Practices in Iraq Smear Doctors’ Reputations

Re “Doctor’s Orders -- Spill Your Guts,” Opinion, Jan. 9: The role of physicians in devising and supervising “interrogation” sessions and in falsifying death certificates in Iraq is no longer a secret. How many surrendered Iraqi scientists and officers really died from “heart attacks,” as were certified by U.S. medical personnel during the frenzy to obtain information about the fabled weapons of mass destruction?

Behind the kindly face and comforting white coat is something more sinister. Physicians are no more immune from ideological zealotry and conformity than medal-hungry martinets.

One only needs to look at the role of German physicians (by far the most enthusiastic and earliest Nazi members and supporters among all professions in Germany) to get an idea of the tendencies of the medical profession. Doctors generally enjoy immunity from the consequences of their “professional” behavior in providing “expertise” to advance a political and military agenda; it can be a powerful psychological and material incentive.

Whereas Iraqi doctors and medical personnel caring for the thousands of wounded Iraqis were treated as the “enemy” in Fallouja, American military doctors are rewarded for their “services” in Abu Ghraib.

Our profession once again suffers from a terrific historical amnesia.

Robin Eastman-

Abaya MD

Binghamton, N.Y.

*

Some people just don’t get it! Capturing people and putting them in prison does not mean they are guilty. It does not even mean they have done anything wrong. Case in point: Out of the hundreds held at Guantanamo Bay, only a few have ever been charged with a crime.

Imprisoning anyone without a trial or a chance to defend himself goes against every ethical and moral value that America stands for. Brutal dictatorships justify torture and murder as a means to protect themselves. Where do we stand and what examples do we give our people and the world? Those who accept torture or say they don’t tolerate it yet allow it to go on in secret are accomplices to this crime against humanity.

I cannot believe that America, the land of justice and freedom, is debating this issue. Where is the outcry from our politicians, religious leaders and our people?

Jim Kappus

Overland Park, Kan.