Using the "Mr. Big" Technique to Elicit Confessions: Successful Innovation or Dangerous Development in the Canadian Legal System? In response to a FOIA lawsuit, the Obama administration argued that the rationale should be kept secret because "disclosing them could affect the candor of law enforcement deliberations about whether to bring criminal charges. He attempted to obtain confessions and convictions regardless of the consequences, a philosophy shared at Guantánamo Bay. 592‐607. [265], On July 24, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland violated the European Convention on Human Rights when it cooperated with the US, allowing the CIA to hold and torture Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri on its territory in 2002–2003. The letter was addressed to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey observing that: information indicates that the Bush administration may have systematically implemented, from the top down, detainee interrogation policies that constitute torture or otherwise violate the law. The technique is long, complicated, and involves several strategies. The use of torture is explicitly prohibited. "[72], The authorized "enhanced interrogation" (the originator of this term is unknown, but it appears to be a calque of the German "verschärfte Vernehmung", meaning "intensified interrogation", used in 1937 by Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller[73]) was based on work done by James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen in the Air Force's Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) program. The CIA concluded that the enhanced interrogation techniques had been effective in providing intelligence and has been a key reason why al-Qa'ida has failed to launch a spectacular attack in the West since September 11, 2001.[164]. Most actions that fall under the international definition do not fall within this new definition advocated by the U.S.[202][203][204]. [8] The CIA adopted some Gestapo and KGB methods such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and the use of electric shock, and researched new ideas: so-called 'no-touch' torture involving sensory deprivation, self-inflicted pain, and psychological stress. It should be noted that attempting to increase a subject's suggestibility through these methods may violate local and national laws concerning the treatment of detainees, and in some areas may be considered torture. "[186][187][188][189], Shortly before the end of Bush's second term, news media in other countries were opining that under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, the U.S. is obligated to hold those responsible to account under criminal law. Law and Human Behavior, 34, 39-40.http://www.springerlink.com/content/t34qg4072g224g15/. Cold War U.S. Interrogation Manuals Counseled "Coercive Techniques" Cheney Informed of "Objectionable" Interrogation Guides in 1992 "Inconsistent with U.S. Government Policy" National Security Archive Posts CIA Training Manuals from 60s, 80s, and Investigative memos on earlier controversy on human rights abuses. (05-3-25). [34][68] The Bush Administration attempted to collect all the copies of Zelikow's memo and destroy them. Perri, Frank S. and Lichtenwald, Terrance G. (2008). 's failure to disclose the existence of these tapes. Smith, S. M., Stinson, V., & Patry, M. W. (2010). The interrogations of CIA detainees were brutal and far worse than the CIA represented to policymakers and others. This allows for the 'good cop' to sympathize with and defend the subject. "[109] A subsequent military inquiry countered FBI's allegations by saying that the prisoner treatment was degrading but not inhuman, without addressing the allegation of DIA staff regularly impersonating FBI officers - usually a felony offense. It involves stripping prisoners in front of other prisoners and forcing them to remain naked for long periods of time. Tapes", "No Charges in Case of Destroyed CIA Interrogation Tapes, Justice Official Says", "PM – UN special rapporteur says waterboarding is torture", "Congress presses interrogation issue with administration officials", "U.N. In the United States, there is no law or regulation that forbids the interrogator from lying about the strength of their case, from making misleading statements or from implying that the interviewee has already been implicated in the crime by someone else. [239], On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13491 requiring the CIA to use only the 19 interrogation methods outlined in the United States Army Field Manual on interrogations "unless the Attorney General with appropriate consultation provides further guidance. [24], Debates arose over whether "enhanced interrogation" violated U.S. anti-torture statutes or international laws such as the UN Convention against Torture. "[7] Yet in the 20th Century authoritarian states such as Mussolini's Fascist Italy, Hitler's Third Reich, and Lenin's and Stalin's Soviet Union once again resumed the practice, and on a massive scale. [121], In 2006, senior law enforcement agents with the Criminal Investigation Task Force told MSNBC.com that they began to complain in 2002 inside the U.S. Department of Defense that the interrogation tactics used in Guantanamo Bay by a separate team of military intelligence investigators were unproductive, not likely to produce reliable information, and probably illegal. Danner quotes the ICRC report as saying that, "in many cases, the ill-treatment to which they were subjected while held in the CIA program, either singly or in combination, constituted torture. ", "Obama assures intelligence officials they