Virtual Truth Commission
Telling the Truth for a Better America
Defenders of the School of the Americas.


  • At the official SOA site, one can hear audio endorsementsfrom the following supporters:

    "If you want to influence somebody, you have to have constant contact with them," said Rich Wampler, a former chief of staff at the School of the Americas and one of four SOA supporters at Wednesday's event. "It is the U.S military setting the example for a professional military through day to day contacts with these young soldiers," he said. Source: "SOA foe undeterred by prison", Thu, 22 Oct 1998, Columbus Ledger Enquirer.

    A Church Publication Attempts a Balanced Perspective
  • United Methodist Reporter Interviews with SOA Faculty. United Methodist Reporter, Two U.S. congressmen -- Mac Collins, a Democrat, and Sanford Bishop, a Republican -- recently published a statement saying that as a result of the school's training over a period of several years, human rights violations in El Salvador alone dropped from more than 2,000 each month to practically none.
  • Retired Major General, Jimmy D. Ross, a United Methodist who has observed School of the Americas trainees in action, has a different perspective. "When I first started going into Latin America, most countries had military dictatorships," said Gen. Ross, now senior vice president (biomedical services) of the American Red Cross. "Now all but one (Cuba) have democratic governments. I think the School of the Americas had something to do with that. "The Army, through the School of the Americas, was trying to strengthen [Latin American military] under civilian leadership, not military leadership. "We tried to show them there is a better waynot to go into and destroy a village, but to protect, help and defend them."
  • Another United Methodist, Lt. Col. Stephen E. Keeling, is in charge of instruction in the School of the Americas today. Col. Keeling, a member of St. Luke's UMC in Columbus said, "We teach basic solider skills, humanitarian operations such as destroying land mines, civil affairs (engineering and helping during times of natural disasters), training management, border observations and medical courses." As for the "torture manuals" the school is accused of using, Col. Keeling, said that the school does not teach torture or assassination. (The manuals are available to the public. Write to SOA at Ft. Benning, Ga. 31905.) About the anti-School of the Americas demonstrators, Col. Keeling told the Reporter, "Their hearts are in the right place. They want peace, they want stability and they don't want people to be oppressed. They've been told something bad is going on here and they don't want to support it. "But what we're actually doing here is very different from what they've been told. We are open for anyone to come and see what we are doing."

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    Titles "Virtual Truth Commission" and "Telling the Truth for a Better America" © 1998, Jackson H. Day. All Rights Reserved. This site supports the work of School of the Americas Watch but is not affiliated with it.
    The Virtual Truth Commission site is the endeavor of one person. As he finds them, links to published material on the web are provided by country, date, and name. This will start small but hopefully increase in usefulness over time. Others are encouraged to start similar web sites. Reference anything from these pages that you wish; the more sites that contain this material, the more it will enter into public consciousness and make a positive difference for change.
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    Updated February 27, 1999
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