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APA Ethics Committee Upholds the

"May Follow Orders" Standard

The accusation that APA Ethics Code supports a “Nuremburg defense” for psychologists involved in torture, stems from the inclusion of the words: “...psychologists may adhere to the requirements of the law, regulations, or other governing legal authority” if there is a conflict between ethical responsibilities and the law.

To read and comment on the pro-change argument of Psychologists for an Ethical APA vs. the decision of the APA Ethics Committee against changing 1.02, visit The Debate Room.

THE KLEINMAN/DAVIS LETTERS

Recently, Colonel Steve Kleinman wrote to Martha Davis, writer/director of Interrogation Psychologists, criticizing the documentary and the way his remarks were used. They agreed to post their correspondence.

To read and comment, go to The Debate Room.

The Reading Room

Oath Betrayed: America's Torture DoctorsSecond Edition by Steven H. Miles MD, Random House, New York, 2009.
The news that the United States tortured prisoners in the war on terror has brought shame to the nation, yet little has been written about the doctors and psychologists at these prisons. In Oath Betrayed, medical ethics expert and physician Steven H. Miles tells how doctors, psychologists, and medics cleared prisoners for interrogation, advised and monitored abuse, falsified documents—including death certificates—and were largely silent as the scandal unfolded.

Mindwars: Brain Research and National Defense
by Jonathan D. Moreno, Dana Press, Washington, DC; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill, 2006.
From Nature:
Welcome to the world of Mind Wars and the military application of neuroscience, which is the subject of this fascinating and sometimes unsettling book. As the author Jonathan Moreno reveals, the US military has a long-standing interest in brain research and, as scientific understanding continues to advance, so does its appeal to the national security establishment.

Interrogations, Forced Feedings, and the Role of Health Professionals: New Perspectives on International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, and Ethics
by Ryan Goodman and Mindy Roseman, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2009.
The involvement of health professionals in human rights and humanitarian law violations has again become a live issue as a consequence of the U.S. prosecution of armed conflicts with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Iraq. Health professionals - including MDs trained in psychiatry and PhDs trained in behavioral psychology - have reportedly advised and assisted in coercive interrogation. MDs have also been involved in forced feedings. The direct involvement of medical professionals in torture and covering up extra-judicial killings is a phenomenon common to many countries. A reexamination of the international norms, as developed in human rights law, humanitarian law, and professional ethics can shed light on these issues.
Click HERE to go to Reading Room Archive

Links to More Information
Detainee Interrogations, Physicians, and Psychologists
Ethicist Kenneth S. Pope maintains an up to date list of over 300 links, books, and articles on the torture controversy and doctor involvement in detainee interrogations.

Psyche, Science and Society
Key articles on the controversy over psychologists’ involvement in detainee interrogations.

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
Copies of hundreds of original documents and articles on U.S. military medicine in war on terror, prisons, including detainee medical reports and sources used in Oath Betrayed by Steven H. Miles.

Psychologists for an Ethical APA
Information on organized protest against interrogation doctors and torture of prisoners, and how health care professionals can help this movement.

WhenHealersHarm.org
A website project from the Center for Constitutional Rights:
“Despite the health professions’ universally recognized duty to do no harm, doctors and psychologists have played a key role in the U.S. government’s policy of torture in its overseas prisons. When Healers Harm presents the evidence for everyone, including those in institutional power, to examine.”

Torturing Democracyfrom RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights:“Meticulous reporting unravels the inside story of how torture was adopted by the U.S. government as official policy in the aftermath of 9/11. With exclusive interviews, explosive documents and rare archival footage, the documentary has been called the definitive broadcast account of a deeply troubling chapter in recent American history.”
Click HERE to go to Reading Room Archive

News and Sources

Praise for the documentary Interrogation Psychologists:

The Making of a Professional Crisis

...an exceptional documentary on the APA, the ethics of torture, and a history of questionable (and what some might call sinister) events that have occurred regarding APA ties to government, military, and national security groups.

Anthony J. Marsella, Past President

Psychologists for Social Responsibility

I am dumbstruck with awe at the incredible work that went into this. This documentary deserves a very wide audience.

Valtin, diarist at DailyKos.com

...an amazing must-see video.

Stephen Soldz, Director of the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Program Development at Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis

Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

DOCTORS and DETAINEES

A documentary and informational website about the controversial role of health care professionals in national security intelligence.

Trailer for Doctors and Detainees

Doctors have contributed to the torture and abuse of detainees through their collaboration with interrogators at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and CIA black sites. Doctors and Detainees, currently in production, will tell the inside story of this scandal and how “interrogation doctors” are at the forefront of disturbing new roles for psychologists, psychiatrists and physicians in national security intelligence.

Doctors assisting interrogations are associated with totalitarian regimes, not military prisons controlled by the United States, yet interrogation doctors are being used by the C.I.A. and Department of Defense. Efforts to ban this practice will require greater public awareness of the corruption that spawned the policy, the damage it does to health care of detainees and soldiers, and how it may spread to domestic law enforcement. This is not a minor initiative of the C.I.A. and Department of Defense, and it will not be resolved by closing Guantanamo.

Doctors and Detainees will also show how interrogation doctors are but one group within the growing number of “national security” medical professionals.

We’re pleased to announce that Doctors and Detainees has been awarded fiscal sponsorship by Arts Engine. We continue to seek funding to complete the project and could use your help. If you’d like to support the film, contributions are now tax-deductible and can be made through Arts Engine. We greatly value your feedback and want to hear from you. Please contact us at info@doctorsanddetainees.com.

Interrogation Psychologists: The Making of a Professional Crisis

...a 46 minute documentary first shown September 12, 2008 in New York City.

In 2005 the American Psychological Association endorsed the participation of military psychologists in detainee interrogations, inciting a firestorm of protest. APA officials held fast, contending that the involvement of psychologists ensured the interrogations were safe, ethical and effective. In our preliminary documentary, Interrogation Psychologists, the official story is refuted by activist psychologists and military interrogators; communications between APA officials and US military and government personnel; and government and media reports on the true role of psychologists in detainee interrogations.

VIEW Interrogation Psychologists HERE

Arts Engine Inc., is the Fiscal Sponsor

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“DOCTORS and DETAINEES”

Your Contribution is tax-deductible

Arts Engine, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of New York.

Contact: info@doctorsanddetainees.com

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DOCTORS and DETAINEES

Coming in 2010

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WhenHealersHarm.org
How were health professionals involved in torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment?
Among other things, health professionals:
• crafted abusive tactics and falsely legitimized their use;• advised interrogators on methods of abuse that would exploit prisoners’ vulnerabilities;• used medical procedures to harm prisoners;• gauged pain and monitored interrogations that risked leaving prisoners in need of treatment;• checked=

Bulletin Board

8/14/2009 - Screening Liberally invited us to discuss our documentary Doctors and Detainees at Netroots Nation, the annual convention for Progressive newsmakers, August 14th. We showed a clip of our work-in-progress and received valuable feedback from the audience.

7/15/2009 - New Video: Frank Summers’ History of Psychology and the Military, Part I now posted in MORE VIDEOS. Part II Coming Soon.

Click here for Bulletin Board Archive

Ethical Interrogation?

Michael Gelles is held out as a hero by the APA in resisting the use of torture. His recommendations for al-Qahtani interrogation belie this.

Plus ça change