In recent years Kucinich has lent his support to an organization called SOA Watch, whose stated mission is to close down the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA), which was recently renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). Located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, SOA (WHISC) is the Army’s principal Spanish-language training facility for Latin American military personnel. During the Cold War, the SOA trained many Latin Americans in guerrilla tactics designed to help put down Communist insurgencies in the region. Many trainees indeed went on to fight against Communist (and often Soviet-financed) rule in their homelands. A testament to the School’s effectiveness is the fact that Communist groups rank among the SOA’s staunchest opponents. In January 1996 the Communist publication People’s Weekly World printed an anti-SOA piece titled “Close the School of Assassins.” The Socialist Party of Michigan has a link for SOA Watch on its Website. The Communist organization Workers World Party promotes SOA Watch events.

Kucinich recently delivered a speech titled “A Prayer for America,” the text of which would eventually be posted on the Communist Party USA Website. “Let us pray for our children,” said the congressman. “Our children deserve a world without end. Not a war without end. Our children deserve a world free of the terror of hunger . . . of poor health care . . . of homelessness . . . of ignorance . . . of hopelessness . . . Let us declare our intent for peace. ..Let us work to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our own society. . . . Let us work for a world where someday war becomes archaic.” Again, lots of fuzzy sentiments, but no roadmap for getting to the destination.