Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib psychologist is WH's newest appointment

[Guest guest]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/03/25/james/index.html

Friday, Mar 25, 2011 17:26 ET

Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib

psychologist is WH's newest appointment

By Glenn Greenwald

(Updated below with White House response)

One of the most intense scandals the field of psychology

has faced over the last decade is the involvement of

several of its members in enabling Bush's worldwide torture

regime. Numerous health professionals worked for the U.S.

government to help understand how best to mentally degrade and

break down detainees. At the center of that controversy was --

and is -- Dr. Larry . , a retired Army colonel, was

the Chief Psychologist at Guantanamo in 2003, at the height of

the abuses at that camp, and then served in the same position at

Abu Ghraib during 2004.

Today, Dr. circulated an excited email announcing, "with

great pride," that he has now been selected to serve on the

"White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the Psychological

Well-Being of The Military Family." In his new position, he

will be meeting at the White House with Obama and other

White House officials on Tuesday.

For his work at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, Dr. was the

subject of two formal ethics complaints in the two states where

he is licensed to practice: Louisiana and Ohio. Those complaints -- 50 pages long and full of

detailed and well-documented allegations -- were filed by the

International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School's Human

Rights Program, on behalf of veterans, mental health

professionals and others. The complaints detailed how

"was the senior psychologist of the Guantánamo BSCT, a small but

influential group of mental health professionals whose

job it was to advise on and participate in the interrogations,

and to help create an environment designed to break down

prisoners." Specifically:

During his tenure at the prison, boys and men were threatened

with rape and death for themselves and their family members;

sexually, culturally, and religiously humiliated; forced

naked; deprived of sleep; subjected to sensory deprivation,

over-stimulation, and extreme isolation; short-shackled into

stress positions for hours; and physically assaulted. The

evidence indicates that abuse of this kind was systemic, that

BSCT health professionals played an integral role in its

planning and practice. . . .

Writing

in 2009, Law Professor Bill Quigley and Deborah Popowski,

a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program,

described ' role in this particularly notorious incident:

In 2003, Louisiana psychologist and retired Col. Larry

watched behind a one-way mirror in a US prison camp while an

interrogator and three prison guards wrestled a screaming,

near-naked man on the floor.

The prisoner had been forced into pink women's panties,

lipstick and a wig; the men then pinned the prisoner to the

floor in an effort "to outfit him with the matching pink

nightgown." As he recounts in his memoir, "Fixing Hell," Dr.

initially chose not to respond. He "opened [his]

thermos, poured a cup of coffee, and watched the episode play

out, hoping it would take a better turn and not wanting to

interfere without good reason ..."

Although he claims to eventually find "good reason" to

intervene, the Army colonel never reported the incident or

even so much as reprimanded men who had engaged in activities

that constituted war crimes.

treated numerous detainees who were abused, degraded, and

tortured, yet never took any steps to stop or even report these

incidents. Last year, Reisner -- senior faculty member

and supervisor at the International Trauma Studies Program, who

also teaches at New York University Medical School and Columbia

University -- told Democracy Now: "there is a

lot of evidence that has been made public showing that the

torture programs in the CIA and at Guantánamo, the Department of

Defense, were created and overseen by health professionals,

particularly psychologists" and that psychologists were at these

facilities "to use their professional expertise to break down

the detainees." , argued Dr. Reisner, was directly

implicated because:

Larry was the chief BSCT starting in January 2003. And

when you read the standard operating procedures for mental

health, for how to -- behavior protocols for detainees during

the time that Larry was the chief psychologist, you find

institutionalized abuse and torture -- isolation for thirty

days at a time with absolutely no contact, prohibition of the

International Committee of the Red Cross to see these

detainees, no access even to religious articles, to the

Qur’an, unless they cooperate with interrogations, not to

mention frequent interrogation.

For his part, Dr. claims he attempted to protect the

detainees under his care from abuse and psychological injury.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana psychology board refused to review the

merits of the complaint against on the grounds that the

alleged acts were too old (outside the statute of limitations),

while the Ohio board issued a three-sentence,

cursory letter which decreed, without any explanation

whatsoever, that "it has been determined that we are unable to

proceed to formal action in this matter." So while the charges

against him have not been formally sustained by either board,

neither have they been evaluated or rejected by any apparent

consideration of the merits. Judicial review of the Ohio board's

decision is still possible (a Louisiana federal court ruled it

lacked jurisdiction to review the board's Statute of Limitations

findings).

