Surviving An Interrogation - How?

I have been trying to research the above topic on the net but I suspect that all the results from Google are disinfo, a lot of the links lead to pages that don't actually answer the question and by the time you get through them you are none the wiser. Anyone got military training in surviving interrogations both "enhanced" and not?

Give so little for so long to stay alive

I dont think you can.

Everbody has a brakeing point.

All I can say is imagine your absolute worst fears and try and prepare.

reply to post by Cinrad


Everybody has a breaking point. The guys that don't talk are only in the movies. It's been recorded over history that some will give up information on the promise of a quick death. Just to put an end to the pain.

But even the threat of pain need not be used. There are some other creative ways to make people talk. Gaining their trust and getting them drunk works quite often, at least in bars.

Everybody talks!

You can make anybody tell you anything by nailing them to a wall and burning there nether regions with a cigarette lighter. Whether or not the information gleaned is the truth or even pertinent is a different matter.

Fear is the mind killer, combine with pain and add sleep deprivation, not necessarily in that order and everybody will fold in the end!

I am in no way condoning such an act, simply trying to point out that nobody can hold out against an experienced interrogator.

Originally posted by andy06shake
Everybody talks!

You can make anybody tell you anything simply by nailing them to a wall and burning there nether regions with a cigarette lighter. Whether or not the information gleaned is the truth or even pertinent is a different matter.

That would get most talking. There is water boarding that been stated to be able break most people in 2 minutes.

Also imagine have your loved ones especialy children rounded up and threatend with toture and rape in front of you? I doubt anyone but the most cold hearted will hold firm.

Also there is also a plethora of drugs that can screw up your head so much you wont even know what you are spilling.


Fact is if someone wants something out of you they will get it.

Hopefully you like the majority of the world and are so insignificant politicaly and strategicaly you are not worth the effort of more than a few beatings.

I was thinking more in terms of not giving them information that could incriminate you.

reply to post by crazyewok


"Fact is if someone wants something out of you they will get it."

That's it in a nut shell!

I imagine the best advice is to be captured by a country that knows that information gained by torture can be wildly inaccurate given even an incredibly mindful and focused person will end up lying just to make it stop.

Is the OP posting this from a distant prison?

There is a documentary I saw on it. I don't have the name on me, but I can send it to you if you U2U me!

reply to post by Cinrad


"I was thinking more in terms of not giving them information that could incriminate you."

I take it you mean local Police type interrogation?

If you live in the UK like myself there is no 5th amendment, refusing to answer can be used against you in court. So simply say "I refuse to answer on the grounds that i may incriminate myself.", they don't like that, and its completely legal.

Best advice is don't talk to them without your lawyer being present, EVER, I cant stress that enough!

Give short and evasive answers to there questions.

Don't look them directly in the eyes, stare at the end of there nose or forehead, rather than there eye's, they are the window to the Soul after all!

Never ever assume the Police interrogating you are stupid, they do this for a living and are rather good at what they do!

Know you rights at all times!

There isnt any way without a finite limit.

You can drag it out and still end up dead. You can tell them a bunch of nonsense and still end up dead. Tell them whatever they want to hear regardless of how false it is and still end up dead. Tell them the absolute truth and still end up dead.

Torture is no good unless the torturing party already knows the information in the first place since there is no way to know with any certainty what the tortured party is saying is true in any way.

Especially when compartmentalization and plausible deniability come into play.

The individual cant really survive since there is no right answer. The body or group can survive by practicing compartmentalization.

For cops, just dont say anything. Dont bite on their emotional games or threatening. Just hum a tune and wait for them to release you.

Originally posted by Cinrad
I was thinking more in terms of not giving them information that could incriminate you.

Even worse. It dont matter if the confession they force out of you is inaccuate and false.

Why do you thing all the westen military personal captured by enemys such as Iran or Noth Korea to name just a few go on TV and confess made up crimes.

Hell if it police and they want to get you they will just depsense with the toture plant something like coc aine in your house.

If it is all done by legal means then like the above said just dont talk till a lawyer reaches you.

how to survive an interrogation?
well if Guantanamo is any indication
all you have to do is be guilty
Then they let you go

the innocent however get held without charge and tortured incessantly because obviously they are NOT guilty, and so can't answer the questions th torturers require...

your taxe dollars at work...

OH well, at least it supplies the AlCIA duh and Bryzynski's Taliban with willing hands which do the dirtywork which in turn keeps all this expensive "security" types in Beez kneez

That really depends on so much that is variable, if or if not you are a solder in a declared war, a detained suspect in a local crime, or even a paid informant.

Counter intelligent and counter interrogation techniques vary as to the situation. As does the legal ramification of both the interviewee and interviewer.

Need to be more specific.

