Bush Campaign Paying Firm That Specializes In Paramilitaries (Daily Kos)

[Lori Price CLG]

Bush Campaign Paying Firm That Specializes In Paramilitaries --by DHinMI

Fri Mar 19th, 2004 at 22:13:05 GMT

There are plenty of things a campaign must pay for, but the Bush campaign may be the first presidential campaign to employ a company that specializes in paramilitary protection.

In reports filed today with the Federal Election Commission, the Bush campaign showed February receipts of $13.7 million, and cash on hand of $110 million. <snip> But a quick look at Bush's FEC filing shows something curious--they paid almost $200,000 to Vance International for "personnel services/equipment." Vance International may not be familiar to a lot of people, but they should be, because they are the Pinkertons of our era.

<snip>

Professional and responsive asset protection services has made our Asset Protection Team (APT) the undisputed leader in the field of labor unrest and major event security since 1985. APT provides security personnel who are trained to protect people and property during potentially disruptive situations, such as strikes, union organizing drives, and plant closings. In addition, APT supplies seasoned professionals during special events and emergency situations, including traveling exhibits, conferences, demonstrations, fund-raising events, and man-made and natural disasters.

<snip>

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Wondering if this is a story being floated to make people fear protesting

the Repub convention...look for all kinds of nutcases to start suggesting ridiculous manners of protesting the convention.

[w4rma]

The fear, I think, is probably *from* Bush of protestors.

Or maybe these guys are being paid to be Bush's traveling crowed of happily paid "supporters".

[Dark Angel]

2. I got one

How about atop an 80 foot George Bush float, with an expandable nose?

[Barrett808]

3. Bring 'em on! I will be in NYC to protest the RNC convention

Come Hell or high water.

[Streetdoc270]

4. To many cuts in the SS budget?

Correct me if I'm wrong but dosen't the Pres already have guards?

[iamjoy]

6. See, Let Me Explain

These are Republicans. They think (almost) anything government is bad, and anything private is good. They want to privatize our schools, our social security, our Medicare. Why not our protection?

[DBoon]

15. "Our" protection?

What do you mean "we", kemosabe?

- Tonto to the Lone Ranger, regarding a suggestion "we" fight threatening Native American freedom fighters

[prodigal_green]

5. Republican Guard?

I just assumed they rounded up Saddam's thugs to aim at demonstrators here. They've already got the appropriately-named caps. Why waste all that good training?

[DemNoir]

7. This is sick and scary

"APT provides security personnel who are trained to protect people and property during potentially disruptive situations, such as strikes, union organizing drives"

Union organizing drives, what is so dangerous about that? Sounds like thugs for hire to intimidate your workforce.

[Lori Price CLG]

8. Vance International and Decision Strategies Open Office in Iraq (12/03)

Vance International and Decision Strategies Open Office in Iraq

CONTACT: Charles Blackmore or Nicholas Copeland
[phone]
[e-mail]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oakton, VA (December 4, 2003) – SPX Security and Investigations (S&I), a unit of SPX Corporation, today announced that it has opened an office in Baghdad, Iraq, as "DS Vance Iraq." This enables Decision Strategies (DS) and Vance International, the two premier security and investigative companies that comprise the S&I unit, to provide critical services such as business intelligence, close protection, and security training to companies and individuals doing business in Iraq.

<snip>

Vance International is an international security services firm specializing in high-level executive protection, training, security assessments, and tactical security personnel. Founded on the principle of excellence through responsive service, Vance International is a widely respected industry leader. Visit www.vancesecurity.com for more information.

SPX Corporation is a global provider of technical products and systems, industrial products and services, flow technology and service solutions. For more information please refer to SPX Corporation’s home page at www.spx.com.

-Lori Price

[Old and In the Way]

10. I used to work for one of the SPX manufacturing units

Looks like they are diversifying into a new "growth" industry.

[Mandate My Ass]

9. Vance Int'l is in bed with Wackenhut

which is in bed w/Bush family. REad it and weep.

http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20000213security1.asp

Vance International pioneered executive protection.

"Chuck saw a need to provide for the Saudis the type of security the Secret Service was giving government officials," said Joe Ricci, marketing director for Vance International. "The business grew from there."

Like other security firms, Control Risk and Vance International are diversifying.

