Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Educing Information: Interrogation—
Science and Art
John A. Wahlquist*
“The goal of the interrogation process is to develop the truth.” 10 This simple
statement captures the spirit that animates Educing Information: Interrogation:
Science and Art. The “truth” awaiting development in this case is what we think we
know and what we really know about educing information (EI), a politically neutral
term that encompasses often highly controversial human intelligence collection
activities such as interrogation, strategic debriefing, and elicitation. In his article,
“Approaching Truth: Behavioral Science Lessons on Educing Information from
Human Sources,” Dr. Randy Borum explains: “Almost no empirical studies in the
social and behavioral sciences directly address the effectiveness of interrogation
in general practice, or of specifi c techniques in generating accurate and useful
information from otherwise uncooperative persons (emphasis in the original).”
As a practitioner and student of educing information, I share Dr. Borum’s
surprise and concern over the lack of rigorous scientific examination of educing
information fundamentals. What this means is that the effectiveness of existing
interrogation techniques has been accepted without sufficient scrutiny. Under these
circumstances, any resulting ineffectiveness is attributed to improper execution of
the techniques rather than inherent flaws in the techniques themselves. Similarly,
detecting deception, a key ingredient in evaluating the usefulness of information
obtained through interrogation, is popularly and even professionally considered
simply the natural result of properly applying the “right” techniques. While many
such techniques apparently have an anecdotal basis, most have not been subjected
to recent and thorough scientific analysis. In the worst case some actually may
be counterproductive to uncovering the truth. It is to highlight these issues, at a
time when information obtained from human sources is increasingly important
to protecting vital national security interests, that the Intelligence Science Board
sponsored its educing information study.
Despite a dearth of recent systematic studies on the theory and practice of
interrogation, historical accounts, primarily anecdotal, have dealt with this issue
in considerable detail. Some of the best documented are “how-to” interrogation
________________
*
Mr. John A. Wahlquist is a Faculty Member at the National Defense Intelligence College and a
member of the Government Experts Committee for the Intelligence Science Board Study on Educing
Information. As a member of the Iraq Survey Group in Baghdad (2004-2005), he headed Team
Huwaysh, consisting of interrogator-debriefers and subject matter experts, dedicated to debriefing
Iraqi detainee ‘Abd-al-Tawab Al Mullah Huwaysh, Saddam Husayn’s former fourth-ranking Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Military Industrialization. Previously Mr. Wahlquist served as Defense
Attaché to Oman and Deputy Director of Intelligence at U.S. Central Command. Editor’s Note: Mr.
Wahlquist’s comments are not necessarily those of the Intelligence Science Board which he supported
as a member of the Government Experts Committee.
10
John E. Reid and Associates, “Critics Corner: Defending the Reid Technique of Interrogation,” at
http://www.reid.com/educational_info/critictechniquedefend.html, accessed 18 August 2006.
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