Develop a great comedy routine that can be adapted to any culture. I imagine it's much harder to torture someone who has you in fits of laughter.

if you want to just "survive an interrogation" just tell them what they want to hear as soon as possible. NOTE this may not even be the truth, but as long as it is what they want to hear it will stop.

if you "don't want to tell" them something, well good luck with that. EVERYBODY has a breaking point, it's just a matter of how long it takes, vs how far those that want the answer are willing to go. sometimes if you are lucky you would be able to hold out "just long enough". this is more true for a "war" type thing, where they may be wanting plans you may know, that if it takes just long enough, what you know will already have occurred, or no longer relevant. but if you can hold up long enough, they might realize you are telling the truth, or give up, (doesn't matter which) and let you go, just be prepared for HOURS of "FUN" and games until it gets to that point. no matter how innocent you really are, or what information they want that you just don't know.

the biggest issue with interrogation is that even an interrogation not using so called "torture techniques" is still torture of a sort. and as such has the same issues with is it truth or just what the integrator wanted to hear. people will sometimes tell them just want they want, just to make it "all go away", this doesn't mean what they tell you is actually the truth. one reason that any "confession" that comes out of an interrogation should actually be considered suspect unless other actual proof backs it up. then again even that "proof" could be taken many different ways depending on what a person "interpreting it" wants it to be. i have always wondered how many "innocent people" have been put away with real perpetrators remaining at large due to confessions made under the torture of an interrogation.

we have all seen on TV where they "interrogate" a suspect. they yell, show evidence, try to contradict and confuse the suspect, even right out LIE till the suspect "admits" to the crime. all pretty much true, yet at the same time doesn't really show what it really is. you may be questioned for HOURS with no break. they continually tell you they KNOW you are lying, so even when innocent the pressure builds up as they have NO INTEREST of hearing the TRUTH, just what they WANT to hear. they will completely fabricate things to force you to say what they want, like "we have a witness that SAW you do it", even when there is no such witness. they will ignore any plea that it wasn't you or you didn't do what they say, or know what they think you know. they constantly try to trip you up. they work at you until in all honesty YOU don't even KNOW what the real truth is anymore. they stress you out until you just can't take the harassment anymore. THEN they hit you with a way to make it all stop, "just tell us you did it, and we will go easy on you, then this can all stop". (this would be even MORE effective with physical torture not just metal torture of say a police interrogation.) at that point it seems like an easy way out, after all they don't want the truth just what they already think is the truth, they haven't listened when you try to tell them the truth. such an easy way to let the torture stop, to just get out of there. it is REALLY HARD not to admit to what they want you to admit to, true or not. i have been there, completely INNOCENT yet i found it rather hard NOT to admit to what they wanted just to make it all stop.

all in all if you really want to "survive an interrogation" the best way is not to be interrogated in the first place. and if it is the police "questioning" you no matter what innocent OR guilty get a lawyer, no mater what the cops say. because if the "think" you are guilty they will do their best (should i say worst?), to get you to admit to whatever they want. even if they just want info they "think" you have, get a lawyer for the same reason, they will not be satisfied until you tell them exactly what they want no matter if it is true or not.

I went through survival school and part of the training was being water boarded. This was after being in the field with a map and a compass all day without food trying to find a pick-up zone for extraction.
Once at the POW camp we were stripped down to our underwear and and held in a cage until pulled out and the games began. One guy tried to fight his three captors and got the crap beat out of him; actually had to go to the infirmary. Training accidents happen.

I did not fight for I saw the gleam in my captors eyes. All the questions they asked I replied with name rank and serial number. I was slapped twice but each time they avoided my ears; nice of them. They then said something about my ancestry and took me to a dirt pit in the ground that was about 5" deep when your feet finally squished through the mud and hit solid ground. Then a 3" thick split collar maybe 16" wider than my shoulders (very heavy) was placed around my neck and for the next hour? they poured water over an old smelly sack they had placed over my head.

One of the guys cupped his hand under my chin and poured water over my nose and mouth resulting in a choking and drowning feeling that you were sure if they did not stop soon you would either throw up and choke, or the water would drown you. I tried the name rank and serial number bit for a while, then switched to out right lies. The obvious lies brought gallons more water with prolonged choking, while gasping for air. "We know where you were trained and the mission you were own; what is your unit strength...what is your commanders name..etc etc......A couple of things happen to my psyche after all was said and done.
I got a piece of paper saying I had successfully completed POW warfare training and it was duly noted on my DD-214

Also:
I made up my mind I would never be captured alive if I had the chance.... which in hind sight might have been the sole purpose of the exercise? (no captured alive was reinforced after seeing or hearing about a few of our personal captured and killed in very unpleasant ways).....

Many of the procedures for being a POW were changed after the guys returned from North Vietnam and told their stories.

The main change IMO was policy and procedure with compartmentalization whereby anyone only got enough information to complete a mission.

With the drugs available today and the art of extracting information from people I can not imagine all the stuff that goes on day after day hour after hour.....Not me ever if I have a choice.

Accept your death and the pain.

Separate yourself from the pain. Easier said then done.

reply to post by 727Sky


SERE can be a MF'er can't it?

At a local SERE course organized by the 82d ABN, I escaped and evaded capture for two days after 12 days of captivity. I'm almost sure they allowed me to escape with the intent on recapture followed by more fun and games.

In retrospect, I guess I really only spent one day evading as the next day all I could hear throughout the woods was "ENDEX! You can come out now!" Most of us didn't thinking it was a trap.

Lots of swearing as well as threats to what they were really going to do to us if we didn't come out of hiding.

Really ticked a lot of guys off.

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by 727Sky

 

SERE can be a MF'er can't it?

At a local SERE course organized by the 82d ABN, I escaped and evaded capture for two days after 12 days of captivity. I'm almost sure they allowed me to escape with the intent on recapture followed by more fun and games.

In retrospect, I guess I really only spent one day evading as the next day all I could hear throughout the woods was "ENDEX! You can come out now!" Most of us didn't thinking it was a trap.

Lots of swearing as well as threats to what they were really going to do to us if we didn't come out of hiding.

Really ticked a lot of guys off.

edit on 4-5-2013 by TDawgRex because: Spelling

Hahaha yep those were the days!! Let us both hope we never have to do that kind of fun and exercise again. Great character builder, huh?

Salute