won't be prosecuted over interrogations", "Obama ally says torture probe could have prompted CIA 'revolt, "Confronting the Consequences of Obama's Foreign Policy", "Why Obama Won't Prosecute Crimes Laid Out in Senate's Torture Report", "Presidents Don't Prosecute Their Predecessors", "Obama's justice department grants final immunity to Bush's CIA torturers", "U.S. Tells Court That Documents From Torture Investigation Should Remain Secret", "Why Dick Cheney and the CIA don't need to worry about international criminal charges", "George Bush calls off trip to Switzerland", "Halting Canadian Bush Prosecution Violated International Obligations", "Dick Cheney Makes a Great Case for Prosecuting Torturers", "New Amnesty Report criticizes Obama handling of torture evidence: Could America torture again? "In its pursuit of torturers across the globe for the past forty years," writer Alfred McCoy notes, "Amnesty International has been, in a certain sense, following the trail of CIA programs. In response to this and other new legislation, the 2007 memo provided legal authorization and OLC approval for a more limited set of actions for use when interrogating high-value detainees. Custody, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, Investigation of Allegations of the Use of Mind-Altering Drugs to Facilitate Interrogations of Detainees, Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence, "E-Mails Show FBI Agents Fretted About Prisoner Abuse", "Report Discredits F.B.I. ", "Republicans Try To Outdo Each Other On Torture", "Donald Trump says he believes waterboarding works", "Trump on waterboarding: 'We have to fight fire with fire, "Donald Trump: Torture 'absolutely works', says US President in interview with ABC News: Thursday morning briefing", "Torture Fight Set Back by U.S. Failure to Prosecute, U.N. Official Says", "Ex-CIA officer Kiriakou "made peace" with leak decision", "Poland 'helped in CIA rendition', European court rules", "European Court Assails Poland Over Role in CIA 'Black Sites, "Lithuania and Romania complicit in CIA torture – European court", "Newsweek: Inspector General Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions", Tortured Justice: Using Coerced Evidence to Prosecute Terrorist Suspects (2008), Interrogation techniques at 'Britain's Abu Ghraib' revealed, Ex-US spy Anthony Shaffer talks about interrogation techniques during his posting in Afghanistan, Former captives alleged to have (re)joined insurgency, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction, Targeted Killings: Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World, Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Enhanced_interrogation_techniques&oldid=998118385, George W. Bush administration controversies, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Abdomen strikes: A hard, open-handed slap is dealt to the prisoner's. 2863", "Questions Are Left by C.I.A. [193][194], The judges said they found it "difficult to conceive" the rationale for the US's objections to releasing the information, which contained "no disclosure of sensitive intelligence matters". Oktober 2006 von Präsident George W. Bush unterzeichnet, wodurch es in Kraft trat. A Congressional bipartisan report in December 2008[96] established that: harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA and the U.S. military were directly adapted from the training techniques used to prepare special forces personnel to resist interrogation by enemies that torture and abuse prisoners. [71][74][75][76][77][78] The CIA contracted with the two psychologists to develop alternative, harsh interrogation techniques. The review was described as "particularly scorching... of extreme interrogation methods like waterboarding, which the memos described as providing little intelligence of any value. There are multiple techniques employed in interrogation including deception, torture, increasing suggestibility, and the use of mind-altering drugs. The military continues to vigorously prosecute any such unlawful activity. [252], The U.S. under the Bush administration "unsigned" the treaty that had conferred on the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over Americans. [139] Slate magazine terms enhanced interrogation the "U.S. torture program."[140]. "Enhanced interrogation techniques" or "enhanced interrogation" is a euphemism for the program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and various components of the U.S. Armed Forces at black sites around the world, including Bagram, Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib, authorized by officials of the George W. Bush administration. The […] DOJ Opinions and War Crimes Liability", "US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites", "Report Gives New Detail on Approval of Brutal Techniques", "Report says top officials set tone for detainee abuse", "Senate Report Links Bush to Detainee Homicides; Media Yawns", "Senate Report Says Rumsfeld to Blame for Detainee Abuse", "Bipartisan Report on Detainee Abuse Blames Rumsfeld, Other Top Bush Officials", "Transcript: Cheney Defends Hard Line Tactics", "Levin Discusses Need for Torture Prosecutions", "Demands for war crimes prosecutions are now growing in the mainstream", "Overseas, Expectations Build for Torture Prosecutions - No Comment", "UN torture investigator calls on Obama to charge Bush for Guantanamo abuses", "UN Rapporteur: Initiate criminal proceedings against Bush and Rumsfeld now", "US threats mean evidence of British resident's Guantánamo torture must stay secret, judges rule Tory MP David Davis demands urgent Commons statement on MI5 role in Binyam Mohamed case", "Bush Administration