  |
|
| |
|
|
|
 Hypocritical Oath: Psychologists and TorturePosted on Jun 5, 2007By Amy Goodman First, do no harm. This tenet of medicine applies equally to psychologists, yet they are increasingly implicated in abusive interrogations, dare we say torture, at U.S. military detention facilities like Guantanamo. While the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association both have passed resolutions prohibiting members from participating in interrogations, the American Psychological Association refuses to, despite the outrage of many of its members. Now, with the declassification of a report by the Pentagon’s inspector general detailing psychologists’ role in military interrogations, the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services announced it will investigate. Dr. Leonard Rubenstein, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, says such an “investigation into the development of torture techniques by the United States” would be “very significant. ... It should get into ... the use of psychologists in the development of the techniques, what is happening now, and how this can be avoided in the future.” Two years ago, after a leaked report from the International Committee of the Red Cross criticizing the role of health professionals in U.S. interrogations, the American Psychological Association formed its Presidential Task Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS). There were nine voting members. Six of them were connected to the military. At the time, the identities of the panelists were secret. The PENS panel endorsed the continued participation of psychologists in military interrogations. Of the three nonmilitary voting members, one, Dr. Michael G. Wessells of Randolph-Macon College, resigned, and another, Dr. Jean Maria Arrigo, recently called for the PENS report to be annulled. “I’m an oral historian, maybe even before a psychologist, and I always take notes. And I was told very sharply by one of the military psychologists not to take notes.” She took notes anyway. She archived the group’s entire e-mail list-serve, including months of e-mails from before and after the sole two-day PENS meeting. She went on: “I came later to realize that the entire report had been orchestrated. I no longer felt bound by that confidentiality agreement.” She recently handed over all her materials to the Senate Armed Services Committee. The third, Dr. Nina Thomas, told me: “I don’t think I was, in fact, critically aware of what Morgan Banks’ role was at the time of the meetings themselves. I knew the outline of his background, but I didn’t know the meaning of his background. So it disturbs me.” Col. Morgan Banks, as Mark Benjamin of Salon.com first reported, is “the senior Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape psychologist, responsible for the training and oversight of all Army SERE psychologists, who include those involved in SERE training. He provides technical support and consultation to all Army psychologists providing interrogation support.” Another task-force member, Capt. Bryce Lefever, served at the Navy SERE school from 1990 to ’93, then became the “Special Forces Task Force psychologist to Afghanistan in 2002, where he lectured to interrogators and was consulted on various interrogation techniques.” Also included was R. Scott Shumate, who was the chief operational psychologist for the CIA’s counterterrorism center until 2003. He then became head of the Pentagon Counterintelligence Field Activity’s Behavioral Sciences directorate, overseeing psychologist participation in the interrogation process at Guantanamo. SERE (pronounced SEER-ee) includes sensory and sleep deprivation, isolation, cultural and sexual humiliation, “stress” positions (like forced standing), extended subjection to light, loud noise, extremes of heat and cold, and “waterboarding,” wherein subjects have their face covered with a cloth that then has water poured over it, giving the feeling of suffocation. The goal of SERE is to train U.S. military members to resist torture they might experience if captured. As first reported by Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, the SERE techniques were “reverse engineered.” In other words, they were used against the prisoners. The upcoming APA Annual Convention, taking place Aug. 17- 20, promises to be hotly contested. An unknown number of members are withholding dues. Some have quit. Physicians for Human Rights’ Rubenstein summed up: “Even the army surgeon general’s report ... said it was the role of psychologists to tell interrogators when to increase the pressure, how to exploit vulnerabilities. So I think we really do have to end this as a nation, not just as professional associations. ... We’re talking about ... ending complicity in torture by a profession that has an enormous amount to contribute to the good of humanity and should not be involved in the destruction of people.” Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on 500 stations in North America. © 2007 Amy Goodman Distributed by King Features Syndicate Previous item: Are the Dems Losing Their Way? Next item: Iraq Is the New Korea Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.
