TIME — The most successful interrogation of an Al-Qaeda operative by U.S. officials required no sleep deprivation, no slapping or “walling” and no waterboarding. All it took to soften up Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugar-free cookies.
Abu Jandal had been in a Yemeni prison for nearly a year when Ali Soufan of the FBI and Robert McFadden of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service arrived to interrogate him in the week after 9/11. Although there was already evidence that al-Qaeda was behind the attacks, American authorities needed conclusive proof, not least to satisfy skeptics like Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, whose support was essential for any action against the terrorist organization. U.S. intelligence agencies also needed a better understanding of al-Qaeda’s structure and leadership. Abu Jandal was the perfect source: the Yemeni who grew up in Saudi Arabia had been bin Laden’s chief bodyguard, trusted not only to protect him but also to put a bullet in his head rather than let him be captured.
Abu Jandal’s guards were so intimidated by him, they wore masks to hide their identities and begged visitors not to refer to them by name in his presence. He had no intention of cooperating with the Americans; at their first meetings, he refused even to look at them and ranted about the evils of the West. Far from confirming al-Qaeda’s involvement in 9/11, he insisted the attacks had been orchestrated by Israel’s Mossad. While Abu Jandal was venting his spleen, Soufan noticed that he didn’t touch any of the cookies that had been served with tea: “He was a diabetic and couldn’t eat anything with sugar in it.” At their next meeting, the Americans brought him some sugar-free cookies, a gesture that took the edge off Abu Jandal’s angry demeanor. “We had showed him respect, and we had done this nice thing for him,” Soufan recalls. “So he started talking to us instead of giving us lectures.”
It took more questioning, and some interrogators’ sleight of hand, before the Yemeni gave up a wealth of information about al-Qaeda — including the identities of seven of the 9/11 bombers — but the cookies were the turning point. “After that, he could no longer think of us as evil Americans,” Soufan says. “Now he was thinking of us as human beings.”
Killing them with kindness….Crazy..or Crazy like a fox? Who knows, it could work on some. In an related story, General Petraeus, the man who could do no wrong by the Bushies, says we violated the Geneva Conventions in our use of torture techniques. The armchair torturers can and probably will keep the machine in gear…carry on.
The conservatives belief in torture revealed their profound LACK of faith in traditional American values.
I honestly think they ignore that truth because they must support the war no matter what, and according to our government the only way to entirely win the war is through torture and thus the conservatives must quietly support the use of torture.
MikeN said, on May 31st, 2009 at 11:26 am
>> Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good argument. The memos made public by Pres Obama show that torture or ‘torture’ worked.’
He! He!
The memos proved no such thing.
I’ve done a fair amount of research on this subject: A LOT of crap was said. A little truth. But the crap caused all kinds of problems. (And the little truth probably would have been pried-out with cookies!)
Probably you haven’t read this book. I strongly recommend it:
“How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq (Hardcover)”
http://tinyurl.com/5vzq8n
In eastern culture, a show of kindness goes a long way in making your enemies as friends. Who knows something small for u might be something big for other guy. Remember, its the small things that matter..
Greg A, I wonder how many similar books and article exist. OTOH, is there anyone, other than today’s US conservatives, who really believes torture or “enhanced interrogation” actually works?
@Teabaggins
“who really believes torture or “enhanced interrogation” actually works?”
This is the whole problem with the world.
Why do you care what Joe Blow thinks? What if Joe Blow doesn’t believe Advil cures headaches?
#35 – Sorry Harriet. Advil is really bad at curing headaches. Great for muscle and bone aches but for a headache, try an aspirin or a Tylenol. Think of Advil sort of like waterboarding and Tylenol as cookies.
# 27 bobbo “Catholicks” and torture are pretty much synonymous aren’t they? Besides forcing you to consume the flesh and blood you mentioned, they close you into small dark rooms and force you to confess and, if you’re a young boy, they rape you!
@1 that would make you hard.. not soft.
Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard, Abu Jandal, was a prime candidate for waterboarding, according to Dick Cheney’s manual of interrogation techniques. But, according to a Time magazine report, former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan gave him cookies instead. It seems that Abu Jandal is a diabetic, and he gave up valuable information about al Qaeda, including the identities of seven of the 9/11 terrorists, after being given sugar-free cookies. But what about the “ticking time-bomb scenario?” We only have minutes to stop the hypothetical ticking time-bomb, as seen in movies and TV shows like “24”. In this case, let’s say we don’t have access to baked goods. Recent reports indicate that interrogators used bottled water to torture terrorist suspects. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. In other words, the first 182 times were unsuccessful, and the 183rd gave us this information: A water bottle was brought in without the label removed, he told the Red Cross, and it was a brand made in Poland, where he was being held at the time. In other words, interrogators used what was available and easily accessible. Interrogators, if they are in a critical worst-case scenario where every second counts, have to use whatever methods are available, the theory goes, and waterboarding is quick and easy. All they have to do is reach in the refrigerator and grab a cold one. And 2-liter bottles of 7-Up reportedly work just as effectively. An executive order signed by President Obama, however, requires interrogators to follow what’s known as the “Army Field Manual,” which prohibits waterboarding and other forms of “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” favored by Cheney. The “Army Field Manual” outlines 19 interrogation techniques permitted by law. Those techniques which are allowed include lying, misleading, and manipulating – common police procedure. So Abu Jandal could have been given cookies containing sugar. The interrogator merely had to lie that they contained no sugar. Of course, Abu Jandal would have gone into a diabetic coma, which puts it into a gray area as to whether it would be considered torture. So, just to be safe, the “Army Field Manual” should be amended to include baked goods, including those without sugar. Oh, and how about some ice cream too.