Hidden behind a wall of secrecy and right in our own backyard
In Fort Benning, Georgia, lies the Pentagon's prize
Well protected behind gun and guard
It's the training ground for counter insurgency
For the Latin American and Caribbean countries
Specializing in psychological warfare and assassinations
And repression of the people in their own nations..
Here comes the death squad
American made
An army of butchers
Product of the S.O.A.
American interests are protected by this machine of death
The School of Americas provides the muscle
They're the enforcers of the policies of the World bank and the I.M.F.
They commit atrocities for American globalization
And profits for multinational corporations
At the expense of the people who don't adhere
and are subjected to torture then disappear..
Here comes the death squad
American made !
An army of butchers
Product of the S.O.A.
With the school now under fire from human rights advocates
The pentagon's official action has been to change the name
So it could continue its mission and operation
Nice new image for the same old game
But with every human rights violation the opposition grows
And it won't let up until the S.O.A. is closed
So you can keep on arresting those who cross the protest line
But you can't cover up who's really committing the crime..
With almost 60,000 graduates from 23 countries
Responsible for some of the most notorious crimes against humanity
Like the massacres that were committed in El Salvador's civil war
Or the 30,000 people slaughtered in Argentina's "dirty war"
America has created a monster from which no one is safe
And it will continue to assassinate, torture and rape
Until we take responsibility and say enough is enough
Since every bit of their training has been funded by us
Here comes the death squad
American made
An army of butchers
Product of the S.O.A. !
In Fort Benning, Georgia, lies the Pentagon's prize
Well protected behind gun and guard
It's the training ground for counter insurgency
For the Latin American and Caribbean countries
Specializing in psychological warfare and assassinations
And repression of the people in their own nations..
Here comes the death squad
American made
An army of butchers
Product of the S.O.A.
American interests are protected by this machine of death
The School of Americas provides the muscle
They're the enforcers of the policies of the World bank and the I.M.F.
They commit atrocities for American globalization
And profits for multinational corporations
At the expense of the people who don't adhere
and are subjected to torture then disappear..
Here comes the death squad
American made !
An army of butchers
Product of the S.O.A.
With the school now under fire from human rights advocates
The pentagon's official action has been to change the name
So it could continue its mission and operation
Nice new image for the same old game
But with every human rights violation the opposition grows
And it won't let up until the S.O.A. is closed
So you can keep on arresting those who cross the protest line
But you can't cover up who's really committing the crime..
With almost 60,000 graduates from 23 countries
Responsible for some of the most notorious crimes against humanity
Like the massacres that were committed in El Salvador's civil war
Or the 30,000 people slaughtered in Argentina's "dirty war"
America has created a monster from which no one is safe
And it will continue to assassinate, torture and rape
Until we take responsibility and say enough is enough
Since every bit of their training has been funded by us
Here comes the death squad
American made
An army of butchers
Product of the S.O.A. !
Contributed by giorgio - 2012/11/25 - 09:41
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Album: Know Your Enemy
Remembering the Victims of SOA Violence and Celebrating the Resistance
From November 16-18, 2012, thousands of human rights activists, torture survivors, anti-war veterans, students, families, union workers, nuns, artists, and others converged at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, to call for an end to U.S. militarization of the Americas, and for the closure of the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC)
http://bambuser.com/v/3155105
Nashua Chantal of Americus, Georgia, who stood in silence with the message 'Study war no more' painted across his face during the symbolic funeral march, crossed the line onto the military base. The base is home to the US Army School of the Americas, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC) in 2001, a training facility that has turned out some of Latin America's most notorious killers and continues to be implicated in human rights abuses today. Nashua Chantal was arrested after he crossed over the barb-wired, and is currently in the custody of the military police. He will be arraigned in federal court and is facing up to six months in federal prison for his courageous act of civil disobedience.
The weekend included a massive rally on Saturday, where thousands came together at the gates of the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC), now named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, and culminated on Sunday, November 18 with a mass die-in and funeral procession to commemorate the victims of SOA/ WHINSEC violence and U.S. militarization.
The weekend featured musicians like Emma's revolution and Rebel Diaz, and international speakers like Francia Marquez from Colombia, Martin Almada from Paraguay, and Ismael Moreno from Honduras.
Francia Marquez, a leader from the Afro-Colombian gold-mining community of La Toma in southwestern Colombia, talked about how her community has struggled against political, economic and armed forces looking to control their hands and resources.
Martin Almada, a Paraguayan educator, talked about his experience as a political prisoner under the regime of Alfredo Stroessner. His wife died of a heart attack after being forced to hear through a telephone her husband's cries as he was tortured.
Ismael Moreno (known in Honduras as Father Melo), a Jesuit priest, radio host and contributor to Envio magazine, had his radio station occupied by the military following the SOA led military coup and he began receiving death threats.
Moreno's story shows how, even though the school changed its name in 2001 to WHINSEC, the graduates of this U.S. taxpayer-funded military school are still key players in human rights abuses throughout Latin America.
Last week, on November 14, an SOA Watch delegation met with Denis McDonough, the National Deputy Security Advisor to President Obama in the White House, to ask that the SOA/WHINSEC be shut down by Executive Order. In January, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) will introduced legislation to suspend operations at the school and investigate human rights abuses in Latin America.
The SOA/WHINSEC is a U.S. taxpayer-funded military training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia. The school made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Despite this, no independent investigation into the training facility has ever taken place.
SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that works to close the School of the Americas and change U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America. For more information, visit www.SOAW.org.