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Army Doctors Implicated in Prisoner Abuse

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 11:27:27 PM EST
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The New England Journal of Medicine has released an article by a Georgetown University law professor implicating army doctors in the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Actually, this isn't news as it was reported last August in a British medical journal--we wrote about it here. From today's Washington Post:

U.S. Army doctors violated the Geneva Conventions by helping intelligence officers carry out abusive interrogations at military detention centers, perhaps participating in torture, according to an article in today's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Medical personnel helped tailor interrogations to the physical and mental conditions of individual detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the article. It says that medical workers gave interrogators access to patient medical files, and that psychiatrists and other physicians collaborated with interrogators and guards who, in turn, deprived detainees of sleep, restricted them to diets of bread and water and exposed them to extreme heat and cold.

The article finds:

"The conclusion that doctors participated in torture is premature, but there is probable cause for suspecting it."

Did Alberto Gonzales approve of their assistance? Did he know about it? Will anyone ask him?

< Sen. Dick Durbin's Statement at Gonzales Hearing | Press: Gonzales Gets a Pass >

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    Army Doctors Implicated in Prisoner Abuse | 3 comments (3 topical)
    Re: Army Doctors Implicated in Prisoner Abuse (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 06:19:38 AM EST
    disciplinary action before the medical board, please? what is the process to initiate a review of their right to continue to practice medicine if they have violated the hippocratic oath? It's like being disbarred. There are ethical standards in these professions. Like Mr. Graner as a prison guard, sometimes an individual's actions are so far outside the realm of what the profession allows, that actions need to be taken to see that the profession is closed to the individuals. Like jailing Mr. Graner, pulling medical license from the violaters will send a strong messge to rank and file medical professionals in the military services. It's called due process. I like it.

    Re: Army Doctors Implicated in Prisoner Abuse (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 10:54:13 AM EST
    Medical school teaches its physicians above all else the ethic: first do no harm. All medical training and physician behavior is based upon this rule. The article says that the conclusion that "doctors participated in torture is premature, but there is probable cause for suspecting it." The doctors participation must be investigated and to the extent that they were involved, their licenses should be revoked and civil and criminal procedures pursued.

    Re: Army Doctors Implicated in Prisoner Abuse (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 11:33:54 AM EST
    So, the officers at Guantanamo knew. And, the doctors knew. Isn't it logical to assume that their Chaplain, Captain James Yee, knew also? Captain Yee was arrested on trumped-up charges, called a spy and humiliated, and then let off on the condition that he could say nothing. When he was arrested in the fall of 2003, it was reported that the "highest levels" of government had authorized his detention. How high up? We know that the President's counsel was briefed on torture techniques - was he briefed about Yee? Was Rumsfeld? Was the President? Just some things it would be nice to know.

    Army Doctors Implicated in Prisoner Abuse | 3 comments (3 topical)