Debating the School of the Americas
aka School of Assassins
aka Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC)
Thousands of people protest each November at Ft. Benning, GA,
trying to shut down the School of the Americas, or as its opponents
label it, School of Assassins. These pages present arguments in favor of maintaining the school and in favor of shutting it down. The school is officially titled Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC).
Main Information Sources
- School of the Americas/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) Official School of the Americas (now renamed) website. Explore the various links.
- School of the Americas Watch The major opposition web site
Additional sites, but also do some web searching to find more information (primary or secondary sources).
- "School is Out for the SOA" by Isabella Troconis Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, November 27, 2012
- 1999 PBS Newhour story on the school Includes audio interviews and transcripts with views on both sides.
- Sisters of Mercy opposition to the school
- School of the Americas: School of Assassins, USA
- Rebuttal to the "just a few rotten applies" argument
Basic info, School of the Americas
- established in 1946 in Panama
- kicked out of Panama in 1984 and re-located to Fort Benning, Georgia
- over 60,000 Latin American soldiers trained in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics
- graduates have used their skill to bring about violence on their own people
- name changed to Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) on January 17, 2001
- opponents respond, "new name, same shame"
Basic info, School of the Americas Watch (SOAW)
- Founded by activist priest, Father Roy Bourgeois in 1990, in a tiny apartment outside of Ft. Benning
- an independent organization seeking to close the SOA
- wants to change U.S. foreign policy in Latin America by educating the public and revealing the terrors of the SOA
- Suggests peaceful protest, non-violent tactics, congressional lobbying
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