Yet more on the institutional complicity of the APA with US use of torture.
Mark
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Martin Seligman second former APA President connected to CIA
torturers
From: "Stephen Soldz" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, July 14, 2008 2:55 am
To: [log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This extremely important report just out. More details over the next several
days. Please help spread this news. The APA can no longer distance itself
from the CIA torture trainers:
http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/blog/2008/07/13/martin-seligman-second-fo
rmer-apa-president-connected-to-cia-torturers/
Martin
<http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/blog/2008/07/13/martin-seligman-second-f
ormer-apa-president-connected-to-cia-torturers/> Seligman second former APA
President connected to CIA torturers
Stephen Soldz
Among the blockbuster revelations in Jane Mayer's new book, The
<http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Inside-Terror-American/dp/0385526393/ref=pd
_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215998613&sr=8-1> Dark Side, is that world
famous psychologists and former American Psychological Association (APA)
President Martin Seligman actively aided the development of the CIA's
torture techniques, based as they were upon Seligman's "learned
helplessness" theory. Apparently Seligman aided CIA consultant torture
<http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/07/torture200707?printable
=true¤tPage=all> psychologists James
<http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mayer?printable
=true> Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, in the development of these techniques.
Mayer's book is due out Tuesday. But Scott Horton has read it and produced a
summary, which is now posted
<http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/07/vice-president
.html> on Andrew Sullivan's blog. Here is the relevant section:
She traces the development of the torture techniques to the work of two
contractors, Mitchell and Jessen, and disclosed the specific techniques they
developed. She notes that the techniques rely heavily on a theory called
"Learned Helplessness" developed by a Penn psychologist Martin Seligman, who
assisted them in the process. All of this was done under the thin pretext
of being a part of the SERE program. Seligman is a former president of the
American Psychological Association. This helps explain why the APA alone
among professional healthcare provider organizations failed to unequivocally
condemn torture and mandate that its members not associate themselves with
the Bush Administration techniques.
We should remember that Seligman is the second former APA President
implicated in Mitchell and Jessen's development of the CIA torture
techniques from their SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape)
experience. Last summer it was reported that former APA President Joseph
Matarazzo had a voting
<http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=204358> stake in
Mitchel and Jessen's CIA-consulting torture firm.
Strangely, out of the blue a few weeks ago an APA Board member sent an email
out on Association listservs proclaiming that APA had no connection with
Mitchell and Jessen:
Colleagues,
I wanted to share the fact that APA is aware of the concerns that two
Washington state psychologists were employed by the Department of Defense to
reverse-engineer survival and resistance training (which is designed to help
U.S. military personnel in the event they are captured) for use in
interrogations. These two psychologists are not APA members so are out of
the reach of the APA's ethics enforcement process but, nevertheless, APA's
position on inappropriate interrogations techniques is very clear.
In making these statements this Board members ignored an extensive web of
connections between APA and the CIA torturers that I recently detailed
<http://www.counterpunch.org/soldz06252008.html> : As I wrote then:
The APA is intensely disturbed by President Matzrazzo's possible involvement
in torture as can be gleamed from these ethically-principled quotes
<http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=204358> from APA
leadership when Matzrazzo's involvement was revealed last summer.
Then APA President Sharon Brehm: "No comment."
APA Director of the Ethics Office and APA point man on torture and
interrogations: "No comment."
But one official did have a comment, which says everything one needs to
knopw about the ethics of APA leadership.
"Dr. Matarazzo was president of APA 18 years ago," Rhea Farberman, the
organization's director of public affairs, said in a prepared statement.
"Since that time, he has had no active role in APA governance but has been
actively involved in the American Psychological Foundation (APF), the
charitable giving arm of APA. Dr. Matarazzo currently holds no governance
positions in either APA or APF," the statement said.
Matarazzo's "professional activities are outside and independent of any role
he has played within APA and APF," the statement said. "We have no direct
knowledge about the business dealing of Mitchell's and Jessen's company;
however, APA's position is clear - torture or other forms of cruel or
inhuman treatment are always unethical."
Notice the deep concern for Mitchell and Jessen's and, potentially,
Matarazzo's, actions expressed in this statement. Notice the (missing)
promise to investigate and, if confirmed, discipline this former APA
President. After all, while "torture is unethical", this former President's
"professional activities" are no concern of the APA.
We are left to wonder if APA leaders had advance knowledge of these new
reports about President Seligman contained in Mayer's book. We can expect
new claims that APA has no connection with President Seligman, who according
to his bio <http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/bio.htm> :
In 1996. was elected President of the American Psychological Association,
by the largest vote in modern history.
This means <http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/vitae.htm> in 1997 Seligman was
President-elect of the APA, in 1998, he was President, and in 199 he was
Past-President and Board member. (For the record, I voted for him with
enthusiasm.) He is, of course, still an APA member. Further, Seligman is one
of the most esteemed psychologists in the last several decades. In fact
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Seligman> :
According to Haggbloom et al's study of the most eminent psychologists of
the 20th Century, Seligman was the 13th most frequently cited psychologist
in introductory psychology textbooks throughout the century
It will be interesting to see the APA spinmeisters rapidly distance
themselves from this second torture-connected former President. We can only
wonder how many other former APA Presidents and officials will turn out to
be connected to this sordid aspect of recent American history.
To remind readers of what is at stake, here is Horton's summary of Mayer's
account of these techniques:
She provides a number of grueling examples of the application of the
techniques including the brutal murder of Manadel al-Jamadi, the placement
of prisoners in closed coffins for prolonged periods, and one instance in
which a below-the-knee amputee with a prosthesis who had his prosthesis
taken away and was forced to stand for hours on one foot, hanging from a
rail.
We have already learnt from last Friday's
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/washington/11detain.html?_r=1&sq=jane%20m
ayer&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1215862229-2uVYxPQ/C7Wh74VQzhMcNw&oref=sl
ogin> New York Times article that the Red Cross proclaimed tthese techniques
to be "torture", not just "tantamount to tortuer" or some such term.
We will undoubtedly be learning much more about Seligman, Mitchell, Jessen
and the other torture psychologists in the days and weeks to come. Perhap
APA members will finally take it upon themselves to demand radical reform of
our professional organization that has closed its eyes to members' aiding
the torturers for far too long.
Stephen Soldz
Director, Center for Research, Evaluation, and Program Development
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
1581 Beacon St.
Brookline, MA 02446
[log in to unmask]
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK.
To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator Rebekah Pratt on [log in to unmask] or Grant Jeffrey on [log in to unmask]
|