Venezuela to cease training at School of Americas

[Shanty Oilish]

High time. What took them so long, do you suppose?

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=133-03012004

snip

"The official announcement was made by Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel in an address to the Venezuelan National Assembly on Thursday, February 26, 2004. In an earlier meeting with a delegation of U.S. human rights activists, Rangel stated that the SOA/WHISC is a training school for dictators, torturers and terrorists, and a country such as the U.S., which considers itself to be a democracy, should not have such a school on it's soil. During a visit of religious leaders from the United States in Venezuela in January, President Hugo Chavez also spoke out against the SOA as he stated: 'This school (the SOA/WHISC) deformed the minds of many Latin American soldiers, who from there went on to become dictators.'"

[JNelson6563]

1. Not so long ago

we had many a defender of the SOA right here at DU. Amazing, no?

Julie

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

2. some Clark fans were telling us how good it is

I remember

[hang a left]

3. What I don't understand

Is why wasn't this decision made a long time ago.

[htuttle]

5. Why so long?

Military inertia. Why would the Venezuelan military enjoy 'change' any more than ours or any other nation's does? I'd be willing to be that there is a fair amount of resistance to any change in any large hierarchical organization.

[ldoolin]

4. Hugo Chavez rocks!