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Enhanced interrogation is a controversial set of aggressive tactics used to obtain information from prisoners. Supporters argue it is effective, while detractors consider it torture. Advanced interrogation techniques were used by the German military in WWII and were found illegal in war crimes trials. American tactics include humiliation, exhaustion, and drowning, and have been criticized for their reliability and potential harm to innocent prisoners. The debate over enhanced interrogation caused political controversy in the early 2000s.
Enhanced interrogation is a set of aggressive tactics used during the interrogation process in an attempt to obtain information from a prisoner. The Presidential Bush administration used the term to the American public in the early twenty-first century to describe the interrogation techniques used in American overseas containment facilities in places like Iraq. Supporters of enhanced interrogation argue that it is an effective method of obtaining information, while detractors believe it qualifies as torture, which would make it illegal for signatories to the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
Members of the German military used advanced interrogation techniques during World War II, referring to them as verschärfte Vernehmung. These techniques included sensory deprivation, minimal rations, uncomfortable or hard beds, sensory overload from loud noises and bright lights, beatings, and emotional abuse. In war crimes trials conducted after the end of the war, these techniques were found illegal in several criminal courts, and several nations signed anti-torture resolutions. Such resolutions are not purely altruistic, as most countries want to avoid the torture of their citizens and military personnel in military conflicts.
Advanced interrogation manuals for American interrogators are hard to obtain, although military informants have provided some information to the media. These tactics include the use of cultural or physical humiliation, emotional strain, exhaustion and controlled drowning, asphyxiation and electrocution. Detainees also testified to beatings, prolonged “stress positions” that keep the body in a state of tension and stress, and the use of military weapons and dogs for intimidation. While the use of tactics like yelling at prisoners isn’t generally considered torture, practices like controlled drowning certainly qualify in the eyes of many critics.
Enhanced interrogation is argued to be an unfortunate, but necessary, tool for rooting out terrorists and other threats to American national security. However, psychological studies of torture techniques suggest that they are not actually reliable methods of obtaining information, as subjects often lie in an attempt to end the interrogation. Whistleblowers also said that some prisoners subjected to these tactics were likely innocent, as documented in the 2007 book Fear Up Harsh.
The enhanced interrogation debate made major political news in 2007, with many American citizens and public officials expressing unease and disgust at such tactics. Many op-eds and opinion columns also spoke out against intensified interrogations and called for greater accountability for the Bush administration. Torture and the precise definition of torture have also become problems for candidates seeking election in the 2008 presidential election, as well as Congress.
