Ethics Director Among Top Psychologists Who Aided CIA Torture and Cover-Up
By Claire Bernish | ANTIMEDIA | July 13, 2015
An alarming recent report revealed not only that prominent psychologists colluded with the Department of Defense and CIA to create a framework of justification for appalling and inexcusable torture, but the person heading that partnership was none other than Stephen Behnke, the Ethics Director of the American Psychological Association.
“The APA’s collusion with the national security apparatus is one of the greatest scandals in U.S. medical history,” declared a statement by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) following the report’s release. That statement called for a full investigation by the Department of Justice over the APA’s actions—and inactions—that gave the Bush administration the greenlight for cruel and inhumane torture of the highest order.
“The corruption of a health professional organization at this level is an extraordinary betrayal of both ethics and the law and demands an investigation and appropriate prosecutions,” implored PHR’s executive director, Donna McKay. “Rather than uphold the principle of ‘do no harm,’ APA leadership subverted its own ethics policies and sabotaged all efforts at enforcement.”
Acting in concert with DoD officials, the APA became the de facto “PR strategy” [read: propaganda campaign] that sanitized gross human rights abuses in order to “curry favor” with the DoD. Sleep deprivation, waterboarding, stress positions, and other forms of torture were both spuriously justified and allowed to continue through the creative editing and generalization of the very ethics standards that should have prevented any torture from taking place. According to the report:
“[K]ey APA officials were operating in close, confidential coordination with key Defense Department officials to set up a task force and produce an outcome that would please DoD, and to produce ethical guidelines that were the same as, or not more restrictive than, the DoD guidelines for interrogation activities.”
The 542-page report, first obtained by the New York Times, resulted from seven months of investigation by a team headed by David Hoffman of the law firm Sidley Austin, at the request of the APA’s board.
Physicians for Human Rights summarized the “overwhelming evidence of criminal activity by APA staff and officials”—whose involvement is evidenced in the report by the following four key conclusions:
- “Colluding with the U.S. Department of Defense, the CIA, and other elements of the Bush administration to enable psychologists to design, implement, and defend the post-9/11 torture program”
- “Allowing military and intelligence personnel to write APA ethics policies regulating their own conduct to ensure they were ‘covered’ in their roles for the torture program”
- “Engaging in a coordinated campaign to cover up the collusion and blocking attempts to oppose these policies within the APA” and
- “Obstructing and manipulating ethics investigations into psychologists involved in the torture program”
Hoffman’s report posits several motives—all with “organizational conflict[s] of interest”—that the APA had for its rather astonishing partnership:
“[The] DoD is one of the largest employers of psychologists and provides many millions of dollars in grants or contracts for psychologists around the country. The history of the DoD providing critical assistance to the advancement and growth of psychology as a profession is well documented . . .”
Further, the group of DoD and APA officials who crafted the laughable ethics policy actively dodged international law of the Geneva Convention, where its strictures were tighter than U.S. law. “[I] cannot take a stand opposed to the U.S. government,” said one. Even the APA’s president-elect called it “a ‘distraction’ to draw international law into APA’s ethics guidance.” This falls in line with President Bush’s outright rejection of the conventions following 9/11 as a deplorably whimsical way to land al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees in a “legal black hole,” as human rights groups and U.S. allies described it.
In a press release, former APA president Dr. Nadine Kaslow stated, “The actions, policies, and lack of independence from government influence described in the Hoffman report represented a failure to live up to our core values. We profoundly regret, and apologize for, the behavior and consequences that ensued.” Listing adopted and proposed strategies to prevent the possibility of a recurrence of such abhorrent ethics violations, Kaslow also admitted, “This bleak chapter in our history occurred over a period of years and will not be resolved in a matter of months.”
Resolved? For whom, exactly? PHR has called for the APA to change its policies for a full decade now—and has pleaded for a federal investigation for at least as long.
Despite the execrable abuses in the CIA torture report—the entirety of which hasn’t even been fully disclosed—one simple, and utterly indefensible, fact overshadows every new revelation.
Something that appears to be a minutiae from the torture report is, in actuality, a glaringly tragic prediction. One interrogator told a detainee that he would never go to court because, he explained, “we can never let the world know what I have done to you.”