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, should not

be deemed guilty in the absence of a formal adjudication. But

the White House's conduct in selecting him is nonetheless

baffling, at best. Of all the psychologists to choose from, why

would they possibly choose to honor and elevate the former chief

psychologist of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib at the height of the

Bush abuses? More disturbing still, among those most damaged by

detainee abuse are the service members forced to participate in

it; why would the White House possibly want to put on a task

force about the health of military families someone, such as Dr.

, who at the very least is directly associated with

policies that so profoundly harmed numerous members of the

military and their families?

This isn't exactly a powerful Task Force, but what this

appointment does is have the White House -- yet

again -- signal that it does not really

take very seriously the Bush torture regime. On appearance

grounds alone, the Obama administration should not be embracing

and legitimizing the Bush-era Chief Psychologist of Guantanamo

and Abu Ghraib. Is there really nobody in the White House who

was able to come to that realization on their own, or is this

part of some twisted "reaching out" effort to show that they

view bygones as bygones when it comes to the war crimes our

leaders committed and whom the Obama administration continues to

protect? Whatever the explanation, the symbolism here is as ugly

as the mindset underlying it.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the

email sent by Dr. , as provided to me yesterday by Harvard

Law School’s Human Rights Program:

Message from Dean for the SOPP Community:

Hello Everyone,

It is with great pride and pleasure that I write to the SOPP

community and say that I have been appointed by the First Lady

to a White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the

Psychological Well-Being of The Military Family.

The first meeting will be at the White House next Tuesday

(the 29th) and will be hosted by Mrs. Obama and her staff.

Indeed, I feel honored and privileged to represent the SOPP,

WSU and the APA in this important endeavor.

Next week I will provide a follow-up e-mail to provide more

information.

All the best,

Larry C. , Ph.D., ABPP

Dean & Professor

School of Professional Psychology

State University

3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy

Dayton, Ohio 45435-001

Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

On its own website, HLS’s Human Rights

Program reported that sent this email "to colleagues and

students of State University, where Dr. serves as

Dean of the School of Professional Psychology.”

The White House, however, now tells a much different story. In

an email to me from the First Lady’s Communications Director,

the White House claims:

Several members of the White House staff are convening a

meeting with multiple mental health professionals on Tuesday

to discuss issues pertaining to the wellness of military

families. SAMHSA and the American Psychological Association

have both been asked to attend. We understand that

Dr. is involved with these groups and may have been

indirectly invited to attend this meeting.

She claims, however, that he now will not be at that meeting,

and further states that "Dr. has not been appointed to

serve in any capacity with the White House."

There’s obviously quite a discrepancy between the claims in the

email as provided by HLS' Human Rights Project and the

White House’s claims. Calls to Dr. regarding this matter

have not been returned, but if I speak with him, I’ll post his

response to the White House's denials.

[Guest guest]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/03/25/james/index.html

Friday, Mar 25, 2011 17:26 ET

Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib

psychologist is WH's newest appointment

By Glenn Greenwald

(Updated below with White House response)

One of the most intense scandals the field of psychology

has faced over the last decade is the involvement of

several of its members in enabling Bush's worldwide torture

regime. Numerous health professionals worked for the U.S.

government to help understand how best to mentally degrade and

break down detainees. At the center of that controversy was --

and is -- Dr. Larry . , a retired Army colonel, was

the Chief Psychologist at Guantanamo in 2003, at the height of

the abuses at that camp, and then served in the same position at

Abu Ghraib during 2004.

Today, Dr. circulated an excited email announcing, "with

great pride," that he has now been selected to serve on the

"White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the Psychological

Well-Being of The Military Family." In his new position, he

will be meeting at the White House with Obama and other

White House officials on Tuesday.

