America's Terrorist Training Camps
By Matt Hindman
As patriotic Americans, it is our duty to put an end to all forms of terrorism so that future generations, and hopefully even our own generation, can live in a peaceful world. Our government reminds us every day of the dire need to boost security to thwart terror at every opportunity. Quite simply, we cannot turn our backs on the injustice and, well, terror, of terrorism.
In this post-September 11th world, Americans have shown a great willingness to do their part toward the goal to eliminate terrorist activities. One key element of this notion has been a focus on "terror camps," in which a terror group, such as al Qaeda, breeds terrorists via training courses and intense training. How are these camps eliminated? Well, the United States' solution has been a bombing campaign.
Unfortunately, such terror camps exist right here in our very nation, and many Americans are unaware of this truth. These camps breed destruction, murder, corruption, and lead to various blatant violations of basic human rights. Al Qaeda does not run these camps. Nor does the Taliban, nor any other Islamic fundamentalist group. Who, then, is the perpetrator? The United States government.
Located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, the School of the Americas (SOA) has trained nearly 60,000 Latin American soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. However, graduates of the SOA are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses throughout Latin America. Included in the list of graduates from the SOA are the names of fierce dictators such as Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, and Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru. Some lower-level graduates of the SOA have participated in human rights abuses that have led to the El Mozote Massacre, in which 900 innocent civilians died in the Salvadoran Army's anti-communist crusade, as well as the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero.
The people of Latin America have had enough of US sponsored terrorism. The War on Drugs has been a massive failure, not only regarding domestic drug use, but especially regarding the countless human rights infringements that have occurred with US backing throughout Latin America.
To raise awareness of this injustice, a group of conscientious citizens has set out on a tour to oppose this practice of training Latin Americans in the art of terrorism. The "Mirror of Truth Bus Tour" began a several-month-long tour in New York on September 11th, and will visit over 100 churches, mosques, universities, and high schools before arriving in Fort Benning for the annual School of the Americas protest. Along the way, the bus will also stop at various sites in which the United States government manufactures, experiments, and prepares weapons of mass destruction.
All of this activity is organized by SOAWatch, which has received support from various activists, artists, religious leaders, and professors from around the nation. These people will give presentations and concerts, and coordinate non-violent actions in opposition to terror, and the evils posed by weapons of mass destruction, which include economic sanctions that have killed well over one million Iraqi civilians.
The Mirror of Truth Tour has scheduled a stop at Illinois State University on Wednesday, November 20th. If everything goes as planned, the bus will park in Schroeder Plaza from 9am to 5pm, with any and all comers welcome to participate in the protest or to engage in dialogue regarding the issues at hand. The coordinators of this tour may also show a video later in the evening at a yet-to-be-determined location (see the Nov. 20 Indy for details).
At this stage in world affairs, we are clearly faced with an enemy that deserves no existence on this earth. That enemy does not exist in the form of a race, state, individual, or culture. The enemies that our nation and our world face are the weapons of mass destruction and the accompanying terror that these weapons and training programs produce. As the United States knows all too well, terror can affect every facet of society in a highly detrimental fashion. This statement holds true not only in the United States, but the world over. On November 20th, the ISU community has the opportunity to express this viewpoint. Join us on the Quad on this day to let the world know that terrorism, whether foreign or US-sponsored, is a danger to all of humanity.
