As Rep. John Conyers explained:
"We need an impartial criminal investigation," said Conyers, who called the detainee controversy "a truly shameful episode" in U.S. history. "Because these apparent 'enhanced interrogation techniques' were used under cover of Justice Department legal opinions, the need for an outside special prosecutor is obvious."
Fiven the determination of Attorney general Mukasey to carry out his primary duty of protecting the torturers, there is little chance the recommendation in this letter will be acted upon during this administration. When a new administration takes power on January 20, there will be great pressure to forget the wrongs committed by the Bush administration. We are likely to be told by the opinion makers to "let bygones be bygones" and to look ahead. It is up to us concerned citizens to keep the pressure on for accountability for Bush administration crimes, among the foremost of which is the open legalized use of torture. Only truth and accountability can inhibit a recurrence when the next crisis hits our country.
Health Professions' Accountability
While the lawyers and others who made possible the Bush regime abuses are starting to receive the scrutiny they deserve, we should not forget the need for psychologists and other health professions to establish accountability for our professions' aiding and abetting Bush's torture regime. It is well known that the American Psychological Association worked hard to provide cover for Bush administration actions. But the other health professions, while taking stronger positions regarding their members' participation in detainee interrogations, have not acted to discipline or condemn the actions of their members aiding the torture regime.
It is openly acknowledged by both the Defense Department and the CIA that their "harsh interrogations" (aka "torture") are conducted under medical supervision. Yet neither the AMA nor ANA have acted to investigate nor discipline members performing these functions. And official and unofficial reports have consistently pointed to the failure of medical professionals, in most cases, to stop or report abuse of detainees, even as they stitched up the wounds and medicated the damaged souls.
None of the health professions should be proud of how it responded to this crisis of human rights and of human decency. We need a Health Professionals Truth Commission to investigate and produce a definitive account of the collaboration of members of our professions in detainee abuses. We further need an analysis of the policy errors and institutional pressures that inhibited our professions from doing the right thing and putting "do no harm" at the top of our agenda.
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