Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

tactic might work if the source will not be returned to a camp with other detainees.
Another classic method is for the educer to appeal strategically to a fairly good
“connection” at an appropriate point (“I am hoping that you might be willing after
all these weeks to tell me X, for the sake of our relationship — if I have to tell my
boss I have failed, I will be in serious trouble.”) and for the educer then to grant
something of value to the source, “because of our relationship.”
Relationship Power
Emotions, like all sources of power, can play positive or negative roles with
respect to the interests of the United States. Making enemies, especially needlessly,
may worsen the situation of the United States with the individual source and
with his countrymen. In fact, educers should always consider the possibilities for
building some “chemistry” or a “strategic connection.” In this mode the educer
would think of “recruiting” the source. Establishing some minimum respect
between educer and source would likely be a prerequisite for elegant solutions
and deals and also for recruiting agents, changing the mind of the occasional
source, building an atmosphere where sources let down their guard with people
planted in their midst, and so on.
Negotiation theorists and experienced interrogators could be misunderstood
when they use terms such as “relationship,” “trust,” “interpersonal chemistry,”
“positive emotions,” or “rapport.” These terms seem to imply making friends with
an enemy. Nevertheless, the “strategic connection” between a particular source
and a particular interrogator is likely to be essential to effective EI. Strategic
respect and building credibility may be important, especially in those cases where
there could be some on-going interactions or where saving face for the source or
the United States is at issue. Believability is important for the use of rewards or
threats.
Moral Authority and Charisma
Moral authority and charisma are important sources of power in the present
conflict with terrorists. Consistently and effectively conveying respect for the
customs and religion of a source might on occasion be a prerequisite to sowing
doubt in the source’s political belief system. As noted previously, moral authority
may also be used with great effect against the interests of the United States: to
recruit people willing to use violence, persuade sources not to speak, and so on.
Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) or “Fallback
Position”
Having a BATNA is a source of power, and the lack of a BATNA is a source of
weakness, in the present conflict. The fallback position for each side is “What will
happen if this negotiation does not succeed” Beliefs about “what we will do if
this does not work” would define both the U.S. resistance point (where we would
give up trying to educe information from a specific person) and the resistance
point of the source (when he might decide to give information, or alternatively
seek to commit suicide, suffer injury that would prevent him from talking, or
provoke his being injured or killed). To shift the resistance point — to change the
source’s mind about talking — the interrogator would wish to sow doubt in that
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