As the School of the Americas closes and a new Department of Defense institute is established, the United States remains committed to helping the leaders and soldiers of Latin American military departments meet the new challenges of the 21st Century. Change is not new to the School of the Americas. The institution has existed in several forms and at different locations throughout its history to meet the changing needs of our hemisphere. The curriculum has also changed from a focus on counterinsurgency and Cold War missions to reflect a new paradigm in the hemisphere as democracy has spread and economic interdependence has increased. Missions such as peacekeeping, disaster relief and counterdrug operations have become more common with new transnational challenges in the hemisphere.
Students attending the courses now also include defense civilians and selected police officers.
Above all, such military education strengthens democracy by emphasizing the important but limited role the military plays in a representative democracy. Unfortunately, a group of critics has accused the School of the Americas of complacency and misconduct in training. These critics tend to see all military institutions as illegitimate and are really targeting US foreign policy of the 70's and 80's. Such false and overstated allegations conceal the great work of the school's graduates and do little to help democracy thrive in our hemisphere during this new era. To put this acrimonious debate to rest, I asked the Secretary of Defense to support an initiative that would close the old School of the Americas and establish a new, updated Department of Defense institution.