“The
CIA’s torture program had explicit guidelines on human
experimentation from 1987, according to a report. But their regular
practices, including participation of medical staff in torture
sessions, may have violated those guidelines. A document obtained by
the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and published on Monday by
the Guardian reveals the Central Intelligence Agency was prohibited
from conducting or sponsoring research on human subjects without
their consent. The 'Law and policy governing the conduct of
intelligence activities' was originally enacted in 1987, and was last
updated in 2013.”
“CIA
Director George Tenet used this authority to approve the use of
'enhanced interrogation techniques' (EIT) in the course of the
detention, rendition and interrogation program launched after 9/11.
The techniques were developed by psychologists contracted by the CIA,
and included the infamous torture by waterboarding. Tenet also
ordered the agency’s Office of Medical Service (OMS) personnel to
oversee the interrogations. Tenet’s official instructions endorsing
waterboarding also commanded OMS staff to be present at
interrogations. As a result, they evaluated and extensively
documented the torture sessions – something experts interviewed by
the Guardian said may have crossed the line in human experimentation,
by blurring the lines between providing medical aid to subjects and
keeping them capable of enduring further abuse.”
“This
instruction appears to be based on the agency’s experience with
waterboarding Abu Zubaydah in the summer of 2002. OMS personnel were
present during the interrogation, and helped revive Zubaydah after he
passed out.”
“Interestingly,
the CIA remembered it was prohibited from conducting human
experimentation in 2003, when inspector-general John Helgerson
inquired whether torture was effective. Studies into that, the agency
replied to the Senate Intelligence Committee, 'would have been
encumbered by a number of factors,' among them 'federal policy on the
protection of human subjects.'”
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