Bloody Instructions

The thesis concludes that the interrogation methods outlined in Army Field Manual 2-22.3 Human Intelligence Collector Operations are justifiable techniques, as are the interrogation methods of sleep adjustment and detainee isolation. However, practices such as those used by the French army in Algeria and the British army in Northern Ireland constitute torture, as is the practice known as waterboarding. These techniques should not be part of America's interrogational repertoire. In order to gain and maintain a strategic advantage over its adversaries, America must consider interrogation to be only one part of a holistic national approach to intelligence gathering. To account for the emotional effect of crises on American policy-making, the United States should review its detainee and interrogation policies every five years. Additionally, it should base its interrogational practices on national morality and jurisprudence, not on the status afforded detainees under international or national convention. Finally, in order to demonstrate that it is acting in accordance with its policies, the government should periodically allow third-party observers to witness detainee interrogations.