For Immediate Release
May 20, 2008
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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FBI Response to the OIG Review of the FBI’s Involvement in and Observations of Detainee Interrogations
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice has today issued a report
titled A Review of the FBI’s Involvement in and Observations of Detainee Interrogations in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq. After a lengthy and comprehensive review, we are gratified that the Inspector General (IG) credited the FBI for its “…conduct and professionalism in the military zones of Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq.”
Consistent with our long history of success in custodial interrogations, FBI policy is to employ the same non-coercive, rapport-based interview techniques to detainees encountered in military zones that we employ every day in every aspect of our mission, whether in the U.S. or abroad. The IG’s report confirms that the FBI chose not to participate with other government agencies in joint interrogations in which techniques not allowed by the FBI in the United States were used. When confronted with the question whether the FBI should join agencies using more aggressive interviewing techniques, FBI Director Mueller decided that the FBI would not do so. As the IG report notes, “…the FBI has consistently stated its belief that the most effective way to obtain accurate information is to use rapport-building techniques in interviews.”
“The FBI will continue to provide comprehensive training and pre-deployment preparation to our agents and other employees who may be assigned to military zones,” Director Robert S. Mueller, III said today. “These individuals perform a vital function in dangerous environments in order to fulfill the FBI’s post-9/11 mission to develop intelligence and prevent terrorist attacks.”
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