Thread: Blackwater pulls application for Potrero training center

Blackwater pulls application for Potrero training center

By Anne Krueger
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

2:33 p.m. March 7, 2008

Blackwater Worldwide officials have announced they are pulling their application to build a training center on an 824-acre site in the East County community of Potrero.

* Blackwater's letter to the county (PDF)

The North Carolina-based company dropped off a letter to the county planning department today notifying officials of their decision not to pursue plans for the project on a former chicken and cattle ranch.

“Although our project would have brought a great benefit to San Diego County, – providing local, state, and federal law enforcement with access to low-cost superior training facilities while bringing much-needed jobs to the area – the proposed site does not meet our business objectives at this time,â€

Reader comments

By mstub on 03/07/2008 at 7:38 p.m.

Is Blackwater a subsidiary of Halliburton?

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By misanthrope on 03/07/2008 at 8:37 p.m.

No, Blackwater isn't a subsidiary, but it's CEO has personal ties with many, many people in the Pentagon, military, and defense industry. It absolutely gets many contracts that should have gone to our military, but didn't because they are stretched and undermanned.

Halliburton subsidiaries like KBR get the other lucrative contracts like support, food, shelter, and other necessities that the military can't (because...you guessed it, stretched and undermanned) provide.

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By seananizer on 03/07/2008 at 10:17 p.m.

heres what is most concerning to me. Raymond Lutz is claiming a victory here, but he is the same person who asked al jazeera to come to potrero, a town that he is not even from. My concern as a US citizen is that I saw al jazeera post the beheading of Daniel Pearl and US service members on thier site. So in the end I fear the likes of Mr. Lutz more than Blackwater.

But to be clear as a email subsciber to Mr. Lutz' site, Blackwater did exactly what they aid they would at the very first meeting with potrero residents. "if we cant meet or exceed CEQA and County requirements we will not proceed". I applaud the fact that Mr. Bonfiglio kept his word regardless of what the anti war types put out.

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By seananizer on 03/07/2008 at 10:20 p.m.

do you really think they are not ALREADY HERE!!!!!

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By gettnduped on 03/07/2008 at 11:13 p.m.

i could take em

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By wcw on 03/07/2008 at 11:37 p.m.

None of the three people remaining in the presidential race are supporters of Blackwater, so it would be foolish for them to spend money to expand when they'll be down-sizing in about nine months. This was strictly a business decision, welcome, but a business decision.

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By Joshua on 03/07/2008 at 11:57 p.m.

Now let us be rid of Titan, SAIC, and Pendleton.

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By bluehair on 03/08/2008 at 12:50 a.m.

Good Riddance. Id rather have my State Guardsman come help me out in a civil emergency. Not a paid private soldier from a corporation. Maybe the Blackwater CEO watched Jericho. lol....

Maybe they can build a base in Central AMerica where another dictator can use their services. Id rather pay our guardsman more money.

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By ElectricBoogaloo on 03/08/2008 at 2:32 a.m.

...let the market decide...on one side it would be nice to bury my head in the sand and let the Islamo-facists bully and terrorize Europe and the rest of the world into submission with oil and religious fervor, but they do not play by our rules of engagement. Mentally disabled women and children are fair game to strap with explosives and send into crowded civilian markets. No one wants underhanded, crooked political bribes and deals, or trigger happy knuckleheads running around--but I think that there will soon be a day when we are welcoming more training camps for our own bad asses. Sometimes we are hog tied by our own "fair rules" -- when a private bad ass could go into the bomb strappers lair, and take them out--before the marketplace was splattered with children's body parts. It's all speculation though--most of us making these comments have some pretty naive opinions. Naive because our knowledge comes from the paper, TV, and radio hype and not from first hand travel, conversations in the battle zones, battle experience, employment with Blackwater, etc. Well intentioned, but naive-- I guess that means I'm talking outta my ass too. For what its worth.

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By Bud_SD on 03/08/2008 at 3:29 a.m.

ElectricBoogaloo - "let the market decide...on one side it would be nice to bury my head in the sand and let the Islamo-facists bully and terrorize Europe and the rest of the world into submission with oil and religious fervor..."

Let me guess... you listen to rush limberger?

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By crazyhorse on 03/08/2008 at 4:49 a.m.

Blackwater was hoping to get a contract to secure the border...

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By crazyhorse on 03/08/2008 at 5:01 a.m.

Mailing Address:
Blackwater
PO Box 1029
Moyock, NC 27958

Mailing Address:
Blackwater USA North
PO Box 33
Mount Carroll, IL 61053

E-Mail Directory

Training Center training@blackwaterusa.com

Blackwater North Training Center BWNorth@blackwaterusa.com

Media Relations media@blackwaterusa.co

Media Relations
Anne Tyrrell
Telephone 703-852-4320

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By Kaos1 on 03/08/2008 at 8:00 a.m.

I am writing from Iraq right now and which of you above has served your country? I'm a civilian federal agent supporting the Marines in Anbar. Checks and balances are why our country and our constitution make our government function. Blackwater has made mistakes and they will answer for that. Crackwater? Limberger? Whatever. I would trust any one of those "private badasses" going into a hairy situation. Blackwater contractors are not mercenaries.

