Is he “officially” protected by the Geneva Convention or does war have to be declard?
If he wanted to stay alive, he could most likely cut a deal in which he would give up all his information (though it would be hard to prove when he had done so) in exchange for life imprisonment as opposed to death.
As to al Qaeda’s policy on undergoing interrogation, according to their handbook for field agents (all sorts of interesting stuff in there…you can probably download it, Google “al Qaeda training manual” or some such. It’s legal to have, at least according to the professor whom I got it from) is basically don’t admit to anything, but if they (the USA in this case) ask you about specific incidents/plans, blame everything on someone they know is high in the organization and is already suspected of masterminding similar plans. Of course, this strategy would work better the farther removed from the leadership the person being interrogated is.
Under “Necessary Qualifications for the Organization’s members,” “Sacrifice” is listed as the 4th necessary qualification. “He (the member) has to be willing to do the work and undergo martyrdom for the purpose of achieving the goal and establishing the religion of majestic Allah on earth.” If Khalid truly believes in his cause, he’ll be willing to die for it, so interrogation probably wouldn’t get much of anywhere.
While nice to ponder painful and obnoxious techniques, I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t just dose him up with sodium pentathol…
The problem with pentothal is it’s along the lines of “in vino veritas” with IV barbiturate substituted for alcohol. If applied properly, the recipient is snowed but still able to speak. So, ideally, he won’t be able to stick to a false story. However, he won’t be able to give accurate true history either, will be unable to tell reality from drug-induced dreams, and will frequently confirm anything he’s asked.
Same problems hold true for physical pain, as well. Carry it on long enough and you’ll almost surely get answers, but the accuracy of those answers is questionable at best.
Pure heroin isn’t necessary, and the sex is superfluous. Morphine will do just fine. Junkies will do ANYTHING for a fix. After a week or two in the embrace of Sister Morphine, Allah will take a back seat.
They can always implant electrodes in his brain and directly evoke the desire to cooperate. (At least I presume neurosurgeons can do something like this. I posted a thread a while back asking just what was the current state of the art in mind control).
People have a “desire to cooperate” center in their brain? Whoo, boy! I wish I’d known about that some years ago.
oldbatoutahell’s got it.
When you use “other” methods, you’ll get an answer, but it will not neccesarily be accurate or true at all. Torturing or ‘truth serum’ is often the last step.
Unless you’re doing it for fun.
shrug
Well, there’s a possibility that they are exposing him to William shatner singing “Mr. Tamborine man” over and over again until he cracks…
But something tells me that would be considered “Torture”.
There’s also Chinese Water Toture, putting them in a completely white and featureless room with bright lights, making him watch PBS during a pledge drive, etc…
No need to shock his balls or anything.
I have heard that this guy isn’t a cave dweller and he likes the good life. If that’s true, It’ll take less to get his cooperation.
Mr. Blonde: I don’t give a good fuck what you know or don’t know, I’m going to torture you anyway.
An Andy Williams Christmas Album might do the trick also, although maybe that is a bit too inhumane, even for a terrorist.
Weaken his resolve with sleep deprivation, food deprivation, isolation, manipulation, etc. until he decides to cooperate to get better treatment
Threaten to put him in a dangerous prison in a dangerous country if he doesn’t cooperate, but put him in a humane prison in a nicer country if he does.
Sew his butt-cheecks together and feed him taco bell and chili dogs… all while hanging him upside down all day in 55 degree F temp in total darkness and playing Hanson doowop 100 times a day.
Everyone has a breaking point and no one believes in a cause so much as to be tortured indefinately… there is not even a religious reason to endure years of daily torture. He’ll just come to the conclusion that Allah wouldn’t want this for him and it’s part of Allah’s plan for the interrogators to know his info. He will talk, it’s just a matter of time. Unless the interrogators get bored with him too early, which is what he is hoping. But the second he realizes they are not giving up, he will/should break… or find a way to kill himself.
Freaky! Did you note the thread number of that first link?
166666
:eek:
They will most certainly TORTURE him and you are naive if you think not.
This article in yesterday’s NYTimes is pretty specific about what they will most likely do and raises the issue of how “torture” is defined in International Law (including conventions to which the US is a signatory–obviously signed before the current admin came into power). Judging from what was done to Lindh (which was technically torture according to Internat’l standards) they will most certainly torture this guy. Coincidentally, yesterday’s Times also had an article about the “homocide” of an Afghani detainee in a US prison in Afghanistan.
ABC News stated last night that he’s being held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
Seriously, why don’t they just get him addicted to morphine as vibro stated earlier?
It seems simple, he’d be begging for more and should spill his guts.
I asked my AJ teacher about this stuff today in class, he said (and I agree) that the truly determining factor is not what techniques are used, but how strongly Khalid believes in his cause.
As to Fuel’s comment that Everyone has a breaking point and no one believes in a cause so much as to be tortured indefinately… there is not even a religious reason to endure years of daily torture.
Years of daily torture would be kind of pointless, as time is off the essence if we have any hope of thwarting any of his plans or catching anyone else whose whereabouts Khalid might divulge. And yes, everyone has a breaking point, but there mental breaking point may be beyond their physical breaking point, i.e. they would die before they crack. Think of any of the religious figures that were martyred, or Nathan Hale, “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”