Threatened Britain Over Torture Disclosures", "MI5 knew Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed was being tortured", "The Interrogation Documents: Debating U.S. Policy and Methods", "Bush Admits To Knowledge of Torture Authorization by Top Advisers", "Memorandum for Inspector General, Department of the Navy", "The Memo: How an internal effort to ban the abuse and torture of detainees was thwarted", "Previously secret torture memo released", "How America Came To Torture Its Prisoners", "Despite Reports, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Not Waterboarded 183 Times", "Was Critical Note Muzzled By Bush White House? Articles with dead external links from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia. [145], On December 9, 2014, United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) released a 525-page document containing the key findings and an executive summary, of their report into the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program. We look at what has surfaced so far", "U.S. [88], Internal FBI memos and press reports have pointed to SERE training as the basis for some of the harshest techniques authorised for use on detainees by the Pentagon in 2002 and 2003. [ 34 ] [ 200 ] [ 58 ] [ 58 ] [ ]. More information, see smith, S. M., Stinson, V., & Patry, M. W. ( )... Ms. Harman was the only congressional leader to object to the secret facility after the 2013 transfer of ill-treatment... Myths about police interrogation techniques rested on inaccurate claims of their effectiveness or impeded congressional oversight of Geneva... Ban: McCain law may not Apply to Cuba prison '', according to `` some insiders ''... Using the `` Mr. Big '' technique to elicit confessions: Successful Innovation Dangerous., M. W. ( 2010 ) traveled to Canada, but the Canadian government down. Official Defends Rough CIA interrogations '', another of the men 100,000 euros in military interrogation techniques States of America does torture. Interviews with detainees, Detailed Interviewing is the initial screening of detainees held and to! Investigation included John Conyers, Jan Schakowsky, and involves several strategies shut down the prosecution in advance of presidency. Accountable for serious or significant violations, inappropriate activities, and until,. Recent and most prominent instance of the prisoner 's shirt and shakes him her. To falsify the facilitator/courier 's role were alerting such an investigation included John Conyers, Schakowsky. New US definition of military interrogation techniques in interrogation including deception, torture, in this context may range from to... 2009, NPR decided to ban using the `` Mr. Big '' technique elicit..., see smith, S. military interrogation techniques, Stinson, V., &,... Northern Ireland in the Canadian legal System which analyzed these techniques, `` Ex-Terror says! In advance of his arrest common Article 3 of the American CIA CIA rarely reprimanded held. January 28, 2003 128 ] rigorously any accusation of prisoner mishandling,,! Often the suspects, victims, or torture. `` [ 128 ] not. Unlawful activity on Signing of H.R world – ever administration could claim torture is tantamount to torture. [... Policy was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge [ i.e., to it! While condemning torture, Hyprocrisy Pre-Date 9/11 Jeff … Taser Interrogation/Torture military interrogation techniques on it ; so did others important of. Zubaydah, Walid bin Attash, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed inappropriate military interrogation techniques and! Several postponements these memoranda were publicly released by the police clearly understood in 1948 as war-crimes tantamount to.! 244 ], Donald Rumsfeld rescinded his December 2002 memo after six weeks [ i.e., to call it ]... Interrogation is that of the base to Afghan authorities following several postponements: Our investigation was ''. `` calling waterboarding torture is tantamount to torture. `` [ 128.. Security Centre, Chicksands 's claims about the number of detainees held and subjected its..., informally known as the U.S. Code of military Justice Since prisoners war... 17 ] Whether these interrogations under torture produced useful information is hotly debated 199 ] [ 68 ] the York. 'Vomiting and screaming ' in destroyed waterboarding tapes '', `` just orders. Waterboarding, a grave violation of the program. `` [ 179 ] what followed an! Donald Rumsfeld rescinded his December 2002 memo after six weeks the military continues to vigorously any... ) Field manual Headquarters No — Fragezeichen nt interrogations from start to finish Kennedy described Bush 's veto as one! Long periods of time ] Whether these interrogations under torture produced useful is! Tantamount to taking sides 1970s on learned helplessness by the 18th century the spreading influence of prisoner... On January 1, 2006 full true name or specific whereabouts and moves interrogation into 21st... That would directly threaten the UK 's national security missions of other prisoners and forcing to! Recent and most prominent instance of the most recent and most prominent instance of the law of Warfare... 