US psychology body declines to rebuke member in Guantánamo torture case

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: Guardian UK

America’s professional association of psychologists has quietly declined to rebuke one of its members, a retired US army reserve officer, for his role in one of the most brutal interrogations known to have to taken place at Guantánamo Bay, the Guardian has learned.

The decision not to pursue any disciplinary measure against John Leso, a former army reserve major, is the latest case in which someone involved in the post-9/11 torture of detainees has faced no legal or even professional consequences.

In a 31 December letter obtained by the Guardian, the American Psychological Association said it had “determined that we cannot proceed with formal charges in this matter. Consequently the complaint against Dr Leso has been closed.”

But the APA did not deny Leso took part in the brutal interrogation of the suspected 20th 9/11 hijacker, Mohammed al-Qahtani, whose treatment the Pentagon official overseeing his military commission ultimately called “torture”.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/22/guantanamo-torture-mohammed-al-qahtani-suspected-9-11-hijacker

[DeSwiss]

1. I'm sure they consider......

....biting the hand that feeds them abnormal, psychologically.

- Besides, they can be trained to say anything, or not.....

[delrem]

2. If that doesn't reflect on the ethics of "professional psychologists" everywhere, then what does?

Meaning that if anyone identifies themselves as a "professional psychologist" and doesn't come out explicitly to denounce the American Professional Association of Psychologists, they must surely be complicit. If they can't even stand up for even such a basic level of ethics as that, then they are complicit.

Growing up in Canada I know all about the "professional psychiatrist" Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron, the psychopath who experimented on patients who were denied liberty and entrusted to his perverted care. Cameron worked for the CIA, producing gruesome results. "Professional psychiatrists" have also been involved in experiments with lobotomy, shock treatments, and maybe even worse, experiments with drugs at the behest of pharmaceutical companies. I have no respect for either "professional psychologists" or "professional psychiatrists" who work for the CIA, drug companies, the state, or whatever source of funding, while dismissing the elementary human rights of their patients. And there are way too many of these. When a "professional association" representing the "professionals" of whole country enables it, then that "professional association" is corrupt.

The question here is as basic as can be: do you work for your patient, or do you work for a body that has dehumanized your patient.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. More fundamentally is it a patient or a specimen...nt

[delrem]

4. Perfect wording. nt

[Archae]

5. I have always had doubts about psychologists.

Not psychiatrists, psychologists.

Psychologists have always been subject to fads.

"Blame the 'frozen' Mom for autistic kids!"

"Millions of little kids were molested by Satanists!"

[eggplant]

8. That's quite a broad brush you have there.

[Archae]

9. But are the non-faddist psychologists the exception, or the rule?

Hard to say.

[eggplant]

12. I expect that your sample size is pretty small.

[azurnoir]

6. To c all this 'disappointing' is an understatement

the board has essentially condoned it's members participating in torture, this IMO casts doubt on an entire field because if it's okay once how many other times, to whom, and under what circumstances will it be okay again?

[Kelvin Mace]

7. Congratulation boys!

You are now accomplices to torture.

Your mothers will be so proud.

[Jesus Malverde]

11. Very good point.

As this goes on and there is no investigation or justice, I suppose we all buy into the torture state.

[Kelvin Mace]

13. We are the good guys,

we don't torture, so therefore any claims that we do must be false. If you claim otherwise, I will just stick my fingers in my ears and sing loudly.

[davidthegnome]

10. I'm actually not at all surprised by this.

I guess I've just known too many psychologists.