Robert Harding
Graduate School of International Studies
University of Miami
On Wed, 22 Feb 1995 Wilkins94@aol.com wrote:
> I have followed the School of the Americas debate for some years and I
> respect both sides debating this issue. I have spent a considerble amount of
> time in Latin America as a US military officer and a private citizen. I've
> had the opportunity to meet and work with many graduates of the SOA and other
> US military training courses, and would like to pass on some of my
> observations.
> Contrary to myth, the graduates of these schools are neither demons or
> saints. For the most part, these are professional military men who have
> benefited from their exposure to US culture, values, and yes -- our
> professional military ethic. Part of the military ethic which we share with
> our fellow Latin American officers includes adherence to the laws and customs
> of land warfare (to include respect for human rights) and subservience of the
> military to democractically elected civilian leaders. We attempt to impart
> and share these values in a non-paternalistic manner, preserving mutual
> respect for differing cultures and values. Do we always suceed? The answer
> is most obviously no. Bad men have attended SOA, of that there is no doubt.
>
> However, there is more to the story. In a very concrete way, we have
> contributed in a major attempt to change the very ethos of the Latin American
> military ethic. Please remember, the legacy of authoritarian militaries in
> Latin America is mostly a historical extension of the Spanish conquest, not
> some dastardly plot of the US Army. The failures of some of the school's
> graduates to respect human rights and support democracy have been in spite of
> the instruction they received, not because of it. For many of us in the milit
> ary, this only redoubles our determination to both select the right officers
> for training, and make sure that training supports our national security
> goals -- the most important of which is the maintenance of democratic governme
> nts throughout the world.
>
> Major Mark Wilkins
> Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas
> Wilkins94@aol.com
>