For his work at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, Dr. was the

subject of two formal ethics complaints in the two states where

he is licensed to practice: Louisiana and Ohio. Those complaints -- 50 pages long and full of

detailed and well-documented allegations -- were filed by the

International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School's Human

Rights Program, on behalf of veterans, mental health

professionals and others. The complaints detailed how

"was the senior psychologist of the Guantánamo BSCT, a small but

influential group of mental health professionals whose

job it was to advise on and participate in the interrogations,

and to help create an environment designed to break down

prisoners." Specifically:

During his tenure at the prison, boys and men were threatened

with rape and death for themselves and their family members;

sexually, culturally, and religiously humiliated; forced

naked; deprived of sleep; subjected to sensory deprivation,

over-stimulation, and extreme isolation; short-shackled into

stress positions for hours; and physically assaulted. The

evidence indicates that abuse of this kind was systemic, that

BSCT health professionals played an integral role in its

planning and practice. . . .

Writing

in 2009, Law Professor Bill Quigley and Deborah Popowski,

a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program,

described ' role in this particularly notorious incident:

In 2003, Louisiana psychologist and retired Col. Larry

watched behind a one-way mirror in a US prison camp while an

interrogator and three prison guards wrestled a screaming,

near-naked man on the floor.

The prisoner had been forced into pink women's panties,

lipstick and a wig; the men then pinned the prisoner to the

floor in an effort "to outfit him with the matching pink

nightgown." As he recounts in his memoir, "Fixing Hell," Dr.

initially chose not to respond. He "opened [his]

thermos, poured a cup of coffee, and watched the episode play

out, hoping it would take a better turn and not wanting to

interfere without good reason ..."

Although he claims to eventually find "good reason" to

intervene, the Army colonel never reported the incident or

even so much as reprimanded men who had engaged in activities

that constituted war crimes.

treated numerous detainees who were abused, degraded, and

tortured, yet never took any steps to stop or even report these

incidents. Last year, Reisner -- senior faculty member

and supervisor at the International Trauma Studies Program, who

also teaches at New York University Medical School and Columbia

University -- told Democracy Now: "there is a

lot of evidence that has been made public showing that the

torture programs in the CIA and at Guantánamo, the Department of

Defense, were created and overseen by health professionals,

particularly psychologists" and that psychologists were at these

facilities "to use their professional expertise to break down

the detainees." , argued Dr. Reisner, was directly

implicated because:

Larry was the chief BSCT starting in January 2003. And

when you read the standard operating procedures for mental

health, for how to -- behavior protocols for detainees during

the time that Larry was the chief psychologist, you find

institutionalized abuse and torture -- isolation for thirty

days at a time with absolutely no contact, prohibition of the

International Committee of the Red Cross to see these

detainees, no access even to religious articles, to the

Qur’an, unless they cooperate with interrogations, not to

mention frequent interrogation.

For his part, Dr. claims he attempted to protect the

detainees under his care from abuse and psychological injury.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana psychology board refused to review the

merits of the complaint against on the grounds that the

alleged acts were too old (outside the statute of limitations),

while the Ohio board issued a three-sentence,

cursory letter which decreed, without any explanation

whatsoever, that "it has been determined that we are unable to

proceed to formal action in this matter." So while the charges

against him have not been formally sustained by either board,

neither have they been evaluated or rejected by any apparent

consideration of the merits. Judicial review of the Ohio board's

decision is still possible (a Louisiana federal court ruled it

lacked jurisdiction to review the board's Statute of Limitations

findings).

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, should not

be deemed guilty in the absence of a formal adjudication. But

the White House's conduct in selecting him is nonetheless

baffling, at best. Of all the psychologists to choose from, why

would they possibly choose to honor and elevate the former chief

psychologist of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib at the height of the

Bush abuses? More disturbing still, among those most damaged by

detainee abuse are the service members forced to participate in

it; why would the White House possibly want to put on a task

force about the health of military families someone, such as Dr.

, who at the very least is directly associated with

policies that so profoundly harmed numerous members of the

military and their families?

