What, if any, is the common US Citizen’s culpability in the ongoing violence in Latin America? This is the question posed, not too gently, by the documentaries “Hidden in Plain Sight” and “School of Assassins“. As it is their intent to do, they make a fairly strong case against a military training center once located in South America and now operating in Ft Benning, Georgia under the name “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation” or WHISC.
On one side, the school and sponsoring government (ours) stands accused of not only aiding & abetting but even promoting and at times instigating atrocities against the Latin American people that would rival the brutality of the Conquistadors three centuries ago. The argument and documented evidence are rather damning – so many graduates participated in death squads, massacres numbering in the hundreds (that’s not casualties in the hundreds, it’s massacres in the hundreds putting casualties in the thousands), and the unending wails of sirens, mothers, and newly orphaned children in the streets. This, says one interviewee, is what we the Americans, at the School of the Americas, taught them to do – they are like pit bulls, only following their training, to the death of any who stand in their way.
On the other side, without the overwhelmingly graphic visual support, are the members of military and congress who state that the training is balanced and necessary, and the ‘bad grads’ are numbered at less than 1% of all graduates. This school, they assert, is for training our allies to fight beside us against the enemies that would threaten their own homelands. We are sharing our insights with our allies, so that in a scenario such as Hitler and Mussolini once perpetrated on the world, they would be able to fight for themselves. The bigger problem these countries face, however, is from the internal wars over territories, drug traffic, arms dealing, and the assorted profits. So, how does a proper government stand against a well armed mafia? They train their soldiers to shoot back, or better, to ferret out the sources of their concern and arrest them, at gunpoint as needed. If we can help these governments maintain law and order in their own places with their own people, we can withdraw to focus on our own concerns, and be less concerned with another countries’ troubles invading our borders.
The unfortunate reality in any “us” vs “them” scenario is the often neglected truth that sees both right and wrong on both sides of the argument. Some of the graduates later became dictators or carried out atrocities against innocent people. This is, of course, inexcusable. It is, however, worth asking: were they inclined to do such things before they attended our courses? I offer the following analogy, as I did in class… A man teaches his three sons to hunt game for food. They learn to check their firearms, properly carry them, clean them, aim and shoot. They learn to identify tracks, set out enticements, select proper waiting places, spot their prey, kill, retrieve, and prepare a meal. The third son at some point becomes a serial killer, employing his father’s training to do what his father never intended. Is the father to be blamed? Is he inherently evil because 1/3 of the sons he taught used that knowledge improperly? I submit that the father could be blamed if he knew his son to be unstable and volatile, but under no other circumstances. Thus, the first recommendation I would have for this beleaguered school is to screen the trainees thoroughly before admitting them for instruction and access to advanced military technology and practices. Unfortunately, there is no recourse or prevention for those who would attend and learn, then, to restate the analogy, teach their unstable brothers.
One of the films included footage on a protest conducted against the school. I am pleased to be in a country where those who feel strongly about a certain matter are free to express themselves in a peaceful manner without fear of reprisal. (you’ll want to take note of the adverb ‘peaceful’) More power to those who gathered to express their dismay – but there’s a point at which they crossed the line… that would be when they, literally, crossed a line of boundary and entered private property. Granted, government institutions belong to us all as citizens, but that’s not an appropriate excuse for 300 of us to invite ourselves to dinner at the White House, throw a keg party in the Smithsonian, or to march en masse onto a base or school. There should be a decorum to protests, a dignity and civilized manner that shows the protesters as having a valid and thought-out point with the ability to reasonably and respectfully articulate it. This group had such a point, with enough validity to be given fair audience – until they disrespected the physical boundaries, without which we become no better than the thugs and mobs of other societies, whether armed or not.
Finally, there is the element of corruption that seeps into any organization of more than a few humans. We need to always be alert to what temptations or entanglements could befall our leadership, at all levels. The Karate Kid films are among several that do an excellent job of demonstrating the need to know the philosophies of your instructors, especially if they’re giving instruction in potentially lethal skills. What could a congressman be bribed or coerced to agree to, sign, or ignore? How many civic authorities did Capone lead with either his wallet or weapons? The point was made in another film, The Two Escobars, that most people, when offered a choice between gold (money) and lead (bullets), will choose the gold. Many institutions established with sound reasoning and upright motives have since taken the slide into bad reputations and results ranging from embarrassing to horrifying due to the corruption of a few key people. It is fair to suggest that all of our training facilities need to be under strict observation and somehow held accountable to the citizenry for what, how, and above all who they are teaching.
God alone knows the right proportions of innocence and guilt to ascribe to all parties involved. Until He declares judgment, it is left to us to be vigilant in our oversight, respectful in our dialogue, and wise in our transactions.