Interrogators subjected Gitmo detainees to dangerous psychoactive drug: report

Interrogators subjected Gitmo detainees to dangerous psychoactive drug: report

www.rawstory.com

The US military's routine administration of high doses of a malaria drug, posing severe psychological side effects for Guantanamo Bay detainees, may have been the "psychological equivalent of waterboarding," according to a published report.

An investigation by the Seton Hall University School of Law, a leading law school in the New York metropolitan area, found that administering 1250mg of the malaria drug mefloquine to Guantanamo Bay detainees was a standard operating procedure, "whether or

(visit the link for the full news article)

"Mefloquine was administered to detainees contrary to medical protocol or purpose," Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Director of the Seton Hall Law Center for Policy and Research, said. "The record reveals no medical justification for mefloquine in this manner or at these doses. On this record there appears to be only three possible reasons for drugging these men: gross malpractice, human experimentation or 'enhanced interrogation.'"

Mefloquine, even at the standard dose of 250mg, can cause severe side effects such as paranoia, hallucinations, aggression, psychotic behavior, memory impairment, convulsions, suicidal ideation and possibly suicide. The drug produces psychoactive effects because it can cross the blood-brain barrier. In addition, it has a relatively long half-life and is fat-soluble, meaning the drug can remain in the body for a long period of time.

"A massive dose of this drug is not easily corrected and the 'side effects' of the medication could last for weeks or months," Dr. G. Richard Olds, tropical disease specialist and founding Dean of the Medical School of the University of California at Riversidem, noted.

Yet one more form of torture that is now coming to light. If this is only what we do know, can you imagine what we don't know? I'm sure this is the tip of the ice-berg and sadly, it is being done in the name of every single American.

I'm sure that as the years go on, we will find out more and more, though I'm sure that we will probably never get the whole picture.

Justice needs to be served, so that we can send the message that we are on the moral high ground and that we can once again be the beacon of justice and the pillar of law. I fear that history is only going to judge us correctly, a judgement that won't be favorable, though on a more practical side, this just boosts recruitment for anti-American sentiment and extremism. I don't know about you, but I surely don't want this done in my name, and more importantly, I want my country to follow a due process of law. Justice needs to be served if we ever want to clear our tarnished image.


--airspoon

www.rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I wonder what the point of GITMO is. They overdose prisoners, rendering them irrational and unable to provide any useful information. They torture them to extract whatever information they have. They seem to be deliberately using the worst means of extracting information. I don't mean that they are cruel means, although they are, I mean that they are ineffective. Maybe that's why they have to keep prisoners there without charges for years, so they can finally get some information out of them, even if it is too late.

It's probably all about kangaroo courts, though. Having some bodies to take the fall for the War on Terror, having some scapegoats to display to the public as National Enemy #1.

Is this really that much different from Nazi experimentation on prisoners, or the torturous Japanese experimentation?

Read up on Edgewood, nothing changed since then.

This angers me to the core.... Here I am paying good money for mine, and the terrorists at the Gitmo Hilton are getting them for free... Now, I am all for closing that resort down.. IMMEDIATLY!

reply to post by airspoon


My unit took the same drug while I was in Afghanistan.

It was not mandatory to take it and by the end of the deployment I don't think anyone in the unit was taking it.

Originally posted by MikeboydUS
reply to post by airspoon

 

My unit took the same drug while I was in Afghanistan.

It was not mandatory to take it and by the end of the deployment I don't think anyone in the unit was taking it.

I think the issue is not so much the drug as the dosage.

It's also used to wipe peoples memories:

en.wikipedia.org...


The FDA was looking into this drug since it was killing people and in 2009 the Army said it's not to be used on their people.

Guess the Chemical Weapons Convention doesn't apply since they aren't a military of a party nation. But I see why they tried to burn their brains with the chemical to wipe their memories out or have them die conveniently.

A This American Life broadcast entitled "Contents Unknown" tells the story of an American who lost his memory while working in India as a result of mefloquine prophylaxis.

Source: en.wikipedia.org...

This is interesting. I'll propose a hypothesis. What if the government is trying to "wipe" their memories. We already know, via witness testimony (multiple), that the government is torturing for confessions and as we all know, torturing will often lead to false confessions. However, what if this drug is being used on those who gave false confessions regarding 9/11, then their memories are wiped. This could be an attempt by government to prove that it was Islamic fundamentalism that resulted in 9/11. It may just be a way to save their own skin, just in case common sense suddenly strikes the public and we demand justice.


--airspoon

Originally posted by SmedleyBurlap
I wonder what the point of GITMO is.

The real purpose is to train and vet a cadre of torturers--people who will do anything they are ordered to do. After all, they'll be plenty of demand for their skills in the future, especially here at home.