This isn't exactly a powerful Task Force, but what this

appointment does is have the White House -- yet

again -- signal that it does not really

take very seriously the Bush torture regime. On appearance

grounds alone, the Obama administration should not be embracing

and legitimizing the Bush-era Chief Psychologist of Guantanamo

and Abu Ghraib. Is there really nobody in the White House who

was able to come to that realization on their own, or is this

part of some twisted "reaching out" effort to show that they

view bygones as bygones when it comes to the war crimes our

leaders committed and whom the Obama administration continues to

protect? Whatever the explanation, the symbolism here is as ugly

as the mindset underlying it.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the

email sent by Dr. , as provided to me yesterday by Harvard

Law School’s Human Rights Program:

Message from Dean for the SOPP Community:

Hello Everyone,

It is with great pride and pleasure that I write to the SOPP

community and say that I have been appointed by the First Lady

to a White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the

Psychological Well-Being of The Military Family.

The first meeting will be at the White House next Tuesday

(the 29th) and will be hosted by Mrs. Obama and her staff.

Indeed, I feel honored and privileged to represent the SOPP,

WSU and the APA in this important endeavor.

Next week I will provide a follow-up e-mail to provide more

information.

All the best,

Larry C. , Ph.D., ABPP

Dean & Professor

School of Professional Psychology

State University

3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy

Dayton, Ohio 45435-001

Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

On its own website, HLS’s Human Rights

Program reported that sent this email "to colleagues and

students of State University, where Dr. serves as

Dean of the School of Professional Psychology.”

The White House, however, now tells a much different story. In

an email to me from the First Lady’s Communications Director,

the White House claims:

Several members of the White House staff are convening a

meeting with multiple mental health professionals on Tuesday

to discuss issues pertaining to the wellness of military

families. SAMHSA and the American Psychological Association

have both been asked to attend. We understand that

Dr. is involved with these groups and may have been

indirectly invited to attend this meeting.

She claims, however, that he now will not be at that meeting,

and further states that "Dr. has not been appointed to

serve in any capacity with the White House."

There’s obviously quite a discrepancy between the claims in the

email as provided by HLS' Human Rights Project and the

White House’s claims. Calls to Dr. regarding this matter

have not been returned, but if I speak with him, I’ll post his

response to the White House's denials.

[Guest guest]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/03/25/james/index.html

Friday, Mar 25, 2011 17:26 ET

Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib

psychologist is WH's newest appointment

By Glenn Greenwald

(Updated below with White House response)

One of the most intense scandals the field of psychology

has faced over the last decade is the involvement of

several of its members in enabling Bush's worldwide torture

regime. Numerous health professionals worked for the U.S.

government to help understand how best to mentally degrade and

break down detainees. At the center of that controversy was --

and is -- Dr. Larry . , a retired Army colonel, was

the Chief Psychologist at Guantanamo in 2003, at the height of

the abuses at that camp, and then served in the same position at

Abu Ghraib during 2004.

Today, Dr. circulated an excited email announcing, "with

great pride," that he has now been selected to serve on the

"White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the Psychological

Well-Being of The Military Family." In his new position, he

will be meeting at the White House with Obama and other

White House officials on Tuesday.

For his work at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, Dr. was the

subject of two formal ethics complaints in the two states where

he is licensed to practice: Louisiana and Ohio. Those complaints -- 50 pages long and full of

detailed and well-documented allegations -- were filed by the

International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School's Human

Rights Program, on behalf of veterans, mental health

professionals and others. The complaints detailed how

"was the senior psychologist of the Guantánamo BSCT, a small but

influential group of mental health professionals whose

job it was to advise on and participate in the interrogations,

and to help create an environment designed to break down

prisoners." Specifically:

During his tenure at the prison, boys and men were threatened

with rape and death for themselves and their family members;

sexually, culturally, and religiously humiliated; forced

naked; deprived of sleep; subjected to sensory deprivation,

over-stimulation, and extreme isolation; short-shackled into

stress positions for hours; and physically assaulted. The

evidence indicates that abuse of this kind was systemic, that

BSCT health professionals played an integral role in its

planning and practice. . . .

Writing

in 2009, Law Professor Bill Quigley and Deborah Popowski,

a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program,

described ' role in this particularly notorious incident:

In 2003, Louisiana psychologist and retired Col. Larry

watched behind a one-way mirror in a US prison camp while an

interrogator and three prison guards wrestled a screaming,

near-naked man on the floor.

