A very fine book on how to do it right, today,
is Eric Maddox's MISSION BLACKLIST # 1. It is the story of and by the interrogator who worked with the JSOTF to find Saddam Hussein. The final interrogation - and the only one of the source who knew where Saddam was - took only an hour and forty five minutes without the use of any "enhanced interrogation techniques."
I had the honor to moderate the panel at OU where Eric Maddox was the featured speaker - other members included a former Deputy DDO, David Edger, Dr. Chris Howard (Lt. Col. USAFR who served at the interrogation facility in Bagram), who is the next President of Hampton Sidney U. Maddox is a 1994 OU political science grad who is now a civilian interrogator for DOD. The book is excellent as was his presentation. He is a thoughtful young man who's service both as a soldier and a civilian is a credit to the Army, DOD, the great state of Oklahoma (he's a Sooner to the core:D), and the United states of America.
Cheers
JohnT
Vietnam POW interrogation
The article appeared in 2006 on the CIA's website and published journal website (which I occassionally check) and does not appear to have found its way here before: https://www.cia.gov/library/center-f...article06.html
The POW was held by the South Vietnamese and USA, who used different techniques and is worth reading IMHO. I note Frank Snepp was his last US interrogator.
Yes, an old thread comes back again.
davidbfpo
Fascinating article, David, and ....
an interesting conclusion:
Quote:
This brings me back to my college classmate's question. The answer I gave him--one in which I firmly believe--is that we, as Americans, must not let our methods betray our goals. I am not a moralist. War is a nasty business, and one cannot fight a war without getting one's hands dirty. I also do not believe that the standards set by the ACLU and Amnesty International are the ones we Americans must necessarily follow. There is nothing wrong with a little psychological intimidation, verbal threats, bright lights and tight handcuffs, and not giving a prisoner a soft drink and a Big Mac every time he asks for them. There are limits, however, beyond which we cannot and should not go if we are to continue to call ourselves Americans. America is as much an ideal as a place and physical torture of the kind used by the Vietnamese (North as well as South) has no place in it. Thus, extracting useful information from today's committed radicals--like Nguyen Tai in his day--remains a formidable challenge.
Snepp, in Decent Interval, gives us his perception of his interrogation of Tai. Have to re-read that one when I get back home tonite.
A little Googling will raise some questions about his
tale. Not least, the DOJ Inspector General Report and Mr. Soufan are at variance. LINK. Start at PDF Page 110. Gibson and Thomas were pseudonyms. No way to tell which was actually Soufran but either way the dates do not match. There are other inconsistencies. Both the IG Report and Soufran could be telling the truth as they know it; either or both could be obfuscating for various reasons. Regardless, the dichotomy raises questions. Or should.
Mr. Soufran has a checkered history. He's doing well today, though LINK. I can thank him for his service, wish him well -- and still be skeptical. For several reasons.
The long running FBI - CIA feud among other things...
Ex-CIA case officers comment
An intriguing, short article (with no Google research) that adds to the insight available: http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/spytalk/...reve.html#more
davidbfpo
Krulak and Hoar on Cheney
Fear was no excuse to condone torture
CHARLES C. KRULAK and JOSEPH P. HOAR
Miami Herald (H/T to Tom Ricks)
Quote:
In the fear that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to ``take off the gloves.'' As a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster.
But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics.