Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Introduction
The KUBARK 21 Counterintelligence Interrogation Manual, produced by the
Central Intelligence Agency in 1963 (and declassified in 1997), has become an
icon of Cold War subterfuge and a lightning rod for those who allege that the
United States continues to employ similar coercive interrogation techniques in
the new conflict of the 21st century: the Global War on Terror. In an emphatic
article, Alfred W. McCoy provides a sweeping review of the development of the
KUBARK manual and its disturbing legacy throughout the remaining course
of Cold War history. 22 McCoy makes a compelling argument that coercive
interrogation methods, such as those set forth in the KUBARK manual, carry
a far-reaching negative impact on U.S. foreign policy: a premise with critical
implications for current counterinsurgency operations in Iraq.
Rather than address these geopolitical concerns, this review will concern
itself exclusively with the potential for lessons learned that could be derived from
a highly controversial document. Just as important ideas for enhancing security
practices can be elicited from a felon convicted of armed robbery, in looking
past the ignominy of KUBARK’s intended use, one can find useful insights into
the dynamics of intensive intelligence interrogation that can lead to principles
applicable to current challenges.
Observations
Interrogation: A Definition
There is nothing mysterious about interrogation. It consists of
no more than obtaining needed information through responses
to questions. 23
An interrogation is not a game played by two people, one to
become the winner and the other the loser. It is simply a method
of obtaining correct and useful information. 24
Some might argue that these definitions fail to distinguish interrogation
from a debriefing. While there are far more similarities than differences between
the two activities, what ultimately separates an interrogation from a debriefing
21
The term “KUBARK” is the Central Intelligence Agency cryptonym for a counterintelligence
collection operation conducted in the early 1960s. In the cryptonym system employed by the CIA, the
first two letters (the “digraph”) may refer to a country or a specific clandestine or covert activity, while
the remaining word (in this instance, “BARK”) may refer to a specific operation or recruited source.
22
Alfred W. McCoy, “Cruel Science: CIA Torture and U.S. Foreign Policy,” The New England
Journal of Public Policy (Winter 2005): 209-262.
23
Central Intelligence Agency, KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation, Washington, DC,
1963, 1; available at http://www.parascope.com/articles/0397/kubark06.htm. Hereafter cited as
KUBARK.
24
KUBARK, 85.
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