Member of APA PENS Task Force brags of being with tortured prisoners
April 27th, 2007
R. Scott Shumate was a member of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) PENS Task Force on “Psychological Ethics and National Security,” also known as the “We don’t do torture, because we’ve never seen it, no matter what you do to them” Task Force. Someone just sent me this bio for Shumate:
Dr. R. Scott Shumate
Dr.Shumate served as the Director of Behavioral Sciences for the Department of Defense, Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA). Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Shumate worked as an undercover officer for the Central Intelligence Agency where he worked against a wide array of targets including the Middle Eastern, Russian, and Chinese. From April 2001 until May of 2003 he was the chief operational psychologist for the CIA’s Counter Terrorism Center (CTC). He has extensive experience in the Middle East having spent considerable time in the region and has meet with and dealt with numerous known and suspected terrorists. He has been with several of the key apprehended terrorists as well as numerous other terrorists that were cooperating with the United States Government and or recruited to infiltrate various terrorist groups. Dr. Shumate retired from government service and is currently active as a private consultant.
“He has been with several of the key apprehended terrorists?” These were the guys submitted to the infamous “Enhanced Techniques.” So Shumate brags that he was present while these guys were tortured. No wonder the APA put him on the PENS Task Force. They didn’t have to worry that he would do something silly, like, say psychologists shouldn’t be present where torture was occurring. After all, the APA’s purpose with the PENS Task Force was to provide Aid and Comfort for Torturers. “Dr.” Shumate was the perfect choice.
Entry Filed under: APA, Guantanamo, Interrogation, Psychology, Torture, War Crimes
2 Comments Add your own
1. Jonathan Burdick | May 23rd, 2007 at 9:24 am
Apropos of Shumate, who may be called “A Common Bully” …
In early 2001 I wrote a series of (pre-blog) web pages which criticized FOX News severely. What happened is that one of their reporters asked me to help her out on a news story which concerned a threatening e-mail apparently sent by a SLU (Saint Louis University) student to a Milwaukee NHL hockey player. I was a webmaster at SLU medical school at the time, also I’m trained as a lawyer so I knew her request that I “access the letter via SLU computers” was unethical and probably illegal. Several months later (August 2001) I was still plugging away, trying to embarrass them with my web sites and criticizing their solicitous reporter. Lo and behold, who shows up at my apartment doorstep (after engaging in subterfuge with my landlady to make certain I would be there that morning) but a man who identified himself as Dr. Scott Shumate of International Assessment Services, Inc. (gave me his card; I still have it). He had a local cop along and also a legal stenographer type, said they were there to assess if I was a threat to FOX News. But it became clear they were primarily just trying to intimidate me, I guess they also filed a police report that said I was harassing one of their reporters or something (I’ve never seen it, but they mentioned it in a letter from their legal dept.). BTW, the local FOX News reporter was Nancy Pasternak, a.k.a. Nancy Cunneen.
Maybe no big deal, but then again … according to this post by Dr. Soldz, as well as other sources I’ve gleaned through the years, Dr. Shumate was (at the time he visited me) the CIA’s Chief Operational Psychologist.
So I ask you, what was he doing on my doorstep in August of 2001 saying he was conducting a “due diligence” threat assessment on behalf of a private client, FOX News? I’m vaguely aware that certain kinds of government workers might in some cases obtain permission to do occasional outside work, but … the CIA’s Chief Operational Psychologist?
If you ever wanted proof that FOX is a paid shill, protecting the government, consider the converse, a story in which a highly-placed government officer was protecting FOX News.
Many additional details are available in various blog posts I’ve written (in two blogs, see http://www.girlrobot.com). Also, I have various pieces of physical documentation that go along with this case. The case is particularly interesting given that Dr. Shumate seems to have been in charge of much of the Gitmo interrogations in his jobs at CIA and CIFA.
2. Jonathan Burdick | May 23rd, 2007 at 9:52 am
P.S. here is a shattering critique I wrote of Shumate et al.’s recent attempt at a scholarly article they styled “The Role of Operational Research in Counterterrorism” — they try to claim that what they do isn’t science. IMHO, it was a long-winded attempt to pull the legs out from anyone seeking to cross-examine them on the basis that their work is scientific in nature (Psychology being one of the “ologies”). Plus, it was poorly written — some pretty pedestrian spelling errors in their effort. Looks like Dr. Shumate might want to publish somewhere else in futura, rather than The Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.
Imagine someone like Shumate on the witness stand: “What are my working hypotheses, in syllogistic form? Oh, I don’t have any of those, this isn’t a science. This is an art form.”)
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