Fighting Terror with Torture

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2015

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the aftermath of 9/11, the United States approved ‘enhanced’ interrogation methods that have been condemned as torture. The most notorious was controlled drowning, known as waterboarding. For Assignment, Hilary Andersson hears from those who approved, ran and suffered the programme in secret CIA prisons around the world. And she experiences some of the techniques herself. Does harsh interrogation yield reliable intelligence in the fight against terror? And what impact has the interrogation programme had on on-going conflicts – did it fuel support for ISIS?

Produced by Linda Pressly

(Photo: A man sits in a prison cell. Credit: Shutterstock)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is a BBC podcast.
0:02.3	You can get all our podcasts and our terms of use
0:04.9	at BBCworldservice.com slash podcasts.
0:10.8	Get in the box.
0:14.0	Don't move. In the fight against terrorism,
0:18.0	does torture deliver reliable intelligence. I'm Hillary
0:24.5	Anderson. This is assignment on the BBC World Service and a warning that
0:29.6	this program contains some graphic illustrations of interrogation techniques.
0:34.0	Grouch, in a disused warehouse in Surrey in the UK, two large men in Balaclavas shoved me into a tiny box. To try to understand the psychology of
0:46.1	interrogation, I'd agreed to undergo some of the methods the CIA used on terror suspects
0:51.8	after 9-11.
0:53.7	This is going to be mind over matter.
0:55.2	It's just a box.
0:56.2	I'm going to tell myself this is just a box.
0:59.2	And how bad can a box be?
1:02.1	Let's see how long I can stand this.
1:04.0	To even get into the box I had to crouch on my hands and knees with my head down.
1:09.0	Once shut in, I could barely move.
1:12.0	During the presidency of George W Bush, the CIA was permitted to repeatedly hold terror suspects in boxes like this one.
1:20.0	Do you know your number?
1:22.0	Zero, three. O'3.
1:23.0	Ladda idiot!
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.