| − | The '''Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation''' is a [[United States Defense Department]] training facility at [[Fort Benning]] in [[Columbus, Georgia]]. It is the successor of the [[School of the Americas]] (SOA), and is used to train [[Latin America]]n [[military]] and [[law enforcement]] personnel. | + | The '''Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation''' is a United States [[Department of Defense]] training facility at [[Fort Benning]] in [[Columbus, Georgia]]. It is the successor of the [[School of the Americas]] (SOA), and is used to train [[Latin America]]n [[military]] and [[law enforcement]] personnel. |
| − | The School has been accused of teaching [[torture]] techniques. And, according to various [[United Nations|UN]] commisions, its graduates include some of the worst [[human rights]] violators in the [[western hemisphere]], [[Hugo Banzer]] for example, who were trained at [[United States|US]] taxpayer's expense. In response to this, a human rights program is taught at the school, but its [[history]] has earned it the derogatory nick-name of "School of Dictators". | + | The School has been accused of teaching [[torture]] techniques. According to various [[United Nations|UN]] commissions, its graduates include some of the worst [[human rights]] violators in the [[Western Hemisphere]], [[Hugo Banzer]] for example, who were trained at [[United States|US]] taxpayers' expense. In response to this, a human rights program is taught at the school, but its [[history]] has earned it the derogatory nickname of "School of Dictators". |