Blackwater, profiteering topic of MCC discussion

Jesuit priest G. Simon Harak will lead a discussion of "War Profiteering and Blackwater: the Rise of Private Militaries" at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the conference center at McHenry County College, 8900 Route 14 in Crystal Lake.

The private security firm Blackwater has been the focus of international controversy recently after being accused by the Iraqi government of the murder of civilians and has been the focus of congressional hearings.

Harak is a former director of the War Resisters League in New York where he organized a National Speakers Bureau on war profiteering and has traveled extensively speaking on this issue. In 2006, he was awarded Pax Christi's New York City Peacemaker of the Year.

The longtime peace activist helped found Voices in the Wilderness which has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is currently director of the newly formed Marquette University Center for Peacemaking.

"Harak will address the issue of corporations that sell war, then profit from the bloodshed," stated Peace Group member Libby Pappalardo. "Extensive research reveals who these companies are, how much they make, and how they literally 'call the shots' when it comes to selling war."

He also will talk about Blackwater, which has opened a training facility recently in northern Illinois's Jo Daviess County, and the rapid rise of corporate armies. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has paid Blackwater more than $1 billion for its trained civilian soldiers, while granting full immunity from prosecution in Iraq and allowing them to operate without oversight.

The program is sponsored by the McHenry County Peace Group and McHenry County Pax Christi as part of the Current American Issues series. It is free and open to the public. For information call (815) 455-3683 or e-mail lib4paz@comcast.net.