Editing KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation Review: Observations of an Interrogator (section)

== Deconstructing Resistance ==
Most resistant interrogatees block off access to significant [intelligence] in their possession for one or more of four reasons. The first is a specific negative reaction to the interrogator...The second cause is that some sources are resistant “by nature”— i.e., by early conditioning — to any compliance with authority. The third is that the subject believes that the information sought will be damaging or incriminating for him personally, that cooperation with the interrogator will have consequences more painful for him than the results of non-cooperation. The fourth is ideological resistance. The source has identified himself with a cause, a political movement or organization...Regardless of his attitude toward the interrogator, his own personality, and his fears for the future, the person who is deeply devoted to a hostile cause will ordinarily prove strongly resistant under interrogation.66

“If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. But, if you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.” This timeless observation from the renowned strategist Sun Tzu is as true in the interrogation room as it is on the battlefield. An interrogator acting upon this counsel would be reasonably expected to spend considerable time in identifying and deconstructing the source’s resistant posture and strategies. Unfortunately, current interrogation training — and thus the subsequent interrogation processes employed in the field — fail to invest sufficient time and energy in this important area.

Sales professionals and clandestine case officers are well-schooled in identifying areas of resistance and quickly designing a strategy for overcoming that resistance. The interrogator must be similarly skilled. And while resistance

66 KUBARK, 53–54.
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may be driven by intra- and/or interpersonal factors (one of the challenges of assessment addressed previously), there are two other key areas to consider.

The [[KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation|KUBARK manual]] correctly notes the substantial role ideological affiliation and commitment can play in a source’s resistance posture. In some instances (e.g., Al Qaeda), the source may be a product of years of fundamentalist religious schooling (e.g., the madrassas), where intense, rote learning has filled students’ minds with selected passages from spiritual texts. In the course of this training, they have embraced the “belief” that their cause is divinely inspired (which can place the interrogator on the side of “evil”). The inability to deconstruct this resistance posture remains a major hurdle in the current war on terrorism. The development of a useful counterstrategy will need to be informed by a solid understanding of the target cultures, ideologies, and languages to be relevant and effective.67

While much of the resistance posed by sources is ad hoc in nature, one cannot overlook the role of formalized resistance training. As the so-called Al Qaeda Manual attests, that organization has compiled a systematic resistance strategy for employment by operatives taken into custody.68 The impact of this training is revealed in certain consistencies in the behaviors of detainees at Guantanamo Bay that suggest the use of resistance strategies (e.g., claims of abuse, repetitive recitations of religious passages, etc.). Even then, the challenge for interrogators is not inconsequential. First, interrogators must confirm that a source is actually employing a systematic resistance strategy. Second, they must identify the components of that strategy. Finally, they must devise an effective counterstrategy.

To address the concept of resistance meaningfully requires a broad array of subject matter experts. Behavioral scientists can assist in developing methods for identifying personality-driven factors. Cultural, political, and theological experts are needed to better understand the significant environmental components in play. Accomplished linguists might assist in clarifying where apparent resistance might actually be the result of misunderstood questions (or answers). SERE specialists — experts in designing and teaching resistance strategies — would be an invaluable resource in helping to recognize, confirm, and deconstruct the resistance strategies encountered by interrogators. Finally, it might require this wealth of resources to correctly assess if a source’s failure to answer a pertinent question is the result of defiance or poor knowledgeability.

67 In the author’s recent discussion of this challenging scenario with a SERE psychologist, there emerged the novel idea of applying deprogramming methods used in the U.S. and abroad to help
“rescue” individuals from the destructive influence of religious cults.
68 A document described as an Al Qaeda training manual was discovered by the
Manchester (England) Metropolitan Police Department in the course of a raid on the home of a suspected Al Qaeda operative. The manual was located on a computer hard drive found at the site, in a file labeled “the military series” relating to the “Declaration of Jihad.” (Source: http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/manualpart1_1.pdf )
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