By Dennis, August 9, 2007 at 8:28 pm # “Investigations do not solve real time crimes being committed by the President and Vice President”
By Jennifer Kaupp, August 8, 2007 at 11:01 pm # Op-Ed piece published in Santa Cruz Sentinel on June 17, 2007 The members of the Monterey Bay Psychological Association feel compelled to speak out, unequivocally and without further delay, against the unethical, immoral, and illegal practices taking place in military prisons around the world. As psychologists, we would like to stand with all those who have protested the use of psychologists as consultants to torture, degradation, cruelty and/or inhumane treatment of military prisoners. In its structured examination of the ethics of this practice, the APA Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS) Task Force took a small step in the right direction. However, in the intervening time, we do not believe that the APA leadership has gone far enough in identifying and denouncing the misuse of psychological theory and practice in military interrogations and on rendition teams. Both the APA and the CPA have asked for member psychologists’ input. We find that the response from the APA leadership does not represent us as psychologists, and is in fact detrimental to our profession. Within the context of ongoing media reports of cruel, inhumane, and degrading practices used in military interrogations and on rendition teams, the APA’s focus on responsibilities to society rings hollow. To participate, even as consultants, in unethical practices under the guise of protecting the general social welfare is simply wrong. As an organization, the Monterey Bay Psychological Association believes that the APA Ethics Code is clear in its prohibition of the use of torture, and clear that psychologists should have no part in this aspect of military operations. Further, we recognize the dilemma of military psychologists forced to choose between their role as psychologists and their role as military officers. We fervently believe that if we do not speak out against practices that violate human rights and dignity, we are complicit in those practices. We would hope that the APA administration understands the fundamental admonition in the APA Ethics Code to Do No Harm, and continue to question their current interpretation. Jennifer Kaupp, Ph.D. Jon Girvetz, Ph.D. Junell Silver, Ph.D., Diane Bridgeman, Ph.D., Meg Sandow, Ph.D., and
By Dennis, July 2, 2007 at 12:29 pm # As anyone will tell you: It’s not the average person that’s the insane one it’s actually the psychologists and psychiatrists.
By scott evans, June 21, 2007 at 3:04 am # tortue;passed down from generation to generation,from the human tribe to the human race right to this very moment;where moments pass by at approximately .576 of a mile 1/60th of a second,the same rate earth orbits the sun.hard to believe? simple facts of our reality we were never taught;:torture!.western judeo christian theology slave morality right wing conservitive neo-CON phantasies dream was better than anyone elses,right?.yes thats right theyre right&right;.nowadays pretty much everything that we see and hear in the media IS the right and left,the grey between it;OF the right.
By mir, June 15, 2007 at 1:53 am # For crying out loud! Get a grip…
By Thomas Carlisle, June 11, 2007 at 5:34 pm # Torture is evil. Anyone involved in torture is evil including the president and vice president of the United States and any of its’ cabinet members, Joint chiefs of staff, generals, officers, enlistees, contract workers, and finally citizens of these United States who BLINDLY say things like; “my country right or wrong”, or “support our troops"etc.
By DR, June 9, 2007 at 12:00 pm # To Humble Servant: The fallacy in your argument is that you equate the destruction of an embryo with the killing of a human being. It’s pretty safe to say that most of us pro-choice people would disagree. So we don’t think doctors kill babies when they perform abortions. We tend to see the process of conception and birth as a continuum, starting with undifferentiated cells, which no more resemble a human life as an amoeba does, and ending at some point with a human child. At which point do you draw the line? I’m happy enough stating that I simply don’t know, nor do I believe that it is necessarily possible to do so. You, on the other hand, have decided by fiat that “Life begins at conception”, with no evidence whatsoever, since that would require you first to define the word “Life” in precise, verifiable terms. On the other hand, you anti-abortionists (for you are CERTAINLY NOT pro-life, just pro-"unborn-life"[sic]) usually think nothing of the indiscriminate killing in war; I heard very few of you (although there were a very few) screaming bloody murder as your president decided to prematurely end the lives of countless Iraqis in the name of… In the name of what, again? Conservative hypocrisy…
By Hypocrisy Now!, June 8, 2007 at 9:27 am # If Amy Goodman is so exercised about torture, why isn’t she critizing the CIA? Because they fund her.
