Comments on: Congress Fails to Hault Funding for former School of the Americas http://lacccenter.org/blog/2007/07/24/congress-fails-to-hault-funding-for-former-school-of-the-americas/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:51:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Joshua Reynolds http://lacccenter.org/blog/2007/07/24/congress-fails-to-hault-funding-for-former-school-of-the-americas/#comment-35340 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:37:36 +0000 http://lacccenter.org/blog/2007/07/24/congress-fails-to-hault-funding-for-former-school-of-the-americas/#comment-35340 Mr. Rials, Your cynical dismissal of allegations of serious misconduct by instructors and alumni of the SOA and WHINSEC are inappropriate and hardly reassuring to the public that our tax dollars are being used for good. As the funders of this institute, the American people have a right to better information and more transparency regarding who is admitted to the school, how they are selected, what they are taught, and how they use that training in their respective positions of authority. As anyone who has worked in Latin America can tell you, training and education from US schools, institutes, or agencies is highly regarded on resumes. The institute does have a moral obligation to track the professional record of its graduates so it can accurately make or withhold recommendations based on their human rights record. While claiming the WHINSEC to be a separate institution, not affiliated with the School of the Americas you continue to defend its actions and reputation. This at least implies a close connection between the two institutions and invites criticism of one to be directed at the other. Instead of directly refuting the claims of the article, you offer a cynical "you can't prove it" attitude. This is the same attitude espoused by the ARENA government in El Salvador while refusing to make available relevant documents pertaining to investigations of human rights abuses throughout the 1980s. If the WHINSEC is as devoted to the values of human rights, civilian control of military, and transparency as you claim, the insitute should at least do the following three things. 1) Make the lists of alumni and what courses they were taught public information so independent groups can themselves verify your claims that most graduates are defenders of democracy and human rights. 2) Make public denunciations of human rights abuses made by alumni to send a clear message that the school does not condone their actions. 3) If human rights and civilian rule are central to the instruction at the school, classes should be jointly facilitated by military instructors and civilian experts in human rights. We are all losers in an environment where dissent is disrespected and secrecy maintained. Mr. Rials,

Your cynical dismissal of allegations of serious misconduct by instructors and alumni of the SOA and WHINSEC are inappropriate and hardly reassuring to the public that our tax dollars are being used for good. As the funders of this institute, the American people have a right to better information and more transparency regarding who is admitted to the school, how they are selected, what they are taught, and how they use that training in their respective positions of authority.

As anyone who has worked in Latin America can tell you, training and education from US schools, institutes, or agencies is highly regarded on resumes. The institute does have a moral obligation to track the professional record of its graduates so it can accurately make or withhold recommendations based on their human rights record.

While claiming the WHINSEC to be a separate institution, not affiliated with the School of the Americas you continue to defend its actions and reputation. This at least implies a close connection between the two institutions and invites criticism of one to be directed at the other. Instead of directly refuting the claims of the article, you offer a cynical “you can’t prove it” attitude. This is the same attitude espoused by the ARENA government in El Salvador while refusing to make available relevant documents pertaining to investigations of human rights abuses throughout the 1980s.

If the WHINSEC is as devoted to the values of human rights, civilian control of military, and transparency as you claim, the insitute should at least do the following three things. 1) Make the lists of alumni and what courses they were taught public information so independent groups can themselves verify your claims that most graduates are defenders of democracy and human rights. 2) Make public denunciations of human rights abuses made by alumni to send a clear message that the school does not condone their actions. 3) If human rights and civilian rule are central to the instruction at the school, classes should be jointly facilitated by military instructors and civilian experts in human rights.

We are all losers in an environment where dissent is disrespected and secrecy maintained.

]]> by: Lee A. Rials http://lacccenter.org/blog/2007/07/24/congress-fails-to-hault-funding-for-former-school-of-the-americas/#comment-20195 Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:03:25 +0000 http://lacccenter.org/blog/2007/07/24/congress-fails-to-hault-funding-for-former-school-of-the-americas/#comment-20195 I am the Lee Rials who sent the 'heated response' to COHA. Its director was kind enough to post it in its entirety. I'll just refer you to it and note that no one has yet responded to the challenge I made in that letter to show facts contrary to what I wrote. Just see if you can find one valid objection to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation--a course you don't agree with, a policy you don't like--but don't keep bringing up long ago debunked comments about a school that President Clinton closed more than six years ago to try to attack the institute. It is a real place; state your real objections. I am the Lee Rials who sent the ‘heated response’ to COHA. Its director was kind enough to post it in its entirety. I’ll just refer you to it and note that no one has yet responded to the challenge I made in that letter to show facts contrary to what I wrote. Just see if you can find one valid objection to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation–a course you don’t agree with, a policy you don’t like–but don’t keep bringing up long ago debunked comments about a school that President Clinton closed more than six years ago to try to attack the institute. It is a real place; state your real objections.

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