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Talk Nation Radio for May 22, 2008

Psychologists David Soan-Rossiter and Stephen Soldz on Torture and the APA, American Psychological Association

Torture and the American Psyche: Blurring the Boundaries Between Healers and Interrogators

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At a May 3rd conference held at First Parish Unitarian Church in Brookline Massachusetts, psychologists challenging the board of their membership organization, the APA, American Psychological Association, went over the role of psychologists in the interrogation of US Military prisoners in prisons in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay Cuba and elsewhere. They called their event Torture and the American Psyche: Blurring the Boundaries Between Healers and Interrogators. Over the next two programs we will be hearing portions of these talks presented by Psychologists David Soan-Rossiter and Stephen Soldz as well as attorney Leonard Rubenstein, President of Physicians for Human Rights, a Nobel Prize winning organization.

Sponsors of the event: Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, Institute for the Study of Violence, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Brookline PeaceWorks, Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, First Parish of Brookline, Massachusetts Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology, Massachusetts Institute for, Psychoanalysis, Physicians for Human Rights, Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, Psychologists for Social Responsibility–End Torture Action Committee

In follow up we will also hear from Eric Fair who surprised the audience of about 150 health professionals and others by admitting that he abused prisoners at a US Military detention center in Fallujah. Fair is currently a divinity student at Princeton but while in Iraq he worked as a civilian contract interrogator at US Military prisons including Abu Ghraib. He has since renounced the actions he was involved in.

Psychologists in a small group that includes Sloan-Rossiter and Soldz have gradually gained the support of many of their fellow therapists and APA members as well as the general public after initially taking on the APA board themselves.

They were joined in these efforts by Dr. Stephen Reisner of NYU Medical School who was recently successful at gaining the support of members of the APA, and after this group’s relentless campaign of letter writing, media work, and education, Reisner recently won over 30% of the nominations for the presidency of the American Psychological Association (APA). Their goal is to prevent psychologists and other types of therapists from aiding members of the US Military and Intelligence community or private contractors working with them from participating in abusive interrogations that amount to physical and psychological torture.

The moderator of the event, David Sloan-Rossiter, co-chair of the Curriculum Committee at Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis. During his introduction he said Americans are disassociated from their feelings on the use of torture:

‘There is a national disassociation of the powerful feelings associated with our suspension of international law and the Geneva Conventions. By disassociation I mean that we don’t feel what it is we are doing. Many people I have spoken to have declared that they find torture abhorrent but they don’t care what we do to terrorists. I understand. I too would probably do anything to protect my loved ones in the midst of a savage attack on them. It is terrifying to really feel what any of us are capable of doing when we are sufficiently provoked and our existence is threatened. But the questions must be asked; who are we and is this who we want to be? Do we in fact have the moral right to unilaterally declare that since we are so imperiled we no longer must abide by laws created to protect everyone during war? Are we entitled to abuse and torture presumed enemies due to these or any circumstances?

It is in this vein that many psychologists were drawn to this issue because as we shall hear today the American Psychological Association has been complicit in the denial of the undue grievous harm we are doing to these prisoners. We are systematically breaking down the psychological integrity of these “enemy combatants” for our survival. It is with great shame and outrage that I have found myself at odds with my professional organization of over 25 years. I am deeply disturbed by the drift into immoral policies and brutality that has occurred in our national policies and the use of psychologists to authorize it’s ethics and efficacy. It takes only a moment to remember the trauma of 9/11. The days and weeks that followed that horrible tragedy and how frightened and imperiled all of us felt. Our leaders insisted that we needed to abridge many individual freedoms for ourselves and others in order to combat these enemies. These Muslim fundamentalists seemed to operate under inexplicable even inhuman ways that imperiled our very existence. When Abu Ghraib came to light we again were horrified but our leaders reassured us that this was an aberration and was not something that would be permitted. We now know better as our panelists today will outline in some detail.’