By mojo, June 7, 2007 at 10:30 pm # “Arrogant-servegrunt” Finally, . . . So following that logic, only those that have been tortured can weigh on the morality of torture. “ What a total moron you are. I hope you never bred. We have enough children on the short buses.” Well, MAN, YOU’ve just proven for sure, you ARE a first class-ass neo-conservative HYPOCRITE. You ‘hope I haven’t bred’! . . . because I’m a moron. Well, well, well. You and your conservative hypocritic buddies better create adequate SOCIAL SERVICES for all the disabled people like me. What hypocracy to quote the Hypocratic oath and to feign ‘compassionate conservatism’.
By JMPhD, June 7, 2007 at 4:25 pm # From the APA office of Public Affairs (edited for length): First and foremost, APA has a clear and unwavering position against torture and other forms of degrading, inhuman or cruel treatments. This prohibition stands under all circumstances including the threat of war or terrorism – no exceptions. ...as recently as August 2006, the APA has reiterated its unequivocal position that torture is always and under all circumstances unethical. We have all been chagrined to read about instances of abusive interrogation techniques such as waterboarding and sexual humiliation. If a psychologist was involved in such actions, it would constitute a violation of the APA Ethics Code. The Association stands ready to adjudicate such instances. The editorial you mention, “Hypocritical Oath: Psychologists and Torture” contains numerous factual errors and omissions about APA’s work on ethics and interrogations. Over the past 20 years, APA has made no less than five statements regarding its absolute, unequivocal and emphatic prohibition against torture. The 2006 Resolution states that psychologists must work in accordance with international human rights instruments relevant to their roles. The editorial makes no reference whatsoever to these statements, or even as much as acknowledges them. The editorial states that the members of the PENS Task Force were “secret.” Again, this statement is simply false. The names and biographical statements of the task members were provided to the Council of Representatives (approximately 165 individuals) shortly after the Task Force was named, several weeks before the Task Force met in June of 2005. At no point were any restrictions placed on the further dissemination of this information, which was also posted on an APA division website well before the Task Force met. To summarize, we believe there exists strong support for a common goal: ethical interrogations that leave no room for abusive or harmful techniques. Where there has been much debate is about the best strategy to achieve this goal. APA has chosen a strategy of engagement coupled with our on-going and forceful stance against all forms any torture and other abusive treatment.
By NETTIE, June 7, 2007 at 11:49 am # I’ve worked in the field for over 37yrs. and all I can say to anyone with a professional degree in the HUMANITIES and are LICENSED, is SHAME, SHAME. You apparently have none and so, act in a shameless manner. You should be stripped of your license and never allowed to practice anything again. May you never find restful sleep. 30 yrs. spent alone, living in rags on a mountain top and dependent on others for a few meagre crumbs, would not wipe this stain from your soul.
By johnny Doughey, June 6, 2007 at 11:22 pm # American medicine is changing along with the rest of our moral fiber.
By David, June 6, 2007 at 10:35 pm # Wow ... it amazes me that people can speak so strongly about things which they know nothing about. And clearly Amy Goodman knows exactly nothing about the APA. 1) Psychiatrists are very different from Psychologists (words can sound the same but mean different things) Psychiatrists are Medical Doctors and do take the Hippocratic Oath. Psychologists have PhDs and conduct scientific research, they do not have patients, cannot proscribe medicine, and are not at all part of the “Mental Health Industry”. 2) Psychological Counselors are not Psychologists. These two professions have NOTHING to do with one another. 3) So what do psychologists do? There are two main fields: Social Psychology which studies how individuals and groups interact and try to understand how people are motivated. Cognitive Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience: These people study how the brain works, how memory works, how information gets encoded in the brain and the causes and possible treatments of diseases/malfunctions of the brain (autism, phantom limb syndrome, Hemi-neglect, etc ...) None of this has anything to do with actively supporting or promoting torture. It’s like asking the NFL to say that none of their members should support the declawing of cats ... get your facts straight before you attack someone, otherwise you seems to be just as biased and ridiculous as FOX news.
