By Amanda Bibbins
Staff Writer
BOSTON—On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Simmons College’s Political Science and International Relations Department hosted former Central Intelligence Agency official, Glenn Carle, for the fall 2015 Warburg Lecture.
Carle, author of “The Interrogator,” told students and faculty of his experiences using enhanced interrogation techniques against a man who was believed to be a top official within al-Qaeda.
Recounting the measures that the U.S. government took following the attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, Carle shared the chilling escalation to torture tactics he witnessed as a CIA official in the clandestine services. “America’s response to the attack has caused a fundamental shift in American politics,” Carle said, speaking of the 9/11 attacks.
Carle told the audience of the day he received his ambiguous assignment in 2002. He was told he would be leaving the next day for an unspecified amount of time on an assignment that was important for him, the CIA, and the country.
Once given more information about the assignment, Carle was told, “You will do whatever it takes to get this man to talk. Do you understand?” It was then that Carle relayed to the audience that, at that time, no one used the word “torture,” nor did officers question the legality of their assignments. Work required CIA officers to live on the edge of what was legal, Carle explained.
Carle then explained some of the techniques used to “psychologically dislocate” the man he interrogated.
Carle’s presentation came nearly a year after the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s 6,000 page report on the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program between 2001 and 2006.
Glenn Carle finished his presentation by saying that not all information that comes from enhanced interrogation techniques is true, and it must be verified. He called the techniques “appalling” and “unnecessary,” and the system of checks and balances in the U.S. failed.
The event concluded with a short question and answer session where students and faculty asked questions of Carle.
