Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq

by Tony Lagouranis and Allen Mikaelian

Book Overview

"Something really bad happened here." So begins Army interrogator Tony Lagouranis's first briefing at Abu Ghraib. While Lagouranis's training stressed the rules of the Geneva Conventions, once in Iraq, he discovered that pushing the legal limits of interrogation was encouraged. Under orders, he-along with numerous other soldiers-abused and terrorized Iraqis by adding "enhancements" like dogs, hypothermia, and other techniques to "Fear Up Harsh"-the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451223152
• ISBN13: 9780451223159
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Dutton Caliber
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.5" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A great book from a different political and moral stance

I thought he book read fantasiclly!! Though I do not share many of the views of the author, that doesn't mean the book deserves one star. The book was very well written and I found it incredibily engaging. It is a deeply personal look into the mind of one interagator. I felt the author was extremely forthcoming and truthful about his feelings and percieved failures as a soldier and as a person. To the other military members who have reviewed this book (unfairly I believe), none of us stood in this authors exact shoes. Even if we did, everyone who has served in combat knows that it affects everyone in the unit differently. Some guys it doesn't bother, some get jumpy, some have nightmares and some mentally break and kill themselves. Just because he writes a book that doesn't toe the company line doesn't mean that his opinions and experiences are invalid.

a poigniant account by an arabic-speaking interrogator in Iraq

Anyone wanting to know more about the shadowy world of US interrogations in Iraq and the moral issues that go along with them need to read this book. The main thrust of this book walks through the gradual escalation of interrogation techniques that Tony Lagouranis and his collegues used in Iraq. As he explains, the changes were natural to the point of being imperceptible. For example, they would hear about how Navy Seals used such and such technique, and assumed it was both acceptible and effective (the Navy Seals know what they're doing right?). Lagouranis ultimately concludes that their heightened techniques do not provide the US any additional intelligence. If anything, their questionable pratices probably result in lower quality intelligence, because those with no knowledge are likely to fabricate answer to stop the pain, while putting himself, the Army, and the US in great moral peril. While Lagouranis wonders whether he himself should be tried for war crimes, we (Americans) should be taking a hard look at what we are asking our soldiers to do on our behalf and whether continuing this war is really the best path. Another important theme of this book is how the the US military casts its nets very widely in search of intelligence. Lagouranis tells countless stories of how he was assigned to interrogate those who simply had the misfortune of being near the scene of an attack (as he puts it, the wrong place at the wrong time). This practice of bringing in anyone with the slightest chance of having information and treating them like criminals has been completely counter-productive to the the war effort, by providing amunition to islamic extremists in the region and turning those who had not been against us. + + Other Interesting Topics + + Lagouranis explains his two reasons for joining the army: 1. the thrill of being in a situation in which you have no control 2. His deep and long held desire to learn arabic and the armies intensive language training school. As Lagouranis explains, this love began when he studied at a small esoteric school in New Mexico which taught only from primary texts in their original languages. There, he was exposed to Greek and Hebrew, which helped him connect with people from the past in a way that English translations cannot. This book also discusses Army culture from the inside, and how his left of center politics often made things awkward to say the least.

Dysfunctional Army follows dysfunctional Prez into dysfuctional war

In addition to Tony's comments on torture and torture-lite in general, plus his personal involvement, I appreciate his take on the Army as it entered Iraq and then tried to tamp down the insurgency. (Note: My sister is a 20-year Reservist and former active-duty, so I've heard some stuff about Army politics, dysfunctionality at times, etc, elsewhere.) This is yet another fallout from an all-volunteer military, in my opinion, but that would be the subject for another book by itself. The third main thing to enjoy is Lagouranis' humanness and degree of self-observation and self-analysis. Add to that the fact he was familiar with things like the Milgram experiment before going to Iraq, and Tony himself almost becomes a live-fire lab experiment on how even good-intentioned people can cut ethical corners, etc., then justify why they're doing that. In short, Lagouranis' experience shows exactly why we have things such as Geneva Conventions, and why they're so carefully spelled out. Although he doesn't spell it out, the logical conclusion of discussion would be "A Man for All Seasons," where More says, in essence, when you jettison all laws in trying to attack the devil, what do you do when the devil attacks back without being hindered by law? Sidebar: People who have one-starred this book are the same people Tony pointed out in the Army -- people who won't open their minds, have narrow to very narrow world views, and refuse to be challenged or contradicted.

good book and should be read by every American

shows the ugly truth of what we are being reduced to by the idiots running this country. Bush lovers beware - this aint for you.

An Interrogator Looks Back

I was lucky enough to have seen Tony when he spoke on June 6th. I had also heard him on the Diane Rehm show the day before. I know plenty of people will disagree with Tony's perception of what constitutes "torture." But don't be fooled by the usual rhetoric of 'I saw worse fraternity initiations" or "they cut off heads and that is REAL torture." Regarding the Geneva Conventions, there is a difference between "violation" and "grave breach." As an example I saw when I went to see Dr. Gary Solis (a Viet vet and retired colonel), if you slap somebody that is assault; if you punch them in the mouth that is assault too. The difference is severity, which would be reflected in the punishment. Tony details how he went to the Defense Language Institute in order to learn Arabic, which was all pre-9/11. He was sent to AIT for training as an interrogator. As he stated today, he could not be signals intercept due to the fact he had outstanding student loans and would not qualify for the necessary Top Secret clearance. His training as an interrogator stressed the Geneva Conventions and what they could and could not do. When he got to Iraq, however, all that went out the window. There were different new rules written for interrogators in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo. Putting prisoners in stress positions and inducing hypothermia were deemed illegal during his training, but now they were informed that that did not now consitute "torture," and anything up to organ failure was okay. Tony details how soldiers acted differently in his different assignments. He stated that at Mosul interrogators got ideas from watching movies, which was all nonsense. When he got to Abu Ghraib, the scandal had already hit and things were changed. His most ghoulish experience was when he was sent to Fallujah, during the battle, in order to evaluate the personal items with the insurgents who were killed. He examined the effects on over 500 bodies, a process that gave him nightmares. Tony makes the point that all studies, even by the CIA, noted that torture does not provide real and reliable "actional intelligence." They will say anything to make it stop, essentially lie, and may even clam up. Building a "relationship" takes time and a good interrogator--a real pro so to say. Tony stated at the lecture he would either like to go to law school in order to study human rights, or even just to work with human rights organizations. I think the most important lesson to come away with from this book is that some people know the difference between right and wrong, and some people obviously do not.