This Week in the Mercury
Friday, May 29, 2009
Food / Ethics Of Cookies and Torture
Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Fri, May 29, 2009 at 1:20 PM
It took more questioning, and some interrogators' sleight of hand, before the Yemeni gave up a wealth of information about al-Qaeda — including the identities of seven of the 9/11 bombers — but the cookies were the turning point. "After that, he could no longer think of us as evil Americans," Soufan says. "Now he was thinking of us as human beings."
The article in Time magazine about how some intelligence professionals feel torture is over-rated in intelligence gathering, hinged on the simple act of giving a diabetic man some sugar-free cookies.
Apparently that was enough to get Abu Jandal to stop ranting about Americans and give up a little information. Well, it was the cookies and the smarts of some resourceful agents.
But the question for me is whether or not this is an anomaly. Did this man just really like cookies? Or is there something in receiving tasty comforting sustenance that just leads a person to relax and open up?
I’m thinking of every cop show that I’ve seen where the lead detective opens the interrogation room and ushers the suspect inside with a wide smile while saying something along the lines of, “Have a seat Strangler Pete. Can we get you coffee? Something to eat?”
Or how about this NSFW (language) clip from the Wire wherein Bunk uses a McDonald’s meal during an interrogation to great effect:
But these examples are straight fiction. The cookie story is not. The whole thing got me wondering… Is there any meal that could make me give up information? Is there any food that has such power over me that I’d sing like a canary just for a taste? I guess it would depend on the circumstances. Hunger can make anything look good after awhile.
What about you Blogtownies? What food could make you snitch?
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Baltimore Police actually used the photocopier trick. It was in David Simon's "Homicide" book. It showed up in both Homicide on NBC and The Wire.
Ha! Thanks, Fatboy. Now answer the damn question! What food would make you snitch? Tell me, or I take away the french fries!
I'd throw those fuckin' beans right in the interrogator's face for some Pine State Biscuits.
I'd give it up for a food pill that makes it so that I don't have to use up more of my awesome life seeking out and then chewing food. A jar of the pills!
What an interesting article, Patrick! Thanks for pointing it out. But it's not the cookies that made him snitch - it's the cookies AS SYMBOLS of humanizing respect. So what food could make me realize someone is a highly respectable human? Oh man, definitely a perfectly made pie. Or 100% fantastic scrambled eggs. I can never get either of those two right.
My vote is for liver, bacon & onions, with peppermint ice cream for dessert. As you can see, I'm not a gourmet eater, but I know what I like.
Man, I don't know what'd make me crack. I think there are rules against it, but a perfectly poured Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, water condensing on the outside of the glass - I might crack.
Or a box of Chicken in a Biskit.
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