The Ethics of Interrogation

Listen / Download

The latest stories from the prison at Guantanamo Bay have investigators asking what role American doctors play in the interrogation or perhaps the torture of detainees.

A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine alleges that army psychiatrists and other health workers passed on confidential medical information about prisoners to interrogators who then used that information to develop their techniques.

The Pentagon claims that new guidelines issued in the wake of abuse allegations guard against unethical behavior by doctors in interrogations. But these allegations raise questions about adherence to the Geneva Conventions and who it is that military doctors ultimately serve — their patients or their country.

Guests:

Dr. William Winkenwerder, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs

Jackie Northam, National Public Radio national security correspondent

Dr. Gregg Bloche, a physician and professor of law at Georgetown University

General Ronald Blanck, Former Army Surgeon General of the United States.