Letters to the Editor
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APA Ethics, The PENS Task Force Report, and SERE techniques: a clarification
June 23, 2007
Mark Benjamin's article demonstrates what many of us within the American Psychological Association have suspected: that the protocols for abusive interrogations were developed and promulgated by psychologists in both the CIA and the DoD, and that the APA ethical guidelines permitting such activity were created, to a large extent, by psychologists with direct and indirect involvement in those interrogations.
Benjamin interviewed me as part of his research, and while the quote attributed to is accurate, it was shortened in a way that asserts a position that is different from the one I intended to convey. Benjamin quotes me as stating that the APA PENS Task Force Report "gave the APA imprimatur to any of these techniques." What I actually said was that the Task Force "gave the APA imprimatur to any of these techniques so long as they were consistent with DoD or intelligence regulations or standard operating procedures."
The PENS Task Force came into existence to respond to reports of psychologists' involvement in abusive detainee interrogations. Its mandate, according to the APA Board of Directors, was to determine "What are criteria to differentiate ethically appropriate from ethically inappropriate roles that psychologists may take [in interrogations]?" Instead of pursuing this mandate, the Task Force members, a majority of whom were directly or indirectly involved in the very detainee interrogations they were mandated to examine, concluded that military regulations and law trump ethics: “Psychologists involved in national security-related activities follow all applicable rules and regulations that govern their roles.” And further, “The Task Force notes that psychologists sometimes encounter conflicts between ethics and law. When such conflicts arise...psychologists may adhere to the requirements of the law.”
In this way, the PENS ethical guidelines gave the APA imprimatur to any of these SERE-based techniques, so long as they were consistent with applicable DoD or intelligence service regulations. As the recently declassified DoD Inspector General report has revealed, these abusive SERE techniques were part of Standard Operating Procedures, developed and overseen by psychologists, and written into policy by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, first in December 2002, and then, after psychologists complained that the standards were not specific enough, in the rewritten instruction of April 2003.
Steven Reisner, Ph.D.
Coalition for an Ethical APA
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9/11 "truth" acording to bush!
We heard on the BBC documentary about the 9/11 conspiricy theory an air traffic controller from the home defence ASKING FOR PERMISION to scramble fighter planes to intercept the highjacked planes: GEE I HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO DO THAT!!!,he was told home defence was stepped down FOR ONE DAY ONLY IN US HISTORY 9/11
why was the owner of building 7 at the WTC take out insurance against terrorist" attack for 7.2 billion for the first time ever two weeks b4 9/11? why was building 7 "demolished" in the leaseholders words " I ASKED THE NYFD TO PULL IT DOWN? HOW DID THEY PULL IT DOWN? TIED IT BEHIND A FIRE ENGINE?
how long does it take to prepaire a building that size for controlled demolition? did the NYFD did that when they where fully stretched in few hours?
why did US sattelites picked hot spots under the rubble indicating over 3000 degrees when aviation fuel burns at 1900 and the fire from the fuel didn't reach that anyway as it was oxygen starved
how was steel pelverised with the heat from aviation fuel fire when it needs at least 2600 degrees to do that? aviation fuel fire reaches maximum of 1900 degrees
why did the buildings fell freefall? why didn't the floor below even momentarily stopped the floor above? why was rubble thrown side ways even little upwards against the enormous weight n the force of gravity
why didn't the towels fell to their side as they where hit on the side and came down dead strait? bush was quoted as saying only a catastrophy like pearl harbour can give us the excuse to invade agfanistan n iraq 2 weeks prior to 9/11
why was billions or $ made on the NY stock exchange that american airline's shares would collapse
why where the "dancing israeli mossad agents filming the WTC during the attacks n seen by many white anglosaxon americans (not black/hispanic or immigrants) cheering as the first plane hit is target? they phoned the FBI the FBI arrested them found on them passports from many (unfriendly arab governments on bush's black list)and currency for obvious reasons to forget them in the van they hired to give bush an excuse to attack them also
why did the US released them after israel "promised" not to spy on america again?
WHO REALLY RUNS AMERICA? i bet if it was real americans this world would a been a much better place, wake up guys don't let them fool you all the time, save your country n save the world from WW3,
Russia will have no choice but to react with all force available at is disposal to make sure is not surrounded by us nuclear weapons, they know once it is they are finished so is theworld to protect it from roque regimes????
how will bush react if Russia went ahead n installed nuclear missiles in cuba to protect the US from a roque country in the midle east that HAS the capability to hit america, that has hit america in the past with TOTAL IMMUNITY, remember the US survey ship? just outside egyptian teritorial waters? currying the US flag attacked by american made israeli fighter jets n they did 2 runs against the survey ship? many us sailors n marines died,
America will be overjoyed wouldn't they? if Russian misiles are installed in cuba n some other surrounding countries i cannot understand you people why the hell do you allow all this to happen? is your country not aomeone's else is NOT good for you is NOT good for us
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Short comment
How do we know that these people Mitchell and Jessen are, or ever were, psychologists? The state of Washington does not list them as licensed in any profession. Government often does not need to comply with standards that everyone else does. Their web site has no psychological information on it whatsoever. They might just be calling themselves psychologists because they can get away with it.