After a short pause,
the very large man resumed. "No doubt you've now figured out why we contacted
the four of you. We want the famous and much respected psychologists Safe,
Legal, Ethical, and Effective to officially endorse our methods. Clever, isn't
it?" He grinned momentarily. "Your stamp of approval will be very useful to us,
especially when people question our claims in order to advance their own
self-interested agenda. So here's what we've done. We've put together a dozen
video clips for you to watch, showing the techniques we use to enhance our
interrogations here. Whenever you want, you can pause or stop the player, or
rewind the video if you want to view it again. Are my instructions clear?" The
siblings nodded. "Good. The key is to get this done quickly, so that you can
return home and we can launch our marketing campaign. Feel free to talk with
each other. And I'll be back in an hour to get written endorsements from each
of you. By the way, we'll be videotaping everything."
The very large man
stood up and left the room, leaving a guard standing just outside the door.
Over the next half-hour, the siblings watched the video clips -- in utter
disbelief. The first clip showed a naked, hooded prisoner in a small cell; he
shivered uncontrollably each time he was doused with buckets of cold water. In
the second video, a gaunt prisoner, struggling to maintain his balance, stood
with handcuffs chained to the ceiling and with his feet shackled to a bolt in
the floor; he appeared to have gone without sleep for a very long time. In the third clip, an obviously distraught
prisoner, wearing only a diaper, was confined to a small, dark box too short to
allow him to stand. The fourth video showed a trembling prisoner forced into
the corner of a cell as two large, ferocious dogs yanked on their leashes and
growled within inches of his face. The fifth clip was of a prisoner gagging and
unable to breathe -- as he lay strapped to an inclined board and large amounts
of water were poured over a cloth covering his nose and mouth.
At that point, all
four siblings simultaneously reached for the remote control to turn off the
video player. They stared at each other, dumbfounded and alarmed by the
situation in which they now found themselves. The silence was broken when the
very large man re-entered the room. "We've seen enough," they blurted out in
unison. "Excellent," the man replied. "This will be even quicker than I
anticipated. Let me assure you that the additional videos you've skipped wouldn't
change your views in any way whatsoever. Here are the endorsement forms, and
here's your compensation." Two large men wheeled in a large suitcase and
together lifted it onto the table.
"Let's get started
with our review," the very large man said. "Dr. Safe, you're first. Are you
ready to confirm that the procedures you observed were entirely safe? Let me
assure you that, except for one, all of the prisoners you saw in the videos are
still alive today, and their major organs function within normal limits. That
one exception is the individual who was chained to the ceiling. He died several
days later from an unfortunate accidental fall, but it was entirely unrelated
to these interrogation techniques. Admittedly, the prisoners in the videos are
experiencing physical and psychological discomfort to varying degrees, but I'm
sure you realize that's quite different from their being unsafe. Don't
you agree, Dr. Safe?" The man opened the suitcase. "Here are a few golden eggs
to help you with your decision. Take a few minutes while I talk with your
brother and sisters."
"Dr. Legal, you're
next," the man said as he shifted his gaze. "I assume you didn't observe
anything illegal in what transpired in the videos, correct? But wait, let me
back up a step. In posing the question to you, I'm also assuming that a
psychologist with your legal expertise is familiar with the latest
interpretations of U.S. law regarding what constitutes torture or cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment. I hope we haven't misjudged you in that way.
Also, as a point of caution, please don't let yourself be distracted by any of
the nebulous strictures that some supposed scholars refer to as "international
law.' We're all patriotic Americans here, right? Let's stick with what we know.
And here are some golden eggs to focus your thinking as well."
Effective wondered if
he could feign sudden illness before it was his turn. But he realized the
futility of that plan, just as the very large man turned and spoke directly to
him. "Dr. Effective, this endorsement should not be difficult for you either,
especially if you approach it in the right way. Start by putting aside any
research findings with which you're already familiar. Instead, focus on this
fact: with everything we do here, we take very careful and detailed notes. We
monitor constantly, and we collect and analyze all data with religious
precision. And then we adjust our interrogation techniques accordingly. So the
key question you should ask yourself is whether or not this is an effective
research project for determining which techniques work and which do not. You
also have my assurance that we're learning valuable things from the people we
interrogate -- all of which is classified and top-secret, as I'm sure you
understand. If you have doubts, perhaps these will help." The man pushed a few
golden eggs across the table. Motionless and staring blankly until then,
Effective reached out and caught one of them as it was about to roll off the
table.
