Learn from the mistakes of others

The idea that terrorists might be people after all, is beginning to seep in ... from Indonesia. Rehabilitation of terrorists is being considered as a real possibility.

This idea put forward by Police Commissioner Mick Keelty on telly last night, that the Australian government is considering a system of rehabilitating terrorists, is quite extraordinary.

"Thinking outside the chamber", road to surfdom, March 09, 2006

It is extraordinary because until now the kill, kill, kill approach has been adhered to so steadfastly by our political leaders.

MICK KEELTY: Well, it would require a policy change here and, to put it into some perspective here, if you take, for example, the problem of drugs, for many years people have thought, well, can we force people into treatment to get them to overcome their problem? Even in the jail system, can we impose a treatment regime on people and it's a policy question that really hasn't been addressed here and really certainly hasn't been imposed. There's nowhere in Australia where drug addicts, if you like, are forced into treatment to overcome their problem. So, essentially, it would be a threshold question in terms of policy as to whether we would engage in something that forces people into some sort of deprogramming or deradicalisation.

Tony Jones, "Keelty discusses reprogramming terrorists", ABC Lateline, 08/03/2006

The terms 'brainwashing' and 'deprogramming' and 're-education' get bandied about in this discussion. Language such as 'turned him around' is used.

I seem to recall that psychology has distanced itself from the notion of 'brainwashing', and the other terms just feel wrong to me ... after three years immersed in the art and technology of propaganda, it all still gives me the creeps.

It would still be better to address the causes, to defuse the circumstances that foster and foment hatred, than to be playing the ethically dangerous game of 'reshaping' someone's values to suit your own ideals - your own ideology.

That path leads to the very same gardens ...

The idea that terrorists might be people after all, is beginning to seep in ... from Indonesia. Rehabilitation of terrorists is being considered as a real possibility.

This idea put forward by Police Commissioner Mick Keelty on telly last night, that the Australian government is considering a system of rehabilitating terrorists, is quite extraordinary.

"Thinking outside the chamber", road to surfdom, March 09, 2006

It is extraordinary because until now the kill, kill, kill approach has been adhered to so steadfastly by our political leaders.

MICK KEELTY: Well, it would require a policy change here and, to put it into some perspective here, if you take, for example, the problem of drugs, for many years people have thought, well, can we force people into treatment to get them to overcome their problem? Even in the jail system, can we impose a treatment regime on people and it's a policy question that really hasn't been addressed here and really certainly hasn't been imposed. There's nowhere in Australia where drug addicts, if you like, are forced into treatment to overcome their problem. So, essentially, it would be a threshold question in terms of policy as to whether we would engage in something that forces people into some sort of deprogramming or deradicalisation.

Tony Jones, "Keelty discusses reprogramming terrorists", ABC Lateline, 08/03/2006

The terms 'brainwashing' and 'deprogramming' and 're-education' get bandied about in this discussion. Language such as 'turned him around' is used.

I seem to recall that psychology has distanced itself from the notion of 'brainwashing', and the other terms just feel wrong to me ... after three years immersed in the art and technology of propaganda, it all still gives me the creeps.

It would still be better to address the causes, to defuse the circumstances that foster and foment hatred, than to be playing the ethically dangerous game of 'reshaping' someone's values to suit your own ideals - your own ideology.

That path leads to the very same gardens ...