Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Even with an infusion of technology, EI will retain one key feature of
HUMINT operations vis à vis other intelligence collection disciplines: costeffectiveness.
Divorced from the trappings of approach plans, questioning guides,
and intelligence report writing, the process of interrogation can be effectively
distilled to its underlying dynamic: a controlled exchange of information on both
an interpersonal and an intrapersonal level. In the context of an interrogation,
each side possesses information of interest to the other, and that information can
be strategically disclosed at a time and a pace designed specifically to support the
achievement of intended outcomes.
For the interrogator, the intended outcome is primarily the successful
collection of timely, accurate, and comprehensive intelligence information. For
the source, however, the intended outcome may vary dramatically from detainee
to detainee. While one source may seek exclusively to stymie the collection of any
useful information by the adversary (i.e., the interrogator) as part of a continued
fight for “the cause,” another may ultimately wish to provide information in
return for specific actions/rewards/treatment (e.g., promise of expedited release,
help in overthrowing a tyrant, better treatment for himself and/or his associates,
etc.). The source’s intended outcome will, in large measure, determine the rate
at which information is offered as well as both the quality and quantity of that
information. 658
During this dynamic exchange, each side also manages a storehouse of
information comprising data that can be divided into three primary categories:
what is known, what is believed to be true (suspected), and what can only be
guessed. The interrogation itself involves a carefully controlled exchange of
statements of fact and statements of supposition, liberally interspersed with an
array of bluffs, feints, and ploys. This “move/counter-move” activity has been
likened to the game of chess. A more accurate analogy, however, might be the
ancient Chinese game of Go, where the number of possible combinations of board
positions is estimated to be approximately 10 to the 750th power. Fortunately,
interrogations — like Go — feature an assortment of recurring situations that,
through experience, can be quickly recognized and effectively addressed. 659
Systems Approach
To engage successfully in this exchange of information, an interrogator must
possess a well-developed “talent” (whether it be an innate attribute, the product
of operational training, or some combination of the two) for systems thinking. The
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A behavioral/cognitive approach to the interpersonal/intrapersonal barrier would pose several
critical and potentially revealing questions with respect to this “controlled exchange of information.”
Such an inquiry might explore both the interrogator’s mental construct and emotional framework as
he or she approaches the interrogation as well as examine how these states might be affected by the
interaction and/or over time as the operational relationship unfolds. A similar analysis involving the
source might yield important insights.
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An important advantage that falls to the interrogator is the product of experience. While an
interrogator may participate in — and be able to learn from — literally hundreds of interrogations, the
source will have little personal experience to draw from, and none at all during the initial interrogation
session.
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