Ethical had just
watched as her brothers and sister, all of whom she had long admired, were
seemingly mesmerized, one after the other. She knew that she too would be
severely tested. "So Dr. Ethical, I turn now to you, last but not least," the
very large man began. "Before you weigh in, let me mention that there have been
discussions about rolling out a shorter slogan, just "Safe, legal, and
effective.' But "ethical' apparently carries a lot of weight in certain
quarters. Do you agree that everything you saw was ethical? We don't require
enthusiasm, just assent. As I'm sure you realize, ethics are unavoidably
nuanced, abstract, and subject to interpretation. Also, if it simplifies
matters for you, keep in mind that the people we interrogate are "the worst of
worst,' and they have crucial information we desperately need. From an ethical
perspective, is any consideration more important than the preservation of our
society itself? Have some golden eggs while you quickly ponder that."
The very large man
stood up again and glared in turn at each of the four siblings. "Why don't we
get these endorsement papers signed now, so we can get you home without further
delay? If any of you would prefer some solitude to speed your thinking, down
the hall we have several small cages that are currently empty. I apologize if
my attempt at humor doesn't strike you as funny." The siblings smiled
halfheartedly. But this apparent ploy at intimidation was entirely unnecessary.
Safe, Legal, Ethical, and Effective had already wilted in their seats, and they
had each begun mentally exploring the options for how they might later defend
their endorsements, if ever called upon to do so. The siblings had all been
silent until this point, but Ethical now asked a question: "Who else is going
to see those videos?" "Oh, you needn't worry about that," the man quickly
replied. "We plan to destroy them."
He then offered some
further reassurances. "Look, you all seem a bit hesitant. I'm not sure why.
Just keep in mind what a huge opportunity this is," the man said, opening wide
the suitcase filled with golden eggs. "Opportunities not only for the four of
you, but for the entire profession of psychology. Do you fully appreciate that?
Your help here tonight will open many doors to a lot more work -- consulting,
research, everything. And trust me, we're in this for the long haul. We're
offering you "a seat at the table.' We want you to be part of our team, the
winning team. The team that conducts "safe, legal, ethical, and effective'
interrogations."
Of course the four
siblings knew that "safe, legal, ethical, and effective" did not actually
describe what they had traveled thousands of miles to watch. But the horrendous
video images, painfully fresh in their minds, merely intensified the
psychologists' internal efforts at twisting reality. Each of them now puzzled
over questions they once would have ridiculed as absurd: How dangerous must
something be for "safe" to be an inaccurate description? Can anyone truly
distinguish, with absolute certainty, between what's unlawful and what is
"legal"? Why should unambiguous, documented evidence of success be required to
conclude that something is "effective"? Are judgments about what's "ethical"
ever black-and-white in a world that is often so gray?
The siblings cast
sideways glances at the very large man, then at each other, and then at the
suitcase filled with golden eggs. Ethical started to speak, but the man
abruptly cut her off. "Sorry. Let me mention one more thing. It turns out we
were misinformed about the schedule of outgoing flights back to the States. As planned,
there is one tonight, in about an hour. I'd hate for you to miss it, because
I've just learned that the next one isn't for another two months. I'm
sure our accommodations here are not quite what you're accustomed to. Let's
just say that eight weeks with us would probably feel even quite a bit longer
-- although it would give all of you a chance to observe and assist with some
of our interrogations first-hand. But perhaps you're ready to sign the
endorsements now?"
With sheepish looks
all around, the four psychologists dutifully signed the forms, thereby giving
the interrogation techniques their highly prized and widely respected
endorsement. The siblings kept quiet about any fears that a lifetime of regrets
and nightmares might now await them. Instead they muttered aloud to each other
about how little choice they really had, and how others would do exactly what
they had done.
And so, in a far-off
land in the dead of night, an historic marketing campaign was launched and a
new era for psychologists was born. Pushing a gurney carrying the large
suitcase filled with golden eggs, Safe, Legal, Ethical, and Effective
acknowledged the applause from dozens of smiling large men as they headed
outside to the airstrip. As they neared the plane, the very large man
approached them one last time.
"Doctors, there's a
bit of bad news. As it turns out, we need to transport four prisoners on this
plane too. With their hoods and shackles they won't cause you any trouble. But
there will be a brief stopover on the way to DC. The bigger problem is this:
with these additional passengers, that suitcase of golden eggs will put the
plane dangerously over its weight limit. So either the suitcase or the four
of you will have to stay behind. Sorry about that." The very large man shrugged
his shoulders and walked off. Safe, Legal, Ethical, and Effective looked at
each other, unable to speak -- which made it easy for them to hear the sudden anguished screams from the warehouse behind them.
******
Postscript. In 2005, despite evidence that
psychologists were involved in abusive and torturous interrogations of national
security detainees, an American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential
Task Force on Psychological Ethics
and National Security (PENS) concluded that psychologists play a critical role
in keeping such interrogations "safe,
legal, ethical and effective."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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