Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

may be driven by intra- and/or interpersonal factors (one of the challenges of
assessment addressed previously), there are two other key areas to consider.
The KUBARK manual correctly notes the substantial role ideological
affiliation and commitment can play in a source’s resistance posture. In some
instances (e.g., Al Qaeda), the source may be a product of years of fundamentalist
religious schooling (e.g., the madrassas), where intense, rote learning has filled
students’ minds with selected passages from spiritual texts. In the course of this
training, they have embraced the “belief” that their cause is divinely inspired
(which can place the interrogator on the side of “evil”). The inability to deconstruct
this resistance posture remains a major hurdle in the current war on terrorism.
The development of a useful counterstrategy will need to be informed by a solid
understanding of the target cultures, ideologies, and languages to be relevant and
effective. 67
While much of the resistance posed by sources is ad hoc in nature, one
cannot overlook the role of formalized resistance training. As the so-called Al
Qaeda Manual attests, that organization has compiled a systematic resistance
strategy for employment by operatives taken into custody. 68 The impact of this
training is revealed in certain consistencies in the behaviors of detainees at
Guantanamo Bay that suggest the use of resistance strategies (e.g., claims of
abuse, repetitive recitations of religious passages, etc.). Even then, the challenge
for interrogators is not inconsequential. First, interrogators must confirm that a
source is actually employing a systematic resistance strategy. Second, they must
identify the components of that strategy. Finally, they must devise an effective
counterstrategy.
To address the concept of resistance meaningfully requires a broad array of
subject matter experts. Behavioral scientists can assist in developing methods for
identifying personality-driven factors. Cultural, political, and theological experts
are needed to better understand the significant environmental components in
play. Accomplished linguists might assist in clarifying where apparent resistance
might actually be the result of misunderstood questions (or answers). SERE
specialists — experts in designing and teaching resistance strategies — would
be an invaluable resource in helping to recognize, confirm, and deconstruct the
resistance strategies encountered by interrogators. Finally, it might require this
wealth of resources to correctly assess if a source’s failure to answer a pertinent
question is the result of defiance or poor knowledgeability.
67
In the author’s recent discussion of this challenging scenario with a SERE psychologist, there
emerged the novel idea of applying deprogramming methods used in the U.S. and abroad to help
“rescue” individuals from the destructive influence of religious cults.
68
A document described as an Al Qaeda training manual was discovered by the
Manchester (England) Metropolitan Police Department in the course of a raid on the home of
a suspected Al Qaeda operative. The manual was located on a computer hard drive found at
the site, in a file labeled “the military series” relating to the “Declaration of Jihad.” (Source:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/manualpart1_1.pdf )
117