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SHOULD SCOOTER LIBBY'S LAWYER BE DISBARRED? Law school dean Lawrence Velvel says, Maybe he should, if he sat idly by while client Libby spouted lies. What lies at the core of Zionism? Michael Neumann tortures Alan Dershowitz, without a warrant! "Sex-mad adulterer from British aristocracy claims to have 'revolutionized' philosophy." Yes, Bertrand Russell, they mean you! Alexander Cockburn on Smearing 101 in the British press. Get the answers you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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November 29, 2005 Phil Gasper Behzad Yaghmaian Joshua Frank Walter A. Davis Gary Leupp Len Colodny Jeffrey St.
Clair Bill Quigley Website of
the Day
November 28, 2005 Chris Reed David Isenberg Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Justin E.H. Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney David Swanson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley John Ross Gary Leupp Fred Gardner Christopher Brauchli Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Timothy J.
Freeman Lila Rajiva Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Joaquin Bustelo Lewis Alper Will Youmans Phyllis Pollack St. Clair /
Vest Barbara LaMorticella Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
the Day
November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. John R. Bomar John Ross Phillip Cryan Dave Lindorff Dick J. Reavis Jeremy Scahill Dan Wright John Stanton St. Clair / Vest / Walker Phyllis Pollack Dr. Susan Block Poets Basement
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
November 7, 2005 Dick Reavis Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff Eli Stephens David Swanson M. Junaid Alam Matt Reichel Naima Bouteldja Jeff Halper Website of the Day
November 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Diana Johnstone Roosa / Nevins Niranjan Ramakrishnan John Ross Mike Whitney Mark Engler Juliano Mer-Khamis Ron Jacobs Jill S. Farrell Missy Comley
Beattie Mitchel Cohen Evelyn J. Pringle Reza Fiyouzat Charles Sullivan Zachary Richard Ben Tripp St. Clair / Vest
November 4, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair Dave Lindorff Phillip Cryan Christopher Brauchli William S.
Lind Daryl G. Kimball George Beres Peter Montague
November 3, 2005 James Petras Saul Landau Rep. Cynthia McKinney Michael Dickinson Joshua Frank Remi Kanazi Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day
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St. Clair Robert Oscar Lopez John Walsh Brian J. Foley Ramzy Baroud M. Junaid Alam Todd Chretien Bruce K. Gagnon Website of the Day
November 1, 2005 Ron Jacobs Gary Leupp John Ross Bill Quigley Joseph Nevins Dave Lindorff Linda S. Heard Heather Gray Michael Dickinson Jeffrey St. Clair
October 31, 2005 Elaine Cassel Mark Weisbrot Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Farooq Sulehria Nicole Colson Madis Senner Paul Craig
Roberts
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St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Tim Wise John Chuckman Steven Higgs Brian Cloughley M. Shahid Alam Nikki Robinson Ralph Nader Joe DeRaymond Joshua Frank Laura Santina Fred Gardner Michael Dickinson Ron Jacobs Dr. Susan Block Vanessa S. Jones Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
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October 28, 2005 Jared Bernstein Virginia Tilley Phil Gasper Jennifer Matsui Manual Garcia,
Jr. Monica Benderman Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff
Saul Landau Stuart Hodkinson Ingmar Lee Lila Rajiva Ilan Pappe Niranjan Ramakrishnan Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Cockburn / St. Clair
October 26, 2005 Kathy Kelly Gary Leupp Mike Marqusee Eric Ruder Patrick Cockburn Joshua Frank J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Website of
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October 25, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Ken Sengupta / Patrick Cockburn Conn Hallinan Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed Jackie Corr Robert Day John Sugg
October 24, 2005 Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Bill and Kathleen
Christison
October 22 / 23, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Billy Sothern Saul Landau Ralph Nader Behrooz Ghamari Brian Cloughley Diana Barahona Fred Gardner Lee Sustar Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen James Petras Joshua Frank Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Michelle Bollinger Missy Comley
Beattie Kona Lowell Ben Tripp Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of
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Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Jeremy Brecher
/ Patrick Cockburn Kevin Zeese Ross Eisenbrey Randy Shields Justine Davidson After Lucas
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November 30, 2005 To Heal or to Patch?Military Mental Health Workers in IraqBy STEPHEN SOLDZ The Wall Street Journal has a new article on the role of mental health professionals in treating war trauma in Iraq [Therapists take on soldiers' trauma in Iraq]. The military has caught on to how these workers can aid the war effort and has increased their per capita numbers. Rather than seeking the best treatment to help traumatized soldiers recover from their stressful and horrific experiences, these professionals attempt to patch soldiers in order to return them to combat. As the article illustrates in its lead paragraph:
Ethical questions are raised, and then ignored by these workers, who after all, are primarily involved in serving the war effort:
Clearly, the best interests of the patients are at best one of several factors weighed by these professionals:
Success is measured as much by whether a soldier returns to combat as whether (s)he feels better. Speaking of her treatment of a soldier affected by witnessing bombings and bomb scenes: Lt. Kimble says that his condition is probably staying level. "Anyone dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder should have a calm, safe environment and not have to go back to such traumas," she says. Sgt. Parkinson, however, will
likely finish his deployment, which ends in the spring. By the
standards of Iraq, Lt. Kimble says that is a success.
