Wanted: Interrogation that works and isn't torture

Simple tickle it out of them. tie ther feet down, and tickle them for hours at a time with abig feather.

no harm will come of these people ony phsycological scars..

Originally posted by kyred
Are you suggesting that if I was on the prowl at a bar, I would have some female friends line up to meet me in the back booth, and then pretend to shoot them, and later, the woman I want to take home and have my way with her, or, she to have her way with me, will decide it might be a good idea to go home with me?

I wasn't suggesting that, but I just may try it at the Night Club this weekend!

Interrogation is a people skill. I'm sorry to say it but most soldiers are not people persons. They are taught the skills of combat and to take orders. They aren't routinely charged with thinking creatively or for themselves, let alone encouraged to fraternize with the enemy...which is precisely what one must do to effectively interrogate.

Now Used Car Salesmen, Confidence Artists, Advertisers, or any other profession where having large amounts of Charisma and people skills are far better equipped to interrogate successfully without resorting to hostile methods.

The purpose of interrogation is to get reliable intel, which creating a hostile environment by use of Torture is counterproductive towards achieving. Any intel gained by Torture, or any other hostile means, is going to be unreliable at best. Most times, people will confess to anything under threat of Torture as the Inquisition showed us. Therefore, the means to get reliable intel is to create a rapport (sometimes using NLP if necessary with more zealous of opponents), put them at ease, convince them that you are not hostile and not a threat to them (while still maintaining control of the situation), and get them to volunteer the information willingly. It sounds like a lot of work, but anyone who has seen a smooth operator at work in any bar knows that it doesn't take longer than 5-30 minutes which is far quicker than any Truth Serum!

Getting drunk with the person you are interrogating is the easiest way if you lack the skills. Ever see two drunk men brawling in a bar? Ever watch them 5 minutes later acting like the best of friends saying "I love you man!"? Well, when you start out interrogating someone it's like two drunk men brawling in a bar. The more you drink together and the more you bond, you'll eventually get them to the "I love you man!" stage and at that point can get whatever you want out of them.

I know that if I was captured and tortured I would turn hostile in a heartbeat and clam up just to be indignant and would resist for as long as I could, preferring to choose death rather than give my torturer the satisfaction of having won. And I'm not a religious zealot or fanatic!

Now if I was captured and treated with respect and dignity, the moment someone came in to sit down at the table I'd ask for a kretek. If they gave me a kretek and lighted it for me, I'd take one puff and say "Okay, what do you want to know?"

The important thing in being successful in interrogation is not making it hostile. If an interrogator appears to be just doing their job, nothing personal, but while you are being interrogated if they treat you with dignity and respect, then what's the point in holding out? There's an old adage of there is nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose (well a man with sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity is more dangerous but that's for another thread). Well, if you take away any form of hope or incentive, then they have no incentive to cooperate. If you help foster hope that they will one day see their family again, then they have every reason in the world to cooperate. You can't give them hope by being cruel. You give them hope, and thereby the will to cooperate, by being courteous, considerate, while maintaining the illusion of control so that they will believe that if they cooperate with you that you will cooperate with them.

And that's precisely what it comes down to...GIVE *AND* TAKE!

You can't take intel from an interrogation without giving something first. When you give them something first then they are going to give something in return, and generally voluntarily. If you keep up that exchange of giving something more for something more in return, it gets easier and easier both ways for both parties, with each exchange in the rapport.

Why do you think all introductions start off with a person giving their name? It's because they want your name and know that if they give their name first then you will feel obligated to do likewise. Why do you think most conversations start off with "How are you doing?" Do you really think that the person asking the question really cares how you are doing? Of course they don't. However, it is a simple question that almost anyone will answer. Once you've answered one question then a rapport has begun. The questioner has the upper hand and it's that much easier to get you to answer the next question they ask you!

Seriously, Police have to interrogate every day. Most are bad at it, but they all do it with some relative amount of effectiveness. What do you think Judges do every day? They interrogate and have to be living lie detectors and separate the truth in the sea of lies that are told to them all from sitting behind the bench! Generally, neither the Police or Judges have to resort to Torture to do their jobs. Why should the military?

[edit on 28-8-2009 by fraterormus]

Since torture seems to be the no-no, then the solution is quite simple.

Any non-uniformed combatant has zero protections under the Geneva Conventions. Internationally, legally, he has zero rights, and in fact is a legal non-entity.

Line them up, ask the first one a question, and if he fails to give a satisfactory answer, blow his head off, and move to the next one.

In such a manner, no one is tortured.

No laws have been violated.

And by number three, you'll get more information than you can use.