One of the things that cops have been accused of, when you think someone is a member of criminal conspiracy, but you can't prove it, is . . . .


You arrest them, and put them in a holding cell with other felons. They brag about how they'll never talk.

After about 3 hours, you take them in for questioning. You get a lot of officers with cuffs and pepper spray to go into the room, to hint that things are adversarial. . . .

Then you sit in there and let him read the sports section of the paper, while you read the funnies . . .

After about an hour, you order in an expensive meal, and let him smoke cigarrettes.

An hour after that, you give him a private cell, with a TV, and let him make any phonecalls he wants; not from the pay phone in the day cell, but from the privacy of your office. . .

Then you put him on the streets, before the arraignment deadline.

His criminal career is now over. No one will trust him, once word gets out that he was in interrogation, but came out smelling of cigarettes and with a private cell with special privileges, and then was released without being charged. The other members of the mob assume he talked, you see.

Now, you follow your perp around town. He will go around to the leaders of his gang in order of precedene, and try to convince them he didn't talk. Eventually, when he keeps whining to them, the criminals themselves "take care of him."

But I'm sure that's not what American Intel is doing. I'm sure they are just bumbling idiots.

Because we all know they don't have a clue about what they are doing, and never get it right.

.

If you catch a small fish, the best thing to do is put a hook in its mouth and throw it back, in hopes you will land a much bigger fish.

It works equally well on criminals.

Catch and release?

Or debrief and redeploy?