Anke Seltmann

The School of the Americas Anke Seltmann

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: USA, grade: A, Uppsala University, course: Culture in Armed Conflicts, language: English, comment: Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der "School of the Americas", heute:"Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" - ein Trainingscamp der US Army. Ihre Aufgabe bestand darin während des Konflikts um den Panamakanal die US-amerikanischen Interessen zu festigen. Die Ausbildung an der SOA wurde immer wieder wegen ihres Unterrichtsstoffes kritisiert. Auf dem Lehrplan standen unter anderem Exekution, Erpressung, Misshandlungen und Nötigung. Viele der Absolventen dieser SOA waren später in Kriegsverbrechen Mittel- und Südamerika verwickelt. , abstract: 1 The School of the Americas "Chartered by the U. S. Congress, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC - former: the School of the Americas) provides professional education and training for civilian, military and law enforcement students from nations throughout the Western Hemisphere" . The Institute's Mission according to the self-projection on the website of the WHINSEC is the following: "Our mission comes directly from the Congressionally approved legislation that authorizes and directs WHINSEC's existence (10 U. S. C. § 2166). The purpose of the Institute is to provide professional education and training to eligible personnel of nations of the Western Hemisphere within the context of the democratic principles set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States (such charter being a treaty to which the United States is a party), while fostering mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promoting democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of United States customs and traditions." The WHINSEC is an U. S. Army facility at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. A precursor - the Latin American Ground Schoo