RE: Military Interrogation [OT]

-----Original Message-----
From: Pmj6@aol.com [mailto:Pmj6@aol.com]
Subject: Re: Military Interrogation [OT]

>> I was just speaking to a friend undergoing some Interrogator 
>>  Training, and he was describing to me the current State of The Art 
>>  (well unclassified) in Mil Interrogation. They call it 'the suit'. 
>>  
>>  Apparently, it is a big really thickly padded suit. The helm has 

<SNIP>

>I'd say having light shine in you face 24 hours a day and being
deprived of
>sleep counts as physical torture.  BTW, Interrogator was one of my MOSs
in
the
>US Army.  I went through the school in 91-92, then served for a couple
of
>years in an interrogation company and I never heard of anything like
that.
<Another SNIP>

I have to agree with Mike here. Sensory deprivation is considered a form
of
torture under the GC. Although it is an effective means of conditioning
it
must be handled very carefully. The fact that someone "spills their
guts" is
not an effective result in an interrogation. As Mike said, asking the
right
question and getting a CO-OPERATIVE answer is the desired end result. A
subject blubbering and giving you anything he thinks might please you
just
so he doesn't have to endure any further "treatment" is the same end
result
as plain old-fashioned torture. No, each individual has a character type
that is susceptible to a specific series of interrogation methods and
techniques. Most people respond to what we call "soft, logical
reasoning".

Sorry to say that I've worked with both US and UK interrogators and not
heard of 'the suit' either. Maybe it was a trial thing?

If anyone is really interested in reading about interrogation try a book
called "The Interrogator" about Hans Joachim Schaffe an interrogator in
the
German Luftwaffe in WWII; well accepted as the most effective
interrogator
in the war. It was required reading on my course.

Cheers,

Owen G