Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008 | Blackwater in San Diego? When it comes to Blackwater, war is peace, mercenaries are peacemakers.
Blackwater supporters want us to believe that the mercenary army’s planned invasion of Potrero is not a “political” but a “land use” issue. OK, what kind of land use are we talking about?
Welcome to America’s “Holy Warriors.” Erik Prince is “the secretive, mega-millionaire, right-wing Christian founder of Blackwater, the private security firm that has built a formidable mercenary force in Iraq,” Chris Hedges wrote December 31, 2006, in Truthdig:
(Prince) champions his company as a patriotic extension of the U.S. military. His employees, in an act as cynical as it is deceitful, take an oath of loyalty to the Constitution. These mercenary units in Iraq, including Blackwater, contain some 20,000 fighters in Iraq.
They unleash indiscriminate and wanton violence against unarmed Iraqis, have no accountability and are beyond the reach of legitimate authority. The appearance of these paramilitary fighters, heavily armed and wearing their trademark black uniforms, patrolling the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, gave us a grim taste of the future. It was a stark reminder that the tyranny we impose on others we will one day impose on ourselves.
Here is a perfect example of a deceptive view of reality as presented by Brian Bonfiglio in support of Blackwater, published in voiceofsandiego.org:
Unfortunately, that discussion never took place. All the anti-war protesters that descended on Potrero talked about were mercenaries and Iraq. We overestimated local residents’ ability to see through the anti-war, anti-Bush, and anti-military propaganda.
Blackwater wants us to believe that a mercenary army base on 824 acres in rural Potrero is a blessing to the community. Residents of Potrero clearly were “misled by anti-war, anti-Bush, and anti-military propaganda.”
The opposition to Blackwater invasion of Potrero was well-prepared with facts! Let’s be grateful for the outstanding work done by local residents and by the peace and environmental community in exposing the real Blackwater.