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GUEST: Christy Pardew, Communications Coordinator, School of the Americas Watch

In the latest of secret maneuvers, President Bush has quietly lifted a military training ban for 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ban, originally passed in 1998 by Congress, required Latin American nations wanting U.S. military aid, to sign an agreement supporting political immunity for U.S. soldiers. The argument for lifting this ban through an October 2nd presidential memorandum to Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, was the cost of U.S. influence in the region. Rice stated that the impact of the ban has been “shooting ourselves in the foot” with the rise of quote “leftist victories”. Meanwhile, organizers with “School of the Americas Watch,” are hosting their annual convergence on Fort Benning to protest the School of the Americas, now known as the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation. Simultaneous demonstrations will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Manta, Ecuador; Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; and Fort Huachuca.