[Private gangs. What a novel idea. And boy wasn't that handy that the fire lit up all that area in CA where Blackwater wants to build? Not that I'm saying they had anything to do with it........]
Former Bush General Touts Privatization of National Disaster Response
by: Eartha Jane Melzer
Thursday (10/25) at 15:07 PM
"Country Club Fees" Would Guarantee Protection
A retired general now working for a controversial private security company told an audience last night about the services the company plans to provide.
The government does not have the tax base to provide services to everyone in the event of a major catastrophe, retired Brigadier General Richard W. Mills told an audience in Pellston last night.
Mills served as Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Center (CTC) of the Central Intelligence Agency before retirement this year. At a public meeting at the Pellston High School he presented himself as the executive vice president for strategic development for Sovereign Deed, an 18 month old company that offers private disaster response services.
(Photo: President George W. Bush and Brigadier General Richard Mills, Deputy Commander of U.S. Special Forces, view a tactical demonstration from the roof of a building at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Friday, March 15, 2002. White House photo by Eric Draper.)
Continued -
Eartha Jane Melzer :: Former Bush General Touts Privatization of National Disaster Response
Sovereign Deed was started by a founder of Triple Canopy -- one the largest private security companies doing business in Iraq. In August the company announced that it would build a "national response center" at the Pellston airport in Emmet County. The announcement came after State Senator Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) successfully sponsored a bill to allow private security firms to qualify for tax abatements as industrial facilities.
Mills, and Emmet County officials, were on hand last night to speak about Sovereign Deed and address what they called a wave of "rumors" about the company's plans.
Mills said that Sovereign Deed is focused on helping people in urban areas plan to survive a major disaster.
Mills said that Sovereign Deed would offer planning and rescue services to subscribers who pay a "country club type membership fee." Basic service, he said, would involve a one time $50,000 fee and $15,000 per year.
"The reality of FEMA is that is has no infrastructure, and a lot of our National Guard is elsewhere fighting the war," Mills said. "You never know what could happen. A hurricane, a terrorist attack, a nuclear power plant going bad -- it doesn't matter, you make concentric circles, you get a plan."
He said northern Michigan was well suited for a national response center because it has low air traffic congestion and few risks outside the occasional snow storm.
Though some said they would welcome any business development that might bring jobs to local people, many objected to what they called the vague nature of Sovereign Deed's plans.
Mills did not offer details about what supplies would be stored at it's Emmet county warehouses. He did not offer details on how much air traffic the business might generate, how many people it would train and what sort of training people would receive. He did say that the company would bring military cargo planes to the Pellston airport.
Mills emphasized that Sovereign Deed is not a government agency. But he did not rule out working for governments and he said that FEMA is looking to privatize some functions.
Members of the group "Do We Need Sovereign Deed" are questioning the use of tax incentives to attract Sovereign Deed. During the forum several people expressed concerns about a "parallel universe" security system being set up to benefit only those with financial resources.
The Sovereign Deed plan, "Flies in the face of democracy," Carolyn Belknap said.
Belknap said she feels the company's plans are covert and that she is suspicious of Sovereign Deed connections to other similar organizations such as Triple Canopy and Blackwater.
Belknap said she is particularly disturbed by Sovereign Deed claims that they will have access to advance intelligence on security threats. She said she is concerned with the privatization of security intelligence.
Belknap pointed to the close relationships between Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater, and conservative political causes and candidates.
"I think that when we dig deeper we are going to find that they are all connected. We've got to follow the money."
As part of the campaign to do this, Belknap said, concerned citizens in Northern Michigan are forming ties with a group in California that is mobilizing to oppose a Blackwater training camp there.
East of San Diego, in rural Potrero, California (now in the midst of a forest fire) a recall campaign seeks to unseat planning commissioners who approved a plan for a 860 acre Blackwater training facility.
Activists there say that the Blackwater facility near the southern border is positioned to take advantage of government border security contracts.
Some people wary of the Sovereign Deed project have expressed concern that a closed state prison camp in Pellston may be part of the company's future plans.
http://www.michiganmessenger.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=320