The prisoner had been forced into pink women's panties,

lipstick and a wig; the men then pinned the prisoner to the

floor in an effort "to outfit him with the matching pink

nightgown." As he recounts in his memoir, "Fixing Hell," Dr.

initially chose not to respond. He "opened [his]

thermos, poured a cup of coffee, and watched the episode play

out, hoping it would take a better turn and not wanting to

interfere without good reason ..."

Although he claims to eventually find "good reason" to

intervene, the Army colonel never reported the incident or

even so much as reprimanded men who had engaged in activities

that constituted war crimes.

treated numerous detainees who were abused, degraded, and

tortured, yet never took any steps to stop or even report these

incidents. Last year, Reisner -- senior faculty member

and supervisor at the International Trauma Studies Program, who

also teaches at New York University Medical School and Columbia

University -- told Democracy Now: "there is a

lot of evidence that has been made public showing that the

torture programs in the CIA and at Guantánamo, the Department of

Defense, were created and overseen by health professionals,

particularly psychologists" and that psychologists were at these

facilities "to use their professional expertise to break down

the detainees." , argued Dr. Reisner, was directly

implicated because:

Larry was the chief BSCT starting in January 2003. And

when you read the standard operating procedures for mental

health, for how to -- behavior protocols for detainees during

the time that Larry was the chief psychologist, you find

institutionalized abuse and torture -- isolation for thirty

days at a time with absolutely no contact, prohibition of the

International Committee of the Red Cross to see these

detainees, no access even to religious articles, to the

Qur’an, unless they cooperate with interrogations, not to

mention frequent interrogation.

For his part, Dr. claims he attempted to protect the

detainees under his care from abuse and psychological injury.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana psychology board refused to review the

merits of the complaint against on the grounds that the

alleged acts were too old (outside the statute of limitations),

while the Ohio board issued a three-sentence,

cursory letter which decreed, without any explanation

whatsoever, that "it has been determined that we are unable to

proceed to formal action in this matter." So while the charges

against him have not been formally sustained by either board,

neither have they been evaluated or rejected by any apparent

consideration of the merits. Judicial review of the Ohio board's

decision is still possible (a Louisiana federal court ruled it

lacked jurisdiction to review the board's Statute of Limitations

findings).

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, should not

be deemed guilty in the absence of a formal adjudication. But

the White House's conduct in selecting him is nonetheless

baffling, at best. Of all the psychologists to choose from, why

would they possibly choose to honor and elevate the former chief

psychologist of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib at the height of the

Bush abuses? More disturbing still, among those most damaged by

detainee abuse are the service members forced to participate in

it; why would the White House possibly want to put on a task

force about the health of military families someone, such as Dr.

, who at the very least is directly associated with

policies that so profoundly harmed numerous members of the

military and their families?

This isn't exactly a powerful Task Force, but what this

appointment does is have the White House -- yet

again -- signal that it does not really

take very seriously the Bush torture regime. On appearance

grounds alone, the Obama administration should not be embracing

and legitimizing the Bush-era Chief Psychologist of Guantanamo

and Abu Ghraib. Is there really nobody in the White House who

was able to come to that realization on their own, or is this

part of some twisted "reaching out" effort to show that they

view bygones as bygones when it comes to the war crimes our

leaders committed and whom the Obama administration continues to

protect? Whatever the explanation, the symbolism here is as ugly

as the mindset underlying it.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the

email sent by Dr. , as provided to me yesterday by Harvard

Law School’s Human Rights Program:

Message from Dean for the SOPP Community:

Hello Everyone,

It is with great pride and pleasure that I write to the SOPP

community and say that I have been appointed by the First Lady

to a White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the

Psychological Well-Being of The Military Family.

The first meeting will be at the White House next Tuesday

(the 29th) and will be hosted by Mrs. Obama and her staff.

Indeed, I feel honored and privileged to represent the SOPP,

WSU and the APA in this important endeavor.

Next week I will provide a follow-up e-mail to provide more

information.

