Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

ests in the nature of two fundamental elements: psychological set and physical
setting.
• Psychological Set. In the context of a debriefing, the debriefer and the
source have essentially committed to the primary, shared purpose of
producing actionable intelligence, even though each may be motivated
by dramatically different personal objectives. The debriefer seeks
the fulfillment of tasked intelligence collection objectives, while the
source may act out of a sense of patriotism (e.g., a legal traveler 25
reporting information learned while traveling abroad) or may be seeking
preferential treatment from government authorities (e.g., a defector). In
the course of an interrogation, both parties approach the interaction with
different — and at times widely conflicting — sets of expectations and
objectives. While the interrogator may share the debriefer’s objective of
obtaining actionable intelligence, he or she may expect to encounter a
source who seeks to resist, withhold, distort, and deceive.
• Physical Setting. A legal traveler, in essence, submits voluntarily to the
questioning of the debriefer, and reserves the right (in most instances) to
end the session and depart at any time. It is therefore in the debriefer’s
best interest to make the experience a positive one for the source. By
contrast, an interrogator enjoys a significant degree of control over the
movement of the source, the duration of the encounter, and often the
degree of liberty available to the source (at that moment and for the
immediate future). The interrogator has the option of leveraging his/her
control over these factors — in the form of the “threat” of continued
detention or the “reward” of early release or expanded privileges — as a
means of influencing the source’s responsiveness to questioning.
Focus on Communist Methods of Interrogation
The intelligence service which is able to bring pertinent, modern
knowledge to bear upon its problems enjoys huge advantages
over a service which conducts its clandestine business in
eighteenth century fashion. It is true that American psychologists
have devoted somewhat more attention to Communist
interrogation techniques, particularly “brainwashing,” than
to U.S. practices. Yet they have conducted scientific inquiries
into many subjects that are closely related to interrogation: the
effects of debility and isolation, the polygraph, reactions to pain
and fear, hypnosis, and heightened suggestibility. 26
25
Legal travelers are individuals who may lawfully travel to a foreign country for commercial,
personal, or government purposes who may be debriefed upon their return by a representative of the
Intelligence Community for information of intelligence interest obtained in the normal course of their
official duties or personal activities. Legal travelers are not tasked (officially requested or directed) to
collect information.
26
KUBARK, 2.
97