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11/15/01

Assassins trained in U.S. territory

Mike Pesa
Daily Kent Stater

"If any government sponsors the outlaws and killers of innocents, they have become outlaws and murderers themselves. And they will take that lonely path at their own peril." -- George W. Bush

Bush says he wants to shut down all terrorist training camps. Great, let's do it! And let's start with the one at Ft. Benning, Ga.

The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, which is based in Ft. Benning, trains Latin American soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics. Formerly known as the School of the Americas, its graduates are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America.

The school has trained nearly 60,000 people, among them the notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Other school graduates have participated in many atrocities, including the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians, executed in pairs as they sang hymns and pleaded for their children's lives.

According to numerous sources, including the Cleveland-based Inter-religious Task Force on Central America, these massacres were the direct result of civilian targeted warfare techniques taught by the school. American-written school manuals, declassified by the Pentagon in September 1996, "recommended interrogation techniques like torture, execution, blackmail and arresting the relatives of those being questioned," as the New York Times reported.

For years, social justice advocates, faith-based groups, elected officials and others have tried to raise awareness about these atrocities and to close down the school.

Last year, the House of Representatives, by a narrow 10-vote margin, defeated a bipartisan amendment to close the school and conduct a congressional investigation. Instead, the school changed its name in order to escape the stigma that now accompanies the name "SOA" (which activists call the "School of Assassins"). The Western Hemisphere Institute also claims to have reformed the curriculum of the "school."

However, an in-depth comparison study conducted by a group called SOA Watch has shown that the changes made are almost completely superficial. School supporters like the late Georgia Sen. Paul Coverdell, have admitted as much, stating that they were simply "cosmetic" changes that would ensure that the school could continue its mission and operation.

The FBI defines terrorism as "violent acts . . . intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government, or affect the conduct of a government." This description clearly fits the actions of those trained by the school/institute. I am not suggesting that we carpet bomb Georgia, but if the U.S. wants to be taken seriously as an enemy of terrorism, it must stop supporting terrorists.

Call, write fax or e-mail your Congressman or woman and ask him or her to support HR 1810, Rep. McGovern's bill to close the school/institute.

E-mail: mpesa@kent.edu