All the best,

Larry C. , Ph.D., ABPP

Dean & Professor

School of Professional Psychology

State University

3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy

Dayton, Ohio 45435-001

Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

On its own website, HLS’s Human Rights

Program reported that sent this email "to colleagues and

students of State University, where Dr. serves as

Dean of the School of Professional Psychology.”

The White House, however, now tells a much different story. In

an email to me from the First Lady’s Communications Director,

the White House claims:

Several members of the White House staff are convening a

meeting with multiple mental health professionals on Tuesday

to discuss issues pertaining to the wellness of military

families. SAMHSA and the American Psychological Association

have both been asked to attend. We understand that

Dr. is involved with these groups and may have been

indirectly invited to attend this meeting.

She claims, however, that he now will not be at that meeting,

and further states that "Dr. has not been appointed to

serve in any capacity with the White House."

There’s obviously quite a discrepancy between the claims in the

email as provided by HLS' Human Rights Project and the

White House’s claims. Calls to Dr. regarding this matter

have not been returned, but if I speak with him, I’ll post his

response to the White House's denials.

[Guest guest]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/03/25/james/index.html

Friday, Mar 25, 2011 17:26 ET

Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib

psychologist is WH's newest appointment

By Glenn Greenwald

(Updated below with White House response)

One of the most intense scandals the field of psychology

has faced over the last decade is the involvement of

several of its members in enabling Bush's worldwide torture

regime. Numerous health professionals worked for the U.S.

government to help understand how best to mentally degrade and

break down detainees. At the center of that controversy was --

and is -- Dr. Larry . , a retired Army colonel, was

the Chief Psychologist at Guantanamo in 2003, at the height of

the abuses at that camp, and then served in the same position at

Abu Ghraib during 2004.

Today, Dr. circulated an excited email announcing, "with

great pride," that he has now been selected to serve on the

"White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the Psychological

Well-Being of The Military Family." In his new position, he

will be meeting at the White House with Obama and other

White House officials on Tuesday.

For his work at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, Dr. was the

subject of two formal ethics complaints in the two states where

he is licensed to practice: Louisiana and Ohio. Those complaints -- 50 pages long and full of

detailed and well-documented allegations -- were filed by the

International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School's Human

Rights Program, on behalf of veterans, mental health

professionals and others. The complaints detailed how

"was the senior psychologist of the Guantánamo BSCT, a small but

influential group of mental health professionals whose

job it was to advise on and participate in the interrogations,

and to help create an environment designed to break down

prisoners." Specifically:

During his tenure at the prison, boys and men were threatened

with rape and death for themselves and their family members;

sexually, culturally, and religiously humiliated; forced

naked; deprived of sleep; subjected to sensory deprivation,

over-stimulation, and extreme isolation; short-shackled into

stress positions for hours; and physically assaulted. The

evidence indicates that abuse of this kind was systemic, that

BSCT health professionals played an integral role in its

planning and practice. . . .

Writing

in 2009, Law Professor Bill Quigley and Deborah Popowski,

a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program,

described ' role in this particularly notorious incident:

In 2003, Louisiana psychologist and retired Col. Larry

watched behind a one-way mirror in a US prison camp while an

interrogator and three prison guards wrestled a screaming,

near-naked man on the floor.

The prisoner had been forced into pink women's panties,

lipstick and a wig; the men then pinned the prisoner to the

floor in an effort "to outfit him with the matching pink

nightgown." As he recounts in his memoir, "Fixing Hell," Dr.

initially chose not to respond. He "opened [his]

thermos, poured a cup of coffee, and watched the episode play

out, hoping it would take a better turn and not wanting to

interfere without good reason ..."

