Starving out Terrorism

In the '80s, the School of Americas became a hot-button topic for human rights activists. Going no further than saying they train soldiers for missions in Latin America, the U.S. Army has been obtuse about SOA's mission. But activists have been, and continue to be, steadfast in their accusations that SOA trains counter-insurgents to disrupt Latin American nations. According to activists, on November 18, 1989, "graduates" from SOA murdered six Jesuit priests in El Salvador.

Every year since then, thousands converge on SOA in Fort Benning, Georgia, to commemorate that event and to protest what they call a training ground for terrorists. Seemingly anticipating the heated debate over U.S. foreign policies and terrorism, those protests escalated last November when 21 activists--including two from Portland--stormed onto SOA's grounds. The following day, Josh Raisler Cohn, from Portland, was arrested as he suspended himself with climbing gear from a bridge near SOA and unfurled anti-terrorism banners. Cohn is currently serving six months at the maximum security federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon.

Last Thursday, Cohn began an 18-day hunger strike. "It is ironic and sad that as George W. Bush calls for an all-out war against those that 'inspire, support, and finance' terror, he has not closed the School of the Americas," wrote Cohn in a press release from his cell.

More than 70 members from the local chapter of the SOA watchdog group plan to caravan to Ft. Benning this year, to join in the November 18 protest. For more information, contact 284-5139. PHIL BUSSE


More Rosebraugh..
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With Congress' heightened anxieties about terrorism, Craig Rosebraugh, former spokesperson for Earth Liberation Front, has been subpoenaed to testify at a Subcommittee on Ecoterrorism in February, 2002. But Rosebraugh says he has no plans to cooperate. "I'm not at all sure what I'll do, at this point," he says. "I might not show up, or maybe I'll remain silent, maybe I'll take the Fifth. All I know is that I'm set on not cooperating." Rosebraugh believes that by investigating terrorism, the government is proving their hypocrisy. "I think [the people in] Congress are some of the worst terrorists in history," he explained. KATIA DUNN