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Authors: Matthew Alexander
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sloppy with wide eyes and a bushy gray beard. He looks like he’s led the good life while convincing others to die in suicide attacks.
Steve starts off with him by establishing rapport. They discuss the imam’s mosque, his background, and his family. It seems routine enough at first. Then Tom orders the imam to his feet. He puts the detainee against a wall. Steve approaches and stands right next to him. Tom stands face-to-face with him. For a moment I get anxious. Is this going to get out of hand?
Both ’gators suddenly launch a barrage of questions at him. They pummel him with rapid-fire, unconnected questions that force his mind to jump from one place to another in a split second.
“Who do you work for?”
“What’s your wife’s name again?”
“Do you want me to help you?”
“Where do you live?”
“What mosque do you preach at?”
“Who do you work for?”
“How many sons do you have?”
“Do you want to be my friend?”
“Where did you meet besides the mosque?”
The imam goes from confident and slightly smug to desperately confused. He tries to answer the questions as they come, but he can’t keep up. He stumbles over his answers, mixes things up, and grows even more anxious and uneasy. His voice kicks up an octave as he tries to respond. Tom and Steve have pushed him well outside his comfort zone.
As the staccato questions continue, he starts tripping over his lies. This approach can be very effective. My group has been trained to search out what motivates a detainee, then use that motivation to our advantage. That takes time, rapport, and a measure of trust between ’gator and detainee. The approach Tom and Steve are using works in a different way. Instead of using a ruse, the direct questioning at this pace prevents the detainee from thinking through his lies. As they go over the same territory again and again, discrepancies start to appear.
The imam begins to crumble. Steve and Tom home in on those areas where he trips up, battering away at him with more questions. By the end of the interrogation, the imam reveals that his mosque recruited for Al Qaida. He gives up the location of several more safe houses where suicide bombers meet and prepare for their missions. He also tells them that he raised money for Al Qaida. It’s no secret that the religious wing of Al Qaida Iraq plays a major role in funding the insurgency.
By the end of the interrogation, both David and I are impressed by the way Steve and Tom work together. They blend the old-school techniques and the new ones to powerful effect. Though they don’t get the imam to give up his boss, they do get a lot of useful information out of him.
Next we watch an interrogation that Mary’s running by herself. The difference is stark. She sits down with her detainee but makes no attempt to build rapport with him. Instead, she shows signs of contempt for the prisoner and uses control techniques to demonstrate that she’s in charge. Then she rattles off the questions her partnered analyst wants answers to, but the detainee reveals nothing. When she finishes the list, she ends the interrogation. I’m puzzled; I can’t figure out what she’s doing. One thing is clear, though, she has never been exposed to the new techniques.
Late that afternoon, Bobby conducts a solo interrogation. He’s clearly one of us. He throws all sorts of curveballs at his detainee, running multiple approaches mixed every now and then with a clever ruse. Seeing him work impresses me all over again. If he can learn to pace himself, he’ll be one of the best ’gators in the business.
Before I leave that night, Randy takes me aside. “Listen, we’re still watching the safe house outside Abu Ghraib that Abu Ali and Zaydan gave up. That was good stuff you got.”
“Thanks.”
“If you get results, you’ll change minds around here. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have much time.”
When I get back to my hooch some time after three in
Steve starts off with him by establishing rapport. They discuss the imam’s mosque, his background, and his family. It seems routine enough at first. Then Tom orders the imam to his feet. He puts the detainee against a wall. Steve approaches and stands right next to him. Tom stands face-to-face with him. For a moment I get anxious. Is this going to get out of hand?
Both ’gators suddenly launch a barrage of questions at him. They pummel him with rapid-fire, unconnected questions that force his mind to jump from one place to another in a split second.
“Who do you work for?”
“What’s your wife’s name again?”
“Do you want me to help you?”
“Where do you live?”
“What mosque do you preach at?”
“Who do you work for?”
“How many sons do you have?”
“Do you want to be my friend?”
“Where did you meet besides the mosque?”
The imam goes from confident and slightly smug to desperately confused. He tries to answer the questions as they come, but he can’t keep up. He stumbles over his answers, mixes things up, and grows even more anxious and uneasy. His voice kicks up an octave as he tries to respond. Tom and Steve have pushed him well outside his comfort zone.
As the staccato questions continue, he starts tripping over his lies. This approach can be very effective. My group has been trained to search out what motivates a detainee, then use that motivation to our advantage. That takes time, rapport, and a measure of trust between ’gator and detainee. The approach Tom and Steve are using works in a different way. Instead of using a ruse, the direct questioning at this pace prevents the detainee from thinking through his lies. As they go over the same territory again and again, discrepancies start to appear.
The imam begins to crumble. Steve and Tom home in on those areas where he trips up, battering away at him with more questions. By the end of the interrogation, the imam reveals that his mosque recruited for Al Qaida. He gives up the location of several more safe houses where suicide bombers meet and prepare for their missions. He also tells them that he raised money for Al Qaida. It’s no secret that the religious wing of Al Qaida Iraq plays a major role in funding the insurgency.
By the end of the interrogation, both David and I are impressed by the way Steve and Tom work together. They blend the old-school techniques and the new ones to powerful effect. Though they don’t get the imam to give up his boss, they do get a lot of useful information out of him.
Next we watch an interrogation that Mary’s running by herself. The difference is stark. She sits down with her detainee but makes no attempt to build rapport with him. Instead, she shows signs of contempt for the prisoner and uses control techniques to demonstrate that she’s in charge. Then she rattles off the questions her partnered analyst wants answers to, but the detainee reveals nothing. When she finishes the list, she ends the interrogation. I’m puzzled; I can’t figure out what she’s doing. One thing is clear, though, she has never been exposed to the new techniques.
Late that afternoon, Bobby conducts a solo interrogation. He’s clearly one of us. He throws all sorts of curveballs at his detainee, running multiple approaches mixed every now and then with a clever ruse. Seeing him work impresses me all over again. If he can learn to pace himself, he’ll be one of the best ’gators in the business.
Before I leave that night, Randy takes me aside. “Listen, we’re still watching the safe house outside Abu Ghraib that Abu Ali and Zaydan gave up. That was good stuff you got.”
“Thanks.”
“If you get results, you’ll change minds around here. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have much time.”
When I get back to my hooch some time after three in
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