Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

During this same period, the study of non-coercive interrogation methods to
support intelligence collection received only modest interest. Interrogation tactics,
techniques, and procedures established in the Cold War era fell short in building
upon the legacy of World War II strategic interrogation operations. Instead,
contemporary interrogation doctrine and training curricula were developed without
the benefit of formal studies of the potential efficacy of offensive interrogation 684
methods. In sum, a considerable portion of “what we know” about interrogation
— including approach methodology, the detection of deception, and reading body
language — is in fact largely unsubstantiated. Thus, when the Global War on
Terror focused us anew on devising offensive interrogation methods, the product
was at times adulterated by the principles of coercive interrogation drawn from
studies of Communist methodologies. As this war has continued, evidence of
the employment of coercive methods by U.S. interrogators has appeared with
alarming frequency.
The opportunity currently presents itself to make a transition to the next
generation of educing information. The strategies that will form the foundation
for the third generation of doctrine and practice for educing information will
be driven by the need to overcome the barriers outlined in this paper. The effort
should be characterized by the following considerations:
• Methods will be consistent with long-standing U.S. legal and moral
traditions.
• Formal research will, whenever possible, seek to demonstrate the efficacy
of methods in an operational setting.
• Institutions will recognize that the complexity of challenges in
interrogation is on par with those of clandestine collection operations.
• Standards of conduct and formal vetting programs will be introduced
to limit recruitment to those individuals best suited to dealing with the
complexities and ambiguities of interrogation.
• The long-term examination of selected high-value sources will take place
under exacting standards and be subject to appropriate oversight.
• Rigorous requirements for initial and ongoing training,
accompanied by an unambiguous standard of ethics and
practices, will introduce a new level of professionalism into the
interrogation discipline.
The barriers to success in educing information, while formidable, are not
insurmountable. That these barriers still confront us reflects not necessarily the
complexity of the barriers per se, but rather the absence of a systematic effort to
address them. In this regard, the words of Colin Powell, former Chairman of Joint
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The Joint Forces Command of the Department of Defense has labeled interrogation operations
conducted for the purpose of collecting intelligence from foreign sources offensive interrogation,
whereas resistance to interrogation is referred to as defensive interrogation.
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