How to Extract a Confession

by Ellen M. Taylor

How to Extract a Confession
     Pretrial Testimony, U.S. Military Court, Guantanamo Bay,
                                                         January 22, 2020

Hire a companyi to contract enhanced interrogationii:
Waterboarding works best with a dose of sleep deprivation.
To prevent sleeping, hang him from the ceiling by handcuffs
This requires vigilance: edemas can be dangerous.iii
Still don’t hear the particular confession you’re waiting for?
Make him kneel with a broomstick behind his knees, bend back
     to the floor.
Stress positions add discomfort: Isolation can work wonders too:
Add more water, a mock execution, you’ll get your breakthrough.
Try “Walling.”  Collar a prisoner, then slam him against the wall.
His inner ear will sing, not painful, just uncomfortable iv, the
     vertigo and all.
This isn’t torture, citizens, just extreme pressure —
the type used when detainees refuse to say “Sir.”

It’s a program we designed to train our own to be resilient
We’ve just reverse engineered it for detainees — How Brilliant.
Something for Forever v prisoners, never charged with a crime:
We feed them, we cloth them, and guard them on the taxpayer’s
dime Or dollar. Eight million’s the bill for Jessen and Mitchell’s
contract for Black Site vi treatments, to extract confessions, obtain
those facts.

Now we hear these confessions are not considered viable;
seems once you’ve tortured someone, they’re no longer reliable.

i  Bruce Jesson and James Mitchell are two psychologists whose consulting
    company developed the CIA torture program used at Guantanamo Bay
ii The CIA calls these “enhanced interrogation” techniques
iii Bruce Jesson testimony
iv James Mitchell testimony
v The term used for these life sentences without formal criminal charges
vi The term used for overseas interrogation and detention centers