The U.S. School That Trains Dictators & Death Squads

[Judi Lynn]

The U.S. School That Trains Dictators & Death Squads

Saturday December 05, 2015

- video at link -

On November 22, thousands gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, GA at the 25th annual protest of the School of the Americas to memorialize the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives at the hands of the U.S. Empire’s brutally repressive juntas that used to rule Latin America by force. The dictators and death squad leaders, who committed acts of genocide, were trained within the gates of Fort Benning, at the School of the Americas – otherwise known as the “School Of Assassins.” Abby Martin investigates this notorious school that is largely hidden from the American public. Featuring interviews with School Of the Americas Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois and other SOAW leaders.

http://videos.telesurtv.net/en/video/479988/the-empire-files-479988

[GGJohn]

1. Old news.

That school is no longer in existence, time to move on.

[Judi Lynn]

2. The school is most certainly in existence.

This is not Late Breaking News.

If you're not interested in the material, don't burden yourself with it. It's not your place to tell others it's not worth their time.

Since the school realized people referred to it as the "School of Assassins," they merely tried to change the name to one which wouldn't lend itself so easily to descriptive and accurate nicknames.

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, as everyone knows, IS S.O.A., wearing its new bogus appellation.

[GGJohn]

3. Excuse me, but it most certainly is my place to tell others it's not worth their

time to read it.
Again, SOA is closed, there is no new school teaching what the SOA did.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Excuse me, they are the SAME, as I said, and as Army Maj. Joseph Blair says.

First, you are not the one to censor material for other people.

Next:

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the US Army School of the Americas,[1][2] is a United States Department of Defense Institute located at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia, that provides military training to government personnel in US-allied Latin American nations.

The school was founded in 1946 and from 1961 was assigned the specific goal of teaching "anti-communist counterinsurgency training," a role which it would fulfill for the rest of the Cold War.[3] In this period, it educated several Latin American dictators, generations of their military and, during the 1980s, included the uses of torture in its curriculum.[4][5] In 2000/2001, the institute was renamed to WHINSEC.[6][7]:233

. . .

By 2000 the School of the Americas was under increasing criticism in the United States for training students who later participated in undemocratic governments and committed human rights abuses. In 2000 Congress, through the FY01 National Defense Act, withdrew the Secretary of the Army's authority to operate USARSA.[8]

The next year, WHINSEC was founded as a successor institute. U.S. Army Maj. Joseph Blair, a former director of instruction at the school, said in 2002 that "there are no substantive changes besides the name. [...] They teach the identical courses that I taught and changed the course names and use the same manuals."[1]

. . .

Human rights violations by graduates[edit]

WHINSEC has been criticized for human rights violations committed by former students.[1][31][32]

According to the Center for International Policy, "The School of the Americas had been questioned for years, as it trained many military personnel before and during the years of the 'national security doctrine' – the dirty war years in the Southern Cone and the civil war years in Central America – in which the armed forces within several Latin American countries ruled or had disproportionate government influence and committed serious human rights violations in those countries."[citation needed] SOA and WHINSEC graduates continue to surface in news reports regarding both current human rights cases and new reports.

Defenders argue that today the curriculum includes human rights,[33] but according to Human Rights Watch, "training alone, even when it includes human rights instruction, does not prevent human rights abuses."[31]

WHINSEC has said "that no school should be held accountable for the actions of its graduates."[33]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_for_Security_Cooperation

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
You just missed the annual Vigil at Ft. Benning, Georgia, School of the Americas, November 20 to 22nd, 2015.
It's been an oberservation by people of faith in humanity who want to see the school of the assassins closed. DU members attend these vigils.

[GGJohn]

5. LOLOL.

Censoring material?
You're a hoot.

[GGJohn]

6. I could care less if the Pope himself attended this vigils,

the fact is that the SOA is closed, they don't teach what used to be taught in the SOA and all your hand wringing isn't going to change that fact.

[Judi Lynn]

7. You're wrong. Saying you aren't won't change it. n/t

[GGJohn]

8. And you would be wrong, again,

and your saying I'm wrong won't change the fact that I'm correct.

