Prof. denies rumors of assistance in torture techniques

Recently published book The Dark Side by author and New Yorker writer Jane Mayer ties the work of Penn professor and psychologist Martin Seligman to interrogation techniques used by the CIA to extract confessions from detainees allegedly linked to al Qaeda.

Seligman, the father of a Summer Pennsylvanian news editor, is known for developing the theory of learned helplessness. The theory is based on experiments he led in which dogs that experienced a random shock that they believed they could not control showed signs of depression and apathy to their situation.

Extrapolated to the human condition, Seligman's theory of learned helplessness predicts that those who believe they have little control over their situation often become passive and apathetic to their state.

Mayer's book alleges that Seligman's research heavily influenced the psychologists that developped CIA interrogation techniques at the Guantanamo Bay military prison. But in a pre-publication review of the book's content, Harper's Magazine writer Scott Horton writes that Seligman "assisted" in the development of their interrogation techniques. This statement has since circulated on several psychology-related blogs and is a claim that Seligman unequivocally denies.

"The allegation that I 'provided assistance in the process' of torture is completely false," Seligman said in a written statement. "I strongly disapprove of torture and have never and would never provide assistance in its process."

According to Mayer's book, Seligman's theory was an inspiration to the two psychologists, James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who worked with the classified military-training Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape program. The program trained U.S. soldiers to survive and resist interrogative methods when in captivity.

Mitchell and Jessen were allegedly contracted by the CIA to reverse these techniques and interrogate allegedly al Qaeda-linked detainees to obtain information about planned terrorist attacks.

Seligman gave an SERE-sponsored lecture at the San Diego Naval Base in May 2002, where both he and Mayer said he spoke about how U.S. soldiers could apply his theories as a protection mechanism while being tortured.

Both Mitchell and Jessen were present at Seligman's lecture, which, Seligman wrote, was attended by about 50 people and lasted about three hours.

There, he says he was told that as a "civilian with no security clearance they could not discuss American methods of interrogation with me." He added that he has "not had contact with SERE since that meeting."

Mayer's book implies that Seligman's speech and prior published work played a large role in Mitchell and Jessen's development of torture techniques. Using Seligman's work, the book alleges, the two tried to break down detainee resistance to facilitate confessions.

According to Mayer, Mitchell "cited the uses of Learned Helplessness" in his work. She later added that Air Force Reserve Colonel and experienced interrogator Steve Kleinman called Mitchell's deliberate use of learned helplessness in interrogations "morally, legally and tactically wrong."

One of the most notorious detainees allegedly interrogated using Seligman's research as interpreted by Mitchell's team was al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah, Mayer wrote. After being captured in Pakistan, Zubaydah was transported to the Guantanamo Bay military prison, where he was interrogated by U.S. forces.

In her book, Mayer quotes sources who said that Mitchell wanted the prisoner treated like a "dog in a cage." U.S. interrogators, who have since come under fire for their treatment of Zubaydah, used techniques like waterboarding to elicit confessions from him.

"Zubaydah's treatment set the precedent for the abuse of U.S. held prisoners," Mayer writes.

Mitchell, through a lawyer, has disputed the role that Seligman's work played in developing interrogation techniques.

Comments (12)

You know what I think about this administration running around the law , the courts, and the judges? Sieg Heil ! Sieg Heil ! Sieg Heil ! Where's my damn brown shirt 'W? Mark Seligman is a sicko! You are sick and twisted! Is this what you want to teach your kids? You f-ing wierdo!

Finally a Penn professor does something useful and the DP gets all liberal about it.

