The Interrogator's Notebook

For many years, playing loud music to keep prisoners awake has been in the repertoire of CIA and military interrogators. Here is a reported playlist:

• "All Eyes on Me," Tupac
• "America," Neil Diamond
• "American Pie," Don McLean
• "Baby One More Time," Britney Spears
• "Babylon," David Gray.
• "Bodies," Drowning Pool
• "Born in the USA," Bruce Springsteen
• "Bulls on Parade," Rage Against the Machine
• "Click Click Boom," Saliva
• "Cold," Matchbox 20
• "Die MF Die," Dope
• "Dirrty," Christina Aguilera
• "Don't Gimme No Lip," Pearl Jam
• "Enter Sandman," Metallica
• "F**k Your God," Deicide
• "Hell's Bells," AC/DC
• "Killing in the Name," Rage Against the Machine
• "I Love You," from the "Barney and Friends" children's TV show
• "March of Pigs," Nine Inch Nails
• "Meow Mix" jingle
• "Raspberry Beret," Prince
• "Real Slim Shady," Eminem
• "Sesame Street," theme song from the children's TV show.
• "Shoot to Thrill," AC/DC
• "Somewhat Damaged," Nine Inch Nails
• "Staying Alive," The Bee Gees
• "Swan Dive," HedPE
• "Take Your Best Shot," Dope
• "These Boots Were Made for Walking," Nancy Sinatra
• "We Are the Champions," Queen
• "White America," Eminem.

I wonder if this was someone's ITunes playlist? Have I considered queueing this up for my downstairs neighbors blasting Bjork on a Sunday morning? Well, we all have our weak moments.

Read more about this at ABC News, The Guardian,  KVUE.com, Mental Floss, Mother Jones, OMG, Scholars and Rogues, Spiegel and Spin. 

In a recent article in the Atlantic, journalist and author Joshua E. S. Phillips writes about how the real legacy of the controversial film Zero Dark Thirty may be in interrogation rooms as the harshness of the interrogations depicted in the film has registered with the American public and, more importantly, policy makers. 

in 2007, Supreme Court Justice Scalia cited an episode of 24 in which agent Jack Bauer saves Los Angeles from terrorists as proof that torture works. The TV series 24 was also used in interrogation training during the Bush/Cheney years.

I can understand how the perceptions of the American public can be swayed by dramatized interrogations, but one would hope that our elected and military leaders would do more homework and crack a book, such as Fear Up Harsh by Tony Lagouranis and How to Break a Terrorist by Matthew Alexander that demonstrate the ineffectiveness of enhanced interrogation techniques. 

John Brennan, nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, flip flopped during recent congressional hearings on his support of enhanced interrogation techniques. Previously, he had stated that the now-defunct interrogation program "saved lives," but now classifies the program as a "low point in our history." 

If it wasn't for the drama surrounding the drones program, much more would be made about Brennan's assertions that he had gotten misinformation and that he had misgivings that he'd privately confided to agency colleagues. This is a man who looked the other way at potential abuses. Should we really trust that he won't do what's politically expedient, even sacrificing lives, when push comes to shove?

I have been having a tough time sorting through my feelings about Zero Dark Thirty. There were well-drawn scenes coupled with unbelievable scenes (e.g. all prisoners spoke English).

In the end, it's important to understand that this is a work of fiction and that there are better documented ways to get confessions from torture.

I believe that the film didn't ask enough of its characters to question whether or not it was ethical to torture prisoners, or if it led to actionable intelligence.