Freedom Folks: School Of The Americas: Interview

Last weekend the antiwar crowd protested the military. I know, I know, I'm shocked too, however this was a little different.

They were protesting the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation." Never heard of it, your probably not alone. It was formerly known as the "School Of The Americas." A name much more familiar to most, I'll wager.

The mission of the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" is to train military personnel from other countries with an emphasis on Democracy. From their website:

Thank you for visiting the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation on the web. Chartered by the U. S. Congress, WHINSEC provides professional education and training for civilian, military and law enforcement students from nations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
This site introduces you to WHINSEC's many dimensions, from its fine academic and training programs to its students and faculty. You can gain a greater understanding of our mission and dedication to promoting peace, democratic values, and respect for human rights through inter-American cooperation.

The left counters that the school trains killers and rapists. Several stories have detailed the allegedly heinous nature of the school, here and here.

Since I trust the dead dog media about as far as I can throw it I sent the commander of the school an email and asked them to respond to the charges.

1.) What is the core mission of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation?

A. WHINSEC was created by Congress in law (10 USC 2166) as part of the Defense Authorization Bill for FY2001. The law specified three tasks that we take as our mission: 1, Provide professional education and training to eligible personnel of the western hemisphere within the context of the democratic principles in the charter of the Organization of American States; 2, Foster mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among participating nations; and 3, Promote democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of US customs and traditions.

2.) How would you answer critics that accuse the school of training bad people?

A. The international students who come here come through the same approval process that is standard for all coming to US government-sponsored training. That is, students are nominated for a US course by their country; the US embassy in that country and all its agencies conduct a background check on the individual; the US State Department does an additional background check; only after the individual is found to have no negative information in his file is he allowed to come to the US for training. Furthermore, the evidence does not bear this charge out-less than one percent of the students who attended the School of the Americas have been accused of crimes; for WHINSEC, it is less than a tenth of a percent; and in no case for either organization has anyone pointed to a cause/effect relationship between training and bad acts. Put another way, there is not one example of any person taking a course or courses at the SOA or WHINSEC and later using that training to commit a crime-not even one!

3.) I notice on your website you talk about training your students in democracy and human rights. What does that entail?

A. The same law named above also directed that every course taught here have at least eight hours of human rights instruction on the rule of law, due process, humanitarian law, the role of the military in a democratic society and civilian control of the military. In practice, we do much more. Every course has a three hour class titled "Democracy and the Armed Forces" added. All courses also participate in the Field Studies Program, a Defense Department initiative to show all international students US democratic institutions, customs and traditions. For our shorter courses, this will entail visits to local and possibly state government agencies and to nearby cultural sites such as Tuskegee University or the Andersonville National Historic Site (where the National POW/MIA Museum is). Courses of six to nine weeks will go to state agencies, plus CNN, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Carter Center and Coca Cola. In our 18-week Captains Career Course and our year-long Command and General Staff Officer Course, students will also go to Washington, DC, to see aspects of our federal government and to meet with non-governmental organizations. No other US education facility puts as much emphasis on democratic principles and human rights issues as this institute.

4.) What role does your school play in the world today?

A. A year ago, I would have said we contribute to the peace, stability and cooperation that this hemisphere enjoys. However, our reach actually exceeds that, because the other nations of this hemisphere participate with the US in peacekeeping operations, and are (or have been) part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The emphasis on working together, and the shared knowledge of each others' militaries, make these operations better because some of the individuals have already been working together in the courses of the institute.

My only additional comment is that, for anyone who wants to know more about the institute, come for a visit. We are located on Fort Benning, Georgia, a huge Army base adjacent to Columbus, GA. Fort Benning requires visitors to have a photo ID; after a visitor gets a day pass at the gate, he/she can drive to our door, sit in on our classes, talk with our students and faculty, and review our instructional materials. No prior coordination is needed; however, if a person wants to see a particular course (all 24 are described on our web site), have him/her contact me for the dates that course is given. Students come to one course and return to their jobs, so anytime one comes, there is likely some course going on, if only our CGSOC.

Sincerely,
Lee
Mr. Lee A. Rials
Public Affairs Officer
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
35 Ridgway Loop
Ft. Benning, GA 31905-2611

This strikes me as being the usual damned if you do, damned if you don't situation our military often finds itself in with the left. In simple language, how do we help these other countries become more stable and develop more democratic instituitions without at least trying to teach them better and more effective police techniques, better and more democratic ways of fielding their militaries?

First of all, even if some bad guys slipped through, is that an indictment of the school? I would say no. I think schools tend to be value neutral. In other words, a person of bad intent could take any information and turn it to evil, does that mean we should shut down all schools?

This also seems like an excellent oportunity to create relationships between our soldiers and those of other countries which can only pay dividends in the war on terror and narco-terror.

I obviously cannot prove who is in the right here, but I have a couple of thoughts.

First, the radical left hates the military and would like the military to go away. Which is silly and dangerous. Their all inclusive hatred of anything militaristic makes me question their honesty regarding anything military in nature.

Second, I say it again, schools are value neutral. I don't believe the exellent men and women of our military are teaching anything other than sound police and military tactics. What people do with these tactics passes beyond the teachers ability to control.

Finally, I have to say that I not only agree with the stated purpose of the school but, it seems pretty darn smart to me in the dangerous world we live in.

***Update***
PAO Rials asked me to clarify about 'value neutral'. I was not using that phrase in context of the WHISC, rather it was a general statement regarding education. The WHISC training puts an emphasis on values and democracy, and I think that's pretty cool!

Here's the meat of his email--

I also disagree that this is value-neutral-what we teach is in accordance with and emphasizes US values; very little of it can be misused negatively, only a small portion of the material is directly related to tactical skills and operations. As I said, also, there is no evidence whatsoever that what is or has been taught here has ever been misused. Take a look at the SOAW web site and its listing of 'notorious graduates.' The Army told them what courses were taken; see if you can find any correlation.

As seen @