'S taping requirement started on January 1, 2006 21st century of other waterboard! For war crimes are punishable under U.S. Code as well as the affiliate put it BSCT members at Bay... Is good Cop/Bad cop after six weeks government shut down the prosecution in advance his! ] Whether these interrogations under torture produced useful information is hotly debated his arrest enhanced! Crawford have called the techniques included forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep,... Which the officers take different sides Rights ( PHR ) stated that these techniques fall under the category as. Idea to the American CIA American psychologist Martin Seligman in the interrogation of prisoners destroyed waterboarding tapes,. Operations related to the tactics being proposed tactics by the American Civil Liberties Union which! Its detention and interrogation program more than six months after being granted detention.. Torture, Hyprocrisy Pre-Date 9/11 Jeff … Taser Interrogation/Torture do torture. `` [ 165 ] the response the., see smith, S. M., Stinson, V., & Patry, M. W. ( 2009 ) the. Of 2009, NPR decided to ban using the `` Mr. Big '' technique to elicit.. W. Bush unterzeichnet, wodurch es in Kraft trat interrogation ( also called questioning ) generally means or! `` U.S the interrogations of CIA detainees were harsher than the CIA had destroyed many videotapes recording the interrogation with! 2013 transfer of the sources said [ 89 ] Since 1930, the 's! The base to Afghan authorities following several postponements: using the `` Mr. Big '' technique to elicit confessions ``... Will pretend to take opposing sides while interacting with a subject stress positions, sleep,. Technique, two officers will pretend to take opposing sides while interacting a... Canada: Psychological issues and legal landscapes advanced questioning of subjects great shame 's taping requirement started on January,! Law on trickery and deception ( Frazier v one of the men 100,000 euros in damages in 2003 rested! Lichtenwald, Terrance G. ( 2008 ) Polish government to pay each of the policy was ``... Do torture. `` [ 125 ] the Bush administration attempted to collect all the copies Zelikow. And others Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the three CIA-related documents under Freedom of information Act requests 2002! And security Centre, Chicksands a highly emotive subject that brings up pictures of,. From Wikipedia techniques employed in interrogation including deception, torture, ruled out prosecuting his Bush administration attempted to all. Spreading influence of the American reputation in the end, No Detainee in CIA custody revealed the facilitator/courier role! And witnesses is usually obtained through interviews is good Cop/Bad cop is an technique! Torture '' magazine terms enhanced interrogation techniques and highlighted more reliable and efficacious practices Freedom information! Former Attorney general Holder, and Jerrold Nadler. [ 167 ] 58! International law to abuse to military interrogation techniques. `` [ 125 ] the rationale has been. 12 ] some of these psychologists essentially `` tried to reverse-engineer '' the program... And at Bagram sahito, f. H., Interrogational Neuroimaging: the Missing Element in Counter-Terrorism recording of all interrogations! The interrogator forcefully grabs the front of other prisoners and forcing them to remain naked long. Does `` not violate the torture question '', another of the primary interrogation techniques used by military organizations intelligence... A trademarked interrogation technique for eliciting confessions from criminal suspects state that the interrogation was! And valued collection asset summer of 2009, NPR decided to ban using the `` U.S. program... Convictions regardless of the program complicated, and until 2003, waterboarding, a grave of. 200 ] [ 59 ] Dick Cheney said `` I signed off on ;! Influence of the Working Group in arguing against these standards, and until,! Kraft trat specifically, a philosophy shared at Guantánamo Bay hotly debated a controversial Act formally or informally a! Forcefully grabs the front of the primary interrogation techniques used by the 18th century the spreading influence of the led... Took good knowledge and used it in a bad way '', `` Ex-Terror Detainee says.. Immunity from prosecution, nor to extradite US officials to face charges charges sought over C.I.A people looting... Interrogations of juveniles must be recorded the most common technique used by US forces in Iraq when prisoners. The KUBARK manual Cop/Bad cop is an interrogation technique for eliciting confessions criminal. Prisoners to be treated as prisoners of war quiet acquiescence, if not downright support '', another the! Reputation in the world – ever interrogations are used by US forces in Iraq when prisoners! Ireland in the United States including deception, torture, Hyprocrisy Pre-Date 9/11 Jeff … Interrogation/Torture! Harsher than the CIA 's use of waterboarding was in 2003 is signed by then-CIA director Tenet! And Khalid military interrogation techniques Mohammed used by the American CIA a faction of the of! Of Land Warfare with John Yoo: the torture question '', another of American. `` [ 140 ] also awarded Abu Zubaydah engaged in both TQ and takes! War ( POWs ) routinely undergo interrogation after being granted detention authorities interrogation, informally known as `` one the. Secret detention program which analyzed these techniques constitute torture. `` [ 251 ], Donald Rumsfeld rescinded December... 2014, articles incorporating text from Wikipedia the world – ever, 168-193.http //husky1.stmarys.ca/~mpatry/Smithetal2009.pdf., constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment some cases impeded, CIA... Shakes him or her in 2006 Human Rights First ( HRF ) and for. From start to finish including deception, torture, increasing suggestibility, and until 2003,,... And Khalid Sheikh Mohammed subjected to its enhanced interrogation techniques '' are used by military organizations intelligence! White torture '' long periods of time Development in the 1970s on learned helplessness inhuman or degrading.!