CIA Enhanced Interrogation Program

Summary

The CIA Enhanced Interrogation Program was a post-9/11 torture program designed and implemented by contracted psychologists James Mitchell and John "Bruce" Jessen. The program used techniques based on the theory of "learned helplessness" to psychologically destroy detainees and force compliance.

Timeline

Designers

The program was designed by:

• James Elmer Mitchell - Former military psychologist
• John "Bruce" Jessen - Former military psychologist

Both had previously worked for the U.S. military's SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) program and had no prior interrogation experience.

Torture Methods

Methods developed and implemented include:

• Wall slamming (walling) - Slamming detainees into walls
• Confinement boxes - Stuffing detainees in coffin-like boxes
• Temperature extremes - Exposure to extreme heat and cold
• Sensory overload - Ear-splitting levels of music
• Starvation - Controlled food deprivation
• Water torture - Various forms including waterboarding
• Sleep deprivation - Keeping detainees awake for days
• Stress positions - Chaining in positions designed for pain

Theory: Learned Helplessness

The program was based on experiments conducted on dogs in the 1960s:

Dogs were subjected to random electric shocks, and they eventually collapsed into a passive state termed "learned helplessness."

Mitchell and Jessen theorized that if humans were psychologically destroyed through torture and abuse, they would become totally unable to resist demands for information.

Black Sites

The program operated at secret CIA prisons ("black sites") in various countries, including:

• Afghanistan (Salt Pit, Cobalt)
• Thailand
• Poland
• Romania
• Morocco

Financial Cost

The government paid Mitchell, Jessen & Associates approximately $81 million over several years to run the torture program.

Notable Victims

Gul Rahman (Died in Custody)

• Afghan refugee living in Pakistan
• Married with four daughters
• Sold wood at a refugee camp
• Died from hypothermia caused by being forced to sit on bare concrete without pants
• Contributing factors: dehydration, lack of food, immobility from "short chaining"
• Family never officially notified of death
• Body never returned to family

Suleiman Abdullah Salim

• Fisherman from Tanzania
• Held for over 5 years
• Released with letter acknowledging he poses no threat to the U.S.
• Now lives in Zanzibar with wife and daughter

Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud

• Fled Libya in 1991 to escape Gadhafi's dictatorship
• Captured in 2003 in joint U.S.-Pakistani raid
• Held and tortured at two secret CIA prisons in Afghanistan for over 2 years
• Identified James Mitchell as present during torture sessions
• Freed in 2011 after Gadhafi was deposed

Legal Proceedings

Salim v. Mitchell (2015-2017)

The ACLU filed a landmark lawsuit against Mitchell and Jessen:

• Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
• Judge: Senior Judge Justin Quackenbush
• Charges: Torture, cruel treatment, human experimentation, war crimes
• Basis: Alien Tort Statute

In a historic ruling, the judge denied the psychologists' motion to dismiss, allowing discovery to proceed — the first time a CIA torture case reached this stage.

In August 2017, the case was settled out of court, marking the first settlement in a case involving CIA torture.

Senate Intelligence Committee Report

The 2014 Senate report documented the torture program and found:

• The program was more brutal than previously acknowledged
• The CIA misled the public and policymakers
• The techniques were ineffective at producing reliable intelligence
• Mitchell and Jessen evaluated their own program's effectiveness (a conflict of interest)