Some people may still consider torture to be the most effective way to extract information from terror suspects, as these individuals are often blinded by their ideology and have difficulties in speaking voluntarily.

But many others, including former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officer Ali Soufan, favor a very different approach that is considered more effective than torture.

“If you torture or abuse people, they will just tell you what you want to hear,” Soufan, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar on terrorism in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

Soufan, a Lebanese-American, is the author of a book, The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda.

In the book, he reveals many long-witheld secrets about both terrorist operations as well as the US government’s efforts to find and bring terrorists to justice.

The book also contains information on Soufan’s method of extracting information from members of the al-Qaeda terror network.

During his stint with the FBI, Soufan used an interrogation method that did not resort to physical abuse but instead worked to build trust with terror suspects who later gave him valuable information.

He spoke the suspect’s native language and brought food and sweets for them. Soufan even engaged in intellectual arguments with them over their interpretation of the Koran.

Soufan said this “non-physical” method would lead interrogators to obtain more credible information.

He told a story about a Libyan suspect who had refused to give up information on the link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Agents then tortured him, after which he told his interrogators exactly what he estimated they wanted to know.

The US waged its war with Iraq based on information but the world later discovered that the information was in fact false.

“So, imagine how the world has been changed, besides the direct impact on the victims including Allied soldiers and Iraqis, because of the Iraq war. And all that happened just because someone gave false information,” he said, adding that torture would create a new “monster” that would need to be addressed in the future.

Soufan also stressed the importance of interrogators having knowledge about and feeling empathy toward their captives.

He said that interrogators should imagine themselves standing in the suspects’ shoes.

Interrogators must have sufficient understanding of the suspects’ backgrounds, their ideology, their friends and what motivates them.

Soufan rejected the claim that non-violent methods would take more time.

“Actually, I just needed on average a week, sometimes less than a week, to persuade a man to agree to cooperate with us,” Soufan said.

Soufan said that Indonesia needed strong counterterrorism measures but the first task was to win the hearts and minds of the people.

“This can be achieved by implementing comprehensive efforts including strengthening and empowering local communities and their leaders,” he said.

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