Stephen Soldz
Encyclopedia
Stephen Soldz, Ph.D., born November 19, 1952, is a psychoanalyst, clinical psychologist, professor
, and anti-war
activist.
He has received media
attention as a vocal critic
regarding allegations of the use of psychological torture
by the U.S. government
in its conduct of the War in Iraq and the War on Terror
.
In August 2007, Soldz publicly challenged the American Psychological Association
to ban
the involvement by professional psychologist
s in the interrogation
of 'enemy combatant' prisoner
s held by the CIA and Defense Department.
Soldz, in an interview
with the San Francisco Chronicle
, publicly accused psychologists attached to the U.S. military base
at Guantanamo Bay of developing and applying torture
techniques on detainees while advising interrogators on the levels of abuse
that detainees could withstand.
The American Psychological Association did not pass the ban advocated by Soldz, but instead issued a resolution
stating its opposition to torture and restricting its members from participating in interrogations that involved practices that could be defined as torture.
Additionally, Soldz, in his role as the publisher of the Iraq Occupation and Resistance Report web site, has used media forums
to question the accuracy in reporting the number of Iraqi civilian deaths since the March 2003 invasion
and challenged claims that the al-Jazeera television network was supportive of Saddam Hussein
.
He has also written opinion columns on the Iraq war for the Daily Kos
web site.
Outside of politics
, Soldz and Leigh McCullough co-edited the 1999 book “Reconciling Empirical Knowledge and Clinical Experience: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy,” published by the American Psychological Association.
Also in 1999, Soldz and George E. Vaillant published their article “The Big Five Personality Traits and the Life Course: A 45-Year Longitudinal Study” in the Journal of Research in Personality. The journal’s editors later named the Soldz-Vaillant article as the publication's most important paper for that year.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, and anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
activist.
He has received media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
attention as a vocal critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
regarding allegations of the use of psychological torture
Psychological punishment
A psychological punishment is a type of punishment that relies not or only in secondary order on the actual harm inflicted but on psychological effects, mainly emotions, such as fear, shame and guilt...
by the U.S. government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
in its conduct of the War in Iraq and the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
In August 2007, Soldz publicly challenged the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
to ban
Ban (law)
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
the involvement by professional psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
s in the interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
of 'enemy combatant' prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
s held by the CIA and Defense Department.
Soldz, in an interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
with the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, publicly accused psychologists attached to the U.S. military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
at Guantanamo Bay of developing and applying torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
techniques on detainees while advising interrogators on the levels of abuse
Psychological abuse
Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder...
that detainees could withstand.
The American Psychological Association did not pass the ban advocated by Soldz, but instead issued a resolution
Resolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
stating its opposition to torture and restricting its members from participating in interrogations that involved practices that could be defined as torture.
Additionally, Soldz, in his role as the publisher of the Iraq Occupation and Resistance Report web site, has used media forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
to question the accuracy in reporting the number of Iraqi civilian deaths since the March 2003 invasion
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
and challenged claims that the al-Jazeera television network was supportive of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
He has also written opinion columns on the Iraq war for the Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
web site.
Outside of politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, Soldz and Leigh McCullough co-edited the 1999 book “Reconciling Empirical Knowledge and Clinical Experience: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy,” published by the American Psychological Association.
Also in 1999, Soldz and George E. Vaillant published their article “The Big Five Personality Traits and the Life Course: A 45-Year Longitudinal Study” in the Journal of Research in Personality. The journal’s editors later named the Soldz-Vaillant article as the publication's most important paper for that year.