Text copied from / source: http://www.birddogger.org/printnews.php?id=152
Manchester, NH, Dec. 19, 2003
Question #1: A recent newspaper story says that you are a big booster of the controversial School of the Americas, the school that trained and graduated brutal dictators like Manuel Noriega and dictators from Haiti, Argentina and Chile.
This is also the school that trained Salvadoran soldiers that executed six Jesuit priests, their cook and her daughter. Is it true that you delivered a commencement speech there a few years ago. And you said in testimony to Congress, There is nothing going on in these institutions that you in the United States Congress wouldn't be extraordinarily proud of?
Wesley K. Clark: That's exactly right. That's exactly what I said. And I'll tell you why. Because, from the time the School of the Americas got started, it's been changed. A lot. We screen every student who goes there. And they are taught human rights instruction in every class. And it's not a school that's teaching any of the things that those people do. People that do things that are wrong, they are graduates of the School of the Americas, should be prosecuted. And many of them were. And Manuel Noriega is in jail thanks to the USA. But, that's not the majority. That's a tiny minority of the people who've been at the School of the Americas. What the School of the Americas does is teach human rights. And it's the only school we have that really does it. It's responsible for promoting human rights across Central America and South America. And rather than try to banish it, we should be rewarding it and encouraging people to come and supporting the minimal appropriations it takes to bring those foreign students here. Because, they truly are the people who have the opportunity to learn our values and they are our best hope for preventing human rights abuses in Central and South America.
So, I absolutely did testify in front of Congress and I will today. And I would invite you or anybody who has any concerns to go down to Fort Benning, GA and visit the School of the Americas and sit in the classroom, talk to the students. And you will find what they are learning about is human rights and how to protect them.
Question #2: Sir, I'm still reeling from your answer to the young lady here about the School of the Americas. But, its somewhat mitigated by your answer about respect to our neighbors that you gave on this side. The third recipient of foreign aid from the United States is Columbia. And part of that has to do with the drug trafficking, the drug problem we have here. Can you please tell me your position on the Black Columbia, which is most of the foreign aid, military aid, to Columbia.
Wesley K. Clark: I will do that. But before I do that, since you are still reeling, there may be some other people out there. Can I see your hands if you are reeling on the School of the Americas issue? I just want to see how many people are concerned about, how much time. OK. Here's what you have to think about.
First of all, ask yourself this. Have you been there? Have any of you been to the School of the Americas and seen it in the classroom? Have you seen the curriculum? Have you talked to the people who've been there? OK, but I have. I was in charge of it. And, I'm not going to have been in charge of a school that I can't be proud of and can't support. In countries in South America, there have been a lot of problems over time. And when we started the School of the Americas, we didn't have the same integrity and feeling for human rights that we do today. It was started as a cold war artifact. It was designed to promote anti-Communism. And a lot of its graduates went on to take over their countries.
And you mentioned some of them in your question. But those were people who went to the School of the Americas back in the '60s and '70s. We thought maybe we should change the name of it. But, if you change the name, that's sort of like sleight of hand. It's still the same principle. The real question is whether its in the US interest to try to bring people in those militaries or police forces like the Colombian National Police, up to the US, expose them to American democracy.
Let them see American life and try to give them some insight into American values. And preach at them for six weeks or six months, depending on how long the course is. If you think that it's not worth it, then you just tell them go back and do it your own way and go murder, maim, and do whatever you want down there. I don't believe in that. I think those people can do a lot of good.
Most of the people in the military in those countries are people who are just like us. They are just ordinary people. Lot of them are, what's called in Mexico and parts of Latin America, Mestisos. They're not wealthy landowners. These are not people who trace their ancestors back to the king of Spain. These are poor people trying to make a living who went into the armed forces to do it. And they don't know anything but what they see and what they've been taught. And when they are brought to America, they are taught something and exposed to things that they've never seen before.
Right here is Ambassador George Bruno. And George was ambassador to Belize. And he knows about the School of the Americas. He can tell you in great detail about the curriculum and the quality of the people that are training them and about the beneficial effects of it. So, I would just ask you to do this. I would ask you to suspend your faith in Father Berrigan. I know he's down there. I know he's made a big issue of it. I've tried for years to communicate with him. I can talk to Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But, I can't get to Father Berrigan. And no matter what I've tried to do to get him to take an honest and objective look at the School of the Americas, he doesn't seem to want to do it.
So, I think it's real important that we keep that school. And that's why I'm defending it to you. And, I'll stake my credibility on it. And, if you want to go down there, I can't pay your way with campaign funds, but I will call and get you an invitation to go in there and visit the curriculum. George Bruno is on, you are on the board still aren't you George. He will take a guided tour for New Hampshireites down there. And we will show you all about the school. I think we should be proud of it. Its one of the great things our country is doing to try to help Latin America.