WSJ prints op-ed with false claim that Army Field Manual prohibits “good-cop bad-cop”

Written by Tom Allison

Published

The Wall Street Journal printed an op-ed that falsely claimed that the Army Field Manual “prohibits ... good-cop bad-cop routines” when interrogating detainees. The op-ed was criticizing President Barack Obama's executive order stating that a detainee in U.S. custody cannot be subjected to interrogation techniques not listed in the manual. In fact, the Army Field Manual explicitly permits good cop-bad cop interrogations under the name of “Mutt and Jeff” interrogations, which involve two interrogators “display[ing] opposing personalities and attitudes toward the source.”

On January 29, The Wall Street Journal printed an op-ed by law professor and former Bush Justice Department official John Yoo that falsely claimed that the Army Field Manual “prohibits ... the good-cop bad-cop routines used in police stations throughout America” when interrogating detainees. On January 22, President Barack Obama signed an executive order stating that a detainee in U.S. custody or control “shall not be subjected to any interrogation technique or approach, or any treatment related to interrogation, that is not authorized by and listed in Army Field Manual 2 22.3 (Manual).”

In fact, as Media Matters for America has documented, the Army Field Manual explicitly permits good cop-bad cop interrogations under the name of “Mutt and Jeff” interrogations, which involve two interrogators “display[ing] opposing personalities and attitudes toward the source.” The Field Manual says the “goal of this technique is to make the source identify with one of the interrogators and thereby establish[ing] rapport and cooperation.” From the Army Field Manual:

8-65. Mutt and Jeff. (Interrogation) The goal of this technique is to make the source identify with one of the interrogators and thereby establish rapport and cooperation. This technique involves a psychological ploy that takes advantage of the natural uncertainty and guilt that a source has as a result of being detained and questioned. Use of this technique requires two experienced HUMINT [human intelligence] collectors who are convincing actors. The two HUMINT collectors will display opposing personalities and attitudes toward the source. For example, the first HUMINT collector is very formal and displays an unsympathetic attitude toward the source. He may, for instance, be very strict and order the source to follow all military courtesies during questioning. Although he conveys an unfeeling attitude, the HUMINT collector is careful not to threaten or coerce the source. Conveying a threat of violence is a violation of the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice].

8-66. At the point when the interrogator senses the source is vulnerable, the second HUMINT collector appears (having received his cue by a signal, hidden from the source, or by listening and observing out of view of the source), and scolds the first HUMINT collector for his uncaring behavior and orders him from the room. The second HUMINT collector then apologizes to soothe the source, perhaps offering him a beverage and a cigarette. He explains that the actions of the first HUMINT collector were largely the result of an inferior intellect and lack of sensitivity. The inference is that the second HUMINT collector and the source share a high degree of intelligence and sensitivity.

8-67. The source is normally inclined to have a feeling of gratitude towards the second HUMINT collector, who continues to show sympathy in an effort to increase rapport and control for the questioning that will follow. If the source's cooperation begins to fade, the second HUMINT collector can hint that he is a busy person of high rank, and therefore cannot afford to waste time on an uncooperative source. He can broadly imply that the first HUMINT collector might return to continue the questioning. The Mutt and Jeff approach may be effective when orchestrated with Pride and Ego Up and Down, Fear Up and Down, Futility, or Emotional Love or Hate.

According to a 2006 Defense Department press release announcing revisions to the Army Field Manual, Army Lt. Gen. John Kimmons -- the Army's deputy chief of staff for intelligence -- described “Mutt and Jeff” as another term for “good cop-bad cop”:

The field manual lays out 19 acceptable interrogation approaches, most taken directly from the previous manual. Two additional approaches, based on battlefield lessons learned, authorize use of the so-called “Mutt and Jeff” or “good cop-bad cop” technique or allow interrogations to portray themselves as “someone other than an American interrogator,” Kimmons said.

From Yoo's January 29 Wall Street Journal op-ed:

The CIA must now conduct interrogations according to the rules of the Army Field Manual, which prohibits coercive techniques, threats and promises, and the good-cop bad-cop routines used in police stations throughout America. Mr. Obama has also ordered that al Qaeda leaders are to be protected from “outrages on personal dignity” and “humiliating and degrading treatment” in accord with the Geneva Conventions.