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By cecil on 03/08/2008 at 9:54 a.m.

Kaos1:

First, while you are serving our country well and everyone appreciates that, people who live in the backyard of where this Blackwater nightmare was planned have every right to be critical, regardless of whether they have served in the military or not.

The problem with Blackwater is that as a private company they would not be under the same regulations as th emilitary and I don't trust our government from not using these types of companies to spy on our own citizens

You can say "I would trust them" but I don't.

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By Timmothy on 03/08/2008 at 9:56 a.m.

Imagin that - someone serving in Iraq where private citizens are being hunted and killed everyday favors Blackwater

I rest my case

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By Ask a Mexican! on 3/7/2008 at 4:14 p.m.

Great news!!
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By Levelheaded on 3/7/2008 at 4:30 p.m.

Stop the presses while I shed a tear for the loss of a war profiteering company that has thrived solely on the basis of its conservative Christian political connections and a war mongering President.
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By johnboy on 3/7/2008 at 4:36 p.m.

Blackwater is history under Obama, yes, more change coming!!!!
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By Rapier on 3/7/2008 at 4:42 p.m.

Retired Guns,

Rapier means exactly what the dictionary says it does. Not a benefactor of any sort. Doesn't affect me personally one way or the other. You evidently have no real knowledge of what Blackwater does as do few who oppose them. Many assume the worst without factual insight. I'm not sticking up for them and I have no axe to grind here. Have you ever visited their North Carolina facitlity, attended any training provided by them or seen their client list? If not, you would be suprised. Not only at who they train but for whom.

I would think as a retired Marine you'd not fall into this trap as someone who must have been maligned by those who hate the Marines and spew forth the same type of reactionary crap.

Noise and traffic, etc., are honest issues best left to those affected. The assertion that you know they are "scum" means you have knowledge of their company beyond what you read. Do you?

By the way I'm a retired 6502.
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By Sysyphus on 3/7/2008 at 4:43 p.m.

Johnboy~~I think you probably need to change your underwear for the first time this week. By the way, Curious George will indeed create change if by horrendous misfortune he is elected to the most important job in the free world, and it is change the neo-marxists will embrace as furthering their cause.
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By whytman on 3/7/2008 at 4:53 p.m.

Now if we could just get them out of Iraq....Along with all of our troops!
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By L'enfant on 3/7/2008 at 5:08 p.m.

Such a shame. They would create more people who would be trained to fight the bad guys in our world. There are plenty of them to go around.
A professional corps of trained security forces is something the people reading this will will they had on their side, in less than 10 years. But it'll be too late.
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By Killbot on 3/7/2008 at 5:14 p.m.

Creating an armed, private, international police force paid by the federal government and answering only to the executive branch...let that sink in.

Think about it.

Now, is that truly a GOOD thing? These police forces can operate inside the domestic United States against American citizens, while the US military, by law, cannot. Would they? I don't know. Would the federal government ever spy on its own citizenry? Would the United States ever lead the world in legalizing torture?

Good riddance, Blackwater. And, for the benefit of Retired Guns as well as current Marines - I'd rather my tax dollars went to up the salary of the guys and girls fighting for American ideals and not those out to make a quick buck.
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By Killbot on 3/7/2008 at 5:19 p.m.

L'enfant - occasionally the Marines will be up a banner along the 805, near the Nobel drive off-ramp. It says, "U.S. Marines - America's 911"

Now, why in the heck would we need ANOTHER corp of professional security when we already have the best? And the private companies are making a FORTUNE compared to the average Marine. Is that what American taxpayers want? If so, why do we need a military? Let's just do away with the military and spend ten times as much on private security companies that are not required to abide by any international conventions.
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By Killbot on 3/7/2008 at 5:20 p.m.

...PUT up a banner...
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By sayno2illegals on 3/7/2008 at 5:33 p.m.

Hey Marine........

It's spelled "Good Riddance"

design freak...One word, "Google"

Personally, I would like to have had them in my back yard. It would have cut down in the traffic thru there for sure.
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By sayno2illegals on 3/7/2008 at 5:34 p.m.

Figures...The moderator's cut out my exact phrase...Try this one..."Illegal aliens"
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By wtf? on 3/7/2008 at 6:20 p.m.

bye bye, Crackwater. Maybe you can set up shop in Crawford, for when the monkey leaves office?
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By franklinS on 3/7/2008 at 7:23 p.m.

I'm glad they're not coming here, but they still pose a great threat to our country as an aspiring paramilitary for hire police force for the corporate, war-profiteering interests that dominate our economy, politics, and media.
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By green gem on 3/7/2008 at 7:38 p.m.

I feel that Blackwater and other paramilitary organizations pose a threat to our nation.
They can wield power similar to the US military, but do not have the accountability to the US military or it's laws. Power like that in the hands of one private enterprise is scary and should not be legal.
At least it's not setting up shop here (for now). But the problem remains: it will go somewhere.
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By whynot on 3/7/2008 at 2:45 p.m.

