James Elmer Mitchell
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James Elmer Mitchell (born 1952) is an American psychologist and former member of the United States Air Force. From 2002, after his retirement from the military, to 2009, his company Mitchell Jessen and Associates received $81 million on contract from the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
to carry out the interrogation of detainees, referred to as "
enhanced interrogation techniques "Enhanced interrogation techniques" or "enhanced interrogation" is a euphemism for the program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and various components of the U.S. A ...
".


Military career

Mitchell joined the Air Force in 1975 and was first stationed in Alaska, learning to disarm unexploded ordnance. He was also a hostage negotiator at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. He left the military in the early 1980s to earn a master's degree in psychology at the University of Alaska. He then received a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of South Florida in 1986. His dissertation compared diet and exercise in controlling
hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
. Mitchell returned to the Air Force and in 1988 became the chief of psychology at the Air Force survival school at
Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned t ...
in Spokane, Washington. He succeeded
Bruce Jessen John Bruce Jessen (born July 28, 1949) is an American psychologist who, with James Elmer Mitchell, created the so-called " enhanced interrogation techniques" that were used in the interrogation and torture of CIA detainees and outlined in the Un ...
, who had moved to an advanced school of survival training at the base. Mitchell supervised the trainers who role-played as enemy interrogators for military personnel going through
Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is a training program, best known by its military acronym, that prepares U.S. military personnel, U.S. Department of Defense civilians, and private military contractors to survive and "return ...
(SERE) training. In 1996, Mitchell was the psychologist for a unit in the
Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...
at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, North Carolina. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in mid-2001.


Work as a CIA contractor on interrogation practices

After the September 11 attacks, Mitchell was asked by the CIA to develop an interrogation program based on what were believed to be al-Qaeda documents on resisting interrogation. Mitchell and Jessen recommended use of
SERE Sere or SERE may refer to: Military * Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract, a British military training program * Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, an American military training program People * Sere (name) * Sere people, an ethnic group in ...
counter-interrogation training, reverse-engineered to obtain intelligence from captives. Mitchell was later reported to have personally
waterboarded Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning. In the most common method of waterboardi ...
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. In 2005, Mitchell and
Bruce Jessen John Bruce Jessen (born July 28, 1949) is an American psychologist who, with James Elmer Mitchell, created the so-called " enhanced interrogation techniques" that were used in the interrogation and torture of CIA detainees and outlined in the Un ...
formed a company called Mitchell Jessen and Associates, with offices in Spokane and Virginia and five additional associates, four of them from military SERE programs. By 2007, the company employed around 60 people, including former CIA interrogator
Deuce Martinez Deuce Martinez (born c. 1976) is an American intelligence professional. "Deuce" is not his given first name, but a nickname that was used in the first newspaper article naming him. He was involved at the start of the Central Intelligence Agency's ...
; Karen Gardner, a former senior training official at the
FBI Academy The FBI Academy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's law enforcement training and research center near the town of Quantico in Stafford County, Virginia. Operated by the bureau's Training Division, it was first opened for use on May 7, 197 ...
, and Roger Aldrich. In April 2009, the CIA canceled the contract with Mitchell and Jessen's company, after having paid $81 million out of the authorized $180 million. The CIA Inspector General concluded that there was no scientific reason to believe that the program Mitchell designed was medically safe or would produce reliable information. The CIA agreed as part of the contract to provide legal costs for Mitchell and Jessen of at least $5 million if necessary. Mitchell's identity in the interview program was made public by '' Vanity Fair'' in 2007 and further analyzed by '' The New York Times'' in 2009. In a 2014 interview with '' The Guardian'', Mitchell defended the program and his role, but said that his ability to defend himself was curtailed as he could not speak on specifics due to a signed
non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
with the government. In the 2016 book ''Enhanced Interrogation'' (written with co-author
Bill Harlow Bill Harlow (born May 30, 1950) is a retired U.S. Navy captain, author, and public relations specialist. He has been the top spokesperson for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and worked in the White House dealing with National Security Medi ...
), Mitchell provides more details and background information on the interrogation program.


Senate Intelligence Committee Study of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program

On December 9, 2014 the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report confirming the use of torture and SERE tactics in interrogations. The contractors that developed the "enhanced interrogation techniques" received 81 million for their services, out of a contract with a potential value in excess of 180 million. '' NBC News'' identified the contractors, who were referred to in the report via pseudonyms, as Mitchell, Jessen & Associates from Spokane, Washington, a company run by two psychologists, John "Bruce" Jessen and James Mitchell. Jessen had been a senior psychologist at the Defense Department where he taught special forces how to resist and endure torture. The Intelligence Committee report states that the contractor "developed the list of enhanced interrogation techniques and personally conducted interrogations of some of the CIA's most significant detainees using those techniques. The contractors also evaluated whether the detainees' psychological state allowed for continued use of the techniques, even for some detainees they themselves were interrogating or had interrogated." Mitchell, Jessen & Associates developed a "menu" of 20 enhanced techniques including waterboarding, sleep deprivation and stress positions. The CIA acting general counsel, described in his book ''Company Man'', that the enhanced techniques were "sadistic and terrifying." The report said Mitchell "had reviewed research on learned helplessness, in which individuals might become passive and depressed in response to adverse or uncontrollable events. He theorized that inducing such a state could encourage a detainee to cooperate and provide information." When contacted about his role in the controversial program in the aftermath of its publishing, he confirmed that he signed a non-disclosure agreement with the government, not enabling him to confirm or deny his involvement. " eryone is assuming it is me, but I can’t confirm or deny it. It is frustrating because you can’t defend yourself."


