Insight into the U.S. pressure tactics to keep the SOA/ WHINSEC in business has been presented via Wikileaks from Costa Rica--a country that didn't even have a military till the Reagan Administration bullied it into having one.

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Leaked U.S. Embassy Cables Document Efforts to Counter SOA Watch

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WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower website that has published thousands of classified diplomatic cables, has posted two cables from the U.S. embassy in Costa Rica, that offer insight into the U.S. pressure tactics to keep the SOA/ WHINSEC in business.

Read the cables here:
Cable 1: http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/11/07SANJOSE1999.html

Cable 2:http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/12/07SANJOSE2073.html

A message from Lisa Sullivan:
When we join together as small grassroots groups from around the Americas to resist militarization and promote a culture of peace we are, quite simply, very powerful. So much so, that the world's largest military giant not only takes notice, but sometimes has to scramble to keep up as we take the lead.

Just days ago, Wikileaks revealed cables from the US embassy in Costa Rica that unveil an all-out six-month campaign by the embassy, in conjunction with the Pentagon's Southcom and SOA/WHINSEC to subvert one of SOA Watch's major strategies: the appeal to governments to withdraw their troops and police from SOA/WHINSEC.

Specifically, the target was the government of Costa Rica and their decision to withdraw from the SOA in 2007. Coming on the heels of similar announcements by the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Venezuela, this announcement by President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Laureate, was too much for the Pentagon to ignore.

Arias's announcement was the result of a meeting with Fr. Roy Bourgeois and myself, along with members of the Costa Rican Quaker Peace Center who had arranged the meeting. The cable describes our meeting as "the Problem." Arias' decision stunned officials, as the cable indicates.

These three entities worked together for six months, together with Costa Rica's Security Minister Fernando Berrocal, who they lobbied with ample resources, to find what they called "the Solution." U.S. ambassador Langdale was tasked with informing Arias that his decision would result in a loss of $1.2 million in cooperation agreements. Not wanting his image as international peacemaker to be tarnished, Arias finally bowed to six months of pressure from the U.S. and agreed to allow Costa Rican police to return to SOA/WHINSEC, but under the condition that Berrocal take responsibility for the decision and that no public announcements by Arias be made. The cable made it clear that they feared a major SOA Watch-led pressure campaign against Arias if the overturn of his decision were made public.

I will always remember how he Arias' eyes watered when I spontaneously jumped up to hug him -- breaking protocol - upon hearing his consent to our proposal to withdraw from the SOA. I thanked him "in the name of the tens of thousands who had lost their lives because of this school." It was clear that this was a decision that touched the fibers of his commitment to peace. It is shameful that the U.S. government enlisted so many people and funds to appeal to his lesser interests to change his mind.

However, our minds will not be changed nor our direction detoured. We are clear that the real problem continues to be militarization and the real solution is to work together for justice and peace. In just a few weeks Father Roy and I will continue our journey to meet with our Latin American partners to find ways to work together to close this School of Assassins and resist other forms of US militarization. We will be visiting Honduras from April 30 to May 9, to bring the solidarity of the SOA Watch movement to the Honduran Resistance that is struggling to return dignity to a country ravaged by an SOA-led coup. We invite you to consider joining us.

And, if Honduras is too far to travel , please consider joining Father Roy and I in Washington, DC from April 4-11, 2011 for the Days of Action to take our demands to the White House, the halls of Congress, and other places where military and foreign policy decisions are made. The mobilization will include a 7-day-fast, an Anti-Militarization conference, a march to the White House, nonviolent direct action, a concert, lobbying and more. Visit www.SOAW.org for more information.

Somos Una America! Working together as one America to resist militarization and promote a culture of peace, we are powerful and we will be heard.

Abrazos! Lisa Sullivan
SOA Watch
See you in DC in April!

This picture was taken following the meeting with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias in 2007. The meeting was described as "The Problem" in the confidential U.S. embassy cable to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Southern Command and to WHINSEC and triggered extensive counter efforts.

Authors Website: http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/3-big-paradigms-hol

Authors Bio:

KEVIN STODA-has been blessed to have either traveled in or worked in nearly 100 countries on five continents over the past two and a half decades.--He sees himself as a peace educator and have been-- a promoter of good economic and social development--making-him an enemy of my homelands humongous DEFENSE SPENDING and its focus on using weapons to try and solve global issues.

"I am from Kansas so I also use the pseudonym 'Kansas' and 'alone' when I write and publish.- I-keep two blogs--one with BLOGGER and one with WORDPRESS.- My writings range from reviews to editorials or to travel observations.- I also make recommendations related to policy--having both a-strong background in teaching foreign languages and degrees in teaching in history and the social sciences.--As a Midwesterner, I also write on religion and living out ones faith whether it be as a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist perspective."

On my own home page, I also provide information for language learners and travelers http://www.geocities.com/eslkevin/-,- http://the-teacher.blogspot.com/-& http://alone.gnn.tv/

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