Wanted: Interrogation that works and isn't torture

Wanted: Interrogation that works and isn't torture

www.newscientist.com

The White House attempted to draw a line under the dubious intelligence-gathering practices of the Bush administration last week by announcing the creation of a special interrogation group that will use "scientifically proven means" to extract information from detainees with links to violent extremist groups.

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Although the injustices inflicted upon individuals by the current methods of interorgation that clearly stem from tribalism, is this a step in the right direction? or is this evidence that this brutal system just got organized.

It is hard to grasp the concept that, since only scientistific material funded by the government is meant to be taken seriously by "intellectuals". & they are now introducing the idea of scientific methods of interrogation. Will this just justify what goes on? or intellectualize what is occurring so that its "no big deal".

Let's hope it does not mutate into scientific methods of torture.

A chilling thought...


www.newscientist.com
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Well you could always try asking "Please"... You never know, a terrist may be surprised at such sudden kindness he will spill the beans..

reply to post by Rockpuck


Dammit... you got in there before me.

Why not just tie him down to a chair and beat the info outta him with your fists? it's not torture, it's just assault.

reply to post by The Killah29


Uhm, I think he cannot be restrained for it to be assault.. we could put him in a cage with a boxing champ .. he'd be able to defend himself so uh .. it wouldn't be you know, torture...

Or we could force them to watch angelina jolie movies, and the horrible plot lines may force them to mentally crack after a few hours..

You know, our institutions spend so much time and effort exposing us to chemicals, I would have thought drugs would have been the way to go. An obvious first choice.

Perhaps a combination of drugs and hypnotism.

Torture isn't simply beating someone, or subjecting them to inhumane conditions, it's also about the psychology of powerlessness.

the "secret rendition" in and of itself should constitute torture..., after all, you may as well be dead.

Remember the TV series on FX, where they would create mock real life situations using actors to illicit information from people. On the show they would set up a situation like breaking someone out of prison, then having the person on the run with a bunch of people attempting to hide that person. The person would then give up the information, thinking they are in the company of friends. I really think they need to try this approach. Pretend to break someone out of prison, and put them into an environment where they divulge the information.

reply to post by ExPostFacto


I actually find that a very attractive idea...they should even film it and turn that into a show in itself!! I hate TV but, I'd watch that.

reply to post by bonsaisert


Subject the "terrorist" to a constant stream of commercials at an increased volume for days on end.

Originally posted by Hazelnut
reply to post by bonsaisert

 

Subject the "terrorist" to a constant stream of commercials at an increased volume for days on end.

This is supposed to do what, exactly?

Make the bastard's watch Barney!!!

Warning : Torture May Induce Suicidal Tendencies

I love you, you love me, we're a happy family...

reply to post by bonsaisert


I have a friend who suggested I would make an excellent serial-killer interrogator.

This is because nothing phases me whatsoever as well as I ask questions that lead to questions, that lead to questions, that lead to questions, until I finally get the answers I know are there.

Should I send my resume to 1600 Pennsylvannia Avenue?

Oh yeah, my friend was a Law Enforcement psychic assistant, not your average American.

I do not believe in physical torture whatsoever.

Barney does not count, it does not break the skin, bleeding eardums may occur though...

[edit on 28-8-2009 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences!

Explanation: Trap them in a Prisoners Dilema. and force them to play Tit for Tat. and make the Incentives. far outway the 1984 Room 101. Fates Worse than Death.

Personal Disclosure: Offer them Heaven whilst showing them Hell!

Here's an idea:

How about we stick to the Constitution and stop sticking our "members" in another man's sand and keep it in our pants for once?

Could save us a lot of heart ache and frustration in dealing with terrorists.

Tickle sticks?

Certainly not a one line post.

Here is one patented method that works:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Cookies! Yes, cookies!

Kindness works wonders too.

Actually the same methods a guy will use to get a woman he meets at a bar, or takes on a first date, to go home with him are all effective ways of interrogation without torture.

(Cross-posted from above-mentioned thread)

My father served in Military Intelligence for 14 years as a diplomatic liaison to the French Foreign Legion. In his job, he was charged with the interrogation of captured enemy officers. He was a very idealistic man and would have never been willing to compromise those ideals for any reason, even under orders. He was proud that the techniques he used never involved any form of torture and were always effective. His most effective form of interrogation, as he was proud of telling me, had always been a bottle of tequila.

