The Boston Herald December 17, 2003
Pros: We have ways of making him talk
By Jules Crittenden
Agents interrogating Saddam Hussein on the insurgency and his weapons programs may try to disorient, deceive or simply flatter him into telling all.
Physical torture or beatings are out of the question, and to avoid any hint this high-profile prisoner has been mistreated, heavy-handed psychological methods using sleep deprivation, noise or lights are unlikely, experts say. They also might not be necessary.
"It's not going to be difficult to get him to talk," said Jane's defense analyst Charles Heyman, a former British counterinsurgency officer. "He's used to talking to people who hang on his every word. He'll feel like he's in the spotlight again. Allow him to go on and on."
The official claims that Saddam hasn't cooperated and says he was not leading the insurgency may be false, experts say: disinformation designed to keep insurgents off balance and extend the time in which useful information can be gained.
Interrogators - likely to include military intelligence and CIA agents, legal experts and a political appointee representing the Bush administration - will have studied Saddam's personality to design the most effective approaches, said Tim Brown of GlobalSecurity.org, an intelligence analysis firm.
"Flattery is probably the one he'd be most susceptible to," Brown said. Because Saddam is isolated, interrogators can shape his perceptions, making him believe he has been betrayed by associates, and providing or removing comforts as incentives.
Enough evidence on Saddam's crimes exists that a confession is unnecessary, experts said. So deception can be used to gain information on the counterinsurgency, including "false flag" interrogators posing as biographers, reporters or even Red Crescent officials.
"We can't use any excessive techniques," said a U.S. special operations officer who asked not to be identified, referring to physical torture. "But there are a lot of forms of interrogation that are a lot more subtle."
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