But we do know. The entire planet knows.
And all those who suffered or died, enduring unspeakably heinous crimes at the behest of the U.S. government—know.
Yet no one—not a single person—has ever even been charged for their crimes.
Share this:
Related
July 13, 2015 - Posted by aletho | Deception, Subjugation - Torture, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | American Psychological Association, APA, Human rights, Stephen Behnke, United States
2 Comments »
Leave a comment Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Featured Video
Politics About the War in Ukraine – Part 16 of The Anglo-American War on Russia
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Magnesium Is a Cornerstone Mineral for Health
This article was previously published April 1, 2019, and has been updated with new information.
By Dr. Joseph Mercola
Magnesium is the fourth most abundant element in your body,1 and one of the seven essential minerals we can’t live without.2 It’s necessary for the healthy functioning of most cells, but especially your heart, kidneys and muscles. Low levels of magnesium impede cellular metabolic function and deteriorate mitochondrial function.
As it is also required for the activation of vitamin D, deficiency may hamper your ability to convert vitamin D from sun exposure and/or oral supplementation. Unfortunately, deficiency is common and research shows even subclinical deficiencies may jeopardize your health. … continue
Blog Roll
-
Join 2,757 other subscribers
Visits Since December 2009
- 6,760,194 hits
Looking for something?
Archives
Calendar
Categories
Aletho News Civil Liberties Corruption Deception Economics Environmentalism Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism Fake News False Flag Terrorism Full Spectrum Dominance Illegal Occupation Mainstream Media, Warmongering Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity Militarism Progressive Hypocrite Russophobia Science and Pseudo-Science Solidarity and Activism Subjugation - Torture Supremacism, Social Darwinism Timeless or most popular Video War Crimes Wars for IsraelTags
9/11 Afghanistan Africa al-Qaeda Australia BBC Benjamin Netanyahu Brazil Canada CDC Central Intelligence Agency China CIA CNN Colombia Covid-19 COVID-19 Vaccine Da’esh Donald Trump Egypt European Union Facebook FBI FDA France Gaza Germany Google Hamas Hebron Hezbollah Hillary Clinton Human rights India Iran Iraq ISIS Israel Israeli settlement Japan Jerusalem Joe Biden Korea Latin America Lebanon Libya Middle East National Security Agency NATO New York Times North Korea NSA Obama Pakistan Palestine Qatar Russia Sanctions against Iran Saudi Arabia Syria The Guardian Turkey Twitter UAE UK Ukraine United Nations United States USA Venezuela Washington Post West Bank WHO Yemen ZionismRecent Comments
papasha408 on Biden claims Israel ‘has… 5 dancing shlomos on Germany approves plan for… roberthstiver on USS Liberty Massacre: A Pivota… eddieb on USS Liberty Massacre: A Pivota… roberthstiver on Beyond Rafah: What the Zionist… Victor G. on Persecution against Scott Ritt… Unome on Palestinian fired over Gaza ce… Unome on Putin outlines Russian respons… 5 dancing shlomos on Deborah Birx Is Back: Humans a… peterjohnarnold on Scott Ritter Ponders on ‘Real… peterjohnarnold on Palestinian fired over Gaza ce… peterjohnarnold on Israel using massive campaign…
Aletho News
- PCR Testing for Bird Flu ‘Will Only Serve to Raise False Case Count’ Critics Say
- EU Plans Major Expansion of Mass Surveillance
- Maybe We Need a New Government Surveillance Program…
- Israel’s use of rape against Palestinian detainees from Gaza exposed
- Hezbollah air defenses force Israeli jets to turn tail
- Houthis to Try New Hypersonic Missile in Continued Targeting of US Carrier Group
- Biden claims Israel ‘has not invaded Rafah’ as jets, tanks raze city
- The Shameful Journey from “Prelude to Genocide” to “Slow-motion Genocide” to “Rampant Genocide”
- Pipeline v genocide: How Turkiye can legally block oil exports to Israel
- American mainstream expert calls for global war in three continents
If Americans Knew
- Biden policies: Rudderless, incompetent and complicit
- Israeli “precision strike” with US-made weaponry kills 40 Gazans, US assumes good intentions – Day 244
- Cyabra: the Intelligence Cutout Waging Israel’s Online Propaganda War
- How Israeli prison doctors assist in the torture of Palestinian detainees
