Blackwater: "Mafia-like"Mercenaries in Iraq and California: What We Can Do at Home About This

"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. That is why 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.

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."

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 many of you are doing to help the Courage Campaign stop Blackwater and hold our leaders accountable.

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.

Rick Jacobs is the founder and chair of the Courage Campaign. He chaired the presidential campaign of Howard Dean in California and serves as Senior Advisor to Democracy for America.