There is nothing new in this pure propaganda vehicle. It appears to
use CNN news video and old archive footage. The film is narrated by
Susan Sarandon, an actress with no crediblility or credentials reference
Latin American Affairs. Mr. Roy Bourgeois and Vicky Imerman are
the prime sources of alleged factual information for this totally
negative, one sided and emotionally charged film featuring exhumed
bodies from the 80's and goose stepping soldiers from before the 70's.
The film is strictly one sided, deliberate and clear of purpose in
what it chooses to portray as fact. Calling this film a documentary
is a stretch. The film in no way fits the description of an objective
multi-sided presentation of the facts.
The film ignores any mention of the more than
58,500 graduates who serve their countries honorably and
faithfully. It only deals with less than 300 graduates of which less
than 50 of these have ever been convicted of crimes. The total
amount of graduates ever cited for alleged crimes totals less than
1/2 of 1 percent of the total alumni of the school. The vast majority
of graduates go on to serve their countries well. It would be
interesting to compare this figure to other civilian institutions.
The film never mentions that SOA has only trained 50 Haitians and
none since 1961. The SOA budget is $4.2 million a year. The price
of restoring Aristede to power was 16,000 American troops placed in
harms way for six months at a cost of $1.2 billion dollars. This same
money would operate SOA for more than 200 years. It is possible that
country might have taken a different course had it remained with SOA.
The film continually refers to events in El Salvador, but
never points out that following an international agreement as a result
of many hearings and investigations, amnesty was granted to all,
guerrilas included, for any actions during their devastating civil
war. The amnesty has since been recertified by international agreement.
That country is now trying to build a firm economic future based
on democratic ideals.
The film does not mention that as few as 20 years
ago almost all of the Latin American countries were
under some sort of repressive rule; now only Cuba remains. The rest
are at least fledging democracies striving to build an economic future.
The film does not state that SOA offers a variety of programs including
Civil Military Affairs, Resource Management, Computer Literacy and
Counter-Narcotics. The film fails to point out that the School
has never been secretive and remains an open book. SOA has never
taught murder, mayhem and torture. It is ludicrous to even imply
such a thing. There are no secret courses and no secret manuals.
Every program offered by the School mirrors those taught to U.S.
soldiers. The only difference is that the language used is Spanish.
If an individual becomes a drug dealer or a murderer, they learned it
on their own, and not from SOA.
The film contains factual errors. For example, it states that $30 million
dollars was spent to renovate the building 35. This is not true. It cost
$6.8 million to restore building 35 which is a Registered Historic
Landmark in its own right as the original Infantry School. Many of the
great military leaders of WW II and the Korean conflict trained in
building 35. It was constructed in 1934 and will always be maintained
in excellent condition.
The philosophical underpinnings of the film and principle SOA critics
are, in fact, radical Liberation Theology with the associated world-
view through the paradigm of Marxist dialectic. As a result, the
deeper propaganda themes are anti-capitalist, anti-materialist and
anti-U.S. culture.
If anyone would like factual information on the School of the Americas,
please feel free to contact me.
Major Gordon Martel
Public Affairs Officer
School of the Americas
Bldg 35, Room 372
Ft. Benning, Ga., 31905