On balance yes.
That's exactly what they have been doing. The subtlety of the approach 
is that it doesn't look like torture as previously understood - and 
hence the US government can plausibly say it is opposed to the use of 
torture, while using effective methods.



Craig Newnes wrote:
> The presence of psychologists has both educated the interrogation 
> teams in more skilful methods of breaking people down and legitimized 
> the process of torture in defiance of the Geneva Conventions.”
> Does anyone believe that a psychologist would know more about this 
> than a soldier/politician/bin collector? The whole thing is illusory.
> Craig
>
>     ----- Original Message -----
>     *From:* David Fryer <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>     *To:* [log in to unmask]
>     <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>     *Sent:* Tuesday, August 28, 2007 11:31 AM
>     *Subject:* Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Fw: DN!: APA Rejects Blanket Ban
>     on Participation in Detainee Interrogation - August 20, 2007
>
>     Hi Paul,
>     You usefully raise the issue of what the implications are for SCRA
>     and SCRA members of the American Psychological Association (APA)
>     rejection of "a measure that would have banned its members from
>     participating in interrogations at Guantanamo Bay and other US
>     detention centers etc"?
>     Dr. Pipher’s letter of August 21, 2007 to the President of the
>     American Psychological Association saying that she is returning
>     her Presidential Citation dated 2/02/06 as she does “not want an
>     award from an organization that sanctions its members'
>     participation in the enhanced interrogations at CIA Black Sites
>     and at Guantanamo. The presence of psychologists has both educated
>     the interrogation teams in more skilful methods of breaking people
>     down and legitimized the process of torture in defiance of the
>     Geneva Conventions.”
>
>     Dr Pipher is thus taking a courageous principled individual stand
>     against institutional collusion with oppression and in doing so
>     she refers to her commitment as a psychologist to respect the
>     dignity and worth of all people, to promote honesty and accuracy,
>     to do no harm.
>
>     The espoused commitments of community psychologists seem to me to
>     go further still. For example, the SCRA web site says “*Our
>     members are committed to promoting health and empowerment and to
>     preventing problems in communities, groups, and individuals*
>     (http://www.scra27.org/) and a core SCRA goal is stated on the
>     website as “To engage in action, research, and practice committed
>     to liberating oppressed peoples and respecting all cultures”
>     (http://www.scra27.org/about.html).
>
>     Can commitment to “promoting health and empowerment” and
>     “liberating oppressed peoples and respecting all cultures” be
>     consistent with membership of / association with an organisation
>     whose Council of Representatives has rejected a proposal which
>     would have prohibited psychologists from participating in
>     interrogations at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.
>
>     Dr Pipher states “I know that the return of my Presidential
>     Citation from Dr. Koocher will be of small import, but it is what
>     I can do to disassociate myself from what I consider to be a
>     heinous policy” The collective dissociation of SCRA from the APA
>     would communicate the inconsistency of the APA position with much
>     for which SCRA stands, be an act of solidarity with principled
>     individuals like Dr Pipher and indicate SCRA commitment to
>     collective as opposed to individual acts of principle. It would
>     seems that SCRA members have an obligation to seriously consider a
>     collective act of dissociation from the APA or to amend their
>     website to remove reference to promoting empowerment , liberating
>     oppressed people and respecting all cultures?
>
>     David
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     *From:* The UK Community Psychology Discussion List on behalf of
>     Paul@home
>     *Sent:* Tue 8/28/2007 09:57
>     *To:* [log in to unmask]
>     *Subject:* Re: Fw: DN!: APA Rejects Blanket Ban on Participation
>     in Detainee Interrogation - August 20, 2007
>
>     I wonder what the implications are for the 'Society for Community
>     Research and Action: Community Psychology' (SCRA)- a division of
>     the American Psychological Association (APA). Also, I wonder how
>     those of us who are members of SCRA , and thus by association the
>     APA, might respond? Would we continue our membership? Finally, how
>     might we think about attending a SCRA conference in the future as
>     the act of attending appears to automatically make you a member
>     for that year, whether you like it or not!
>     Also, are their issue for us in the UKCP network? There is
>     discussion at our forthcoming conference in York about progressing
>     a Community Psychology section in the BPS. Are there any lessons
>     we can learn from the APA's stance and the implications (if any)
>     for SCRA?
>     p
>
>     Paul Duckett
>     Division of Psychology and Social Change
>     Manchester Metropolitan University
>     England
>     Phone +44 161 247 2552
>     Fax +44 161 247 6364
>     email: [log in to unmask]
>
>         -----Original Message-----
>         *From:* The UK Community Psychology Discussion List
>         [mailto:[log in to unmask]]*On Behalf Of *Serdar
>         M. Degirmencioglu
>         *Sent:* 23 August 2007 12:13
>         *To:* [log in to unmask]
>         *Subject:* [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Fw: DN!: APA Rejects Blanket Ban
>         on Participation in Detainee Interrogation - August 20, 2007
>
>         DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST
>         August 20, 2007
>
>         = = = = = = = = =
>
>         TODAY'S DEMOCRACY NOW!:
>
>         * American Psychological Association Rejects Blanket Ban on
>         Participation in
>         Interrogation of U.S. Detainees *
>
>         The American Psychological Association (APA) has voted to
>         overwhelmingly
>         reject a measure that would have banned its members from
>         participating in
>         interrogations at Guantanamo Bay and other US detention
>         centers. While not
>         banning psychologists from participating in interrogations,
>         the council
>         approved a resolution prohibiting involvement in
>         interrogations that use at
>         least 14 specified methods, including sleep deprivation,
>         sexual humiliation
>         and mock executions. Democracy Now! was in San Francisco this
>         weekend
>         covering the APA convention. We begin with Salon.com
>         correspondent Mark
>         Benjamin.
>
>         Listen/Watch/Read
>         http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/20/1628230
>
>
>         * APA Interrogation Task Force Member Dr. Jean Maria Arrigo
>         Exposes Group¹s
>         Ties to Military *
>
>         Dr. Jean Maria Arrigo was one of three civilian members of an
>         APA task force
>         that concluded psychologists were playing a ³valuable and
>         ethical role² in
>         assisting the military. It was later revealed that that six of
>         nine voting
>         members were from the military and intelligence agencies with
>         direct
>         connections to interrogations at Guantanamo and elsewhere. At
>         this weekend¹s
>         annual convention Dr. Arrigo exposed the inner workings of the
>         group in an
>         extraordinary speech.
>
>         Listen/Watch/Read
>         http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/20/1628234
>
>
>         * Dissident Voices: Ex-Task Force Member Dr. Michael Wessells
>         Speaks Out on
>         Psychologists and Torture *
>
>         Dr. Michael Wessells is a former member of the PENS Task
>         Force. He is a
>         professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia
>         University
>         and a professor of psychology at Randolph-Macon College. He
>         also advises
>         widely within the UN system on issues of child protection and
>         protection
>         from human rights violations.
>
>         Listen/Watch/Read
>         http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/20/1628239
>
>
>         * APA Members Hold Fiery Town Hall Meeting on Interrogation,
>         Torture *
>
>         After the vote by the APA Council of Representatives to reject
>         the proposal
>         that would have prohibited psychologists from participating in
>         interrogations at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, several
>         hundred APA members
>         gathered for a town hall meeting on the issue. One by one
>         dissident members
>         took to the stage to voice their outrage.
>
>         Listen/Watch/Read
>         http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/20/1628253
>
>
>         ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>         Got a little couch potato?
>         Check out fun summer activities for kids.
>         <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48248/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz>
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