Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

How to Make Terrorists Talk?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • How to Make Terrorists Talk?

    This is worth reading. Click into the link to read more.

    After Waterboarding: How to Make Terrorists Talk?
    29 May [Time] The most successful interrogation of an Al-Qaeda operative by U.S. officials required no sleep deprivation, no slapping or "walling" and no waterboarding. All it took to soften up Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugar-free cookies.

    Abu Jandal had been in a Yemeni prison for nearly a year when Ali Soufan of the FBI and Robert McFadden of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service arrived to interrogate him in the week after 9/11. Although there was already evidence that al-Qaeda was behind the attacks, American authorities needed conclusive proof, not least to satisfy skeptics like Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, whose support was essential for any action against the terrorist organization. U.S. intelligence agencies also needed a better understanding of al-Qaeda's structure and leadership.

    Abu Jandal was the perfect source: the Yemeni who grew up in Saudi Arabia had been bin Laden's chief bodyguard, trusted not only to protect him but also to put a bullet in his head rather than let him be captured.

    Abu Jandal's guards were so intimidated by him, they wore masks to hide their identities and begged visitors not to refer to them by name in his presence. He had no intention of cooperating with the Americans; at their first meetings, he refused even to look at them and ranted about the evils of the West. Far from confirming al-Qaeda's involvement in 9/11, he insisted the attacks had been orchestrated by Israel's Mossad.

    While Abu Jandal was venting his spleen, Soufan noticed that he didn't touch any of the cookies that had been served with tea: "He was a diabetic and couldn't eat anything with sugar in it." At their next meeting, the Americans brought him some sugar-free cookies, a gesture that took the edge off Abu Jandal's angry demeanor. "We had showed him respect, and we had done this nice thing for him," Soufan recalls. "So he started talking to us instead of giving us lectures."

    It took more questioning, and some interrogators' sleight of hand, before the Yemeni gave up a wealth of information about al-Qaeda — including the identities of seven of the 9/11 bombers — but the cookies were the turning point. "After that, he could no longer think of us as evil Americans," Soufan says. "Now he was thinking of us as human beings."

    Soufan, now an international-security consultant, has emerged as a powerful critic of the George W. Bush — era interrogation techniques; he has testified against them in congressional hearings and is an expert witness in cases against detainees. He has described the techniques as "borderline torture" and "un-American."

    His larger argument is that methods like waterboarding are wholly unnecessary — traditional interrogation methods, a combination of guile and graft, are the best way to break down even the most stubborn subjects. He told a recent hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee that it was these methods, not the harsh techniques, that prompted al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah to give up the identities of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla. .. ...
    Last edited by Merlin; 31 May 09,, 10:59.

  • #2
    What do you do when you have a few hours to get a answer?

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by BudW View Post
      What do you do when you have a few hours to get a answer?
      It took a few hours for an interrogator using a rapport building approach to develop information that eventually led to the introduction of Mr. JDAM to Mr. Zarqawi. Besides, your ticking time bomb scenario is a false choice. How do you know you have only a few hours? The answer to this question requires that you know the answer in the first place.
      "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

      Comment


      • #4
        I think the friendly approach , then followed by crushed nuts ,waterboarding bah pansy treatment , why not behead one in front of their comrades , like they did to the russian soldier 2009 , if its a muslim terrorist , show him the bacon slicer ,

        he should be scared of her ;)

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by tankie View Post
          why not behead one in front of their comrades ,
          I know you are saying this in jest.

          In reality, even if the law of the land allows it, this would not work with the hardened jihardists. They, like some suicide bombers, are mentally prepared to die for what they believe in.

          They would not soften and just harden further when given hard treatments. This is why in some cases, a surprise soft person-to-person approach, after a number of hard ones, may get them to talk.
          Last edited by Merlin; 31 May 09,, 17:12.

          Comment


          • #6
            Reading the water-boarding thing i was surprised to find that even sleep deprivation is considered torture these days...

            Comment


            • #7
              There is no other way. Bush's way is the best way.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Shek View Post
                It took a few hours for an interrogator using a rapport building approach to develop information that eventually led to the introduction of Mr. JDAM to Mr. Zarqawi. Besides, your ticking time bomb scenario is a false choice. How do you know you have only a few hours? The answer to this question requires that you know the answer in the first place.
                Easy you have a source maybe they have a general idea but not every thing, do you risk a City? thousands of lives? what if the city you live in is at risk do you play nice then?

                Comment


                • #9
                  If you're depending on the word of a guy trying to kill you, you've lost the city already.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Use of Truth serums are supposed to be unlawful but compared to water boarding or other physical means looks to be quite an effective way.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Merlin View Post
                      I know you are saying this in jest.

                      In reality, even if the law of the land allows it, this would not work with the hardened jihardists. They, like some suicide bombers, are mentally prepared to die for what they believe in.

                      They would not soften and just harden further when given hard treatments. This is why in some cases, a surprise soft person-to-person approach, after a number of hard ones, may get them to talk.
                      Merlin , which is why i said , ok try the friendly approach first , not for me tho in reallity , as has been said ,, truth serum works ??

                      the jihardists are mentally prepared to die , yup but the wankers who preach and radicalise them arent .(unfortunately)

                      i think you will find every pro soldier knows that s/he can die , its part of the job ,only we stand and face up to the enemy ,not send in mentally handicapped women suicide bombers ,, along with children .

                      And you think i speak in jest huh ,,,, WRONG . good for the goose , good for the gander , not that that would happen in a pro army , but it certainly would make them think twice if it did happen . Its time to stop pussyfooting about these bastards and deal the cards the way they want to play the game , no more bleeding hearts shyte .
                      Last edited by tankie; 01 Jun 09,, 08:26.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by tankie View Post
                        I think the friendly approach , then followed by crushed nuts ,waterboarding bah pansy treatment , why not behead one in front of their comrades , like they did to the russian soldier 2009 , if its a muslim terrorist , show him the bacon slicer ,

                        he should be scared of her ;)
                        Edit 2002 not 2009

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Another point

                          Originally posted by Shek View Post
                          It took a few hours for an interrogator using a rapport building approach to develop information that eventually led to the introduction of Mr. JDAM to Mr. Zarqawi. Besides, your ticking time bomb scenario is a false choice. How do you know you have only a few hours? The answer to this question requires that you know the answer in the first place.
                          A more significant point: Even if you somehow magically knew you only had a "few hours"; using enhanced interrogation techniques (aka torturing) that produce unreliable results seems erroneous at best. If time is so much of an essence, do we really have the time to be chasing our tails pursuing false 'leads' given out by a person willing to say anything in order to end his suffering?

                          That would be the undeniably rational argument for those out there lacking the higher cognitive function required to understand moral principles at more sophisticated and complex levels.

                          To say you are willing to disregard civilized law and sacrifice your morality, all for the sake of 'safety,' is to admit to those trying to defeat us that they have at least beaten you.
                          Last edited by cmmcgo; 03 Jun 09,, 17:07.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by BudW View Post
                            What do you do when you have a few hours to get a answer?
                            Pump em full of drugs.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              If he is directly responsible for loss of life through a terrorist act, Throw him out of an airplane at 25,000 feet without a parachute, He will talk although I dont think you would be able to make any sense of it.:));)
                              Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X