Repression, Human Rights, and US Training of Military Forces from the South Ruth Joanna Blakeley A Dissertation Submitted to the University of Bristol in Accordance with the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Department of Politics, October 2006 Word Count: 79,781 ABSTRACT In order to understand whether US training of military forces from the South has resulted in the use of repression or improvements in human rights, we need to situate the training within the broader context of US foreign policy objectives and strategies. The main aims of US foreign policy are to maintain its dominant global position and to ensure control of resources and markets in the South. These objectives are being pursued through an emerging, US- led transnational state, using the instruments of legitimation at least as much as repression. This contrasts with the Cold War, during which US foreign policy strategy towards the South emphasised repression. US training of military forces from the South during the Cold War played a key role in a US-led network of terror, through which many states in the South were connected to the US and each other by cooperation between their militaries, police and intelligence services. The training was dominated by a particular form of counterinsurgency instruction which advocated repression of groups that might potentially threaten US control of Southern economies and assets. This contributed to widespread human rights violations, particularly in Latin America. Following the end of the Cold War, reliance on the network of terror diminished, and it was subsumed within the emergent transnational state. In line with this shift in US foreign policy strategy in the South, some aspects of the training began to be characterised by the promotion of legitimation. In the wake of 9/11, the US has intensified both its legitimation efforts and its use of repression, and the training continues to play a significant role in the service of US foreign policy objectives. Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter outline ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Relevant literature and its limitations ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Key concepts ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Part I ............................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Chapter Two: US Foreign Policy Goals ...................................................................................................................... 26 Continuities in US foreign policy objectives ........................................................................................................................... 26 The US and global capitalism .................................................................................................................................................... 28 Approaches to US global power projection ................................................................................................................. 29 The multiple agents approach ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Distinguishing between the agents of capital .............................................................................................................. 33 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Three: US Foreign Policy Means ................................................................................................................... 38 Discontinuities in US foreign policy strategy ......................................................................................................................... 39 Repression in context .................................................................................................................................................................. 41 Torture ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Why is torture considered effective? ........................................................................................................................... 45 The security model ...................................................................................................................................................... 46 The stability model ...................................................................................................................................................... 48 The legitimacy model .................................................................................................................................................. 53 Disjuncture between the intended and actual outcomes of torture ....................................................................................... 56 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Part II .......................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter Four: US Foreign Policy Strategy During the Cold War ............................................................................... 58 Repression in Latin America ..................................................................................................................................................... 58 Direct US intervention ................................................................................................................................................ 59 US allies and the Latin American network of terror ................................................................................................... 64 Beyond Latin America ................................................................................................................................................................ 71 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................... 74 Chapter Five: US Foreign Military Training During the Cold War ............................................................................ 76 The extent of the training .................................................................................................................................................... 76 The nature and purposes of the training ................................................................................................................................... 78 The intended outcomes of the training in relation to repression and human rights ........................................................... 80 Previous research on the link between the training and repression ...................................................................................... 82 Spanish language manuals: advocating repression ................................................................................................................. 85 The role of torture in the training .............................................................................................................................................. 88 SOA Watch and the birth of WHINSEC ................................................................................................................................. 91 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................... 93 Chapter Six: US Foreign Policy Strategy Since the Cold War .................................................................................... 94 Promoting democracy and neoliberalism through legitimation: 1991-2001 ...................................................................... 94 The organs of neoliberalisation and democratisation.................................................................................................