Doesn�?t the jpeg below look strikingly similar to what the U.S. did to that re-entering satellite several months ago? (See jpeg at borders.com or barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com) Publisher�?s Note: Our author had it right in 1987, but couldn�?t get published because they said the events he predicted could not possibly happen. Well, they did, and we finally published him when we discovered the manuscript. Mr. Spirko tells us that Bush�?s motive for trying the peace initiative is not so much his seeking a favorable legacy, but rather that this is probably the last chance for peace in the Middle East before a catastrophic World War III event takes place. Spirko says, �?It is never too late for peace.�? Most of the ideas that will be used at Annapolis and the continuing peace talks are from Spirko�?s book. SAN FRANCISCO Ð THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY, a genre spy-thriller by Robert Spirko, is now in its second printing and was fourth on the best-seller list at Atlasbooks, Inc., a national book distributor. Ingram Books is the worldwide distributor. Spirko, a financial and geo-political analyst who has given his advice to the National Security Council, turned his attention to the Middle East in 1987, after discovering several common elements related to the Middle East question. He wrote down his analysis, and when he was finished, he not only had a solution to the quagmire, he had a story to tell. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY foreshadowed the Persian Gulf War by three years, and the resultant Iraq War followed by the Sept. 11 attack. Spirko states, "The chief threat in the region I see right now is the threat to Saudi Arabia by Iran and Al Qaeda. If Al Qaeda were to overthrow the present royal family in Saudi Arabia or attack the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the oil supply to western nations including Japan and China, it would bring down entire world economies. France and Germany would be begging us to go to war to retake those oil wells. It would be World War III." �?If such a scenario were to occur,�? he reiterates, �?France and the European economies would collapse in a matter of weeks.�? �?Another looming concern is Iran which wants to develop nuclear weapons to couple with their Shahab 4, 5 & 6 missiles on the drawing boards which have a range to hit London, Israel, all of Europe, southern Russia and the United States. Also, the Iranian government has said it initially had 300 centrifuges to enrich uranium to weapons grade material. They have increased that to 3,000. They will soon increase that again to 10,000 centrifuges,�? Spirko says. �?They have the additional capacity to add another 20,000 centrifuges in mass production techniques that will enable them to produce at least seven nuclear bombs in about a year. Where did they get these centrifuges?�? Spirko answers that question by stating an Arab proverb, �?The enemy of my enemy is my friend.�? �?Simply put,�? Spirko explains, �?they probably got them from Saddam Hussein before the Iraq War started and were probably smuggled out of Iraq and into Iran just like he did his air force of 600 Soviet fighter planes. In other words, he gave them to his former enemy rather than let them be destroyed on the ground.�? �?Why would he have done any differently with the 30,000 centrifuges he supposedly had on a decentralized basis inside Iraq before the war?�? Spirko asks. �?Isn�?t it strange that Iran could come up with a nuclear weapons program in about six months to a year when it took the United States six years under the Manhattan Project with 5,000 of the world�?s most brilliant scientists like Robert Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr, Seaborg, Einstein, Fermi, and others working on it?�? Another point Spirko makes on the Mideast is that, �?It is time for the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the Peace Talks, resume where they left off and "freeze in place" the already-agreed-upon negotiating points,�? Spirko says. "And, it's all related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict which I said back in 1987 was the crux of my book. It always has been, and always will be until it's settled,�? Spirko says. �?That linkage is exactly what Osama Bin Laden stated in a taped message aired the weekend before the election in November of 2004. Whether you believe him or not is beside the point. That's what's he told us, and we'd better take that into account." The novel is a mass market paperback produced by Olive Grove Publishers, and can be purchased at area bookstores through Ingram Book Group, Green Leaf Distribution, and Baker and Taylor, priced at $14.99, ISBN 0-9752508-0-9. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY can also be ordered on the web at www.atlasbooks.com, or email orders from: order@bookmasters.com, or from Barnes & Nobles, Border's, Dalton's, efollett.com & Follett bookstores at colleges and universities, WaldenBooks, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and other popular retail bookstores. Or, readers and store managers can call 1-800-BOOKLOG, or 800-247-6553 direct, to order. SAN FRANCISCO - When it comes to spy novels and Middle East intrigue, after 16 spell-binding years, the gripping story behind the Middle East quagmire - its issues of nuclear weapons and the quest for a Palestinian State - is finally being told in a ground-breaking new book entitled, THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY. Author Robert Spirko created the work in such a way that every reader in the world would understand all the intricate issues in the Middle East and how close the region actually came to the brink of nuclear Armageddon. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY, a genre spy-thriller by Robert Spirko, was fourth on the best-seller list at Atlasbooks, Inc., a national book distributor. Ingram Books is the worldwide distributor. Mr. Spirko has a unique way of holding the reader in his grasp as the plot of THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY unfolds. He literally takes you from your armchair and immerses you into the lifestyle of the Bedouin, the Israeli, the PLO and the mindset of the Middle-Easterner. