Posted on Oct 2, 2016
Court: U.S. does not have to disclose Army school trainees
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SAN FRANCISCO — The Defense Department does not have to disclose the names of foreign students who attend a U.S. Army school whose predecessor trained South American military officials linked to massacres and other crimes, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that disclosing the names of students at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that could expose the students to violence.
The majority opinion said isolated cases in which the U.S. government admitted human rights abusers to the school would be insufficient to show negligence.
"DOD has presented evidence that disclosing the names of WHINSEC students and instructors would put them at risk of harassment, retaliation, or even death," Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote for the majority.
The ruling overturned a lower court decision in a lawsuit brought by two members of a human rights group, School of the Americas Watch, that monitors graduates of the school and calls for its closure.
Plaintiffs' attorney Duffy Carolan said in a brief phone interview that the decision was wrong. She said she might comment in more detail after having time to fully review the ruling.
A telephone message seeking comment from School of the Americas Watch was not immediately returned.
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, Georgia, succeeded the U.S. Army School of the Americas, which opened in 1946 to train military personnel in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The Defense Department stopped publicly disclosing the names of attendees after 2005 and has argued that releasing their names could increase the threat they might face from intelligence and security units of countries hostile to the U.S., terrorist organizations and drug traffickers.
The Western Hemisphere school's website says its goal is to "foster mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promote democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of U.S. customs and traditions."
SAN FRANCISCO — The Defense Department does not have to disclose the names of foreign students who attend a U.S. Army school whose predecessor trained South American military officials linked to massacres and other crimes, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that disclosing the names of students at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that could expose the students to violence.
The majority opinion said isolated cases in which the U.S. government admitted human rights abusers to the school would be insufficient to show negligence.
"DOD has presented evidence that disclosing the names of WHINSEC students and instructors would put them at risk of harassment, retaliation, or even death," Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote for the majority.
The ruling overturned a lower court decision in a lawsuit brought by two members of a human rights group, School of the Americas Watch, that monitors graduates of the school and calls for its closure.
Plaintiffs' attorney Duffy Carolan said in a brief phone interview that the decision was wrong. She said she might comment in more detail after having time to fully review the ruling.
A telephone message seeking comment from School of the Americas Watch was not immediately returned.
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, Georgia, succeeded the U.S. Army School of the Americas, which opened in 1946 to train military personnel in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The Defense Department stopped publicly disclosing the names of attendees after 2005 and has argued that releasing their names could increase the threat they might face from intelligence and security units of countries hostile to the U.S., terrorist organizations and drug traffickers.
The Western Hemisphere school's website says its goal is to "foster mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promote democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of U.S. customs and traditions."
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that disclosing the names of students at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that could expose the students to violence.
The majority opinion said isolated cases in which the U.S. government admitted human rights abusers to the school would be insufficient to show negligence.
"DOD has presented evidence that disclosing the names of WHINSEC students and instructors would put them at risk of harassment, retaliation, or even death," Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote for the majority.
The ruling overturned a lower court decision in a lawsuit brought by two members of a human rights group, School of the Americas Watch, that monitors graduates of the school and calls for its closure.
Plaintiffs' attorney Duffy Carolan said in a brief phone interview that the decision was wrong. She said she might comment in more detail after having time to fully review the ruling.
A telephone message seeking comment from School of the Americas Watch was not immediately returned.
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, Georgia, succeeded the U.S. Army School of the Americas, which opened in 1946 to train military personnel in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The Defense Department stopped publicly disclosing the names of attendees after 2005 and has argued that releasing their names could increase the threat they might face from intelligence and security units of countries hostile to the U.S., terrorist organizations and drug traffickers.
The Western Hemisphere school's website says its goal is to "foster mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promote democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of U.S. customs and traditions."
SAN FRANCISCO — The Defense Department does not have to disclose the names of foreign students who attend a U.S. Army school whose predecessor trained South American military officials linked to massacres and other crimes, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that disclosing the names of students at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that could expose the students to violence.
The majority opinion said isolated cases in which the U.S. government admitted human rights abusers to the school would be insufficient to show negligence.
"DOD has presented evidence that disclosing the names of WHINSEC students and instructors would put them at risk of harassment, retaliation, or even death," Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote for the majority.
The ruling overturned a lower court decision in a lawsuit brought by two members of a human rights group, School of the Americas Watch, that monitors graduates of the school and calls for its closure.
Plaintiffs' attorney Duffy Carolan said in a brief phone interview that the decision was wrong. She said she might comment in more detail after having time to fully review the ruling.
A telephone message seeking comment from School of the Americas Watch was not immediately returned.
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, Georgia, succeeded the U.S. Army School of the Americas, which opened in 1946 to train military personnel in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The Defense Department stopped publicly disclosing the names of attendees after 2005 and has argued that releasing their names could increase the threat they might face from intelligence and security units of countries hostile to the U.S., terrorist organizations and drug traffickers.
The Western Hemisphere school's website says its goal is to "foster mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promote democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of U.S. customs and traditions."
Court: U.S. does not have to disclose Army school trainees
Posted from armytimes.com
Posted 8 y ago
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That seems like good news SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL as it protects the names of people who attended the school who may well be innocent and some of who are operating out of uniform.
I was at Fort Benning when the US Army School of the Americas (SOA) moved there and reopened in December 1984 and knew a few of the US Army officers assigned there.
The SOA had been founded in 1946 and originally located at Fort Gulick in the Panama Canal Zone. On September 21, 1984, the school had been expelled from Panama under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty.
I was at Fort Benning when the US Army School of the Americas (SOA) moved there and reopened in December 1984 and knew a few of the US Army officers assigned there.
The SOA had been founded in 1946 and originally located at Fort Gulick in the Panama Canal Zone. On September 21, 1984, the school had been expelled from Panama under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty.
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thats good... keeps the wrong folks from Knowing who is where or was where...
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