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Millionaire CIA Torture Psychologists to Face Trial

posted by martyb on Sunday July 30 2017, @11:28PM   
from the Rosenhan-Milgram-Dunning-Kruger-research dept.

cafebabe writes:

From Wikileaks (via Vinay Gupta):

Judge rules two psychologists, Mitchell and Jessen, who made millions as consultants for the CIA's torture program can face trial.

How do you get into the business of being a torture consultant? Good question because when they started:

Neither man had ever carried out a real interrogation, had language skills or expertise on al Qaeda - the chief enemy in the war on terror - when the CIA handpicked Mitchell and Jessen to spearhead its supposed intelligence gathering program shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their psychology backgrounds were in family therapy; their Ph.D. dissertations were on high blood pressure.

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Original Submission

• Re:applying the method to that kid PROPERLY Re:applying the method to that kid PROPERLY (Score: 4, Informative) by driverless on Monday July 31 2017, @09:22AM (1 child)

  by driverless (4770) on Monday July 31 2017, @09:22AM (#547059)

  More disgusting than that torture was ordered from above, or that it took place, is that nobody in the middle said "Hold on, what the fuck?!". Those are the people who saw a request for torture, and linked it up with the nutter willing to torture people.

  It's not always that easy. A friend of mine was ordered to participate in death squads run by his country's military. He refused the order as being illegal, and tried to get the program stopped by taking it up the chain of command. It was only when he started talking to the media when the military refused to do anything that action was taken: He was threatened with court martial, and eventually discharged on the stipulation that he stop trying to make a fuss about it. It ended a promising military career. One of the bravest things I've seen done by a military person.

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
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• Re:applying the method to that kid PROPERLY (Score: 4, Insightful) by ledow on Monday July 31 2017, @11:07AM

  by ledow (5567) on Monday July 31 2017, @11:07AM (#547086) Homepage

  Oh, gosh, all we have to do is put our jobs on the line for our morals, instead!

  Er... yes. That's exactly why you don't tolerate this kind of stuff.

  Of course you will lose your job.

  But that doesn't mean you should allow it "just because you'll lose your job otherwise".

  The Nazis were given a standard of "was your life in immediate danger if you refused" as to whether they were co-erced or forced to do things. "You may not work in the military again" is far below that.

  Of course it's brave, too, but that's not the point (like Manning/Snowden but for something that actually MATTERED). The point is that they STILL GOT AWAY WITH IT, even with him trying to report it. It still happened. And for him to "stop trying to make a fuss about it" is basically capitulation.

  No-one says it's easy to bring down a corrupt government. But if you have to fight against your own morals to go to work each day, there's something wrong.

  Parent