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY is not just another spy-novel; it is the quintessential spy-thriller because it forces the reader to understand how both sides "think" and why that thinking ultimately led to repeated wars in the Middle East. Spirko, a financial and geo-political analyst, turned his attention to the Middle East in 1987, after discovering several common elements related to the Middle East question. In working for peace, and after several frustrating years, he put down his analysis in writing and when he was finished, he not only had a solution to the quagmire, he had a story to tell. But, nobody was listening. Today, all that has changed, thanks to Olive Grove Publishers who decided to give his book a chance. When the Palestinian question came to a festering crisis in 1990, he had already predicted several of the actual events before they occurred. For instance, Spirko predicted the Intifada and Persian Gulf War, missing the actual invasion date of Kuwait by only one week. He did this through spectacular supposition, analysis and prediction based on what he was "seeing" in the region. When Spirko typed his manuscript, he set the work to fiction, about what he thought might occur soon in the Middle East involving weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation, the Palestinian uprising before it occurred, and how the Palestinian question begged to be answered, little did he realize that every event he described in the book would eventually transpire. His story of what was really happening behind the scenes in the Middle East is truly astounding and remarkable, and his contribution to the Camp David Peace Talks in 2000, formulated a solution to the Jerusalem question. When the BBC got wind of it, they termed it "as nothing short of brilliant" - Jerusalem becoming the simultaneous capitals of both Israel and Palestine in congruous or concentric zones. Spirko originally copyrighted his book on October 20, 1987, in the U. S. Library of Congress where intelligence agencies reviewed his work. Today, finally, somebody is listening. Spirko feels that both sides must return to the Peace Talks and resume where they left off and "freeze in place" the already-agreed-upon negotiating points. �?It's like a marriage where both spouses storm away mad in an argument. They don't divorce and then try to resume their relationship, they come back together, settle their differences, and resume their marriage. It must be the same for the Middle East Peace talks," Spirko says. The story begins in Beirut, Lebanon, once a great financial capital of the Middle East, which lay in ruin, having been systematically blasted to rubble during 20 years of inexhaustible civil war and siege by Israel, the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and Lebanese factions. Soon, the quest for a Palestinian State would be framed by these events; namely, the invasion of Kuwait by a neighboring rogue state, Iraq, with Saddam Hussein's goal of seeking nuclear parity with Israel. In Mr. Spirko's story, Rick Waite, a forgotten UPI correspondent, and Adrienne Waters, a Pulitzer Prize journalist from the London Times, meet-up in Beirut with a PLO operative named Ahmed, who discovers a secret intelligence memo about a secret plan to destroy Israel. In the ensuing chase to find the answer to this secret communiquŽ and what it means, a deadly race against time begins as the unlikely trio tries to halt the launch of a secret weapon from a hidden PLO base camp in the Syrian Desert. U. S. and British intelligence operatives have their own agenda, and attempt to stop whatever is going on to save the entire region from a nuclear holocaust. Spirko weaves a tale of chilling duplicity and thrilling action, as the characters evade and devise a method to announce the discovery of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles to the rest of the world - all while United Nations' delegates bicker endlessly. An executive at BookMasters, Inc., says, "The book is absolutely stunning in the manner in which Mr. Spirko, tells his tale. He is truly a master as an analyst, and it's totally unlike anything else we've ever read in a spy-thriller. It keeps you turning pages and won't let you quit - until the very end. And, what an ending it is! If you crave twisting plots, thrilling spy-action and intriguing characters, then this is the book for you." Spirko, whose own background includes a stint in the U. S. Air Force and has given his advice to the National Security Council in Washington, D. C., has a degree in journalism and knows first-hand about the newsroom and what it takes to be an intelligence field agent. His knowledge of the trade makes the story real, daunting, and strikingly similar to "The Year of Living Dangerously." "THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY drips with reality," quips a book reviewer from Olive Grove Publishers. "If books were rated by Siskel & Roeper, it would be given a two-thumbs up." Not since, Casablanca, do characters as earthy as Rick Waite, or as beautifully mysterious as London Times reporter, Adrienne Waters, or as desperate as PLO operative, Ahmed, bring fresh characters to a story that will be remembered by readers for a long time. The novel is a mass market paperback produced by Olive Grove Publishers, and can be purchased at area bookstores through Ingram Book Group, Green Leaf Distribution, and Baker and Taylor, priced at $14.99, ISBN 0-9752508-0-9. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY can also be ordered on the web at www.atlasbooks.com, or email orders from: order@bookmasters.com, or from Barnes & Nobles, Border's, Dalton's, efollett.com & Follett bookstores at colleges and universities, WaldenBooks, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and other popular retail bookstores. Or, readers and store managers can call 1-800-BOOKLOG, or 800-247-6553 direct, to order. For readers who want to know what was really going on in the Middle East prior to the Persian Gulf War, Sept. 11th, and Iraq War, THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY, is a must read.

