British Channel 4 TV took seven volunteers and subjected them for 48 hours to the tactics authorized for use at Guantanamo. Quite chilling. It took only 10 hours for the first volunteer to be removed due to the severe trauma he underwent. Only four of the seven survived 48 hours of hell. Many of the the Guantanamo detainees have been there over four years: 35,040 hours, 730 times as long. If we do not help them, they may spend the rest of their lives there. Everyone, including all APA members, should watch this:
May 9th, 2007
In the comments to Valtin’s latest Daily Kos diary calling for letters of protest tothe APA, a psychologist going under the pseudonym of Compound F posted the following letter in response to the call:
Dear Dr. Brehm,
The American Psychological Association denigrates its mission, to say the very least, in failing to expressly prohibit its members from participating in national security interrogations. In fact, under the current vile circumstances, in which physical and psychological torture are routine methods used for intelligence gathering, to say it “denigrates the mission” of medical professionals and research scientists is beyond inadequate. As a psychologist and stress physiologist versed in the functions and proximate mechanisms of the stress axis, including the profound and lasting consequences of over-stimulation on brain, and as someone who publishes regularly in APA and other journals, it is my confident professional view that current policy represents an alignment with the worst manifestations of animal impulses imaginable. I urge you to reconsider APA’s policies, and to minimally realign them with a “Do no harm” philosophy more akin to the policies of the American Medical Association. The circumstances under which APA would resist adopting such basically humane standards are beyond reckoning. We can do much, much better. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Please keep those letters flowing! Here, from Valtin’s diary, is the contact information:
Write or call the APA:
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(800) 374-2721
(202) 336-5500
Write and call, now. Let them know how upset you are.
Send an email to the Public Affairs Office of the APA, expressing your outrage:
public.affairs@apa.org
Phone the Ethics Office directly at (202) 336-5930 or use APA’s toll free number (800) 374-2721, extension 5930, and give them a piece of your mind.
And finally, write to the President of the APA, Dr. Sharon Stephens Brehm. Be nice, be polite, but be firm (this is true for ALL communications).
Dr. Brehm has a web page, Ask the President. Follow the link to leave an email message directly for her.
May 9th, 2007