This title explains how U.S. forces, now and through history, have used psychological torture and details why opposition to the techniques is growing.It is, in some circles, called 'No-Touch Torture.' Yet it brings pain and damage that can last a lifetime. Psychological torture techniques - which have a history of use by U.S. forces globally trailing far into the past beyond Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib - include a variety of methods from mock executions, severe humiliation, and mind-altering drugs, to forced self-induced pain, sensory disorientation including loud music and light control, and exploitation of personal or cultural phobias. These techniques are not surprising if one has fair knowledge of the U.S. history of sanctioned psychological torture techniques, say the experts behind this book. They agree with Alberto Mora, the U.S. Navy's general counsel, who fought to stop the Pentagon-sanctioned psychological torture at Guantanamo. "Cruelty disfigures our national character. Where cruelty exists, law does not," Mora said."The distinctly American form of psychological torture" has four characteristics that make it attractive to the CIA and other supporters, say the authors. It is elusive - lacks the clear signs of physical abuse so eludes detection and complicates investigation, prosecution, or attempts at prohibition. It is shrouded - in scientific patina that makes it appeal to policy makers and avoids the obvious physical brutality unpalatable to the general public. It is adaptable - as shown by searing innovations by the CIA across 40 years. And it is destructive - can cause psychosis and other psychological disorders or, in more severe cases, death. This book includes a brief history of sanctioned psychological experiments and actions to torture, as well as CIA research outsourced to leading U.S. universities that produced what the authors call "key findings that led to the first real revolution in the cruel science of pain in centuries."