CM HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM REIEASE III FULL
IN
INTELLIGENCE
A collection ol articles on tho historical, operational, doctrinal, and theoretical aspects ol Intelligence.
All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed in Studies in Intelligence are those of
thehey do not necessarily reflect official positions or views of the Central Intelligence Agency or any other US Government entity, past or present. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying US Government endorsement of an anicle's factual statements and interpretations
>
Recent Boolri
WHY MEN CONFESS. By O. John Rogge. (New York: Nelson.IBM. .
The evaluation of the Chinese Indoctrination processAmericans during and Immediately after the Korean
opic Of lively Interest, and the search for antidotes to this kind of Indoctrination gives purpose to continued studies of Its nature. Tbe dissemination of the Code ofby the Defense Department, with Its strong emphasis on training, hasany attempts to synthetase current knowledge of the process tn manageable and teachable form. But an oversimplified aad distorted popular concept of "brain-
Recent Booti
washing" has become so well established, not only with the man in the street but with many whose association withwork should make them more sophisticated or at least better informed, that the problem ofetter foundation for understanding, combatting and resistingtodectrination becomes formidable
Kinkead's Zn Every War Buiritten in support of the Code of Conduct, explicitly discounts any occult art ofbut in its straining to dramatize the need for better morale among enlisted men it bypasses the problem ofair force or intelligence officers, for example, for the kind of Interrogation and Indoctrination they may face asof the Communists. But If Kinkead's viewpoint is too narrow, it is almost Impossible to round out the picture by pointing to booksider vista or with more specificto the intelligence specialist. The more general books range from the obviously well-intentioned but scientificallyones of Hunter5 to those like the quasi-scientific but highly controversial Rape of ihe Mind, by Joost A. M.he definitive book on the indoctrination process particularly as It pertains to the Intelligence specialist is yet to be written.
Why Men Confess is certainly not the definitive book, but It does represent an important contributionrowingIt treats the Communist process as one manifestationtandard inquisitional method used by others today and in the historical past, and it becomes therefore an encyclopedia of the history of confessionort of concordance of literary allusions to the confession process. It does not have thepolish of Hunter or Kinkead or the sensationalism of Meerloo. The skinracticed lawyer has been applied to produce what Is Inrief on the subject as seen from his experience and reading. His experience is largely in theof the criminal courts, which are so often fallible and sometimes dictated fay pathological motives; his reading has. been historical, literary and scientific. As far as can behe has been both catholic and thorough in these re-
York: W. W. Norton.
'Kdwurd Hunter. Brainwashing: The Story of Hen Who Defied It (New York: Fnxrar, Straus and Cudahy, IBM) and Bratnuaihlng tn Red China (New York: Tbe Vanguard. 'Cleveland: The World Publishing
Recent Boots
searches. Consequently, even though fault can be found with some of Its conclusions, his work is very usefulource book
It is apparent that Mr. Rogge is more at home withand hterary research than in evaluating scientificExcept in citing the Senate testimony of experts and the descriptive (rather than evaluative) papernkle ande uses scientific authorities inappropriately. His rather heavy emphasis on psychoanalytically based concepts that are at worst obscure and at best controversial isThe book would be more solid if he had stuck to the approach he used with his literary and historical materials. Dostoevski, Gogol, and Deck and God In* represent much more effective documentation for his position than Relk, Berg, or Freud. Perhaps this criticism would not be necessary were it not for the blurb on the dust jacket (for which the author is presumably not responsible)r. Rogge tells us all that psychology knows about the compulsion to confess."
Mr Rogge uses his historical concordance torief for protecting individuals against the Inquisitional methods of modern states. Including our own:
The IngvdatUonaJ method, which the communist*uarterentury.hrowback to the past and should be abandoned, especially in view of the growth and power of modem stales,
Neither the system of legal proofs nor the use of physical force -in explain the many confessions lo communist, French, and clerical Inquisitors. Bat there was one thing which the different regimes of these Inquisitors had In common: thesystem )
"Communist InterrogaUon and Indoctrination of 'Enemiesrchive*turoloffy and Piychiatry.p.
"The Ruuian Purge and the Extractiononfession (New Jerk:.
All roads aad to the same core rail on: tbe primitive andnature of most of the mind together with th* power of modem stales, our own Included, make It necessary to abandon not only tbe iwSWlranpvjal technique but also any of Its chaUrmgsd fruits The world should have done with tnvestl-gaUve autborlUeauspected Individual,owerful parentelpless child. The
fee-cent Boofci
lonal lyitem ilands Inf the development of eouiJi-Uulan tocieUes and the growth of human beings Into mature Individuals, )
Woven Into this thesis and making up the climax Is bis belief that silenceight of man that is basic, inviolable, and the only true defense against authoriUrianism. The dust Jacketurther appUcatlon of these ideas in quoting Mr. Rogge: "Why Men Confess Is the first of three books on theofm now working on the next, which will deal with the First and Fifth Amendments."
Original document.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: