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ACTION CALENDAR March 11, 2008 To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council From: Peace and Justice Commission Submitte

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ACTION CALENDAR March 11, 2008 To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council From: Peace and Justice Commission Submitte Peace and Justice Commission ACTION CALENDAR March 11, 2008 To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council From: Peace and Justice Commission Submitted by: Robert Meola, Chairperson Subject: Opposing the Use of Blackwater and Other Private Mercenary Contractors RECOMMENDATION Oppose the use of Blackwater and other private mercenary contractors by the United States in Iraq or anywhere else and call on the United States to stop all such mercenary employment; call on the United States to rescind Order 17, and investigate and prosecute all human rights violations perpetrated by the aforementioned mercenaries; and convey by letter to the Planning Commission, Mayor and City Council of Potrero, CA solidarity for their actions opposing Blackwater being permitted to establish training facilities in their community. FISCAL IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION None. CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECT Blackwater is an American company that provides private sector solutions to the United States government and non-United States clients, and is the leading mercenary company of the United States occupation of Iraq. It took on this role in the summer of 2003, after receiving a $27 million no-bid contract to provide security for Ambassador Paul Bremer, the original head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Since its original Iraq contract, Blackwater has won more than $700 million in “diplomatic security” contracts from the State Department alone. Blackwater was the perpetrator of the infamous Nisour Square Massacre on September 16, 2007, wherein at least 28 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a young Iraqi family with an infant, and other men, women and children were killed due to the launching of some sort of grenade by Blackwater troops, followed by repeated gunfire by Blackwater troops and other Iraqi civilians being injured. The Iraqi government and survivors of the attack have stated that the attack by Blackwater troops was completely unprovoked. 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel: 510.981.5110 TDD: 510.981.6903 Fax: 510.981.5130 E-mail: [email protected] Opposing the Use of Blackwater & Other Private Mercenary Contractors ACTION CALENDAR March 11, 2008 The United States Department of Justice needs to be pressured to investigate and prosecute the actions and human rights violations of Blackwater employees and employees of other mercenary companies. BACKGROUND At the meeting of February 4, 2008, the Peace and Justice Commission discussed the use of Blackwater and other private mercenary contractors by the United States. After much discussion, the Commission approved the following motion: M/S/C (Meola/Sherman) WHEREAS, the Peace and Justice Commission advises the City Council on all matters relating to the City of Berkeley’s role in issues of peace and social justice (Berkeley Municipal Code (BMC) Chapter 369.070); and WHEREAS, it is distressing enough that the United States launched an illegal, immoral and unprovoked war of aggression in Iraq based on the numerous lies of the Bush Administration and is threatening the possibility of war in Iran; and WHEREAS, wars have produced catastrophic loss of human life, both civilian and military, as well as physically maiming and deforming and psychologically destroying countless numbers of civilians and military personnel; and WHEREAS, the people of the City of Berkeley have long voiced their stand for peace and against unnecessary wars; and WHEREAS, the United States war in Iraq is the most privatized war in history and “according to the Government Accounting Office [GAO], there are as many as 180 mercenary firms in Iraq with tens of thousands of employees” [from Jeremy Scahill’s article, “Making A Killing,” in the October 15, 2007 issue of The Nation magazine]; and WHEREAS, Blackwater, the leading mercenary company of the United States occupation of Iraq received its original $27 million no-bid contract to provide security in the summer of 2003 and since that contract “has won more than $700 million in ‘diplomatic security’ contracts through the State Department alone” [see Scahill’s article quoted above] and therefore, citizens of Berkeley, who are United States taxpayers, are funding these mercenaries at great moral and material cost; and sustaining a vested class of Americans, profiting off of the militarization of the American economy, often to the detriment of soldier morale; and WHEREAS, Blackwater was the perpetrator of the infamous Nisour Square Massacre on September 16, 2007, wherein at least 28 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a young Iraqi family with an infant, and other men, women and children were killed due to the launching of some sort of grenade by Blackwater troops, followed by repeated gunfire by Blackwater troops and other Iraqi civilians were injured and in critical condition; and the Iraqi government and survivors of the attack by Blackwater troops have stated that the attack was completely unprovoked; and 2 Opposing the Use of Blackwater & Other Private Mercenary Contractors ACTION CALENDAR March 11, 2008 WHEREAS, there were at least six other deadly incidents last year involving Blackwater troops killing groups of Iraqis and Iraqi officials tried several times to contact the United States through administrative and diplomatic channels to complain about Blackwater’s conduct in these incidents and there complaints went nowhere; and WHEREAS, Order 17, signed by Paul Bremer on June 27, 2004, granted sweeping immunity to private contractors working for the United States in Iraq, and is a potent symbol of the utter lack of any Iraqi sovereignty, self-rule or independence, even when it involves “the murder of citizens in cold blood by Blackwater—a terrorist action against civilians just like any other terrorist organization.” [statement by officials from Iraq’s Interior, National Security and Defense Ministries]; and WHEREAS, the United States Department of Justice needs to be pressured to investigate and prosecute the actions and human rights violations of Blackwater employees and employees of other companies [like those (according to Amnesty International) of Halliburton’s subsidiary, KBR, accused of gang raping their fellow employee, Jamie Leigh Jones, in Iraq]; and WHEREAS, the massive use of a private army impedes the transparency and accountability necessary for effective government. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Peace and Justice Commission recommends that the Council of the City of Berkeley go on record as opposing the use by the United States of Blackwater and other private mercenary contractors in Iraq or anywhere else and calls on the United States to stop all such mercenary employment; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Berkeley City Council call on the United States to rescind Order 17, and investigate and prosecute all human rights violations perpetrated by the aforementioned mercenaries; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Berkeley City Council convey by letter to the Planning Commission, Mayor and City Council of Potrero, California, the solidarity of the City of Berkeley to the people of Potrero, California for their actions opposing Blackwater being permitted to establish training facilities in their community; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Berkeley City Council send copies of this Resolution to President George Bush, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Ayes: Bohn, Brody, Cohen, Freedkin, Kafin, Lippman, Litman, Meola, Sherman, sorgen, Winkelman; Noes: Wornick; Absent: Kenin. 3 Opposing the Use of Blackwater & Other Private Mercenary Contractors ACTION CALENDAR March 11, 2008 CITY MANAGER The City Manager takes no position on the recommendations of the Commission. CONTACT PERSON Robert Meola, Chairperson, Peace and Justice Commission, (510) 644-1102 Michael Sherman, Peace and Justice Commission, (510) 548-4270 Manuel Hector Jr., Secretary, Peace and Justice Commission, (510) 981-5110 4 .
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