Intelligence: March 1, 2003

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After over a year of interrogating al Qaeda prisoners at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, U.S. Army intelligence officers decided that this sort of work was different enough to warrant a special, five week course on how to deal with terrorist prisoners. Active duty and reserve interrogators headed for a tour of duty (six months or longer) at Guantanamo, Cuba (and other places where al Qaeda prisoners are held) will take the course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The course is based on the experience of the many interrogators and analysts who have already spent a lot of time interrogating the terrorist suspects. From the beginning of the war on terror, interrogators established an informal network to swap tips and techniques they were developing for these rather different "prisoners of war." Many of the reserve interrogators are police interrogators and have added their own unique experiences.