Did you read the news today? From the top of today's New York Times:
BAGHDAD, Tuesday, Sept. 18 -- Blackwater USA, an American contractor that provides security to some of the top American officials in Iraq, has been banned from working in the country by the Iraqi government after a shooting that left eight Iraqis dead and involved an American diplomatic convoy.
As Courage Campaign has been saying for months now, Blackwater USA is clearly unaccountable and must be reined in by our elected leaders. As it stands, it appears that Blackwater is under no jurisdiction: not Iraqi law, not U.S. law, not international law. And, unless we do something to stop them, they will continue to commit murder while never being held accountable for their actions.
It gets worse. Did you know that "Blackwater West" wants to set up a mercenary camp on California's border? That is totally unacceptable.
Now that the Iraqi government is attempting to ban Blackwater USA, will Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer move to ban Blackwater West from California?
Not unless you make your voice heard right now. Click here to watch a two-minute NBC report on Blackwater and join 4,000 other concerned citizens in telling Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer to do the right thing:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/blackwater
What is Blackwater USA? It is a private security firm owned by a shadowy, right-wing billionaire named Erik Prince, one of the largest donors to the Republican Party and to far-right causes. He wants to open a base here in San Diego County to train vigilantes to do what they did in Iraq. While we have no control over what President Bush and Blackwater do in Iraq, we must not let them operate in our state.
Even though the Iraqi government has moved to strip the company of its operating licenses, according to today's New York Times, they may not be able to prosecute them for what appears to be murder:
"A spokesman for the Iraqi government, Ali al-Dabbagh, said that the cabinet met today and supported the decision to cancel Blackwater's license and begin an immediate investigation. The ministry has said that it would prosecute the participants in the shooting, but a law issued by the American occupation authority prior to the return of sovereignty to Iraq in 2004 grants American contractors, along with American military personnel, immunity from Iraqi prosecution."
They may not have the legal authority to prosecute, but with your help, we can get the legal authority to keep them out of California.
Courage Campaign has been working with our friends and allies to stop Blackwater from opening a base in San Diego. Last night, I took Courage's message of opposition to Blackwater back to NBC's airwaves. Please watch the two-minute video now and sign our letter to Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer.
http://www.couragecampaign.org/blackwater
If you think nothing like this could happen in America, think again.
Blackwater has a 7,000 acre training facility in North Carolina. It also has a large facility outside of Chicago. But that is not enough: Blackwater is now trying to open an 824-acre facility in east San Diego County that will have as many as 700 people present at any given time. The obvious goal? Blackwater wants to guard the California border with Mexico.
Imagine the headlines when they gun down unarmed civilians on the border. Or when they "show up" for an emergency like an earthquake in Los Angeles or San Francisco armed to the teeth -- as they did in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina -- and offer their services? Will they go away quietly? Will we have to call in our own National Guard to get them to leave, just as happened in Iraq?
As I said on KNBC:
"What we are doing is aiding and abetting the creation of a mafia-like organization."
Our friends at Brave New Films put the video up on YouTube.
Watch it now and help us stop a new paramilitary mafia Blackwater. Then tell Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer to do the right thing:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/blackwater
So why was Blackwater protecting embassy officials? Why not the U.S. military? Last I checked, Marines guard embassies all over the world, but apparently not in Iraq. Instead, we have a band of unregulated thugs loose on the streets willing and able to kill with impunity, at least partially because they know there is no "higher authority." They answer to no law, not Iraqi, not U.S., not military and not international. And this is certainly not the first time that Blackwater has become the problem, not the solution, in Iraq. With over $100 million of U.S. tax dollars paying Blackwater in Iraq, they must answer to someone, not just to Mr. Prince.
This nation can no longer afford to support mercenaries on our soil or off. We definitely cannot allow Blackwater to open a base in California.
Thousands of people have joined Courage Campaign in asking Senators Boxer and Feinstein and Governor Schwarzenegger to stop Blackwater.
Will you?
Thank you again for everything you are doing to help the Courage Campaign stop Blackwater and hold our leaders accountable.
Rick Jacobs
Chair
P.S. Local activists are working hard in San Diego to stop Blackwater from setting up shop on America's border. They have actions scheduled October 6-7. Click here to tell Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer to do the right thing and help us support the grassroots resistance to Blackwater in San Diego:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/blackwater 
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