Treating terrorists with respect

Effective anti-torture interrogation techniques were discussed at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies in conjunction with
Human Rights First. Colonel Stuart Herrington, a retired US Army
intelligence officer, stated that Americans should not have to
question which interrogation methods are appropriate and, having
witnessed a woman being waterboarded in Vietnam by contracted
Vietnamese interrogators, said he has no doubt that waterboarding is
torture.

Herrington said that a stigma exists which places interrogation as a
low priority, causing highly qualified individuals to seek other jobs.
Joe Navarro, a former FBI interrogator, said that an interrogator
must speak the language of the informant while being aware of their
culture and political history. Navarro added that being a criminal
interrogator is less complex than an interrogator of terrorists and
that detailed training is essential for federal interrogators.

Navarro stated that a successful interview is subtle, saying a relaxed
brain is best able to remember detailed information. Herrington
expressed his surprise that high officials approved of using
interrogation methods that cross moral bounds, saying that officials
must have been misinformed of each procedures’ details. Navarro added
that an interrogator is supposed to convince an informant to release
information, not threaten, and that acts of kindness help to build
informants’ confidence in the interrogator. He concluded by saying
that the United States will not be successful if it employs “Gestapo”
techniques and added that even Nazi interrogators knew to treat their
informants with respect.