Tuesday’s letter from Blue Maas is interesting in light of the previous and often acrimonious debate in these pages about U.S. soldiers being involved in (hypothetical) atrocities. Ms. Maas writes about the U.S. Army School of Americas in Georgia. The school brings military personnel from Latin America to Ft. Benning for instruction. In the past, the curriculum included instruction in torture, assassination and “disappearances” — outlined in training manuals used at the school.

While there is some debate about the current curriculum at the school, it is a documented fact that some of the school’s honored graduates have perpetrated some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America over the last two decades.

Graduates of the SOA are responsible for the rape and murder of four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador, the kidnapping and murder of nine university students and a professor in Peru, the murder of an American innkeeper in Guatemala, the murder of six Jesuit priests and two women at Central American University and the massacre of 900 villagers at El Mozote. Distinguished alumni include Manuel Noriega, Leopoldo Galtieri, Roberto D’Aubuisson, H‚ctor Gramajo and Hugo Banzer Suarez.

So, while the earlier question of the involvement of U.S. soldiers in such atrocities is unsettled on this op-ed page, the fact remains that we are supporting exactly such activities through training supported by our taxes.

Chris Lubienski

Assistant professor

Curriculum and instruction