Scenario 7: effective interview strategies for relatives, friends, or acquaintances of terrorists or suicide bombers.

Officers and agents are sent overseas to interview relatives, friends, and/or acquaintances of terrorists and/or suicide bombers. Identify interview strategies to be utilized with Middle Eastern women, children, and/or relatives of terrorists (e.g., nonverbal behaviors, cultural practices, communication styles, gender differences, etc.). Do these strategies differ depending on the outcome of the terrorist acts (e.g., attempted terrorist acts vs. accomplished suicide terrorist, etc.)?

Problem: How can we ensure that we have access to reliable information in cases where the sources of information are overseas?

Strategies: In instances of collecting information from sources that are overseas:

There should be a mechanism for dealing with the turnover of overseas personnel; for example, have overlap from one Legal Attache to the next so that the next person gets the benefit of the prior appointee there and can meet people through that person. (12)

Overseas agents should be aware of the fact that the United States is viewed as a country that cooperates based on a particular situation (like the current terrorism situation) but disappears when its issue is resolved. Middle Eastern countries have a moderate feeling of betrayal when someone comes in and out of their country for short-term goals.

Law enforcement agents who operate overseas should be prepared for encountering more closed societies than in the United States.

Law enforcement agents should be aware that the expertise of "knowing how to investigate" (which the FBI has) is different than "knowing about a specific country" (which the FBI may not have).