Control Risk has a highly regarded risk assessment service, is branching into investigations, and from time to time provides executive protection through subcontractors. Vance has become the national leader in "asset protection," supporting companies involved in labor disputes. It has started a uniformed guard service for businesses in Washington D.C. and Minneapolis.

About half the growth in the security industry has been new business and about half substitution, as major corporations contract out for security services they once provided in-house, said Ricci, who was director of public relations for the American Society for Industrial Security before joining Vance.

Ricci expects the trend toward outsourcing to continue and predicts that government agencies will continue to fuel the trend, as well.

Private security firms already perform many functions once performed only by government. The newest Wackenhut prison opened in Baldwin, Mich., in July. The state-of-the-art facility was built to house juveniles who are sentenced as adults for major felonies. Michigan pays Wackenhut $67.50 per prisoner per day. Per diem costs at prisons run by the Michigan Department of Corrections range between $83 and $110.

[DuctapeFatwa]

11. Since they are using almost 100% commercials in sub-Saharan Africa &

the Caribbean/South American crusades, they better pay em.

[54anickel]

12. Ewww, looks like they aren't your ordinary rent-a-cops

http://www.vancesecurity.com/services/services_training.cfm

[DulceDecorum]

13. The Dogs of War

Rent-a-Coup: Who's Who
The men behind the alleged Equatorial Guinea coup plot represent a who's who of South Africa's mercenary market - but key players also have links to the American and British security establishments.
In Harare, where 67 suspected mercenaries were arrested last Sunday, Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi claimed later in the week that Britain's MI6 intelligence service, the United States's CIA and the Spanish secret service had been involved.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200403120716.html

The African Union has hailed Zimbabwe for thwarting the planned invasion of Equatorial Guinea by suspected terrorists who wanted to overthrow the government in that country.
A statement from the AU said the executive council of the body met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from March 15 to 17 and was briefed by the Equatorial Guinea Foreign Minister Mr Jose Esono Micha about the attempted invasion.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200403190921.html

More at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x9558

[MidwestTransplant]

14. Poll Watchers/Intimidators?

[scottxyz]

16. Somehow this is the creepiest thing I've read in a long time

So they've muzzled the press;

they're censoring musicians, commentators, disk jockeys, and now cartoonists;

they've created new unconstitutional laws allowing the President to detain anyone - without saying what they're accused of or giving access to a lawyer;

they're rigging the voting machines and saying that paperless voting is the way to go;

they're possibly bumping off people like Bush's brother's housekeeper and Wellstone and Hatfield and Kangas and now maybe even the head of truvote.com (a firm manufacturing electronic-voting machines that produced backup paper ballots);

they're allowed to eavedrop on all our conversations over the phone or on-line, and come into our homes with a secret warrant to do a "sneak and peek" without ever informing us they were there;

they're violating medical privacy laws by requesting medical records of their enemies (woman who get abortions and their doctors - ANY abortion - not just later ones);

they used the Homeland Security Department to chase down the Texas Democrats who had staged a legitimate walkout to protest being gerrymandered out of existence;

they're cutting funding for EVERYTHING in the budget except surveillance, law enforcement and military;

they're introducing what amounts to an internal passport with their CAPPS II system - a database for screening air passengers that can bounce you off a plane based on looking at your credit, financial, academic, and other private records - and you have no recourse against the computer;

they're got laws in place allowing them to quarantine you if you refuse to submit to certain vaccinations during a bio-attack;

...and now they're hiring paramilitaries, just before holding their convention in New York.


Is there any doubt at this point what they're up to? Anyone who's read a bit of history knows that lots of countries go through periods of totalitarian regimes. We're about to go through ours.

What's going to fight it? The mouse? We can sit here and report on what they do - but when are we going to massively stream into the streets, in the millions, like the Spaniards just did, and say GIVE US BACK OUR COUNTRY!

[scottxyz]

17. Got confused for a minute - thought this was the same as Vinnell

Similar firm - different place and time.

Vinnell
http://www.socialistworker.org/2003-1/454/454_05_SaudiArabia.shtml

[lazarus]

18. update

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/3/20/185433/933

The actual amount paid to them is over $750,000.

And they're replacing Nat'l Guard units here in the States to free them up for the war.