SOME OF CENTURY'S WORST TERRORISTS TRAINED IN GA.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- I'd like to thank President Bush for bringing to my
attention the very real threat that terrorists pose to the people of the
Western Hemisphere. By listening to his speeches, I have been filled with a
sense of utter fear and hatred for all the evils of the world. I admit I
was skeptical at first. Surely terrorists could not be that big of a threat
to the West. However, after some intense research, I have learned of an
astonishing terrorist network that threatens daily the stability and safety
of America.

I would like to take this opportunity to share my findings and to let our
campus know about an enormous terrorist training camp right in our own
backyard!

Yes folks, it's the School of the Americas. What's that? You are now called
the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation? Aww, you're such
a kidder. We knew it was you all along, good ol' SOA.

Is the SOA a threat to America? Well, if you define America as the United
States, then probably not.

If, however, you choose to define America the same way every other nation
in the Western Hemisphere does, using the name to include both the North
and South continents, then the SOA is, as former Panamanian President Jorge
Illueca called it, "the biggest base for destabilization in Latin America."

Wow! Sounds like an evil thing we'd find in one of those bad drug cartel
countries, huh?

Oh wait! That's right! It's located in Fort Benning, Ga., and is funded and
staffed by the United States government.

Well, I'm sure it is at least a very noble institution dedicated to the
ideals of democracy, self-determination and human rights. It certainly
would not be a training camp for Latin American soldiers, teaching them
counterinsurgency techniques, psychological warfare and interrogation
tactics (a nice way of saying torture).

And graduates of the SOA, mostly Latin American soldiers, would certainly
not target educators, union organizers, religious workers and social
welfare workers.

The fact is that since 1946, graduates of the School of the Americas have
tortured, raped, assassinated and dislocated hundreds of thousands of Latin
American citizens. Below, I have gleaned some examples from several Latin
American countries of how SOA graduates have operated.

From 1976 to 1983, Argentina suffered its "Dirty War," a period of
dictatorship, political upheavals, military coups and unprecedented human
rights violations. The two most prominent military dictators and human
rights violators of the time were, you guessed it, SOA graduates Roberto
Viola and Leopoldo Galtieri. Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Esquivel,
imprisoned and tortured in Argentina for 14 months, blamed "the world's
so-called leader in democracy, the United States" for the bloodshed and abuse.

Chile, 1973: Pinochet's bloody political coup. We all remember Pinochet and
his terrifying human rights violations. No, he wasn't an SOA graduate, but
he was certainly supported by the SOA. The heads of his secret police, his
officers who tortured and murdered a U.N. official, and men in charge of
operating three of his most heinous concentration camps for political
prisoners were all SOA graduates, and many were also instructors at the SOA.

In fact, in 1991, visitors to the School of the Americas (remember that's
in Georgia and run by the U.S. Department of Defense) could view a letter
from Pinochet and a ceremonial saber he donated to the school. Isn't that
sweet?

My last example, though there are frighteningly many more, is Colombia.
Sadly, this is not a history lesson but a study of current events. Colombia
has had over 10,000 soldiers trained at the SOA, more than any other Latin
American country.

Now, however, SOA graduates are being funded by "Plan Colombia," a .3
billion pledge by the United States in the form of military equipment and
chemicals to "protect U.S. interests and investments." Supposedly, it is
part of an anti-drug program to dispense chemicals on the coca plant to
cripple the drug cartel.

The problem is that the indiscriminate use of the herbicide also destroyed
food and medicinal crops and contaminated drinking water.

Ironically, the coca fields flourished and drastically expanded. Our
support of the Colombian military has allowed the United States to maintain
control of gold, silver, and oil industries in Colombia.

At the same time, over 300,000 Colombians are being forced to emigrate from
their homes. The Colombian military, funded by the U.S. and trained by the
School of the Americas, has increased its violence against the poor peasant
farmers who make up the majority of the population.

Under the auspices of the "drug war," SOA graduates have formed
paramilitary death squads and engaged in kidnapping, murdering and
torturing human rights workers, union organizers and any one else who
questions the authority of the dictatorial Colombian government.

We wouldn't want democracy, self-determination or human rights to get in
the way of America's "interests and investments," now would we?

So, yes, I support the War on Terrorism, but only after Bush, Cheney and
Rumsfeld rid themselves of this blatant hypocrisy. If you truly want peace
and human rights, Mr. Bush, then close the School of the Americas.

If any student is interested, the annual protest march on Fort Benning, Ga.
is this weekend. I know some Wake Forest students are planning to go. To
learn more about U.S. sponsored terrorism, visit www.soaw.org.