Close the School of the Americas

Hi greenhouse community,

We need your help in getting some very important legislation passed this year to close the Army School of the Americas, or SOA/WHINSEC or otherwise known as the School of Assasins. The SOA has been linked to every major dirty war throughout the Americas and has tought Latin American soldiers and officers how to torture and massacre people. In the dirty wars of Guatemala alone over 500,000 people were killed or disappeard and hundreds of indeginous villages wiped completly off the map. We have come closer and closer each year in closing the SOA and last year we came within 6 votes. This year we believe is the time and opportunity to close the School with a complete shift to a Democrate majority. Please read the information below and call your legislators asking them to cosponser this bill.

In peace and solidarity,

The Green House Collective

This Friday, May 22nd, Representative McGovern will reintroduce the Latin America Military Training Review Act, which would suspend operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC, investigate the use of torture manuals at the school, and do an assessment of military training in Latin America.

Last year this legislation was known as HR 1707 and we had 125 cosponsors. Right now, organizers around the country are working to get all of last year's cosponsors added before Friday and meet our goal of at least 75 original cosponsors.

The following Northwest region cosponsors of HR 1707 from the 110th Congress have not yet signed up for this year's bill:

Washington:
--Rep. Brian Baird
--Rep. Jay Inslee
--Rep. Rick Larsen

Oregon:
--Rep. Earl Blumenauer
--Rep. Peter DeFazio

This list of House Reps are all in the states that you represent on the SOA Watch Council. Do you think you could make some time for phone calls to these offices today and tomorrow, and also reach out to your lists, email and phone contacts and ask that they do the same?

These calls should be very easy: everyone on the above list was a cosponsor of HR 1707 in 2008 and the text of the bill being introduced on Friday is IDENTICAL to HR 1707.

I've attached the Dear Colleague letter to this email that gives background and can also be faxed or emailed to an office if they ask for it. AND, below is the TOLL FREE number you can use to call Congress + a sample call script.

Thanks for all that you do!
Pam

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Please take the time to call the D.C. office of your Representative by calling the Capitol Hill Switchboard toll free at 1-800-473-6711, (or 202-224-3121) . Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant and here is a suggested message for you to convey:

"As a constituent living in _________, I am calling Congressman/ woman ________ to urge him/her to contact Rep. McGovern and ask to be an original cosponsor of the Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2009, formerly HR 1707 in the 110th Congress. This legislation will be introduced in early May. The bill is identical to HR 1707and would suspend operations at the School of the Americas, renamed WHINSEC, and investigate the history of human rights abuses and failed policies of the institution.

New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two more countries that have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Despite demands by Congress to have oversight over the curriculum and promote human rights, the Pentagon is now denying all requests to provide information to human rights organizations and the public about students and graduates of the school.

I urge you to contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern's office and ask that your boss be added as an original cosponsor of this legislation. I hope you will represent my views and support this bill.