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Hello again Mr. Wellstone, 02 Nov 1999 A while back, part of your letter to me said, >I recognize that the Pentagon and others have argued that the SOA >plays an important role in the professionalization of Latin >American military leaders by providing training in human rights >and in the appropriate role of the military vis-a-vis civilian >governments in democratic societies. However, I believe the long >record of abuses perpetrated by many of the School's graduates >undermines the strength of those arguments. Could you give me some insight as to what exactly these people use to justify exporting what I can't really call anything except a police state mentality to these otherwise naive small countries? The reason I ask this is when my friend Brett asked Jimmy Carter personally if Amy and/or he would be willing to come to Benning last year to support the annual "peaceful assembly," all Mr. Carter was able to tell him was "there's just things you don't know about Mexico, Guatemala and Columbia." He pointed out that he believed if Brett knew these things (and he wasn't able to say what they were, claiming the usual national security stuff) Brett would feel very differently about School of the Americas' role in this hemisphere. They agreed to disagree, my friend Brett holding to his upbringing and beliefs that killing's wrong and etc. Mr. Wellstone, I have to take Brett's side on this and all but scold Mr. Carter; because I believe with all my heart there is nothing on this earth (I even explored the possibilities of all that other conspiracy theory junk about aliens, and masonic zombie cults, and etc) nothing, Mr. Wellstone, that would have me change how I feel about NON-VIOLENCE ABOVE EVERY ELSE. You don't train someone on the many different ways to rape a child in order to have stability back home. It's just not possible. Why am I scared that people like you and people like me are the only ones left thinking logically there? I know there's a lot that you and the Jimmy Carters of the world cannot just come right out and tell me, the highest security clearance I ever carried was secret and it's no longer valid since the day I was given a 10% medical discharge under honorable conditions, a tiny severence pay, a GI Bill that pays about 2/3 my education, and NO MEDICAL COVERAGE save for a once a year walk-in at the local VA hospital of my choice. I would honor 5 or 6 secrets that I don't warrant knowing; the other half a billion documents that are for somebody elses' eyes only, I would call a huge tragedy and a disgrace to what we pretend to call a democracy. At any rate, short of telling me we truly are the poorest nation-state in the world, and it's myth and leveraged debt keeping us solvent, short of telling me Hitler's still alive and his grand children are taking orders from Henry Kissenger, short of telling me without SOA training rape and torture there are people about to kill my mother and my sister in Connecticut tomorrow, is there any insight you could share with me as to why they all feel safe to assume I really would want it there doing these horrendous things? I want to understand so I can offer some better alternative rather than simply demand it be shut down immediately. I think you'll follow me here. Electronic fences work on dogs, why can't they be used on troops? We truly don't need to manufacture a single new landmine in Janesville, WI or anywhere, Mr. Wellstone. I see how simply saying stop all landmines would endanger a GI somewhere. Without a brilliant interim idea like electronic fences, Princess Diana's nobel gesture is for naught. I understand that. I'm looking for a parallel idea for SOA. Got any ideas? Marc Frucht. e&p ati zine since 1988 http://www.frucht.org ps: I don't know if you're up for re-election any time soon and all that, but there's expected to be 5-7,000 of us crossing the line this year, with supporters perhaps doubling that at the rallies. Dates are the weekend of Nov. 19th. People like you, people like Martin Sheen, Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls, Odetta, Sam Gejdenson - could sure help us get it closed down this year rather than next or the year after. I can feel from being there last year and the year before that it's inevitable. I just wish it were yesterday.