On 16 December 2000, President Webb, despite have written, "Please feel free to contact me again if I can be of further assistance" declined to answer the questions I put to him. -- George Maschke
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Reply-To: "Milton \"Skip\" Webb"
From: "Milton \"Skip\" Webb"
To:
Cc: "American Polygraph Association President Milton O. \(Skip\) Webb Jr." ,
"Chairman Don A. Weinstein" ,
"Secretary Vickie T. Murphy" ,
"Vice-President - Private - Terrence V. \(TV\) O'Malley" ,
"Vice-President - Law Enforcement - John E. Consigli" ,
"Vice-President - Government - Donnie W. Dutton" ,
"Executive Director - Michael L. Smith" ,
"Director - Sylvia B. Gage" ,
"Director - David Knefelkamp"
References: <3A328B67.403A6A2D@antipolygraph.org> <002c01c066ee$e8ea6960$62955aa6@stickdog.com> <3A3B5562.E3E7FF49@antipolygraph.org>
Subject: Re: APA Standards of Practice and Informed Subjects
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2000 08:45:52 -0500
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Dear Mr. Maschke,
Like many of your colleagues, I have grown tired of your diatribe on
polygraph and your propensity to restate the same question with each
successive message. Unlike the others, I grew tired of it after only two
messages.
Feel free to publish anything you like on your web site. Americans have
fought and died to ensure that you may publish and say anything that you
like even if it tends to bore the rest of us to tears.
Sincerely,
Milton O. Webb, Jr.
President, American Polygraph Association
----- Original Message -----
From: "George W. Maschke"
To: ""Milton \"Skip\" Webb""
Cc: "American Polygraph Association President Milton O. (Skip) Webb Jr."
; "Chairman Don A. Weinstein" ;
"Secretary Vickie T. Murphy" ; "Vice-President -
Private - Terrence V. (TV) O'Malley" ; "Vice-President - Law
Enforcement - John E. Consigli" ; "Vice-President -
Government - Donnie W. Dutton" ; "Executive Director -
Michael L. Smith" ; "Director - Sylvia B. Gage"
; "Director - David Knefelkamp"
Sent: Saturday, December 16, 2000 6:43 AM
Subject: Re: APA Standards of Practice and Informed Subjects
> Dear President Webb:
>
> Thank you for your clarification regarding the scope of the term "mental
> condition" in Section 3.3.1 of the APA Standards of Practice.
>
> Is it then the position of the APA that valid results can be reasonably
> foreseen with subjects who, during the "pre-test" phase, reveal to their
> polygrapher that they understand the psychological manipulations on
> which the probable- and/or directed-lie "Control" Question "Test" is
> theoretically dependent?
>
> If, for example, a subject were to reveal to an APA member during the
> "pre-test" phase that he/she has read The Lie Behind the Lie Detector
> and understands the psychological manipulations involved in both the
> "stim test" and the "control" questions, how should the APA member
proceed?
>
> Can those subject to polygraph "testing" be confident that APA members
> will not arbitrarily accuse them of deception and/or having employed
> countermeasures if they admit to knowing "the lie behind the lie
detector?"
>
> Sincerely,
>
> George Maschke
> AntiPolygraph.org
>
> PS: Your reply to my first message will be posted to the
> AntiPolygraph.org website at:
>
> http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-008.shtml
>
> and this message will be posted at:
>
> http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-009.shtml
>
>
> Milton \"Skip\" Webb wrote:
> >
> > The short answer to your ridiculous question is "no". A subject's
> > understanding of the psychological theory upon which polygraph tests are
> > theoretically based does not constitute a "mental condition" within the
> > meaning of Section 3.3.1 of the American Polygraph Association Standards
of
> > Practice.
> >
> > I have difficulty understanding how your undergraduate degree in Near
> > Eastern Studies or your Masters degree in Persian accounts for your
> > professed vast knowledge of polygraph. To my knowledge you have not
> > attended any formal training in polygraph. It appears that your intense
> > interest in polygraph stems from your inability to pass a polygraph!
> >
> > I will admit that your apparent obsession with the subject as evidenced
by
> > some of the comments on the Intelligence forum and some of the comments
by
> > others on the forum who have grown tired of your rambling, certainly
would
> > give me concern about administering a polygraph to you!
> >
> > I hope this answers your question. Please feel free to contact me again
if
> > I can be of further assistance.
> >
> > Milton O. Webb, Jr.
> > President, American Polygraph Association
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "George W. Maschke"
> > To: "American Polygraph Association President Milton O. (Skip) Webb Jr."
> > ; "Chairman Don A. Weinstein"
;
> > "Secretary Vickie T. Murphy" ; "Vice-President -
> > Private - Terrence V. (TV) O'Malley" ; "Vice-President -
Law
> > Enforcement - John E. Consigli" ; "Vice-President -
> > Government - Donnie W. Dutton" ; "Executive
Director -
> > Michael L. Smith" ; "Director - Sylvia B. Gage"
> > ; "Director - David Knefelkamp"
> > Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2000 2:43 PM
> > Subject: APA Standards of Practice and Informed Subjects
> >
> > > Dear President Webb and American Polygraph Association
> > > Officers and Directors:
> > >
> > > Does a subject's understanding of the psychological
> > > manipulations on which polygraph "tests" are theoretically
> > > dependent constitute a mental condition within the meaning of
> > > Section 3.3.1 of the American Polygraph Association Standards
> > > of Practice (http://www.polygraph.org/apa1.htm#standards)
> > > such that "valid results could not be reasonably foreseen"
> > > and hence "[n]o test should be conducted?"
> > >
> > > For example, could valid results be reasonably foreseen in
> > > the case of someone who has read and understood Chapter 3 of
> > > The Lie Behind the Lie Detector? This on-line book, which I
> > > coauthored with Gino Scalabrini, is available on the
> > > AntiPolygraph.org website at:
> > >
> > > http://antipolygraph.org/pubs.shtml
> > >
> > > If such understanding does not constitute a condition whereby
> > > "valid results could not be reasonably foreseen," then when
> > > an APA member encounters a subject who admits to having such
> > > an understanding of the procedure, how is the APA member to
> > > proceed?
> > >
> > > At page 67 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector, we noted:
> > >
> > > One graduate of [the Department of Defense Polygraph
> > > Institute] has cautioned that if a subject were to
> > > follow this "complete honesty" approach [i.e., openly
> > > admitting knowledge of the psychological manipulations
> > > on which the procedure in theory depends], the
> > > polygrapher would probably go ahead with the polygraph
> > > interrogation anyhow and arbitrarily accuse the subject
> > > of having employed countermeasures. Maureen Lenihan is a
> > > case in point. She worked as a research assistant with
> > > the federal Commission on Protecting and Reducing
> > > Government Secrecy, also known as the "Moynihan
> > > Commission." She later applied for employment with the
> > > CIA. She explained to her CIA polygrapher that she had
> > > researched polygraphy while working with the Commission.
> > > The polygrapher proceeded with the interrogation anyhow,
> > > and later accused her of having employed countermeasures.
> > >
> > > I would hope that no APA member would ever engage in such
> > > unethical behavior, and look forward to your clarification of
> > > the APA's position.
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > >
> > > George Maschke
> > > AntiPolygraph.org
> > >
> > > PS: A copy of this message will be posted on the
> > > AntiPolygraph.org website at:
> > >
> > > http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-007.shtml
> > >
>