Counter Resistance Strategy Meeting Minutes
Persons in Attendance:
COL Cummings, LTC Phifer, CDR Bridges, LTC Beaver, MAJ Burney, MAJ Leso, Dave Becker, John Fredman, 1LT Seek, SPC Pimentel
The following notes were taken during the aforementioned meeting at 1340 on October 2, 2002. All questions and comments have been paraphrased:
BSCT Description of SERE Psych Training (MAJ Burney and MAJ Leso)
Identify trained resisters
Al Qaeda Training
Methods to overcome resistance
Rapport building (approach proven to yield positive results) Friendly approach (approach proven to yield positive results) Fear Based Approaches are unreliable, ineffective in almost all cases
What's more effective than fear based strategies are camp-wide environmental strategies designed to disrupt cohesion and communication among detainees Environment should foster dependence and compliance
-> At this point a discussion about ISN 63 ensued, recalling how he has responded to certain types of deprivation and psychological stressors. After short discussion the BSCT continued to address the overall manipulation of the detainees' environment.
BSCT continued:
Psychological stressors are extremely effective (ie, sleep deprivation, withholding food, isolation, loss of time)
Disrupting the normal camp operations is vital. We need to create an environment of "controlled chaos"
-> At this point a discussion about whether or not to video tape the aggressive sessions, or interrogations at all ensued.
-> At this point a discussion about the ways to manipulate the environment ensued, and the following ideas were offered:
Medical visits should be scheduled randomly, rather than on a set system
Let detainee rest just long enough to fall asleep and wake him up about every thirty minutes and tell him it's time to pray again More meals per day induce loss of time Truth serum; even though it may not actually work, it does have a placebo effect.
Meeting ended at 1450.