As our collective conscience repositions itself over and over to accept the "few bad apples” excuse to each and every new allegation of U.S. torture abroad, we should be willing to accept the reality that the "T” word had been manufactured on our own soil well over a decade ago. In 1996, a congressional hearing uncovered evidence of torture manuals being circulated at the U.S. Army base at Fort Benning, Ga. This is where our tax dollars continue to fund the ongoing training of Latin American soldiers, at the School of the Americas (SOA).
The SOA is where foreign soldiers have been trained to repress dissent in their respective Latin American country by perfecting this art of torture and, too, have not been shy about killing religious, union leaders, students and teachers who speak out against injustice. Indeed, there were six Jesuits killed in 1989 in El Salvador in the dead of night, by graduates of the School of the Americas.
The crime of these priests was simply being a voice for the poor they served.
Fresh from the trip to Fort Benning, where nearly 20,000 protesters spoke out for the closure of the SOA, I have been paying particular attention to all the debate over Sen. John McCain’s torture legislation.
I patiently wait for our collective conscience to begin the unraveling the mystery of where such despicable conduct could ever have been spawned.
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