LASNET Members,
I apologize for being sooo incredibly delinquent answering all of your
comments and thoughts reference the School of the Americas.
I have received numerous requests for information and have sent out many
packets. If you asked for one, and did not get it, please let me know and
I'll forward another.
As suggested by several listmembers, I am placing this on the open net for
your perusal. I do enjoy the opportunity to engage in intelligent
discourse instead of irrational, emotional anti-military rhetoric.
There is agreement with most folks on some points:
Torture, brutality and subjugation was never taught or endorsed by
the U.S. Army. There has never been, nor is there now, some sort
of conspiracy by the U.S. Army to foment armed insurrection against
farmers, clergy or other civilians. The U.S. Army has nothing at
all to do with National Security Strategy policy making, nor does the
Army have any relation with the CIA at all. In fact, it is against the
law for the Army to involve itself in covert espionage of any kind....
despite the movies, assertions and accusations of many anti-military
folk in general.
The mission of SOA has always been the training of professional
Latin American militaries and police responsible to democratic
civilian government. Initially, about 40 years ago, national
security policy was the containment of communism. To that end, during the
late 40's, early 50's, the U.S. government chose to support some less
than desireable Latin American leaders as the lessor of other evils.
Was this right, wrong, indifferent? The School is not at all involved
in this type of policy making. Our goal has always been to offer the
best training possible and develop courses desired by the LATAM governments.
It is important to note that SOA does not arbitrarily force LATAM to take
training. They have to request it, and pay for it with the their IMET
funding, International Narcotics Matters monies and their own foreign
military sales purchases.
During the 60's, as a result of human rights abuses, countries like
Haiti (Papa Doc and Baby Doc DuValier) and Cuba were prohibited from
participating in our programs. Contrary to disinformation campaigns by
our detractors, none of the leaders in Haiti attended any program at the
school. Without getting into the individual circumstances of each
country, the U.S. government took sides in civil wars. To this end,
the School was involved in trying to train and professionalize democratic
forces friendly to the U.S. The School has always taught
respect for human rights. This goes right to the heart of the U.S. Army.
For example, the Army believes that humane treatment of prisoners
will result in fair treatment of our prisoners. A side benefit
includes winning the enemy over with kindness and equitable respect
for fellow human beings. These are the sorts of things we try to impart
on foreign students, including the Latin Americans. These are lofty
goals. This is not something that happens overnight. Long term change
and true democratic values take time to inculcate into a society. We
are now starting to see the positive effects. It has taken 50 years, but
now many of the Latin American armies are beginning to see the benefits of
supporting civilian governments and human rights treatment.
Have there been thugs and criminals? Certainly. Has everything been rosy
and perfect? Of course not. The U.S. is not proud of My Lai,
Andersonville, Hackworth and a few others. These individuals
are by far in the minority. Does the fact that McVeigh (alleged
Oklahoma bomber) took basic infantry training at Fort Benning mean that
the U.S. Army trained him to be a kook? Obviously not.
There are several things often conveniently neglected when our detractors
target the School and the U.S. Army. There are plenty of human rights
abuses to go around. The terrorist guerillas, for example, pictured
posing with rifles? They take the AK-47's they are pictured with and shoot
people dead with them. They also terrorize innocent
civilians into supporting their various causes and movements.
How about the Sundero Luminoso? These people are brutal. This is the
group that beheads anyone erasing hammer and sickle crests. They also
torture and brutalize villagers who don't support them. To assert that
SOA has cornered the market on training folks into brutalizing is simply
absurd. We have been a real implement of foreign policy with the goal of
professionalizing latin american militaries and helping them see the
benefits of supporting civilian rule and respecting human rights.
Our human rights instruction is not just lip service. Human Rights
is in every course we teach. We adamantly stress that soldiers are
responsible for their actions morally and in a real sense. For example,
in the Resource Management program we stress the cost of human rights
violations in terms of real money, bad press as well as the negative
effects of each violation on the general public. Also the School is
confronting these issues with two new courses. The first is Democratic
Sustainment which is designed to introduce and teach the theory and practice
of military and civilian leadership in a constitutional nation-state.
The course explores the role of the military within a democratic and
constitutionally derived civilian controlled government. Information
and theoretical discussions are fully based upon the shared principles
and culture of this hemisphere. Instruction consists of governmental
operations, legal/military law, historical foundations of regional
democracy, and religious influences in both cultures. Instruction will
be presented in a variety of formats to include student papers and oral
reports, guest lectures, liaison visits with city and county leaders,
political groups, and public administrators. Instruction is presented
at the post baccalaureate level with university credit applied for
from the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities.
The second course, Peace Operations, is designed to train military and
civilian personnel in peace operations and tactics, techniques and
precedures related to operations other than war. the course will provide
the student with emerging U.S. doctrine for peace operations strategies.
Training will focus on refugee/population control, logistics support,
peace maintenance, preventive medecine and sanitation operations.
These are hardly programs of subversion or guerilla warfare.
In fact, less than 25% of our programs involve warfighting skills at all.
This, by the way, is part of the reason for the much publicized review
of the school by Prosoft. The review is normal and requested by the
Army to review our changing mission. This is done as a matter of recourse
on a fairly regular basis to upgrade and refine our curriculum. All army
schools are reviewed and analyzed on a recurring basis.
Please feel free to contact me at any time for information or to
schedule a tour. The school is an open book and we welcome anyone
to come see for themselves what we really do here.
Major Gordon Martel
Public Affairs Officer
School of the Americas
Ft. Benning, GA, 31905
Phone (706) 545-1923