Holy Diver

C is for intel, thats good enough for me.....


The E&P Pub: No Torture Needed -- Cookies Did the Job


Fascinating piece coming in tomorrow's TIME magazine. Reporter Bobby Ghosh writes, “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.”

Former interrogator/member of the FBI Ali Soufan, who testified to Congress last month, tells TIME: “He was a diabetic ... We had showed him respect, and we had done this nice thing for him .... So he started talking to us instead of giving us lectures.” Ghosh points out, “Defenders of the Bush program, most notably Cheney, say the use of waterboarding produced actionable intelligence that helped the U.S. disrupt terrorist plots. But the experiences of officials like Soufan suggest that the utility of torture is limited at best and counterproductive at worst.”

efin98

A wise special operations military guy once pointed out something about torture...the worst you do to someone the least valuable the information you get out of someone. They break down and give you what you want to hear...not what you need to hear.

Something like that...a "good act" towards someone. Those kind of things work on people like the bosses who actually hold very valuable information in them. You butter them up while using borderline torture techniques on the low level people.

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"As long as we have Belichick, I always think that we're going to be just fine."...Tom Brady, in reference to his coach.

“It is what it is, but it ain’t what you think.”...Brandon Spikes

DarrylS

When I worked in corrections had many opportunities how to get intelligence, the most uncomfortable were the times when the bosses turned into bullies and the inmates ran the asylum so information could be gathered, which was often unreliable.. short term it sometimes worked, long term it created turmoil for days after.

The most comfortable times where when information was given subtly for a minimal privilege that avoided a huge conundrum, people do not like their boundaries violated and dislike chaos when these things happen.. someone would say something very subtle to point you in the right direction. A wink and a nod often sufficed...

The intelligence gathered the second way is often more reliable and overall people appreciate that their world is not turned upside down.

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

PatsWSB47

I know I've posted this a few times but harsh interogation techniques should be rare, a last resort after everything else has been tried or when time to act has run out and we need answers now to save lives. I think that's exactly why Obama has left himself the rrom to order such interogations even now.

IcyPatriot

Well we could have gained more intel had we givem Soft Batch and Oreo cookies then. Really though ... did they try marijuana laced brownies or Rush's favorite Oxycontin?

efin98

That is exactly what I said, the only difference is yours was about prisons and mine was from the horse's mouth of the groups doing the interrogations

__________________
"As long as we have Belichick, I always think that we're going to be just fine."...Tom Brady, in reference to his coach.

“It is what it is, but it ain’t what you think.”...Brandon Spikes