Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Commentaries
Educing Information: The Right Initiative at
the Right Time by the Right People
Pauletta Otis, Ph.D.*
Revelations surrounding the interrogation and treatment of Muslim males
at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba shocked the public and
provoked the collective conscience. How could this happen What are the rules
in this “time of terror” Do rules always apply Whose rules How should
the “potential and suspected” terrorist be treated What if,… just what if, he
had information that would save lives International terrorists, propelled by
unreasonable religious motives, and inflicting mass causalities on the innocent,
are not unprecedented in human history.
Although politicians, scholars, and theologians have been quick to condemn
harsh methods, the Intelligence Community has a need to know whether any
particular method of obtaining information actually works. Yet the scholarly
and scientific community has not systematically studied eduction for 45 years.
The present study is a good beginning toward redressing that oversight, and is
remarkable for its honesty, clarity, and objectivity.
This publication does not specifically address ethical, moral, religious, or
legal questions, but instead focuses on “What works” Dr. Robert Coulam clearly
enumerates incentives for “getting it right”: upholding ethical concerns and the
rule of law, increasing international support, reducing the danger to troops and
others at risk of capture, avoiding legal problems for U.S. troops and officials,
maintaining U.S. leadership on human rights, avoiding the creation of more
enemies, and maintaining the integrity of the military. The research reported in
the book comes across as focused and disciplined. It concentrates on the problem
of educing information from human sources held in prison or other confined
situations. It does not address “field interrogation.” Field interrogations that
depend on swift movement of both military units and prisoners are not well
documented. The evidence we do have about field interrogation is anecdotal and
not subject to scientific investigation and validation.
*
Pauletta Otis, Ph.D. has been a Faculty Member at the National Defense Intelligence College and
now works with the U.S. Marine Corps’ Center for Advanced Operational Cultural Learning. As both
scholar and citizen, Dr. Otis has focused on the use of military force to prevent systematic violations
of human rights during wartime, including the treatment of prisoners of war, or detainees, under jus ad
bellum and jus en bello conditions. Editors Note: Dr. Otis’s remarks review the historical use of torture
and the infliction of pain by the politically powerful to gain information from the weak, putting into
greater eduction the value of principles and procedures that now guide U.S. practices in information
“eduction,” and reinforcing the need for systematic research in the field. Dr. Otis is not associated with
the Intelligence Science Board.
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