Testimony at Guantanamo Military Commissions

For years there was press speculation over whether the Presiding Officer would or would not allow Defense Counsel to call Mitchell or Jessen as witnesses at Guantanamo Military Commission. Mitchell was finally called upon to testify in January, 2020. During his testimony Mitchell portrayed himself as less radical than CIA officials, like
Charlie Wise Charlie Wise was a Central Intelligence Agency official who played a role in the agency's torture program. Prior to his resignation, in 2003, Wise was the CIA's Chief of Interrogations. Wise is said to have been one of the few individuals who w ...
, then the CIA's director of interrogations.


Ethics complaint in Texas

In 2010, psychologist Jim L. H. Cox filed a formal ethics complaint against Mitchell in Texas, where Mitchell was a licensed psychologist, alleging that he had violated the profession's rules of practice by helping the CIA develop "enhanced interrogation techniques." Although Mitchell was not a member, the American Psychological Association sent a letter to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists stating that the actions alleged by the complainant to have been committed by Dr. Mitchell were "patently unethical," and that longstanding APA policy strictly prohibited psychologists from being involved "in any form of torture or other types of cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment." The APA justified its intervention by stating that "the allegations put forward in the complaint and those that are on the public record about Dr. Mitchell are simply so serious, and if true, such a gross violation of his professional ethics, that we felt it necessary to act." When asked about the allegations, Dr. Mitchell called the complaint libelous and "riddled throughout with fabricated details, lies, distortions and inaccuracies." The Board dismissed the complaint against Dr. Mitchell on February 10, 2011, saying there wasn't enough evidence to prove Dr. Mitchell violated its rules.


Lawsuit

In 2014, '' The New York Times'' editorial board called for the investigation and prosecution of Mitchell and Jessen for their role in developing the torture practices used by the CIA. In 2015, Human Rights Watch called for the prosecution of Jessen "for isalleged direct participation in torture, often applied in ways beyond how it was authorized, but also for isrole in the initial conspiracy to torture as well." On October 13, 2015 the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen on behalf of
Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud was held, and tortured, in the CIA's archipelago of black sites, where it tortured individuals. Reuters reports Ben Soud is a Tanzanian who the CIA kidnapped in Somalia in 2003. ''The New York Times'' reports he is a Lib ...
, Suleiman Abdullah Salim, and the estate of
Gul Rahman Gul Rahman ( ps, ګل رحمان; died November 20, 2002) was an Afghan man, suspected by the United States of being a militant, who was a victim of torture. He died in a secret CIA prison, or black site, located in northern Kabul, Afghanistan k ...
, three former detainees who were subjected to the interrogation methods they designed. The suit alleges that the defendants' conduct constituted torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; non-consensual human experimentation; and war crimes—"all of which are violations of 'specific, universal, and obligatory' international law norms, as evidenced by numerous binding international treaties, declarations, and other international law instruments." A trial was set for June 2017. On July 28, 2017, U.S. District Judge
Justin Lowe Quackenbush Justin Lowe Quackenbush (born October 3, 1929) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Education and career Quackenbush was born in Spokane, Washington on October 3, 1 ...
denied both parties' motions for summary judgment, noted that the defendants are indemnified by the United States government, and encouraged the attorneys to reach a
settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fina ...
before trial. The lawsuit settled in August 2017.


Personal life

Mitchell, who is retired and lives in Land o' Lakes, Florida, spends his free time kayaking, rafting and climbing. He describes himself as an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
and a supporter of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
.


Depiction in media

Mitchell was portrayed in the 2019 film '' The Report'' by Douglas Hodge.


Books

* ''Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorists Trying To Destroy America '', James E Mitchell, Bill Harlow (2016).


See also

*
Interrogation of Abu Zubaydah Abu Zubaydah (Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein Abu Zubaydah) is a Saudi citizen who helped manage the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan. Captured in Pakistan on March 28, 2002, he has since been held by the United States as an enemy combatant. ...
* Larry C. James *
Steven Kleinman Steven Kleinman served as an intelligence officer and is a recognized expert in the fields of human intelligence, special operations, and special survival training. During his nearly 30 years of active and Reserve military service, he became wi ...
*
John Leso John Francis Leso (born August 13, 1966)''U.S. Public Records Index'', Vols. 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American psychologist and a major in the United States Armed Services, who is reported to have aided interro ...


References


External links

* Larry Siems
Inside the CIA’s black site torture room
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
, October 9, 2017. * Larsen, Kaj (December 10, 2014)
"VICE News Exclusive: The Architect of the CIA's Enhanced Interrogation Program"
(Video). ''YouTube''. Retrieved December 10, 2014. * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, James Elmer 1950s births Living people People from Land o' Lakes, Florida Torture in the United States American psychologists American atheists Psychological torture techniques