Committees Committees Social Issues Forum Social Issues Forum Report | Social Issues Forum Report |
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submitted by Jennifer Kaupp, Ph.D., Spring 2008 The MBPA Social Issues Forum continues to follow the APA/military interrogations controversy. Last February APA amended the 2007 Resolution on Interrogation, tightening up the language a bit more (go to www.apa.org for full text). While the APA leadership appears to be listening to members’ concerns, and have come a long way since the first Resolution, they still refuse to unambiguously denounce psychologists’ role. You may recall the AMA and American Psychiatric Society, among other professional organizations, removed themselves from any and all involvement when the issue of torture first surfaced. CPA has recently become more concerned, though they appear to closely follow APA’s lead. Nevertheless, they are supporting a bill before the California legislature that would prohibit California licensed medical personnel, including psychologists, from engaging in military interrogations. If you are interested in learning more and would like to voice your concerns or sign the petition, go to the Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles e-activism campaign site here.
The MBPA position remains unchanged – we are unequivocally opposed to psychologists’ involvement in military interrogations and on rendition teams. We long ago distanced ourselves from the Bush administration torture doctrine. Unfortunately, our work is not done. On March 8, 2008, in obstinate and angry defiance, the president vetoed a Congressional bill that would prohibit the use of torture techniques in military interrogations. Ignoring international law, the advice of military commanders and FBI personnel, the will of the people, and evidence that torture doesn’t work, George W. Bush satisfied his unbridled aggression and gave the CIA carte blanche to carry out “enhanced” interrogations, including waterboarding, on enemy combatants and terror suspects. And in his propaganda address to the nation he lied about terrorist plots successfully aborted because of enhanced interrogation techniques (torture) and, exploiting base fears, insisted that such methods are crucial to Americans’ continued safety. Most of us know that his eight-year reign of terror has made us less safe. Americans are disliked around the world, soldiers are more likely to be tortured upon capture, and those who have participated in harsh interrogations, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and rendition sites, are suffering serious psychosocial, professional, and ethical consequences (e.g., Sharrock, Mother Jones, March/April 2008). |