Next to speak was psychologist Stephen Soldz, a psychoanalyst, psychologist and public heath researcher, at the Boston School of Psychoanalysis. “Officially,” Soldz explained, the APA, American Psychological Association, has taken a position against torture.” However, psychologists are participating in interrogations involving torture, and or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment banned by US and international law.

To learn more about the efforts of Soldz and others in this small but determined group of psychologists taking on thee APA, American Psychological Association, on torture, log on to psychoanalystsopposewar.org

The blog Soldz has created is Psyche, Science and Society.

Psychologist and psychoanalyst Stephen Soldz is a public heath researcher at the Boston School of Psychoanalysis. In upcoming broadcasts we will hear more of this May 3rd conference in Brookline MA as attorney Leonard Rubenstein, President of Physicians for Human Rights, a Nobel Prize winning organization, discusses torture and the law, (pt 2) and Eric Fine, a former contract interrogator who worked at US run prisons in Iraq talks about abuse, and his regrets (pt 3).

Dori Smith, produces the show at WHUS at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. WHUS.org to listen live Wed. at 5 PM. Talk Nation Radio for transcripts, discussions, and audio.

Related News:

Dr. Stephen Reisner wins 30% of vote.

The Green Light, Phillipe Sands, June 2008 Vanity Fair Magazine, VanityFair.com

‘As the first anniversary of 9/11 approached, and a prized Guantánamo detainee wouldn’t talk, the Bush administration’s highest-ranking lawyers argued for extreme interrogation techniques, circumventing international law, the Geneva Conventions, and the army’s own Field Manual. The attorneys would even fly to Guantánamo to ratchet up the pressure—then blame abuses on the military. Philippe Sands follows the torture trail, and holds out the possibility of war crimes charges.’

Rorschach and Awe, by Katherine Eban, July 17, 2007 Vanity Fair Magazine VanityFair.com

‘America’s coercive interrogation methods were reverse-engineered by two C.I.A. psychologists who had spent their careers training U.S. soldiers to endure Communist-style torture techniques. The spread of these tactics was fueled by a myth about a critical “black site” operation.’

Democracy Now, Katherine Eban, DemocracyNow.org

Psychological warfare, by Mark Benjamin, July 26, 2006, Washington,
Salon Magazine, Salon.com

‘Angered that their professional organization has adopted a policy condoning psychologists’ participation in “war on terror” interrogations, many psychologists are vowing to stage a battle royal at the APA’s annual meeting.

The 150,000-member American Psychological Association is facing an internal revolt over its year-old policy that condones the participation of psychologists in the interrogations of prisoners during the Bush administration’s “war on terror.”‘

February 12th, 2007 Psychologist Stephen Reisner, Psyche Science and Society blog outlines, ‘New strategy to fight APA interrogations policy.’ They announce that Reisner will campaign for APA President! –Eventually Reisner wins majority of votes. Change is coming to the APA thanks to the tireless efforts of this small group of organizers.

Talk Nation Radio interview with Stephen Soldz on Psychologists Participating in US Military Interrogations Posted on Friday 23 March 2007

Stephen Soldz: ‘Officially the APA, American Psychological Association, there are a number of APA’s, has taken a position against torture. The issue has to do with what’s actually going on in Guantanamo, the other U.S. detention facilities, mental health professionals, at this point mainly psychologists, are participating in interrogations and what are called ‘behavioral science consultation teams,’ or ‘biscuits’ BCTS as they get referred to. And there have been repeated accounts in the Press, in the New Yorker and Salon and MSNBC and the New York Times that these psychologists are participating in abuse in either torture or certainly cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment banned by U.S. and international law. So there have been repeated accounts of this occurring. The APA has done nothing to look into these accounts and has strongly supported over and over again the participation of psychologists in interrogations. Though, to be fair to them they claim that the psychologists are not supposed to participate in torture or abuse. They just do nothing to find out whether in fact they are doing so.

