Al Qaida Interrogation Cookies: All It Took To Soften Abu Jindal

Editor & Publisher:

Fascinating piece coming in tomorrow's TIME magazine. Reporter Bobby Ghosh writes, "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."

Read the whole story: Editor & Publisher

Comments

[PaulSolomon]

Osama bin Laden's bodyguard, Abu Jandal, was a prime candidate for waterboarding. But, according to Time, former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan gave him cookies instead. 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?" In this case, let's say we don't have access to baked goods. Recent reports indicate that interrogators used bottled water to waterboard suspects. Interrogators, if they are in a critical worst-case scenario where every second counts, have to use whatever methods are available, the theory goes. 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 the "Army Field Manual," which prohibits waterboarding and other forms of "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques." 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, he would have gone into a diabetic coma, which puts it into a gray area as to whether it's 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.

[RightWingMarine]

are we supposed to believe this claptrap?
Abu Jindal in the interrogation room: DEATH TO AMERICA! ALLAH AHKB... Hey you guys have cookies. What do you want to know?

[research]

we should believe the people who got the info, not the torturers.

[Tom Joad]

"...AND ice cream! I said, 'Let them eat cake AND ice cream!" - Marie Anoinette

[DeBartolo]

There is an old Italian Proverb which says:

"A spoonful of sugar draws more fiies than a gallon of vinegar"

[ThermoChemist]

There is an old Italian Proverb which says:
"A spoonful of sugar draws more fiies than a gallon of vinegar"
==========­==========­==========­==========­==========

Similarly, there is a saying from a famous English nanny:

"A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down..!"

[jrmarsh]

"Want some milk with that?, better speak up!"
mmmggfffmgggff!!!!

[quillsinister]

Classic. :-D

[brandnewstuff]

I am so ashamed at what Dumbasses created in Texas- The Bush Cabal - Infamy

[yappnmutt]

i would think someone should be showering these people with gifts and gorging them with the best food in the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO2yT0uBQbM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2F911blogger.com%2Fnode%2F20222&feature=player_embedded

[rharris513]

I guess that was the legacy left over by Julia Childs in the CIA.

[behindEnemyLines]

You masterminded the death of 3000 Americans. Prepare for your cookies....

[TeeLolly]

Perfectly logical, if you're looking for intelligence as opposed to retribution without trial.

[BitterInPA]

That's OK... the US killed tens of thousands in Iraq and they had nothing to do with 3000 dead (they were not all) Americans. The masterminds of that crime will never be held accountable? And one of them I see on TV everyday, spewing his lies. When does Cheney get his cookie?

[quillsinister]

"Prepare for your cookies...."

And bring out... THE COMFY CHAIR!

Seriously, though, whatever works. We were after intel to break his organization, not revenge against his person. Remember that a simple shepherd bought and paid for by the Persians was the undoing of the Greeks at Thermopylae. Getting some of these guys on our side (even if personal preservation is their motive) might be the best tactic we could possible use.

[MikeRdg]

Wonder what chocolate cake would do. Works wonders when one is a nervous wreck -- Oh, maybe that is for nervous wrecks, better than booz.

Cookies for interrogation ? With milk or coffee?

[nomobull]

like grandma always said "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar"

[dontpanic1]

Bridge Mix is my downfall.

[globality]

cookies laced with scalpomine ?

[CitizenJ]

The question is:

What did Pelosi know about these cookies, and when did she know it?

[LaMees]

Giggles!

[traveler501]

if retribution or prescripted confessions are not your goal, actually getting information shouldn't be all that hard. there are sooooo many tools from transference to sugar rushes. what's astonishing to me is that Bushco didn't see the golden opportunity to turn these men and set them loose on our behalf. isn't the CIA supposed to know about these things?

[TeeLolly]

They didn't want information. They wanted false "confessions" connecting Iraq and al Qaeda.

[GalenL]

Sad yet true, though I think there were some people who genuinely believed the program was designed to work (in the administration that is).