Political Quotes

“this is not an easy issue. Both sides have made valid arguments about whether the School of the Americas should be maintained or terminated. I strongly support continued funding for the School of the Americas. However, my support is with an important qualification--that the changes the administration has told us are underway be implemented promptly and unconditionally. This includes changes in the courses of instruction, the amount of human rights training, the candidate vetting process, the creation and implementation of an outside civilian advisory board, and opening the school to a larger number of civilian instructors and students. The United States Army has a positive contribution to make in the evolution of Latin American militaries. Our values as a society can be--and have been--transmitted to a large number of Latin officers through the School of the Americas. This is not to ignore the number of Latin officers who have committed abuses after being trained at the school. I do not believe, however, that their subsequent conduct resulted from the training they received at the school. They were bad apples, pure and simple. Based on a recent joint State Department-U.S. Army briefing for Foreign Affairs Committee staff, the School of the Americas recognizes that the cold war is over and that the school must reflect new missions, including counternarcotics, peacekeeping, and demining.”