So this has been an issue for years. A couple of years ago, in 2005, the Association appointed a Presidential Task Force on National Security, or PENS Task Force, (PDF File) to form policy on this. Now, somewhat oddly they kept the membership secret at least for quite a while. ‘

Dissident Members Challenge American Psychological Association on Role in CIA Interrogation, Torture

Democracy Now! broadcasts from San Francisco where the American Psychological Association is set to hold a historic vote at its annual convention. August 17, 2007

‘Following a string of exposes revealing that psychologists have played a key role in designing the CIA’s torture tactics, outraged APA members have introduced a moratorium calling for an outright ban on psychologist involvement in detainee interrogations. We speak with two psychologists at the forefront of the campaign for an interrogation ban, Dr. Stephen Soldz of the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis and Dr. Steven Reisner of New York University.’

“The Task Force Report Should Be Annulled”–Member of 2005 APA Task Force on Psychologist Participation in Military Interrogations Speaks Out Dr. Jean Maria Arrigo and Dr. Nina Thomas

‘In 2005, the American Psychological Association convened a Presidential Task Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security that concluded psychologists’ participation in military interrogations was “consistent with the APA Code of Ethics.” It was later revealed that six of nine voting members were from the military and intelligence agencies with direct connections to interrogations at Guantanamo and elsewhere. In a Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive, we speak with two members of the task force, Dr. Jean Maria Arrigo and Dr. Nina Thomas. Arrigo says the task force report “should be annulled,” because the process was “flawed.” As an example, Arrigo says she was “told very sharply” by one of the military psychologists not to take notes during the proceedings. She later archived the entire listserve of the task force and sent it to Senate Armed Services Committee. Dr. Arrigo also calls for a “moratorium” on psychologists involvement in military interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. We also speak with Dr. Eric Anders, a former Air Force officer who underwent harsh training in “SERE” (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) techniques, as well as Leonard Rubenstein, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights.’

CTNewsJunkie Exclusive by Dori Smith and David Morse, November 3, 2006 A Report on the CIA Interrogator turned Congressman and his support for the Military Commissions Act of 2006

Congressman Rob Simmons was a senior official with the CIA in charge at an interrogation center in Vietnam under Operation Phoenix, one of the darkest programs in the CIA’s history. He has admitted that he did some of the interrogations himself.

‘For all the splash of national spotlight on the Connecticut Congressional campaign, surprisingly little has been written about Congressman Rob Simmons’ experience as a CIA interrogator. Simmons, an incumbent Republican, is fighting for his political life in one of those hotly contested seats that could tip the House majority from Republican to Democrat on November 7. He denigrates his Democratic challenger Joe Courtney for having “no war experience.” Yet the shadowy circumstances of Simmons’ own war experience of running an interrogation center during the Vietnam war has gone unexamined by the mainstream press, even as a feckless Congress rolls back the Geneva Conventions on treatment of prisoners of war.During four campaigns Simmons, a lanky “aw shucks” kind of guy, has touted his experience as a “soldier and spy” to gain political traction in Connecticut’s sprawling blue-collar Second District, which includes Electric Boat, the Groton Submarine Base, and assorted military subcontractors that have sustained the region’s economy for two and three generations. He has struggled for union support while his opponent has become the choice of most union locals in the Second District. Courtney has overtaken Simmons by as little as one percentage point in recent polls and the race is sure to be a nail bitter right down to the finish.’

The Oil Factor in the Iraq Study Group Dahr Jamail is interviewed by Dori Smith on Talk Nation Radio, December 13, 2006

‘Journalist Dahr Jamail speaks about the reality of the Iraq Study Group Report and what is going on in Iraq today: US support for death squad militias, US air attacks, and the steady intensification of the violence. If US forces withdrew there may be a potential for the Iraqis to contain the worst perpetrators of violence, but without a major policy change the potential for worsening chaos and wider war persists.’

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