I think that Jim had some good questions and I have thought about
this since the first APsyA made its statement last year. I am not a
member of the APA or APS. I am licensed as an HSPP by the state of
Indiana and as an Applied Psychologist by the Commonwealth of
Virginia. If I were the kind of person that were likely to condone
severe forms of questioning/torture to get information from those who
have designated by the administration, what would keep me from doing
it? Obviously the APA has no power over me so why should I care
what they say. (Note that I said "If i were the kind of...).
Personally, I believe that what our government is doing is against
international law, the Geneva Convention, and probably a half-dozen
additional international agreements and that is all that should be
said on that matter. People of conscience would not participate.
BW
On 1 Sep 2007, at 10:00, Jim Clark wrote:
Hi
I am no expert by any means on this issue, but do have a few
questions.
1. With respect to the AMA ban
Surely there must be many MDs working in these facilities? Has the
AMA actually taken steps to remove the license of anyone or are
such bans primarily symbolic? I read somewhere, perhaps
incorrectly, that the AMA ban did not identify use of drugs as a
means of torture. Is this correct? Does it considerably weaken
the AMA ban?
2. With respect to Psychology
Do psychologists perhaps work in other settings that might be
impacted by a ban? For example, do some prisons use isolation as a
means of punishment or even to protect inmates from abuse? Would
the resolution apply to such settings? If not, why not?
3. Military psychologists
Psychologists must work in many capacities that ultimately have a
negative impact on people. Are there not psychologists involved in
the development of weapons systems, the training of soldiers to
kill, and so on? Do their actions violate the "do no harm" ethic?
If not, why not? And what about psychologists involvement when the
state is arguably the aggressor in a conflict?
4. War or non-war?
A fundamental question for me is whether acts of terrorism are
equivalent to "declarations of war" by a state. But then it is not
clear whether acts are held to a higher standard in times of war or
non-war?
Dr. Bob Wildblood
711 Rivereview Dr.
Kokomo, IN 46901-7025
765-776-1727
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired,
signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are
not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"The time is always right to do what is right."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Benjamin Franklin, 1775
"We are what we pretend to be, so we better be careful what we
pretend to be."
Kurt Vonnegut
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