Steve Benen's post title "first do no harm" gets at the heart of what is so disturbing about doctors assisting torture sessions authorized by the Bush administration -- it's a complete violation of the role we trust physicians to play. Those inclined to rationalize the presence of doctors who “gave instructions to interrogators to continue, to adjust or to stop particular methods,” as evidence of "humane" treatment -- as though hanging someone from the ceiling by their arms or confining them to a box could ever be described as humane -- should be advised that the Nazis also had doctors present during torture, so this is hardly a redeeming feature. The point of the doctor's presence was not to "protect" the detainees, since the entire point of the torture sessions was to harmfully coerce people into providing information. Rather, the doctors were there to make sure that the detainees could simply stay alive to be interrogated.
The report from the International Committee of the Red Cross explains this is not the proper role of doctors in interrogations:
The accepted role of the physician or any other health professional, clearly does not extend to ruling on the permissibility, or not, of any form of physical or psychological ill treatment. The physician, or any other health professionals, are expressly prohibited from using their scientific knowledge and skills to facilitate such practices in any way.
The report also contains details about how detainees were treated, making the idea that the still embargoed OLC memos shouldn't be released to the public even more absurd. We know what happened. It was official, it was systemic, and it was a disgrace. It's time to own up to it and hold those responsible accountable. The ICRC report recommends as much, and we would do well to listen.
-- A. Serwer
