Michael Otterman
Encyclopedia
Michael Otterman is a freelance journalist
and documentary filmmaker based in New York City
and Sydney
. He graduated from Boston University
, with a BSc in Journalism, and from the University of Sydney
with a MLitt(PACS) where he is a visiting scholar at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS)
(MUP).
He toured, promoting the book from June to October 2007.
In October 2007, He gave a talk at New York University
.
As Dennis Altman wrote in The Age:
Television appearances in 2007 included The Tavis Smiley Show
, BBC World News, and JTV, ABC Australia.
He has been active identifying the psychologists, James Mitchell, Bruce Jessen, and Jerald Ogrisseg. The participation of psychologists, and the American Psychological Association
's policy on psychologists participating in detainee interrogations are controversial.
He is currently, as of 2010, working on a forthcoming publication Collateral Carnage: The Human Cost of the War in Iraq, coauthored with Dr Richard Hil and Dr Paul Wilson.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and documentary filmmaker based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He graduated from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, with a BSc in Journalism, and from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
with a MLitt(PACS) where he is a visiting scholar at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS)
Book
In March 2007, his first book American Torture: From the Cold War to Abu Ghraib and Beyond was published by Melbourne University PublishingMelbourne University Publishing
Melbourne University Publishing is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne .MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell books and stationery to students, and then began publishing books itself...
(MUP).
He toured, promoting the book from June to October 2007.
In October 2007, He gave a talk at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
As Dennis Altman wrote in The Age:
Otterman writes as a patriot - one who expects much of his country and is angry when it fails him.
Television appearances in 2007 included The Tavis Smiley Show
Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
, BBC World News, and JTV, ABC Australia.
Blog
Michael Otterman also runs a blog, the americantorture.com which according to its first posting on 16 January 2007, will:provide a venue for discussions about America's use of torture and feature updates about the fate of the over 10,000 'enemy combatants' and 'security detainees' held across the globe in secret CIA prisons and in places like Guantanamo BayGuantánamo Bay (Cuba)Guantánamo Bay is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba . It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and is surrounded by steep hills creating an enclave cut off from its immediate hinterland....
, Cuba and Bagram Air BaseBagram Air BaseBagram Airfield, also referred to as Bagram Air Base, is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. The base is run by a US Army division headed by a major general. A large part of the base,...
in Afghanistan.
He has been active identifying the psychologists, James Mitchell, Bruce Jessen, and Jerald Ogrisseg. The participation of psychologists, and 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...
's policy on psychologists participating in detainee interrogations are controversial.
He is currently, as of 2010, working on a forthcoming publication Collateral Carnage: The Human Cost of the War in Iraq, coauthored with Dr Richard Hil and Dr Paul Wilson.
Publications
- Michael Otterman, Richard Hil, Paul Wilson, Dahr Jamail (2010) , Erasing Iraq: The Human Costs Of Carnage, ISBN 9780745328973
Reviews
As with most things in life, knowing the problem isn't enough. We also have to understand its origins. That's what this book does well. Its strength is its methodical presentation of facts, many of them little known, to build a fresh and informative analysis of the psycho- logy behind President George W. Bush's claim that the United States's torture techniques are an "alternate set of procedures", vital tools needed "to protect the American people and our allies". Michael Otterman, an American journalist and documentary filmmaker, begins his history of torture with the early years of the Cold War when it was believed that communist governments had learned how to control the mind and turn people into human robots. In 1951, when an American journalist was arrested in Czechoslovakia, he very quickly "confessed" to hostile activities and was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Otterman begins his book with the Cold War, and the ways in which it led to new forms of interrogation and surveillance. American support for successive South Vietnamese governments, another misadventure backed enthusiastically by Australian conservatives, frequently saw "brutal interrogation". Belief in the sheer evil of its Communist opponents justified appalling behaviour by the United States and its allies, just as it does today. Torture is defined as "the infliction of intense pain to body or mind to extract a confession or information, or for sadistic pleasure". This definition comes from a 1992 US army field manual, and closely adheres to the norms of international law.
External links
- American Torture website
- Melbourne University Publishing
- "Articles & Interviews", Ready Steady Book, Mark Thwaite, 10/10/2007
- "Interview with Michael Otterman", Caged Prisoners, 29/05/2007
- http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2008/02/07/iraqs-refugees-in-syria-mike-otterman-reports/"Iraq’s refugees in Syria: Mike Otterman reports", Andy WorthingtonAndy WorthingtonAndy Worthington is a British historian, journalist, and film director.He has published three books, and been published in numerous publications.In 2009 Worthington was the co-director of a documentary about the Guantanamo detainees....
blog, 7.2.08]