Psychological Association's Ethics Code Being Broken?

The American Psychological Association's code of ethics states that "Psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care to do no harm." An interesting article from the Boston Globe questions if psychologists assisting interrogation at Guantanamo Bay are potentially breaking that promise. The camp has been known to torture detainees and use controversial methods of punishment such as depriving them of sleep along with degrading them through a number of other treatments. Because of this, many professionals are openly against all psychologists assisting in anything to do with the camp. Some have blamed the APA for not "taking a firmer stance and punishing association members who have helped interrogators," and in the soon-to-come vote for new leadership, members are anxious to see how the new president handles the situation. Many hope to end all partnerships with Guantanamo in the near future and enforce a resolution to ban psychologists from working in such facilities. I found this article interesting because it discusses a professional association's code of ethics and how certain statements may be interpreted differently depending on the party reading it. To some, they may believe they are helping by assisting in interrogating prisoners. On the other hand, it seems somewhat barbaric to resort to torturous methods of punishment. Afterall, the conditions at Guantanamo Bay are enough of a punishment alone, and the detainees are still people at the end of the day. They too have the right to live life without being put intentionally in harm's way.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/08/30/psychologists_and_torture/