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Iraq Interrogator: ‘I Never Saw Coercive Methods Pay Off’

Matthew Alexander, an Air Force vet and interrogator based in Iraq, tells Jon Stewart he's "never seen coercive methods pay off."

The Daily Show

December 9, 2008

Jon Stewart interviewed Matthew Alexander, an Air Force vet and interrogator based in Iraq, this week on the Daily Show. Alexander (an alias) has written a book on the interrogation techniques he has developed–mainly, interrogation that eschews torture and instead allows for the extraction of information through relationship-building with detainees. When asked whether he had ever seen torture pay-off in a difficult situation, Alexander said he had never seen “coercive methods pay off.” Jon Stewart’s response was uncharacteristically sober. “Why,” he asked, “couldn’t we do this [get the information that saves lives] without losing our national soul?”

Marissa Colón-Margolies

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