Changing roles for the military.

• Author: Luxner, Larry
• Position: Inter-American System

With the peaceful resolution of old border disputes and the end of Cold War-era proxy wars between leftist guerrillas and right-wing dictatorships, the militaries of Latin America are gradually turning their attention to other pressing concerns such as disaster relief and the threat of global terrorism.

That's the word from Major General Carl H. Freeman, chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB), which next March celebrates its sixtieth anniversary.

"The issue is one of joining together to combat global terrorism. At present, the United States is certainly the leader in this campaign. Most of the countries realize that terrorists can strike anywhere, and that no one is exempt," says Freeman. "With the attacks of September 11, the academic debate which had been going on for a long time has effectively been ended."

Freeman said that a week after the attacks, in which terrorists using hijacked planes destroyed New York's World Trade Center and crashed into the Pentagon, the IADB drafted a paper on fighting terrorism that was adopted by foreign ministers meeting at the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington.

"The attacks were not against the United States. They were attacks on American soil against citizens of the world. No one wants to stand isolated at this time," said Freeman, adding that "Latin America should give unqualified political support to the effort to combat global terrorism. I think you'll soon see changes in laws which will facilitiate identifying and breaking up terrorist groups; banking and finance laws that will hamper their ability to move money and finance terror; greater interest in border and immigration controls; and efforts by the region's militaries to improve their own domestic security."

A little-known organization, the IADB is often confused with the much larger Inter-American Development Bank because of their similar initials. However, few Americans have heard of the Inter-American Defense Board, let alone understand the role it plays in promoting stability throughout the region.

"This is the oldest collective security organization in the world, dating back to 1942, when there were concerns about the influence of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in the Southern Hemisphere," says Freeman. "At the conclusion of World War II, the IADB was put under the umbrella of the Organization of American States. We are not a U.S. agency. We're an international organization chartered by Congress...