Report says American Psychological Association helped justify torture

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jun 29, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Report says American Psychological Association helped justify torture</h1>
                <h2><p>New York Times reporter James Risen writes: "The American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners swept up in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror, according to a new report by a</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>New York Times reporter <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/us/report-says-american-psychological-association-collaborated-on-torture-justification.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_wonk&_r=1&ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">James Risen writes:</a> "The American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners swept up in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror, according to a new report by a group of dissident health professionals and human rights activists."</p><p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/01/us/document-report.html?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">report</a> itself charges that “The A.P.A. secretly coordinated with officials from the CIA, White House and the Department of Defense to create an A.P.A. ethics policy on national security interrogations which comported with then-classified legal guidance authorizing the C.I.A. torture program.”</p>
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New York Times reporter James Risen writes: "The American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners swept up in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror, according to a new report by a group of dissident health professionals and human rights activists."

The report itself charges that “The A.P.A. secretly coordinated with officials from the CIA, White House and the Department of Defense to create an A.P.A. ethics policy on national security interrogations which comported with then-classified legal guidance authorizing the C.I.A. torture program.”

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,