The Wake

Hidden in Plain Sight is a documentary dealing with the controversial School of the Americas, which trains Latin American soldiers in the United States. It’s a powerful film that shows the viewer testimony of individuals victimized by soldiers who had been trained at the facility, pictures of those unable to speak after such soldiers were done with them, and seemingly dubious testimony from United States military personal. The film is certainly well-edited, has a top notch narrator in Martin Sheen and presents an undeniably important issue. But the positives of the film end there.

Although surely a powerful film, I feel it is greatly flawed. Those defending the school and those attacking it are certainly not given equal time. The film contains long segments of commentary from the likes of Noam Chomsky, Christopher Hitchens and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who attack the school. Those defending it are generally reduced to sound bites, which I suspect have been framed somewhat out of context to make them seem especially doubtful.

Although there is significant evidence presented in the documentary to make it appear as if the school taught tactics of torture, which were certainly misused by graduates such as Manuel Noriega in Panama and Roberto D’Aubuisson of El Salvador, the other side of the story is not allowed to be told. I find every piece of information in the film tainted as it becomes obvious that director John H. Smihula had made up his mind before he started interviewing people and investigating for the film. The film panders to the extreme left, as seen by members of some of the protests against the SOA shown holding banners for Socialist groups.

I do not deny that some soldiers (a small minority) trained at the School of Americas have committed major atrocities, even killing priests, women and children. These crimes are inexcusable. But I have to doubt the credibility of this film in proving whether the School of Americas really caused this.

After viewing Hidden in Plain Sight, I agree with Major General John LeMoyne that those opposed to the school seem to hold a dangerous “group think” mentality, almost cult-like. It may be possible that the School of the Americas (shut down by Congress in 2001, and replaced by a new school in the same location by the name of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) could be a faulty institution. The idea of training foreign troops certainly frightens me as they can use the knowledge given to them by the United States government against the United States. Some graduates have certainly done terrible things to their own people. But I do not feel Hidden in Plain Sight provided an unbiased enough picture to show me whether the School of the Americas caused people to become death squad leaders, as it attempts to do, or if these occurrences were simply tragedies of which the school is not at fault. This does not educate the viewer in a full manner on the situation, but simply works as powerful propaganda for one side of the issue.