We all know that you have an agenda against anything US, you've made that clear time and time again, but that's your right, but don't expect everyone to walk in lockstep with your anti-American rants.

[Judi Lynn]

9. Anti-American, GGJohn? You're calling me "the enemy?" Really?

I would say anyone who supports massacres of innocents is anti-humanity. Massacre supporters are OK? I don't think so.

Your wish to red-bait me, call me anti-American is your choice. It has nothing to do with reality.

Anyone who claims everything the US Gov't has done regarding the Americas is appropriate is lying.

[Marksman_91]

10. Funny. The FARC have also carried out massacres throughout their history...

.... and yet I've still yet to read a single word from you claiming that you condemn them and that they should be treated as a drug trafficking terrorist insurgency. Maybe you should consider that before accusing anyone of supporting massacre-committing groups.

By the way, I'm still waiting on your answer regarding a simple yes or no question I asked you many weeks ago. Do you or do you not support children being used by states to promote their propaganda?

And before you flag this post (cuz I know you will,) I'd just like to leave a message to the jury: Judy has consistently been calling anyone who does not support the hardcore brand of marxism that she supports in Latin America (such as Chavismo) as a right-wing fascist, and is not willing to admit that the sites and sources she uses are nothing more than propaganda shills for the repressive Chavista government that has been blatantly lying for years now, such as Telesur. And not only that, she has consistently avoided the question EVERY time I ask her of whether she supports the FARC or not, and I bring that up now because since we ARE talking about massacres, and the FARC is one of the most well-known terrorist insurgencies in Latin America, known for many civilian deaths since its inception. And just a few weeks ago as well, I asked her if she supported the Peruvian MRTA, another well-known insurgent group in the continent, and again, she avoided the question. I guess what I'm trying to say is, before censoring this post, consider if you're gonna support someone who has not exactly made it clear that supports leftist insurgent groups, or a repressive state that uses children for propaganda purposes. Her extreme leftist views has her being ideologically blinded to the fact that anyone who does not support her viewpoint is automatically a right-wing extremist, and unwilling to admit that atrocities can be committed from the left as well.

[Matariki]

12. Results of your Jury Service

For the sake of transparency -

On Mon Dec 21, 2015, 07:50 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Funny. The FARC have also carried out massacres throughout their history...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1108&pid=46407

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Calling out a poster, baiting, harassing someone repeatedly. This poster has done this before to the same DU'er, been sidelined for it.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Mon Dec 21, 2015, 08:17 PM, and the Jury voted 2-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I don't think it's "calling out" when you respond to the poster themselves. It sounds like these two posters have a history, but I have no idea what it is, other than what this post says, which may or may not be accurate. Without more info, I'm not going to hide it.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Hey! Stop using the jury system to settle your arguments. If you can't come up with something cogent, then just ingore the poster. Even without the post's caveat to a potential jury, there is NOTHING in that post that is "baiting" or "harassing". I see a statement and a question. Answer it or not, but don't be a baby with the alert button. I'm getting tired of being on juries for flippant alerts.
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: That's why it's called discussion-- I don't agree with this one all that much, but take him down in public. Don't take the lame way out by hiding.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Sounds like a bunch of crybabies unable to handle a real debate. I'll allow it.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

[Marksman_91]

13. I appreciate that

Understand that ever since I've joined this site and started participating in discussions, Judy has always been accusing anyone who doesn't disagree with her viewpoint as being a right-winger (which is a blatantly intolerant attitude to have, in my opinion,) and sometimes makes me even question if she supports democratic ideals for the sake of a hardcore leftist ideology. Thankfully this is DEMOCRATICUnderground, not COMMUNISTUnderground.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Day-um! Complaining about that place, whatever it's called now, is anti-American?

So, the American way is to teach torture and how to quash not just rebellion but free speech? And prop up dictators?

Well, the truth of it is that we did that for a few hundred years. In fact the Monroe Doctrine was largely to keep those sneaky Europeans out of our Caribbean slave trade and let us do what we wanted to with Mexico and Central America. It ended with calling some places banana republics for a reason. Patriots saving the world for United Fruit.

But this is something to be proud of? To brag about?

It to be ashamed of.

[GGJohn]

14. Went right over your head didn't it. eom.