Webb on the job Circa 2001
We’d been at it for eight hours, in a dark windowless room in the center of a detention camp in Afghanistan, doing our best to get information from a source. General Abdullah and I developed a rapport, typical good cop/bad cop, not that it helped us get anything I needed at all. He gave the orders and I stood in the shadows. I tried to be intimidating.
We’d finally resorted to trying to drown the subject. It was our last, best hope and proved to be no better than any of the other techniques we’d tried. It was possible the subject had no information, possible but not probable. Something about him, told me that he was lying.
“That’s enough,” I said after the first half hour went by with no result. I’d wasted enough time, and decided to try my questions one last time. If I still walked away empty handed I’d find someone else.
“Where’s Kabir? We know he’s planning something. He’s already killed thousands of innocent people.” I tried to keep my voice from wavering. It was difficult as I was exhausted. The look of defiance was unmistakable.
The next thing I said made me feel like I was in a poorly written spy movie. “You don’t tell us what you know, I assure you, you’ll join them.”
The subject still didn’t answer me. I was done. “He’s useless. Finish him.” I did my best to sound like I didn’t care, to distance myself from the order I’d just given. One of Abdullah gave the order and one of his men cocked his gun as I turned my back on the scene. I expected to hear one single gunshot. Instead I heard, “Wait!” tinged with desperation. All of the subject’s defiance was gone. We’d finally gotten him to crack. I couldn’t explain the relief I felt that my order didn’t have to be acted upon.
The rest of the exchange was short and sweet.
“Kabir has gone to Russia.”
“Why?”
“He was going to meet a Russian, someone who fights for them. He planned an action against the US Military.”
Where in Russia did he go?”
“Marmansk, on the sea.”
It looked like I was going to be racking up a few more frequent flyer miles before going back to Langley.
We’d finally resorted to trying to drown the subject. It was our last, best hope and proved to be no better than any of the other techniques we’d tried. It was possible the subject had no information, possible but not probable. Something about him, told me that he was lying.
“That’s enough,” I said after the first half hour went by with no result. I’d wasted enough time, and decided to try my questions one last time. If I still walked away empty handed I’d find someone else.
“Where’s Kabir? We know he’s planning something. He’s already killed thousands of innocent people.” I tried to keep my voice from wavering. It was difficult as I was exhausted. The look of defiance was unmistakable.
The next thing I said made me feel like I was in a poorly written spy movie. “You don’t tell us what you know, I assure you, you’ll join them.”
The subject still didn’t answer me. I was done. “He’s useless. Finish him.” I did my best to sound like I didn’t care, to distance myself from the order I’d just given. One of Abdullah gave the order and one of his men cocked his gun as I turned my back on the scene. I expected to hear one single gunshot. Instead I heard, “Wait!” tinged with desperation. All of the subject’s defiance was gone. We’d finally gotten him to crack. I couldn’t explain the relief I felt that my order didn’t have to be acted upon.
The rest of the exchange was short and sweet.
“Kabir has gone to Russia.”
“Why?”
“He was going to meet a Russian, someone who fights for them. He planned an action against the US Military.”
Where in Russia did he go?”
“Marmansk, on the sea.”
It looked like I was going to be racking up a few more frequent flyer miles before going back to Langley.