GET THE TRUTH . by Philip Houston , Michael Floyd and Susan Carnicero . ( Icon Books £12.99 ) Ever wanted to know the best way of extracting a confession ? Me neither , but here ’ s an unexpectedly fascinating book that shows how to do just that . Interrogation is an unfortunate name with regrettable connotations . Not only will you learn how to have the guilty singing like canaries , this book also comes up with some genuinely important insights about the interrogation process . Ah , interrogation . Such an unfortunate term , with such regrettable connotations . Torture , screaming agony , electrodes , waterboarding — those kind of connotations . Yes , but it needn ’ t be like that , say the authors , former CIA officers who are painfully aware of what ‘ CIA interrogation ’ is taken to mean — torture , screaming agony , electrodes , waterboarding — and who are appalled by that reputation . I think the authors are also against torture and pain on ethical grounds , but the nature of their disgust is partly professional . Because it turns out that interrogation-by-torment is ineffective , as the CIA ’ s skilled specialists have known for some time . Only rank amateurs would ever try to extract confessions and information by upping the voltage or giving the thumbscrews another turn . The only approach that has any chance of success , state the authors , is exactly the opposite . Professionals who really know what they ’ re doing try to take all traces of violence or confrontation out of an interrogation , turning it instead into an interview based on chummy sympathy and understanding . Good interrogators will lower their voice , talk slowly , claim empathy with their suspects and then — well , and then just keep on talking lowly and slowly seems to be the gist . Because what appears to work best is an interrogator who chats on and on , quietly , reassuringly , understandingly , often repetitively . ‘ We all make mistakes , Brian . Nobody ’ s saying we don ’ t make mistakes because , you know , Brian , we all make mistakes , ’ and so on and on and on . The comforting drone of the interrogator ’ s monologue may sound mindless , but it is carefully created and should contain five key features . These are rationalising the action ( you needed the money ) ; projecting the blame ( it was their fault for not paying you enough ) ; minimising the seriousness ( we ’ ve all nicked Post-it notes ) ; socialising the situation ( this kind of thing happens a lot , it ’ s nothing we haven ’ t seen a million times ) ; and emphasising the truth ( if you could explain what happened when you took the money , that would be great and would help us all move on ) . Acts of terrible violence , gross betrayals , fraud , theft , murder — the skilled interrogator will mimic thorough understanding of the worst crimes to keep up the pretence of being on the suspect ’ s side . Number of tweets the CIA monitors every day . At the same time , the interrogator will be intent on keeping that suspect locked into a mode of short-term thinking — keeping the focus on particulars and specifics , trying like crazy to stop the suspect considering the long-term consequences of telling an implicating truth and being found guilty . It is a process that has had enormous success , claim the authors , though this is a success that is anecdotal . But the anecdotes are pretty convincing . Take the example of Abu Zubaydah , one of the first Al Qaeda leaders to be captured , who was being successfully won over by the pretend empathy approach until a hardliner applied torture instead — and found his victim clammed up . The book consists mainly of such case studies from the authors ’ interrogating careers , supplemented weirdly with 70-odd pages of commentary by a lawyer type who adds his own legal anecdotes to make the same points . Presumably , this book is meant to show how the CIA ’ s interrogation techniques can be applied in the normal world . But it struck me that here was an opportunity missed , since there isn ’ t any effective attempt to transfer the professionals ’ methods to everyday situations : how to winkle out the truth about which child broke the kitchen window , how to get your partner to fess up about what really happened at the office party . But though it misses that trick , this book does find itself making , I think to its own surprise , a genuine and important contribution to the ongoing debate , particularly in the U.S. , about the use of torture such as waterboarding during interrogations of terrorists . Forget any ethical argument , say the authors — any form of physical coercion , far less torture , just doesn ’ t work .
Ever wanted to know the best way of extracting a confession ? The answer is : You don't. However the skilled former CIA authors are against torture and pain .