after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Iraq formally asked the United Nations on Monday to renew that mandate for a year until the end of 2008. It made clear it would not extend the mandate beyond next year and the mandate could be revoked sooner at Iraq's request. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki signed a declaration of principles last month agreeing to friendly long-term ties. Arrangements for U.S. troops to stay beyond next year will be negotiated in early 2008. *** Please Join With Us on What Will Be an Historic Day in Los Angeles Saturday, January 12th ~ 11:00 AM A Vigil with Father Roy Bourgeois To Close the School of the Americas ABRIENDO LA MEMORIA - HEALING THE WOUNDS Los Angeles State Historic Park in Downtown Los Angeles near China Town Join with thousands as we re-create the Protest/Vigil that happens every November at Fort Benning, Georgia, to close the School of the Americas. Speakers So Far: Father Roy Bourgeois Cindy Sheehan Hector Aristizabal Blase Bonpane Jim Lafferty Sponsored by: School of the Americas Watch, Program For Torture Victims, Office of the Americas, CISPES, ADDICTED To WAR, Palisadians For Peace, Catholic Worker's Los Angeles, Whittier Peace & Justice Coalition, Colombia Peace Project Endorsed by: Veterans For Peace LA, ANSWER, International Action Center, CODE PINK, Coalition Against Militarism In Our Schools (CAMS), NO MORE VICTIMS, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles KPFK 90.7 FM Radio Is Our Media Sponsor More Information Call Frank Dorrel: 310-838-8131 or Hector Aristizabal: 626-221-7710 School of the Americas Watch www.soaw.org | 202-234-3440 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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