- “The situation is apocalyptic,” as Israel bombs another UN school – Day 243
- American Media Keep Citing Zaka — though its October 7 atrocity stories are discredited in Israel
- To continue the Gaza genocide, Israel and the US must destroy the laws of war
- As Israel commits yet another war crime in Gaza, Biden still won’t acknowledge it’s happening –Day 242
- Two more US officials resign over Biden administration’s position on Gaza war
- Why Gaza’s Death Toll Is Probably Higher Than Reported
Richie Allen
- Today’s Show Is Cancelled – Back Tomorrow Thursday May 30th
- Call Richie Today Monday March 11th From 4.30pm
- Connect To The Richie Allen Show WhatsApp Today
- NHS Asks Patients To Choose From 12 Genders, 10 sexual Preferences & 159 Religions
- The Richie Allen Show Moves To A New Time Slot From Monday Nov 20th
- Starmer Will Sack Shadow Ministers Who Vote For Gaza Ceasefire
- AI Tool Can Predict Heart Attacks Years In Advance
- Nepal Bans TikTok To Preserve Social Harmony
- Bloke Appointed Boss Of Womb Health Charity
- WHO – “Gaza’s Biggest Hospital Becoming A Cemetery”
No Tricks Zone
- New Study: Western Greenland Was ‘1.5-2°C Warmer Than Today’ During Medieval Warm Period
- Author Of New Paper: No AMOC Collapse…”Should Dissuade People From Climate Doomism”
- The Claim ‘Exxon Knew’ Their Products Induced ‘Catastrophic Climate Impacts’ In The 1970s Is Bunk
- Half Of German E-Car Buyers Regret Their Purchase Or Lease!
- Oops…Cleaner Fuels Mean Less Clouds, More Warming!
- Megafossil Carbon Dating Indicates Sweden Was 2-3°C Warmer Than Today During The Last Glacial
- Met Office Warns: Extremely Wet Summer…After Warning Droughts Would Become More Frequent
- New Study: China’s Loess Plateau 7-8°C Warmer Than Today For Much Of The Last 4000 Years
- German Green Movement “A Run Amok At The Expense Of People And Nature”
- New Study: Warming Temperatures In China The ‘Main Factor’ Explaining Rising Crop Yields
More Links
Contact:
atheonews (at) gmail.com
Disclaimer
This site is provided as a research and reference tool. Although we make every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and data provided at this site are useful, accurate, and current, we cannot guarantee that the information and data provided here will be error-free. By using this site, you assume all responsibility for and risk arising from your use of and reliance upon the contents of this site.
This site and the information available through it do not, and are not intended to constitute legal advice. Should you require legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
Nothing within this site or linked to by this site constitutes investment advice or medical advice.
Materials accessible from or added to this site by third parties, such as comments posted, are strictly the responsibility of the third party who added such materials or made them accessible and we neither endorse nor undertake to control, monitor, edit or assume responsibility for any such third-party material.
The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
The word “alleged” is deemed to occur before the word “fraud.” Since the rule of law still applies. To peasants, at least.
Fair Use
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more info go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
DMCA Contact
This is information for anyone that wishes to challenge our “fair use” of copyrighted material.
If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe that content residing on or accessible through our website infringes a copyright and falls outside the boundaries of “Fair Use”, please send a notice of infringement by contacting atheonews@gmail.com.
We will respond and take necessary action immediately.
If notice is given of an alleged copyright violation we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material(s) in question.
All 3rd party material posted on this website is copyright the respective owners / authors. Aletho News makes no claim of copyright on such material.
Reblogged this on Scoop Feed.
LikeLike
Comment by James Tracy | July 14, 2015 |
Psychology is not a science. There are VERY FEW psychologists who have an appreciable understanding of human behavior. So it’s easy for the DOD to use these people whose understanding is so very limited.
LikeLike
Comment by John Garvey | July 14, 2015 |