[IP] Fwd: Some soldiers refuse to go along
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 09:43:29 -0700
From: DV Henkel-Wallace <gumby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Some soldiers refuse to go along
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
This article is more thoughtful than most newspaper articles.
I do feel that the mistreatment of prisoners is a natural outgrowth of a
culture of retribution. But the full article sheds light on further
unstated questions that have puzzled me, for example why would someone who
has nothing to gain participate in (e.g.) the Enron or Worldcom coverups?
From http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/14/international/14RESI.html
May 14, 2004
PSYCHOLOGY
Pressure to Go Along With Abuse Is Strong, but Some Soldiers Find Strength
to Refuse
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
The images of prisoner abuse still trickling out of Iraq show a side of
human behavior that psychologists have sought to understand for decades.
But the murky reports of a handful of soldiers who refused to take part
bring to light a behavior psychologists find even more puzzling: disobedience.
Buried in his report earlier this year on Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Maj.
Gen. Antonio M. Taguba praised the actions of three men who tried to stop
the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees. They are nowhere to be seen in the
portraits of brutality that have touched off outrage around the world.
Although details of their actions are sketchy, it is known that one
soldier, Lt. David O. Sutton, put an end to one incident and alerted his
commanders. William J. Kimbro, a Navy dog handler, "refused to participate
in improper interrogations despite significant pressure" from military
intelligence, according to the report. And Specialist Joseph M. Darby gave
military police the evidence that sounded the alarm.
[...]
In numerous studies over the past few decades, psychologists have found
that a certain percentage of people simply refuse to give in to pressure ?
by authorities or by peers ? if they feel certain actions are wrong.
[...]
People who break from the crowd to blow the whistle, history shows, are
often the most psychologically distanced from the situation.
[...]
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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