Interrogation techniques a reverse engineering experiment

The interrogation techniques used against detainees in Guantanamo Bay and Iraq, including those that lead to the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, originated from a Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) program that trained U.S. military personnel in resistance to torture known as Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) .

“Deputy General Counsel for Intelligence [for the Defense Department] Richard Shiffrin called and asked for a list of psychological and physical pressures used in SERE training..JPRA provided a list of techniques that included stress position, waterboarding, slapping, sleep disruption, and sensory deprivation,” said Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich).

“Mr. Shiffrin testified that part of the reason the general counsels office sought the information was its interest in reverse engineering the techniques for use offensively in detainee interrogations.”

Colonel Steven M. Kleinman, who spent a substantial portion of his career focusing on interrogation and human intelligence, said that this approach did not work properly. The SERE model was based on combatting a Cold War method that was designed to aid in the creation of propaganda and not the eliciting of information.

“Our approach to interrogation has failed to keep pace with our understanding of the operation environment and behaviorial sciences. Interrogation continues to be viewed as a relatively simple task that can be assigned to our most junior personnel,” said Kleinman.