Murphy, Dent Spin Pentagon Lies about US Terror School

Art Landis of Perkasie was released from prison recently, after spending 30 days in a County lockup doing federal time for confronting the harsh reality that the United States sponsors policies of terror through the operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute of Security Cooperation (WHINSEC, formerly the School of the Americas, or SOA), in Fort Benning, Georgia. On Saturday, May 17, Art and a group from the Lehigh Valley and Bucks County that included Maria Weick, Joe DeRaymond, Hilda Landis, Angela Nez, Sarah Snider, and Tim Chadwick, met with Representative Pat Murphy at the Senior Citizens’ Center in Perkasie at a town meeting, to seek his support for HR 1707, a bill that would investigate and determine the future of WHINSEC.

Patrick reiterated his position that WHINSEC is a different institution than the SOA, and that it teaches a human rights component of 14 hours to each student. He noted that Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin, is on the Board of Visitors, and believes that WHINSEC does not encourage the violation of human rights.

Patrick Murphy has taught constitutional and international law to US military personnel, at West Point and in other locations. In August, 2007, he was apprised of the situation in the following letter, which was sent to him after he made the same arguments to our group that he again recited on May 17 at the town meeting in Perkasie.

Dear Representative Murphy;

Thank you for your response to my letter regarding HR 1707 and the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly the School of the Americas (SOA). On behalf of the Americas Solidarity Group of LEPOCO, I have listed below my points in support of HR 1707, and, respectfully, replies to your arguments. The numerals refer to points in your letter, as marked up (attached).

"WHINSEC is a completely different institution than the School of the Americas."

(# 1)

However, it is at the same location, uses the same instructors, and maintains the same mission.

There has never been accountability for the crimes committed at the School of the

Americas, which include the teaching of torture and assassination techniques. See

attached memos acknowledging these practices (A).

It is not legally possible to simply change the name of an institution, create a public relations campaign to redescribe its mission, and then claim that it is a "new" institution. Violations of national and international law of the School of the Americas cannot be judged not actionable because the name has changed and there have been claims of a new mission. Please refer to "The Case for Closing the School of the Americas", Attorney William Quigley, Fall 2005, BYU Journal of Public Law, for an exposition of the legal and moral arguments for bringing accountability to the SOA/WHINSEC (B).

"WHINSEC currently provides crucial training…10% human rights content." (# 2)

While this may be true, I would like to point out that there has been a steady stream of abuses by SOA and WHINSEC graduates to the present day. We refer, first, to the recent (August, 2007) disclosure that Colombian graduates and instuctors of SOA/WHINSEC have been implicated in murders of US drug interdiction teams in Colombia, and have been providing protection for a Colombian drug lord, Diego Leon Montoya Sanchez, alias "Don Diego". (C) Also note the various reports of SOA graduates as they have committed crimes in their country throughout the history of the school.(D)

Also attached is "New Research findings Incriminate the Notorious SOA/WHINSEC", a 2004 compilation of research studies. Among the findings is a statistical analysis of SOA graduates by Katherine McCoy. She found that soldiers who took two or more courses at this institution were almost four times more likely to have committed human rights violations than those who took one course. (E) 

"WHINSEC is open to visitors…Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez." (# 3)

Visits are on a scheduled basis, and the base is not open to all. The oversight board does not exercise day to day instructional review, and meets only occasionally for a brief period. Furthermore, those on the board support the school, and therefore do not provide necessary critical oversight.

"Most importantly, WHINSEC…our great nation." (# 4)

Four Latin American nations; Venezuela, Argentina, Costa Rica and Uruguay, have ceased participating in the school. Others, such as Chile, Nicaragua, and Bolivia are reviewing this possibility. SOA/WHINSEC has a sordid history throughout the region, and is implicated in the dirty wars of the past decades, and the present. As noted above regarding the Colombian officers, it will take more than public relations and a name change to clean up the reputation of this institution.

We refer you to the Amnesty International report, "Unmatched Power, Unmet Principles: the Human Rights Dimensions of US Training of Foreign Military and Police Forces", 2002. This booklength report concludes by calling for a suspension of operations at WHINSEC for a short period, while a bipartisan, Congressionally appointed panel investigates the practices and mission of the school. The findings would then provide a basis for Congress to determine the future of the institution. The history of horrendous human rights abuses coupled with the lack of transparency at the school as to instructors and graduates makes this a logical aproach. This is exactly the approach that would be accomplished by the passage of HR 1707. We, therefore, encourage your co-sponsorship and support for this bill.   

The crimes by graduates of this school continue. The Colombia case is particularly egregious, as those responsible for killing the drug agents were actually instructors at WHINSEC. 15 officers implicated in the murder of the 10 police officers were recently found guilty in Colombia of the murders and are awaiting sentencing. Included in the 15 are students and instructors at WHINSEC.  The analysis by Amnesty in Unmatched Power, Unmet Principles, and Bill Quigley’s dissection of the international and constitutional law framework that demands accountability and a true investigation in the interest of justice of this school have clearly been ignored by Patrick to date, despite his vocational interest in the law.

Patrick Murphy’s slavish adherence to the Pentagon line is not unusual. I have had numerous meetings with legislators on the SOA/WHINSEC. I have spoken with Pat Toomey, Arlen Specter, representatives of Rick Santorum, and have had correspendence with Charles Dent on the issue. There is a consistent line that they all take. They trust that the US military always does the right thing. They believe the United States stands for human rights, and could never support a school of torture. They will state this even as you show them torture manuals. It is always a "few bad apples", despite the parade of assassinations and abuses that are documented in the service of repression of civil society in Latin America. The school must continue, even as the nations of Venezuela, Uruguay, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Argentina withdraw their soldiers from participation.

Recently, Tim Chadwick had a letter exchange with Charles Dent about the school. Charles reiterates his support for WHINSEC because there is a substantial human rights component. He does not mention that there was an 8 hour human rights component at the SOA. He states that the students are thoroughly vetted by the State Department. Does this include instructors who work for Colombian drug lords, as noted above (oops – we missed that one!)? He cites the presence of Bishop Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin on the Board of Visitors, as though the blessing of one pro-war cleric can absolve an institution of decades of repression. Charlie never ventures far from the line he is told to recite, and this is no different – he is spinning to protect a vote for torture and assassination, on the orders of those who control his vote.

The late Georgia Senator Paul Coverdell was an ardent supporter of the SOA, and he assured his fellow legislators during the debate over the change to WHINSEC that the DOD proposal [to change the name to WHINSEC] was a "cosmetic" change that would ensure that the SOA could continue its mission and operation. Today, the Pentagon spins the lie of a new institution, in the same location, with the same mission, the same curriculum and the same bloody history that demands an investigation in the interests of justice. There is no statute of limitation on mass murder. -Joe DeRaymond

For more information, contact LVIP, or check the School of the Americas website.  There will be a contingent from the Lehigh Valley going to Fort Benning this November to protest the school and organize for justice and peace in the Americas and the world.