Memorandum re: Interview Strategies - Guantanamo Bay

ALL INFORMATION CO 1:-
HEREIN UNCLASSIFIED
DATE 97-28-2999 BY 65179 DMI-LIILIS
December 2, 2002 .
INTERVIEW STRATEGIES — GUANTANAMO BAY
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the confinement of Al Oaeda/Taliban --
.detainees at GTMO, 'perhaps it is -a good time to revisit our interrogation strategies which - -
may be in need of revision. • •
•
Since last year, detainees have been interrogated by representativesof the Defense,
. Human Intelligence Services (DHS). and by members of the FBI/CITF in an effort to •
obtain. valuable, intelligence: In. this sense, the missions appear to be identical. However;
both the FBI and the CITF have additional responsibilities : While the FBI is working to. .
:obtain information to strengthen existing terrorism investigations. for prosecution, the
CITF is trying to ensure that incriminating information gathered from the detaineeS is
done in a manner acceptable for military,tribunals. •
• . -
Central to the gathering of reliable, admissible evidence is the manner in which it
is obtained. Interrogation techniques used. by the DHS ge designed 'specifically for Short- .
in combat environments where the immediate retrieval of tactical intelligence is term use
critical..Many of DHS's methods are considered coercive by-Federal Law Enforcement •
and UCMJ standards. Not only this, but reports from-those knoWledgeable about the use ,
of these coerciVe techniques are highly skeptical as to their effectiveness and reliability.
Since•nearly-ail of -the GTIVIC-).•detainees-have been interviewed: many-timesoverseas
before being sent here, the FBI/CITF believe that 4 differenea.pproachshould be
undertaken in terms of trying to elicit information from them. The FBI/CITF favors the
use of less: coercive techniques, ones carefully designed for long-term use in which •
. rapport-building skills-are carefully, combined with .a purposeful and incremental
manipulation Of a detainee's environment and perceptions. A model of this approach was
offered recently in an FBI/CITF interview plan for detainee 063: • •
. .. •
FBI/CITF agents are well-trained, highly 'experienced and very successful"
•in overcoming suspect resistance in order to obtain valuable information in complex • •
criminal cases, including the investigations. of terroristbombingSin East Africa and the..
USS Cole, etc. FBI/CITF interview strategies are Most effective -when tailored • .
specifically to •suit a suspect's or detainee's needs and vulnerabilities. Contrary to 'popular
belief, these vulnerabilities are more . likely to reveal themselves through the employment
and sustained interview strategies rather tha•through the . •
. haphazard use of prescriptive, time-driven approaches." The FBI/CM:strongly believes .
that the continued use of diametrically opposed interrogation strategies in GTMO will
only weaken our efforts to obtain valuable information.
. A second problem with the-current interrogation Strategy is that detainees are
smarter now than whenthey first arrived. No longer are they susceptible to suggestions •
for early release or special consideration. Indeed, no'one seems to know when the
military tribunals will begin. As TDY interrogators continue to interview and re- •
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interview detainees utilizing every theme imaginable, detainees have'become . :
• increasingly cynical of any concessions offered. Moreover,: they appear to have become
better conditioned for almost all interrogation approaches with many detainees simply
refusing to answer any questions. Complicating matters is the structural set-up of Camp
Delta, which enables detainees to exchange counter-interrogation resistance strategies_
with relative ease while at the same time strengthening their solidarity..
Except for a recently enacted reward system offering minor creature comforts to
• cooperative detainees, there is a lack of major incentives which could encourage
detainees to provide more information. Major incentives are greatly n:eeded. Recently; •
.investigators from Italy were successful in retrieving valuable information and
cooperation from some detainees after they Were provided with guarantees of judicial
leniency. •
In additiOn to reviewing interrogation strategies, the FBIHQ representatives wish
to (I; with the Commanding Genera.! the following issues:
1. Projected long term FBI Agent and Professional Support presence in support of
JTF GTMO mission
2. FBI Continued technical support
3. DOJ prosecutorial interest in GTMO detainees
. • ,
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