The father of a Summer Pennsylvanian news editor Seriously? Great journalism here.

As far as Professor Seligman being against torture, he went through some inner turmoil about torturing animals for his research on helplessness. He only decided to do it because the research could help millions of people. I have read his books Helplessness, Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness. You can tell what type of person that Professor Seligman is after reading those books and he teaches that helping others makes you happier. Of course the reverse is true. He knows that if he does anything to hurt others, it will make him unhappier. This is a basic principle of Positive Psychology. It is similar to what another Jew taught 2,000 years ago-- "Do onto others as you would have them do unto you." His research on helplessness led to him discovering the cure for depression as verified by the National Institute for Mental Health. Another Jew, Walter Annenberg [Annenberg School of Communications, Annenberg Theatre, etc.], had a son that was attending Harvard University. While a student there, he killed himself due to depression. The Positive Psychology Network studies how people can be happier. Professor Seligman is the director of it.

[QUOTE id="0b6b9a3d-bc3b-42e0-b57d-3d20ba701787"]"The father of a Summer Pennsylvanian news editor" Seriously? Great journalism here.[/QUOTE] Wha? Not sure what you're getting at here. Disclosure of such potential conflicts *is* good journalism.

[QUOTE id="928605ab-ec8d-49d9-9ba1-021b1a898973"]As far as his research being used against the terrorists, that is how research is. For example because the U.S.A. researched and created nuclear bombs, Iran has been exploding nuclear bombs. But the information that Professor Seligman has made available is there for anyone to use or ignore. So if the terrorists wanted to, they could learn this information and make themselves immune to learned helplessness. They could also learn how to pretend that the torture is working, even though it is not. The very reason for this research is that millions of people are suffering from this torture that is put upon them by their very own minds. It is my opinion that there are no terrorists that are mentally healthy. In fact hate cannot survive in a happy mind. So maybe if terrorists used this information, they may find themselves with a loss of desire to be terrorists. A happy person does not commit murder. There are many murders in the U.S.A. that are easy to solve. That is where the person shoots someone he 'loves' and then shoots himself. One time a guy, with a gun, caught his wife in bed with another guy. He was very upset and after yelling at them, he points the gun at his own head. Then his wife starts laughing at him. He says "Do not laugh. You are next."[/QUOTE] Did you tell that last story correctly? How does one shoot oneself in the head and then shoot one's wife "next"?

As far as his research being used against the terrorists, that is how research is. For example because the U.S.A. researched and created nuclear bombs, Iran has been exploding nuclear bombs. But the information that Professor Seligman has made available is there for anyone to use or ignore. So if the terrorists wanted to, they could learn this information and make themselves immune to learned helplessness. They could also learn how to pretend that the torture is working, even though it is not. The very reason for this research is that millions of people are suffering from this torture that is put upon them by their very own minds. It is my opinion that there are no terrorists that are mentally healthy. In fact hate cannot survive in a happy mind. So maybe if terrorists used this information, they may find themselves with a loss of desire to be terrorists. A happy person does not commit murder. There are many murders in the U.S.A. that are easy to solve. That is where the person shoots someone he 'loves' and then shoots himself. One time a guy, with a gun, caught his wife in bed with another guy. He was very upset and after yelling at them, he points the gun at his own head. Then his wife starts laughing at him. He says "Do not laugh. You are next."

Did you tell that last story correctly? How does one shoot oneself in the head and then shoot one's wife "next"? I ended with a joke that I think is funny.

[QUOTE id="9309dd71-14a5-40f9-a0e7-8f02ca377f8f"]Did you tell that last story correctly? How does one shoot oneself in the head and then shoot one's wife "next"? I ended with a joke that I think is funny.[/QUOTE] Oh, I understand that it was meant to be a joke. I just thought the logistics of it made it sound as if it were being delivered wrong.

The CIA taught torture techniques to US puppet states long before Seligman did his research. It is preposturous for someone like McCain to claim torture when he came back without needing a wheelchair. The CIA would cut off the ankles of suspected insurgents in Vietnam. And most people would agree there would be a lot of insurgents in a country being invaded by 500,000 foreign troops, especially after they had already defeated their French colonial masters.

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