Cookie for Your Thoughts
The practice of torturing suspected terrorists received fresh blows Friday after a magazine reported that a key al Qaeda suspect offered useful intelligence after receiving sugar-free cookies.
That is from a Raw Story story on a Time Magazine story detailing revelations from former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan. Prisoner Abu Jandal had been held in Yemeni for over a year yielding no information before skilled FBI investigators arrived.
Time interviewed several interrogators who have worked with the U.S. military and retired intelligence service employees asking “[what works?] How does an interrogator break down a hardened terrorist without using violence?” Time reports “All agreed with Soufan: the best way to get intelligence from even the most recalcitrant subject is to apply the subtle arts of interrogation rather than the blunt instruments of torture.”
The Time article (3 pages) lists several examples of how smart interviewing succeeded. One example shows how these techniques work in a situation where time is of the essence.
Posted on May 30th, 2009 under Ethics, Politics • 
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