What it comes down to is that any "enemy" is still human. If you treat them with dignity and as an equal, you will eventually be treated the same in return (remember the old adage of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or "the only way to gain trust and respect is to be respectful and trustworthy yourself"). We have a bad habit in war of dehumanizing and demonizing the enemy and forget that cultural differences aside, they have the same basic desires and aspirations that we all do.

When you share something with someone, such as cookies or a bottle of alcohol, you create a rapport. That is the most difficult part of any interrogation process. After that, it doesn't take long for the barriers which we have been conditioned into thinking of "us" and "them" are broken down and your subject realizes you aren't the inhuman demon they thought you were (especially if they were expecting to be tortured!). Get on the subject of family, and it's all easy from there. Parents love talking about their kids, and terrorists are no different...and the parental experience is universal. After sharing food, drink and some good laughs over common experiences, you can then ask the sensitive questions, with a greater likelihood of reliable intel than if it were extracted in a hostile, confrontational manner.

The only technique that my father had to use in interrogation that came close to torture was purely psychological. He would setup operations in a tent and line up friendly civilians dressed in enemy uniforms outside the tent. He would then place the subject of his interrogation at the end of the line. One by one he would call each person into the tent and close the flap. After a while he'd start yelling and fire his pistol (into the ground) and call in the medics who would carry out the person on a stretcher (as if they were dead). After doing this to 10 people over the course of 8 hours, by the time he called in the subject at the end of the day they would spill the beans voluntarily without even being prompted. The ruse was up when the subject would be escorted back out to the holding area and they saw the people my father had supposedly tortured and killed walking around in civilian clothing around the camp, but by that time, my father already had the intel that was needed from the subject.

Interrogation is a people skill, plain and simple. If you can charm any woman in a bar out of her clothes, or be the life of any party, then you can interrogate with far greater success than using methods of torture. Apparently a lot has changed in the past 40 years in the Military and the art and skill of successful interrogation without the use of torture has been forgotten and lost along the way. Perhaps this success of using cookies will help the Military find their way back to a form of interrogation that does not compromise our idealism as a Nation.

reply to post by fraterormus



Are you suggesting that if I was on the prowl at a bar, I would have some female friends line up to meet me in the back booth, and then pretend to shoot them, and later, the woman I want to take home and have my way with her, or, she to have her way with me, will decide it might be a good idea to go home with me?

Just kidding. Yeah, that scenario you told us of does work. Similar techniques were utilized in Viet Nam by U.S. forces. One method was to put prisoners, blindfolded into helicopters. Fly around a bit, then hover just a couple of feet above the ground, then toss one of the prisoners out and they would scream in terror. Then other prisoners would be happy to start talking.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by The Killah29

 

Or we could force them to watch angelina jolie movies, and the horrible plot lines may force them to mentally crack after a few hours..

*clap, clap, clap* Niiiice. I'd crack under a minute.

@ Hazelnut, I get your point dude, that is the worst ever.

Oh and a different idea, restrain him on a table and have a dripping pipe constantly drip on their forehead. or just get him with alot of "Yo momma" jokes. Those just suck. he'd crack quick.

All they really have to do is implant an undercover Iraqi in the cell next to.... or in with the subject they seek information from.

If theres one thing I know, ... people like to brag, especialy in jail, .... they would give up every aspect of their operation fairly quickly in an effort just to talk to someone.

... and they simply move the undercover agent around the prison as they see fit, ... hell, they could even let him go home at night, disguising it as a torture session.

done and done, next.

I favor scientific means of extracting information, not torture. RNA hosts memory, right? Why not develop the ability to hook up a brain probe to a man and read his RNA, or memories? As long as it's not painful and doesn't cause any brain damage then no one could cry "THAT'S EFFING TORTURE!" and we would get all the info we need to keep this great country safe.

How about temptation? Get at the core of what one desires...wave it in their face...tease them with it...promise it to them IF they cooperate...then FOLLOW THROUGH!!!

Just my 2-cents