By mojo, June 6, 2007 at 6:04 pm # You, humble servant ? Yo, you . . . . If you are so in tune with your Creator then how do you explain that in the infinite Wisdom of this Creation there exists a phenomenon called a “MISCARRIAGE” or sometimes called “spontaneous abortion”. Is it God’s way of telling us “that the Universe must NOT go on ?” All old cultures (including native Americans) also know plants (given to us by a “Higher Being") which promote menses after conception. “Doctors” have nothing to do with these terminations of pregnancies. They are not-so-simply, a fact of NATURE. Furthermore, you of the “moral high ground” how do you explain a distraught mother of four: hanging herself and her four daughters (the youngest of whom, at eight months, survived). It is called desperation . . . and post-partum depression. Since you consider yourself eligible to weigh in on this debate, how many hours have you been in labor ? No, I didn’t think so . . . .
By also interested, June 6, 2007 at 5:58 pm # Hey humble servant [and you’re clearly neither], it’s an act of intellectual terrorism to equate abortion with torture. Better: Hey dude: it takes CARE—lots of it—to raise a human being. It takes money, time, love and effort. I think that when humble servant carries his [and he is clearly a male] first child to term, THEN he has something useful to say on the subject. Otherwise, he should live up to his log-on identity and keep his mouth closed. Humility begins with the understanding of when you have something relevant to continue and when you don’t. Any MAN’s opinion on abortion is purely garbage. xxx
By Molly, June 6, 2007 at 4:44 pm # As a physician, I am just sickened by the thought that some think it is “OK” to use their training and knowledge of the human system to abuse others. No matter what political purpose you think you are serving it is not ok to torture or cause death or near death experiences. It is also not “OK” to purposely ignore the science behind drugs pushed by the pharmaceutical industry and blindly use everything a drug rep blithely pushes on you and your patients without asking lots of hard questions.
By jeanruss, June 6, 2007 at 11:24 am # I don’t think most people know that the phrase “first do no harm” has been removed from a doctor’s oath for a while now. It probably couldn’t survive the use of chemotherapy, as it causes quite alot of harm, permanent harm.
By Hypocrisy Now!, June 6, 2007 at 9:33 am # Hi Amy, ------ Note the chart at the end of this article—it shows how Democracy Now is funded by the CIA: http://www.questionsquestions.net/gatekeepers.html ------ Democracy Now Inc.’s Hearst/King Features Connection by Bob Feldman Democracy Now Productions Inc. claims to be an anti-corporate alternative to U.S. corporate media conglomerates like the Hearst Corporation. Yet Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman recently entered into an apparent business relationship with the King Features subsidiary of the for-profit Hearst Corporation, wherein King Features will distribute the former Pacifica Radio network host’s print tie-in colum. The Hearst Corporation, coincidentally, also publishes a magazine Popular Mechanics, which supports the official government version of what happened on September 11, 2001. Following is an excerpt from the wikipedia site which indicates the relationship between King Features and the Hearst Corporation media conglomerate.--bob “King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. King Features Syndicate is a unit of Hearst Holdings, Inc., which combines the Hearst Corporation’s cable network partnerships, television programming and distribution activities and syndication companies.”
By Christopher Robin, June 6, 2007 at 9:13 am # “The healthy man does not torture others - generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers”
By still confused, June 6, 2007 at 4:58 am # Sorry guys - I always need this explained to me. Is there nothing we can do to try to extract information out of people? Is that important at all? Should we just ask them nicely 3 times and then send them home? We need ideas about how to deal with this crazy world.
