OK, kids, pop quiz time. What do the following people or groups of people have in common: Roberto D'Aubuisson, leader of El Salvador's infamous d eath squads; Manuel Noriega, Panamanian dictator and drug-dealer; nineteen of the Salvadorian soldiers responsible for the 1989 assassinations of six Jesuit priests and two women; six Peruvian officers tied to the murder of university students and profess ors; officers who oversaw the massacre of 900 peasants at El Mozote, El Salvador; three of the five who raped and killed the four U.S. churchwomen in El Salvador in 1980; and two of the five assassins of Archbishop Romero of El Salvador. If you guessed t hat I am describing graduates of the U.S. Army's School of the Americas, you are right and are a winner of these Fabulous Prizes. The School of the Americas was supposedly created to "promote democracy", but has been proven to actually teach militaries to torture, kill and oppress. With just a little probing, and thanks to the Freedom of Information Law, here's some of the things t hat have been discovered: It was started about 50 years ago to train members of pro- U.S. Central American militaries and originally was located in Panama until the Panamanian government asked them to leave in 1984 as part of the Panama Canal treaty. Wit nesses have claimed that while in Panama, homeless people were rounded up to be used as human guinea pigs to test torture techniques. The SOA now resides at Fort Benning, in Columbus GA. The Army claimed that they were no longer teaching torture techniq ues. A few months ago, however, the Pentagon released documents showing that until as recently as 1991 that the SOA was indeed teaching its graduates to torture and kill. Among other things, the manuals recommend "neutralizing ... government officials, political leaders and members of the infrastructure"; the use of "arrest of the employee's (subversive agent) parent's, imprison the employee or give him beating as part of the placement plan.... the employee's value could be increased by means of arrests , executions or pacifications" and that "sodium pentathol compound could be intravenously injected." The manuals go so far as to equate democratic, non-violent and even strictly electoral campaigning with terrorist activity, stating that rebel political organisations may "resort to subverting the government by electoral means." It also states that, "many terrorists are very well trained in subversion of the democratic system and use of the system to advance their causes." Now, one must wonder several things after having learned about this institution. First, "Why hasn't this Pentagon report been plastered all over the media?" Then, "Why on Earth hasn't this place been closed?" Then perhaps, "hey, if the Cold War is over , who are we training these people to fight?" Finding the answer to all these questions starts by examining the last one: who are they fighting. Let's take a look at someone who became a victim of U.S. Army trained killers. Archbishop Oscar Romero of E l Salvador was an advocate for the poor and oppressed, his pulpit becoming a font of truth when the government censored news. He was silenced in 1980 by an assassins bullet while he celebrated Mass. His last words were used to forgive his killers. Two o f the three Salvadoran officers cited by the U.N. Truth Commission for committing this act were graduates of the SOA Why would governments and death squads kill and torture people who are struggling for genuine democracy and a living wage? The answer m ay be shockingly simple. If wages and working conditions were improved, companies would no longer be able to get stuff like Bugle Boy Jeans made for 33 cents an hour. Which also explains why you haven't heard anything about this. Peter Jennings isn't a bout to slam an institution that helps to maintain a cheap labor force to manufacture stuff for Wal-Mart 10 seconds before a Wal-Mart commercial. It really bothers me that I am virtually helpless to really do anything to stop American companies from exploiting workers in other parts of the world so that their stockholders can get richer. What really infuriates me is that tax money, to the tune of $20 million a year, goes to training thugs to keep these workers from gaining any autonomy. For me, it is not just an abstract concept anymore. Working for Andy Summers has exposed me to many things. Through him I have met people who live and are worki ng for justice in Central America. I have met people who spent much of their life working to end this oppression. The more I learn, the more people in oppressed countries become "real" and not just an abstraction. I recall a song by Malvina Reynolds that says: "God bless the grass/That grows through the crack. They pour the concrete over it/To try to keep it back. The concrete gets tired/Of what it has to do. It breaks and it buckles/And the grass grows through. An d God bless the Grass." One of those "cracks" has opened up. The truth about the SOA has been shown to us by the Pentagon itself. What needs to be done is to shine a light on this dark evil place. If it won't be done by the bright blaring light of net work television cameras, then we will have to do it individually, like small candles. Oscar Romero once said, "We who have a voice, we have to speak for the voiceless." (You know a shameless plug is coming...) An opportunity to use your voice to help in this struggle is coming up soon. Andy Summers, the Minister to Students, is planning to take a van load of Wilsonites to Fort Benning on 16 Nov. To remember the seventh anniversary of the assassinations of the Jesuits in San Salvador, a vigil, prayer, and action have been planned to call attention to the place that is known in Central America as the "School of Assassins." If you would like take part, contact Andy Summers.