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Chapter IV, Reading 1 "Coercive Techniques" It should come as little surprise that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has employed torture over the years to achieve its ends. In 1983 the agency put some of those techniques down on paper in the form of a Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual. That manual, including its section on "Coercive Techniques," was never meant to see the light of day, of course, but in 1997 the Baltimore Sun obtained it under the Freedom of Information Act. Interestingly enough, the manual had been hand-edited sometime in the mid-1980s (at a time when Congress was investigating reports of CIA atrocities in Central America, particularly Honduras) to soften passages or even make it appear that the agency disapproved of mistreatment. The original version sheds light not only on the techniques themselves but on how interrogator (torturer) and subject interact. The redactions shed light on the mentality of the CIA, and are indicated by a line through the text. Additions to the manual are underlined. I. The Theory of Coercion A. The purpose of all coercive techniques is to induce psychological regression in the subject by bringing a superior outside force to bear on his will to resist. Regression is basically a loss ofautonomy, a reversion to an earlier behavioral level. As the subject regresses, his learned personality traits fall away in reverse chronological order. He begins to lose the capacity to carry out the highest creative activities, to deal with complex situations, to cope with stressful interpersonal relationships, or to cope with repeated frustrations. The use of most coercive techniques is improper and violates laws. B. There are three major principles involved in the successful application of coercive techniques: DEBILITY (PHYSICAL WEAKNESS) For centuries "questioners" have employed various methods of inducing physical weaknesses: prolonged constraint; prolonged exertion; extremes of heat, cold, or moisture; and deprivation offood or sleep. These techniques [illegible1be used. The assumption is ofthose that use them is that lowering the subject's physiological resistance will lower his psychological capacity for resistance: however, there has been no scientific investigation of this assumption. Many psychologists consider the threat of inducing 156 Chapter N debility to be more effective than debility itself. Prolonged constraint or exertion, sustained deprivation of food or sleep, etc. often become patterns to which a subject adjusts by becoming apathetic and withdrawing into himself, in search ofescape from the discomfort and tension. In this case debility would be counter productive. Tfl:e "qt~estisHeF" sfisHls ae eftf'eflil Another coercive technique is to manipulate the subject's environment to disrupt patterns, not to create them. such as arranging Meals and sleep sfisHls ae ~M:tes so they occur irregularly, in more than abundance or less than adequacy, on no discernable time pattern. This ~ iale seletiSH] is done tO disorient the subject and [illegiBle seletiSH] illegible addition destroy[illegiale seletisH]illg his capacity to resist. However if successful it causes serious p!i)'chological damage and therefore is a form of torture. DEPENDENCY He is helplessly dependent on the "questioner" for the satisfaction of all basic needs. DREAD (INTENSE FEAR AND ANXIETY) Sustained long enough, a strong fear of anything vague or unknown induces regression. On the other hand, materialization of the fear is likely to come as a relief. The subject finds that he can hold out and his resistance is strengthened. A ''sf's sf eaHt:isH. If the debility-dependencydread state is unduly prolonged, the subject may sink into a defensive apathy from which it is hard to arouse him. It is llBtisaale t:s ftlite a~"' efl:slsgist: litllilaale ,,H:eHeteF FegFessisH is iHBliees. This illustrates why this coercive technique may produce torture. II. Objections to Coercion A. There is a profound moral objection to applying duress beyond the point of irreversible psychological damage such as occurs during brainwashing . Brainwashing involves the conditioning ofa subject's "stimulusresponse bond" through the use of these same techniques, but the objective ofbrainwashing is directed primarily towards the subject's acceptance and adoption ofbeliefs, behavior, or doctrine alien to his native cultural environmentfor propaganda rather than intelligence collection purposes. 1\sise fFSfft t:ftis eJttFefHe, We ,,ill HStjHsge tfte 711tlisit;y sf Stftef' et:ftieal llf'gtitHeHts. This technique is illegal and may not be used. B. Moreover Some psychologists feel that the subject's ability to recall and communicate information accurately is as impaired as his will to resist. .191.202.72] Project MUSE (2024-04-25 08:19 GMT...

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