By R. U. A. Human, June 5, 2007 at 11:50 pm # Shrinkdom’s history of malevolent paternalism isn’t news. http://www.mindfully.org/Health/2003/Mad-In-AmericaJun 03.htm
By mojo, June 5, 2007 at 4:33 pm # Thank you for the very enlightening commentary, Amy. Is she the same Amy Goodman who is on Democracy NOW ? And is she Ellen’s daughter. Brilliant ! The so-called “humble servant’s” comments regarding the comparison of a Doctor who terminates a pregnancy and one who participates in torture of “would-be terrorists” is abominable ! Doctors who MUST, out of concern for the health and well-being of a mother, (therefore) inextricably, the health and well- being of a potential human life, can’t be compared to Psychologists who SADISTICALLY torment a living, breathing, thinking, human being. Appallingly, most recently considered for release, is a 20 yr old who was taken to Guantanamo as a 14 yr old child. What has become of the USA ?
By James Yell, June 5, 2007 at 2:57 pm # There is an attempt to equate torture with abortion. The fact is the Bible makes a clear distinction between the fetus and a born child. It recognizes that society has a vested interest in the adult woman, more than the unborn. Said another way it recognizes the death of the pregnant woman as murder, but the loss of the fetus as an act which will be fined. In course of pregnancy nature (or God, if you will)will cause a spontaneous abortion without intervention by mankind. Saying this I am not saying that any time in the pregnancy is ok to abort. If the wish is there it should be done within days of the conception. Some anti-abortion rights people think others don’t notice that the road blocks they are constructing are not to reach an agreement with the women involved but an attempt to create a conflict, where with immediate intervention there would be no conflict. In any case it is the women who are most likely to have to deal with the 18years of raising children and the poverty that it can bring to low income household, the lack of support by society and even the father of the resulting pregnancy. I believe that many calling themselves “Right to Life” are also amongst those most likely to oppose social services, which lead a rational person to believe they are only trying to preserve the prenancy to punish the woman, even if the need is from result of rape or health issues of the pregnant woman. But, again I am on the side of the woman to make her own decision, as the physicality of it effects the women and not the men, it should be their decision alone.
By James Yell, June 5, 2007 at 2:31 pm # Abortion is a separate issue from torture. The Bible itself makes a distinction between the born and the unborn. It is no kindness to force a pregnancy for many reasons. The natural course of pregnancy often leads to natural abortion for reasons of the bodies needs. Saying that I am not advocating not setting limits on its use and in fact believe it only on demand in the very early stage of conception, which doesn’t deal with a fetus, after that perhaps a review, but it would have to be done immediately as every day changes the developement level. As the Humble Servant post doesn’t reveal if he wants to force pregnancy without providing social services I can not say if he is being honest in his point about abortion. I think too many of those who carry on about the fetus, only wish to force pregnancy on the woman as a punishment, even when it was result of rape. No I don’t believe Humble Servant has a point at all.
By GW=MCHammered, June 5, 2007 at 1:26 pm # The Behavioral/Mental Health Care Industry is so dysfunctional you’d think PENS would have their hands full just getting our homeland pdocs to diagnose and prescribe correctly much less communicate with each other about a shared patient. What a mess. And I’d bet real USDs that Bush can’t keep it together ‘til the end of his term. The closer accountability looms, the further off the edge he’ll slip. Maybe when he plummets, PENS will use their helpful techniques on the prez - talk about an Ethics and National Security problem! Add Your Comment |
|
UN Envoy Heads to Burma with Urgent Relief Message
Email
Print
Share
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Ma.gnolia
Newsvine
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo
Jump to Comments
Bazaar|Podcast|About Us|Contact Us|User Agreement|Privacy Policy|Comment Policy
Copyright © 2008 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT TOOLS:
Hide comments
Show comments
Comment on this article