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Contrary to popular myth, most U.S. military detention facilities did not employ brutal interrogation methods during the first few years of the so-called "War on Terrorism." Far from it. But there were certainly facilities which did employ such methods, most infamously, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. In Iraq, many of the facilities employing so-called "enhanced" interrogation techniques were special operations facilities. Incredibly, even after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, the facility run by the elite Special Mission Unit in Iraq continued to permit more of these techniques than had been previously allowed at Abu Ghraib.
It was into a facility run by this Special Mission Unit that a U.S. Air Force major, Matthew Alexander, strode in early 2006. Although torture-lite techniques were no longer a matter of official policy for this unit, many of its interrogators had faith in these techniques, causing them to routinely employ the harshest possible variants of doctrinal approaches. Alexander knew that the unit's interrogators had it wrong, and he set out to teach them the moral and practical value of traditional, rapport-based interrogation approaches.
Alexander's challenge was immense. His interrogators were set in their ways, and they had little desire to learn rapport-based approaches--approaches that require far more work, skill, and cultural understanding than fear-based approaches. There was also a credibility gap. Unlike most other U.S. military officers (who may be trained to manage interrogators but who are seldom trained to conduct interrogations themselves), Alexander was a trained interrogator. But he was also a new interrogator. To receive the respect of his combat-experienced team, he would have to earn it.
Alexander was more than up to the challenge. The story of how he earned his team's respect and led them to military success is one of the great leadership stories of America's recent wars. Using the power of personal example, he showed his team that they could be far more effective if they convinced (rather than coerced) their sources to talk. Thanks to his good efforts--and those he led--his unit quickly began to produce more and better intelligence. Most notably, as grippingly recounted in "How to Break a Terrorist," his team coaxed intelligence from sources that led to the successful U.S. air strike against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Zarqawi's death would prove a great boost for coalition efforts in Iraq. As head of the terrorist organization, al Qaeda in Iraq, Zarqawi had been at the top of coalition forces' most wanted list, having repeatedly demonstrated a madman's capacity for outdoing even Bin Ladin in acts of callous, wanton cruelty. Due to his escaping death or capture by coalition forces numerous times, the terrorist leader had cultivated a reputation for invincibility among his followers. His death therefore proved a terrible psychological blow to the violent organization.
As important as Zarqawi's death was to the coalition cause, more important to history are the lessons Alexander's story teaches all Americans. One lesson is that harsh interrogation methods produce inferior intelligence, and those who claim that such methods work well are dangerously ignorant. Skilled, professional interrogators understand that prisoners are not machines that can be forced to tell the truth if only the right, scientifically measurable lever is found and pulled. Instead, prisoners are human beings who, even under great physical duress, retain the power within their private mental realms to choose to tell the truth or not. To get people to tell the truth, you have to convince them that they should tell the truth. Herein lies the real art and skill of interrogation.
An even more important lesson of Alexander's story is the practical need for American governmental agencies and military forces to keep to the moral high ground. Our nation's flirtation with torture nearly cost us success in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, the ultimate success of our military campaigns in these two countries (especially in Afghanistan) remains uncertain. Not only did scandals such as Abu Ghraib and Gitmo decrease support for America's foreign wars at home, but these scandals were recruitment boons for America's jihadist enemies--enemies whose undiscriminating bombs continue to kill thousands of civilians and coalition servicemembers.
But the cost may run deeper still than this. Under the questionable "legal" cover provided by well-intentioned (but profoundly ignorant) policy-makers and lawyers, America tortured many of its enemies, and by so doing, endangered its very soul. Our collective understanding of who we are as a nation--the core belief that America sets a positive moral example for others to follow--has been gravely damaged. As Alexander teaches us: "Murderers like Zarqawi can kill us, but they can't force us to change who we are. We can only do that to ourselves." Is this grave damage permanent? Only future generations will know with certainty, an understanding which they will further demonstrate through their own actions.
"How to Break a Terrorist" is already a classic military memoir. Any leader or interrogator who wants to be good at what they do should (and probably will) read this book. But Alexander's story contains valuable lessons for all students of war, history, and the American experience. Indeed, all Americans could profit from reading this book, not just for the lessons it offers, but because it is a sheer pleasure to read. Although a historical work, the book reads as quickly and easily as a page-turning suspense novel.
In short, read "How to Break a Terrorist." You will enjoy it, and be better for the experience.
--Douglas A. Pryer, Author,
The Fight for the High Ground: The U.S. Army and Interrogation During Operation Iraqi Freedom, May 2003 - April 2004
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thewordisavid
Utterly fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 9, 2013michael mortimer
Compelling, insightful, intelligent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 2, 2013
Karen MacLeod
I was pleased by the author's complete sensitivity to what made people ...
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 16, 2014
