This is the item I referred to earlier. PMcC
Begin forwarded message: > From: David Farber <[email protected]> > Subject: [IP] CIA made doctors torture suspected terrorists after 9/11, > taskforce finds > Date: November 4, 2013 7:04:11 AM EST > To: "ip" <[email protected]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > > > http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/04/cia-doctors-torture-suspected-terrorists-9-11?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2&et_cid=54807&[email protected]&Linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.theguardian.com%2fworld%2f2013%2fnov%2f04%2fcia-doctors-torture-suspected-terrorists-9-11 > > CIA made doctors torture suspected terrorists after 9/11, taskforce finds > > > Doctors and psychologists working for the US military violated the ethical > codes of their profession under instruction from the defence department and > the CIA to become involved in the torture and degrading treatment of > suspected terrorists, an investigation has concluded. > > The report of the Taskforce on Preserving Medical Professionalism in National > Security Detention Centres concludes that after 9/11, health professionals > working with the military and intelligence services "designed and > participated in cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and torture of > detainees". > > Medical professionals were in effect told that their ethical mantra "first do > no harm" did not apply, because they were not treating people who were ill. > > The report lays blame primarily on the defence department (DoD) and the CIA, > which required their healthcare staff to put aside any scruples in the > interests of intelligence gathering and security practices that caused severe > harm to detainees, from waterboarding to sleep deprivation and force-feeding. > > The two-year review by the 19-member taskforce, Ethics Abandoned: Medical > Professionalism and Detainee Abuse in the War on Terror, supported by the > Institute on Medicine as a Profession (IMAP) and the Open Society > Foundations, says that the DoD termed those involved in interrogation "safety > officers" rather than doctors. Doctors and nurses were required to > participate in the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike, against the > rules of the World Medical Association and the American Medical Association. > Doctors and psychologists working for the DoD were required to breach patient > confidentiality and share what they knew of the prisoner's physical and > psychological condition with interrogators and were used as interrogators > themselves. They also failed to comply with recommendations from the army > surgeon general on reporting abuse of detainees. > > The CIA's office of medical services played a critical role in advising the > justice department that "enhanced interrogation" methods, such as extended > sleep deprivation and waterboarding, which are recognised as forms of > torture, were medically acceptable. CIA medical personnel were present when > waterboarding was taking place, the taskforce says. > > Although the DoD has taken steps to address concerns over practices at > Guantánamo Bay in recent years, and the CIA has said it no longer has > suspects in detention, the taskforce says that these "changed roles for > health professionals and anaemic ethical standards" remain. > "The American public has a right to know that the covenant with its > physicians to follow professional ethical expectations is firm regardless of > where they serve," said Dr Gerald Thomson, professor of medicine emeritus at > Columbia University and member of the taskforce. > > He added: "It's clear that in the name of national security the military > trumped that covenant, and physicians were transformed into agents of the > military and performed acts that were contrary to medical ethics and > practice. We have a responsibility to make sure this never happens again."The > taskforce says that unethical practices by medical personnel, required by the > military, continue today. The DoD "continues to follow policies that > undermine standards of professional conduct" for interrogation, hunger > strikes, and reporting abuse. Protocols have been issued requiring doctors > and nurses to participate in the force-feeding of detainees, including forced > extensive bodily restraints for up to two hours twice a day. > > Doctors are still required to give interrogators access to medical and > psychological information about detainees which they can use to exert > pressure on them. Detainees are not permitted to receive treatment for the > distress caused by their torture. > > "Putting on a uniform does not and should not abrogate the fundamental > principles of medical professionalism," said IMAP president David Rothman. > "'Do no harm' and 'put patient interest first' must apply to all physicians > regardless of where they practise."The taskforce wants a full investigation > into the involvement of the medical profession in detention centres. It is > also calling for publication of the Senate intelligence committee's inquiry > into CIA practices and wants rules to ensure doctors and psychiatrists > working for the military are allowed to abide by the ethical obligations of > their profession; they should be prohibited from taking part in > interrogation, sharing information from detainees' medical records with > interrogators, or participating in force-feeding, and they should be required > to report abuse of detainees. > > > > > > ------------------------------------------- > Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now > RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/127190-af666897 > Modify Your Subscription: > https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=127190&id_secret=127190-3843f3a3 > Unsubscribe Now: > https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=127190&id_secret=127190-344e49d1&post_id=20131104070900:E17EF4BE-4549-11E3-A2B3-A4E7B2641E88 > Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
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