"Blackwater has other plans for San Diego," and "...I'm not going home." Is this a threat? Either give us the details or leave off the menacing language, Bonfiglio.
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By VJ Metal on 3/7/2008 at 2:51 p.m.

"Although our project would have brought a great benefit to San Diego County, - providing local, state, and federal law enforcement with access to low-cost superior training facilities while bringing much-needed jobs to the area - the proposed site does not meet our business objectives at this time,"

Hey Blackwater:
That's a pretty arrogant statement. It also reveals quite clearly that it ultimately wasn't your "business objectives" that dictated why the project would not proceed here. It was the community's opposition to your presence in our midst. Why else would you continue to extol your perceived benefit to the community if you were no longer interested in persuading that community to accept you? You're not doing anybody any favors. Go build your New World Order fascist indoctrination facility somewhere else. Good riddance!
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By crash on 3/7/2008 at 2:52 p.m.

I have a neighbor who complained about our other neighbors kid that rode his dirt bike in an empty lot every day. He made the comment to me "what is with these people that come out to the country and think they can make all this noise?" I told him "last time I checked, the zoning says this IS the place you're allowed to make all that noise." If this type of facility doesn't fit into an area like Potrero, just where exactly would it fit? And don't say we don't need this. We need all the Law Enforcement traing facilities and jails/prisons we can get.
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By Mr. Bar on 3/7/2008 at 3:08 p.m.

VJMetal....this may be the first time I can agree with you on something....I feel all fuzzy inside.
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By VJ Metal on 3/7/2008 at 3:10 p.m.

Me too.... Muah!
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By RetiredGuns on 3/7/2008 at 3:13 p.m.

As a Retired Marine, all I can say say is this is a great thing! We do not need this type of Pseudo Military expansion in this country, let alone in our county! I wish a swift and painful death to this type of organization! It's the ONLY buisness I truly hope to fail in this great nation. They are nothing more than a Soldier Of Fortune (SOF) band of miscreants made popular and famous by GWB INC!

Go Away, and Good Riddens to you!
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By Rapier on 3/7/2008 at 3:21 p.m.

It's a good thing for all concerned that Blackwater will go elsewhere.

Undoubtedly their next site will be less expensive to procure, taxes will be less, infrastructure will cost no more and probably less, they may not have to put up with the wild accusations from the terminally small minded and their wage base will be less. Lower expenses, higher profits. And they'll probably have a better relationship with the locals alleviating the need kiss any more butts than necessary.

The citizens who didn't want the site can turn their enthusiasm towards making wild and unfounded accusations back to politicians again; they won't have to worry about what to do with the tax, wage, expense and other monies that would have come into their community. They'll not have to worry about what to say to the Blackwater folks on the street who would surely have gone overboard in supporting community projects and being good neighbors; and they won't have another large contributor for local charities to worry about.

So it works out for everybody and neither side has to hold their nose and pretend to be nice.
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By Timmothy on 3/7/2008 at 3:29 p.m.

this is great news!!!
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By RetiredGuns on 3/7/2008 at 3:34 p.m.

Rapier...whatever that means. I take it you would have been a benefactor of some sort by your comments. Sorry for your personal loss, but at what expense? When will Americans realize we are not for a Civilian, uncontrolled, unregulated thug that goes and does in dastardly deeds in America's good name and basically trashes our entire ethical nature in warfare.

That is what Blackwater and it's ilk represents to me anyway! Cowboys who are not essentially held accountable for thier actions. Wrong from it's inception, and hopefully another sad chapter closed soon. They are NOT any credit to our country, society, not humanity, they are scum, and nothing more!
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By designfreak on 3/7/2008 at 3:42 p.m.

VJ Metal, we have all the law enforcement traing facilities we need. The exhorbitant amount money our government is paying mercinary firms like blackwater should go to our troops fighting over in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, we could use more, and better paid police officers over here. We don't need them and we don't want them.
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By sdborn1964 on 3/7/2008 at 3:43 p.m.

Private contractors can be a valuable tool if used correctly. They do not have the red tape associated with large armies and can be more fluid in their ops. When used in Africa, they stopped a genocide and when told to leave by the UN, the area returned to chaos. The UN went in with 10,000 men and couldn't contain the region. The rebels returned and fighting resumed.

That being said, there are groups who are out of control and have created a bad name for these type of contractors and should be closely watched.
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By bundas on 3/7/2008 at 3:43 p.m.

Blackwater..

why don't you try Alaska?
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By VJ Metal on 3/7/2008 at 3:45 p.m.

hey designfreak. Why did you address your argument to me? I do not disagree with you.
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By Elvis For President on 3/7/2008 at 3:46 p.m.

The cash cow GW provided you with will be ending soon. Smart move, stuff that money in your pockets while you can.....
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By designfreak on 3/7/2008 at 3:53 p.m.

Oops, sorry VJ Metal, it was meant for Crash.

And while I'm at it, why did the U-T delete the letterhead info from the PDF they posted? I'd like to write Blackwater a letter thanking them for leaving us alone.
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