Although he claims to eventually find "good reason" to

intervene, the Army colonel never reported the incident or

even so much as reprimanded men who had engaged in activities

that constituted war crimes.

treated numerous detainees who were abused, degraded, and

tortured, yet never took any steps to stop or even report these

incidents. Last year, Reisner -- senior faculty member

and supervisor at the International Trauma Studies Program, who

also teaches at New York University Medical School and Columbia

University -- told Democracy Now: "there is a

lot of evidence that has been made public showing that the

torture programs in the CIA and at Guantánamo, the Department of

Defense, were created and overseen by health professionals,

particularly psychologists" and that psychologists were at these

facilities "to use their professional expertise to break down

the detainees." , argued Dr. Reisner, was directly

implicated because:

Larry was the chief BSCT starting in January 2003. And

when you read the standard operating procedures for mental

health, for how to -- behavior protocols for detainees during

the time that Larry was the chief psychologist, you find

institutionalized abuse and torture -- isolation for thirty

days at a time with absolutely no contact, prohibition of the

International Committee of the Red Cross to see these

detainees, no access even to religious articles, to the

Qur’an, unless they cooperate with interrogations, not to

mention frequent interrogation.

For his part, Dr. claims he attempted to protect the

detainees under his care from abuse and psychological injury.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana psychology board refused to review the

merits of the complaint against on the grounds that the

alleged acts were too old (outside the statute of limitations),

while the Ohio board issued a three-sentence,

cursory letter which decreed, without any explanation

whatsoever, that "it has been determined that we are unable to

proceed to formal action in this matter." So while the charges

against him have not been formally sustained by either board,

neither have they been evaluated or rejected by any apparent

consideration of the merits. Judicial review of the Ohio board's

decision is still possible (a Louisiana federal court ruled it

lacked jurisdiction to review the board's Statute of Limitations

findings).

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, should not

be deemed guilty in the absence of a formal adjudication. But

the White House's conduct in selecting him is nonetheless

baffling, at best. Of all the psychologists to choose from, why

would they possibly choose to honor and elevate the former chief

psychologist of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib at the height of the

Bush abuses? More disturbing still, among those most damaged by

detainee abuse are the service members forced to participate in

it; why would the White House possibly want to put on a task

force about the health of military families someone, such as Dr.

, who at the very least is directly associated with

policies that so profoundly harmed numerous members of the

military and their families?

This isn't exactly a powerful Task Force, but what this

appointment does is have the White House -- yet

again -- signal that it does not really

take very seriously the Bush torture regime. On appearance

grounds alone, the Obama administration should not be embracing

and legitimizing the Bush-era Chief Psychologist of Guantanamo

and Abu Ghraib. Is there really nobody in the White House who

was able to come to that realization on their own, or is this

part of some twisted "reaching out" effort to show that they

view bygones as bygones when it comes to the war crimes our

leaders committed and whom the Obama administration continues to

protect? Whatever the explanation, the symbolism here is as ugly

as the mindset underlying it.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the

email sent by Dr. , as provided to me yesterday by Harvard

Law School’s Human Rights Program:

Message from Dean for the SOPP Community:

Hello Everyone,

It is with great pride and pleasure that I write to the SOPP

community and say that I have been appointed by the First Lady

to a White House Task Force entitled Enhancing the

Psychological Well-Being of The Military Family.

The first meeting will be at the White House next Tuesday

(the 29th) and will be hosted by Mrs. Obama and her staff.

Indeed, I feel honored and privileged to represent the SOPP,

WSU and the APA in this important endeavor.

Next week I will provide a follow-up e-mail to provide more

information.

All the best,

Larry C. , Ph.D., ABPP

Dean & Professor

School of Professional Psychology

State University

3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy

Dayton, Ohio 45435-001

Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

On its own website, HLS’s Human Rights

Program reported that sent this email "to colleagues and

students of State University, where Dr. serves as

Dean of the School of Professional Psychology.”

The White House, however, now tells a much different story. In

an email to me from the First Lady’s Communications Director,

the White House claims:

Several members of the White House staff are convening a

meeting with multiple mental health professionals on Tuesday

to discuss issues pertaining to the wellness of military

families. SAMHSA and the American Psychological Association

have both been asked to attend. We understand that

Dr. is involved with these groups and may have been

indirectly invited to attend this meeting.

She claims, however, that he now will not be at that meeting,

and further states that "Dr. has not been appointed to

serve in any capacity with the White House."

There’s obviously quite a discrepancy between the claims in the

email as provided by HLS' Human Rights Project and the

White House’s claims. Calls to Dr. regarding this matter

have not been returned, but if I speak with him, I’ll post his

response to the White House's denials.