Rejali, D.: Torture and Democracy.Jun 24, 2009 … Torture and Democracy Darius Rejali. Winner of the 2008 Best Book, Human Rights Section, American Political Science Association …
press.princeton.edu/titles/8490.html – Cached – Similar

Torture and democracy – Google Books Resultby Darius M. Rejali – 2007 – Political Science – 849 pages
… Noise In this chapter, I discuss the place of unbearable noise in torture. First, I survey historical uses of noise, distinguishing unbearable noise …
books.google.com/books?isbn=0691114226…

Re Axis I (anxiety/mood disorders) vs. Axis II (personality disorders). I’ll never forget when the Gitmo nurses came to speak at APA in 2007. They made a big deal that there were very few PTSD cases. Instead, according to them, the medical ward was filled with personality disorders.

Your point about the diaries is well-taken. I stayed away from that material because I have not seen the diaries. I could rely on what others have said, who are reliable and respectable journalists, and if I had space for even a longer diary, I’m sure I would have added it.

I love your point about the “lies lies lies”. The psychologist/interrogator writing the report is so clueless, he doesn’t even get it. Which reminds me, in KUBARK, much is made about the deception issue, and it’s surprising there is no discussion around it in the report. Perhaps it is in the redacted section.

But then, this is not a real report anyway, IMHO, but a doc produced for purpose of furthering the torture experiment. Of course, a real report still would have been unethical, and I am part of a group of psychologists who believe that no psychologist should even be involved in any way in national security interrogations. The purpose of an authentic report would have been to tailor the torture techniques specifically to this prisoner. In sum, the whole science is perverted when taken under this aim.

I found this part interesting which I transcribe in part:

Overall, subject’s background as revealed by self-report (including diaries and interview) does not indicate that he has a history of mood disturbance or other psychiatric pathology. Indeed, his reported and known history indicates that he is remarkably resilient and confident that he can overcome adversity . . . He denies and there is no evidence in his reported history of thought disorder or enduring mood or mental health problems.

First off from what we know of them his diaries paint a very different picture of AZ. I have read that it is as if different people were writing them. I am not going to get into a discussion of multiple personalities but such content would strongly suggest some kind of Axis II personality disorder. He is also described as “perfectionistic” and other behavior suggests OCD type traits. As the old medical saw goes personality disorders are refractory unlike mood disorders (depression, schizophrenia, etc.): Mood disorders are what you have, personality disorders are who you are. You can treat and medicate mood disorders but not personality ones, or at least not very well.

Finally, there are at least 3 references in this fairly short, heavily redacted eval that AZ is resistant to current interrogation methods, at least two that he still has “actionable” intelligence that he might give up, and all through the report any pathology is played down and the distinct impression is conveyed that this is a strong, mentally healthy individual that further enhanced interrogation techniques will do no lasting damage to. So I would agree too that from start to finish the eval is nothing but a series of lies and misrepresentations made in order to get permission for his further torture.

Read the last appendix to the IG report, by OMS, and you’ll want to throw up in your mouth.

Yes…what we see is pretty damning…but most of this overt stuff is simply stating what the procedures were…lots of what appear to be caveats, as well as the final conclusions as to whether most of the methods might cause hrm is redacted. Take, for example, the loud noise issue. They suggest that below 84dbs would not produce permanent hearing loss…but when they start what must be discussion of the potentil psychological effects…it’s redacted…as is any final recommendation.

And this is a “draft”…who drafted it. Was it someone selected by the “B Team” or even on the pro-torture group? Why wasn’t the final draft presented? Did the OMS refuse to accept the “draft”?

I’m unsure when his diaries were obtained and translated but they clearly showed signs of severe psychiatric problem.

Doctors should have been involved early, and often, but it seems that they were replaced by the SERE psychologists as the “medical experts”. Of course, if MD’s had been brought into the picture at any point they would have protested…perhaps they did? Someone within the CIA was sounding the alarm, both initially to lead to the YOO “authorities” [and note that the OMS was excluded from providing input on the EIT’s before they were implemented…and were not involved in the psychological evaluations]. I think either the doctors were the ones complaining abut the abuse…or folks wanting to torture KNEW that the professional MD’s would declre the EIT’s as risking permanent physical and mental harm.

How could I have been so careless?? Here it is (and I’ll go back and put in the article… my apologies):
http://www.aclu.org/torturefoi…..04olc4.pdf

As for your points: a psych eval, whether done by a psychiatrist or a psychologist basically follow the same format. The reason psychologists are often used is because they’re cheaper, and because they have more expertise in psychological testing, which is often used in assessments.

As for the ethics of doing such an eval for the purpose of torture, it goes without saying that even a professionally done evaluation would have been unethical, and the participation illegal (as being part of the torture process).

@15 – Yes, it was probably Jessen or Mitchell, and yes, OMS was cut out at the beginning. But don’t think too highly of them. Read the last appendix to the IG report, by OMS, and you’ll want to throw up in your mouth.

@16 – Much thanks for the link, which in full is http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm…..ah-torture

I meant to put in something about AZ not being what the report claimed at all, and the info therefore must have been BS, even that from FBI (think “the dirty bomb”). Brent’s point about other AZ’s I had not read before. Is AZ really Goldstein? (Orwell ref.)

@17 – DW, unfortunately there are too many psychologists that are not concerned, e.g., in leadership of APA. On the other hand, there are many pscyhologists who have been very, very active in protesting torture, and leaders in that fight. So the field is split, with the middle, like a majority of U.S. society, somewhat inert, passively against torture, but unsure, afraid, or lazy about doing something about it.

@5 – Thanks, Jim for the reference to PHR. I mention them at the end of the next article.

@4 – You’re onto something with this, and I go into it in part two. Definitely, the part of the CIA not tied to Bush-Cheney were aghast at the whole SERE experiment

@8 – Now that’s something I’d like to see. In fact, before they are sent into the field, these guys are supposed to have some kind of psych work-up. Some intelligence people have told me that such work-ups were not happening in the Bush years. Put that together with the 2-week training of interrogators and we have an extremely amateurish enterprise, sotted with a lust to make money and wreak revenge.

@10 – Wilkerson surely underestimates. We tend to give Wilkerson a lot of leeway because he came out against Bush-Cheney, but a lot of what he says is nonsense and self-serving (or Powell-serving).

@12 – Of course the CIA tops knew. But Tenet was a careerist more than an intelligence professional. Then there were all those Bush-Cheney types, and especially the CIA people heavily invested in Special Ops, and it is that nexus where you will find the major nexus of where all this had the operational support and constituency. And that includes all those contracting companies staffed with ex-SO types.