Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror

by Democracy Now (reposted)

Fri, Jun 30, 2006 6:38AM

After 9/11, the U.S. military began using physicians, psychologists and other medical personnel to assist in the interrogations of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. We take a look at the role of doctors and interrogation with Dr. Steven Miles, an expert in medical ethics and author of the new book, "Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror."

While the issue of military tribunals and the legal status of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay remains in the media spotlight, another aspect of the US prison camp is largely being left out of the discussion in the corporate media - the abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo and the active participation of doctors in torture.

After 9/11, the Pentagon began using so-called behavioral science consultants, or "biscuit" teams to help interrogators obtain information from prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. These medical teams reportedly advised the military on how to "break" detainees to make them more cooperative.

* Dr. Steven Miles, author of "Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror." He is a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a faculty member of its Center for Bioethics. He is also a practicing physician.

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/30/1334236

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