Surely, returning a traumatized soldier to combat where he may be retraumatized does not satisfy the "do no harm" provision. The American Psychological Association does exempt those whose work requires them to perform in violation of its ethics, if the psychologist takes steps to resolve the conflict between orders and the Ethics Code. Do psychologists working in Iraq taken those steps? I doubt it. The American Psychiatric Association has the Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry. These Principles are clear that a physician "must recognize responsibility to patients first and foremost." It further states "a physician shall, while caring for a patient, regard responsibility to the patient as paramount.." In cases of conflict between law and the best interests of the patient, "A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient." Do military psychiatrists carry out their "responsibility to seek changes" in policies that can return traumatized patients to combat? As the Wall Street Journal article indicates, the answer is usually "no". The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers goes further than the APAs in requiring social workers to notify clients of any conflicts between their interests and the interests of other organizations such as the military. The Code says that "Social workers' primary responsibility is to promote the well-being of clients" However, the Code does recognize potential conflicts between loyalty to clients and to "he larger society or specific legal obligations." However, in cases of such conflicts, "clients should be so advised." One wonders how often military mental health workers advise soldiers that their primary loyalty is to the larger military and not to the individual soldier they are "treating." Do they let the soldiers know that their welfare matters only to the degree it is consistent with returning the soldier to his/her unit? Unlikely. Interestingly, while the social workers' Code states that social workers "respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals," the Code goes on to state: Social workers may limit clients' right to self-determination when, in the social workers' professional judgment, clients' actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others. One wonders how many social workers in the military, like Lt. Kimble from the Wall Street Journal article, have ever considered that returning a soldier to combat may "pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others?" Surely, returning to a position where you stand a serious risk of dying or being injured constitutes a risk to self. Additionally, having a traumatized soldier on the streets of Iraq must often "pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to others." Were any of those soldiers lethally firing upon Iraqi civilians at roadblocks returned to combat after being "treated" by one of "combat stress detachments?" Additionally, other soldiers may be put at risk by having the comrade beside them preoccupied by flashbacks or nightmares of previous horrors. [In writing about the social workers' Code, I do not mean to criticize the National Association of Social Workers, which has taken a strong position against he war from the beginning. See their October 7, 2002 Letter to President Bush, the NASW document A Legacy of Peace; The Role of the Social Work Profession, and their strong May 14, 2004 Letter to Senator Warner, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee protesting abuse of POWs. Would that other national mental health organizations, e.g., the American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association, had taken such strong stands.] These Ethics Codes are only binding on members of the organizations promulgating them. If any of the mental health professionals serving in Iraq are members of these associations, they are technically subject. For example, if Lt. Maria Kimble is a member of NASW, she would be subject to the NASW Code, on pain of loosing her membership. However, these codes are considered to be standards for ethical conduct for the profession in general. I am not a strong supporter of ethics codes, as they are frequently bureaucratic statements designed to protect the profession from bad publicity or increased regulation rather than to truly protect the public from wrongdoing. However, having adopted these codes, one sign of their being taken seriously by these professional organizations would be that action was taken against egregious violations by those in service to the powerful, such as those professionals serving in the military. In additions to the NASW positions mentioned above, these association have felt obligated to take positions in the wake of the Abu Ghraib horrors and in response to participation of psychologists and psychologists in the abuses at Guantanamo, the American Psychiatric Association has announced that psychiatrists should never participate in coercive interrogations, while the American Psychological Association bowed to the powerful and took a weaker position, stating "psychologists do not direct, support, facilitate or offer training in torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" but, like the US government, this APA carefully avoided defining "torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment." To my knowledge, none of these
major professional associations has directly addressed the obvious
ethical conflicts involved in mental health professionals aiding
the military by helping patch up soldiers only to send them back
to suffer potential further injury, mental and/or physical, in
combat. While it would be unlikely for these organizations to
bite the hand that feeds them and directly take on the military--after
all, the American Psychological Association has had a division
of military psychology since 1945--progressives can pressure
these organizations to require member professionals serving in
the military to be up front with soldiers as to their multiple
and conflicted loyalties. Veterans and GI organizations can alert
soldiers to the dual loyalties of those offering to "help"
them. These organizations, and mental health professionals can
help establish alternative organizations, independent of the
military, to help traumatized soldiers when they get home. Beyond
that, it remains for the antiwar movements, and the citizenry
at large, to fight against the wars that create these ethical
conflicts. |
from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.               |
