The Struggle Against the SOA
is Profoundly Internationalist!

There is no issue dearer to the hearts of military veterans than the struggle to shut down this American terrorist camp. We have been the "troops" who worked along side of, trained and assisted many of the graduates of the School of the Assassins. As trained assassins ourselves, we know that U.S. military interventions and wars are not about democracy or the needs of the people, but about power politics, world control and domination.

Last year, in the aftermath of September 11, there were attempts by authorities to get SOA Watch to chill out and put off this important protest in the so-called name of "national unity." When you persevered and even conquered - we stood stronger and our own resolve was strengthened.

The SOA doesn't train soldiers to defend their country from foreign threats but from domestic opposition. In Columbia, El Salvador, Iraq and all over the world - people have a basic human right to fight for their own freedom and sovereignty. The very structures that the SOA graduates support are in line with U.S. interests in those countries/regions, especially if they want to stay in "good graces" with the U.S.

With President George Bush's never-ending war on the world - with its injustices and lockups of Arab and Muslim people, big brother repressive laws and an atmosphere of fear and suspicion where critical thought itself is suspect - protest and physical manifestations of opposition from within this country are needed now more than ever. The struggle against the SOA has always been a profoundly internationalist one, standing with the powerless across the world against the rich and powerful. The people of the world need to know that the many crimes perpetrated by the U.S. government - be they death squads in Columbia or bombers in Iraq - are NOT IN OUR NAME.

For us in the belly of the beast, the challenge is as great as it has ever been. There is a need to take opposition to a whole new level.

As a veterans organization which opposes all U.S. military moves and promotes the slogan, "No U.S. Troops Anywhere/Anytime," we see the operating of the SOA as a covert form of military intervention, where the local puppet government and its military keeps the peace-- "U.S.-style." This allows the U.S. to maintain the image of "innocent" third-party while ensuring that its interests are looked after. Rest assured, the U.S. will not hesitate to send its own troops should the puppet fail to accomplish the job. In fact, there are indications that Columbia may be the next Central/South American country targeted for such U.S. military intervention.

We salute the School of America's Watch and the countless activists and many veterans who have been on the front lines in this battle.