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Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq by Lagouranis, Tony, Mikaelian, Allen [NAL Trade, 2008] (Paperback) [Paperback]
Fear Up An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq by Lagouranis...
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First published January 1, 2007
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July 3, 2010
The author tells how, as a soul craving adventure and a mind with a flair for language, he joined the army in July 2001 for nearly the sole purpose of learning Arabic. After 9/11, of course, his skills were in great need, and he was shipped off to Abu Ghraib, Mosul, and North Babel. Though as an educated and open-minded man, he is contemptuous of the army's racist and simplistic interrogation tips ("Arabs have no sense of time"; "Arabs aren't ashamed of lying”; "Arabs are afraid of dogs”), he’s frustrated by the lack of actionable intelligence he's able to gather, and soon finds himself applying torture to each and every Iraqi brought in. It’s what he calls “torture lite" – stress positions, sleep deprivation, humiliation, loud noises – but torture just the same, and soon Lagournais is wracked with guilt. He sees a psychiatrist and is honorably discharged in July 2005.
This is a sobering, unsettling, heartbreaking book. Like Matthew Alexander's How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq, but with an angrier and pessimistic tone, this book chronicles example after example of stupid, self-defeating actions the American army takes as a matter of course. We came to teach "democratic values," but show them that they're guilty until overwhelmingly proved innocent (a dictum explicitly stated by a commander in charge) Lagouranis found very, very few prisoners who actually had intelligence he could use, but the army discharged those he interrogated very slowly, if at all. A man who owns a restaurant where "insurgents eat," according to someone. A college professor who teaches peace and tolerance, but has been giving speeches against the American occupation. A young boy with a strange pole some marines thought might be an IED component. All of them "guilty," all of them subjected to torture lite. How many Iraqis would help the Americans if they were treated with a modicum of respect? How many not-so-bad guys might be used to lead to the real bad guys if only they were given the treatment American criminals are? How stupid and pointless is this Saddam-like random roundup of civilians? But it’s the course we took. As Lagouranis says, "we’re trapped, they’re trapped, and the killings seem to have no end." You don’t even have to agree with his conclusion – that torture corrupts the torturer, can’t be contained, and is never justified – to realize that what the Americans are doing in those prisons is evil, self-defeating and pointless.
This is a sobering, unsettling, heartbreaking book. Like Matthew Alexander's How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq, but with an angrier and pessimistic tone, this book chronicles example after example of stupid, self-defeating actions the American army takes as a matter of course. We came to teach "democratic values," but show them that they're guilty until overwhelmingly proved innocent (a dictum explicitly stated by a commander in charge) Lagouranis found very, very few prisoners who actually had intelligence he could use, but the army discharged those he interrogated very slowly, if at all. A man who owns a restaurant where "insurgents eat," according to someone. A college professor who teaches peace and tolerance, but has been giving speeches against the American occupation. A young boy with a strange pole some marines thought might be an IED component. All of them "guilty," all of them subjected to torture lite. How many Iraqis would help the Americans if they were treated with a modicum of respect? How many not-so-bad guys might be used to lead to the real bad guys if only they were given the treatment American criminals are? How stupid and pointless is this Saddam-like random roundup of civilians? But it’s the course we took. As Lagouranis says, "we’re trapped, they’re trapped, and the killings seem to have no end." You don’t even have to agree with his conclusion – that torture corrupts the torturer, can’t be contained, and is never justified – to realize that what the Americans are doing in those prisons is evil, self-defeating and pointless.
February 16, 2022
Going in, I expected to hate this. I figured it would be either poorly written and sanctimonious like Matthew Alexander’s How to Break a Terrorist (which I tried and failed to read three separate times) or, more likely, torture apologia by a man who insisted he was just following orders.
The first half of the book was the most artfully done cognitive dissonance I’ve ever seen. Lagouranis claims to be left wing and somehow distances himself from policies and opinions espousing torture while directly committing it and believing it to be reasonable course of action, whether it’s moral or not. He claims to not know why interrogators think fear and humiliation are effective tactics while having no objection to committing torture on the same page (p. 83). He disparages other soldiers’ laziness, say their lack of interrogation efforts will only lead to less intelligence and more insurgency (p. 103) while apparently not realizing his own prisoner abuses will also contribute to Iraqis’ desire to get America out of their country. Takes pride in himself for not using a prisoner’s nakedness to humiliate him before throwing him in a shipping container blasting heavy metal and using strobe lights in the prisoner’s face (p. 118). And, my favorite, says “if torture works—which is debatable” (p. 118). It’s clearly NOT debatable, dude, you can actively see it not working day after day. He admitted to everything he did, but he didn’t write in a way that made me feel like he was actually taking responsibility for his actions. This dissonance might have been understandable if he enlisted right out of high school, but I had no sympathy for a 33-year-old man who apparently had no ability to critically examine his own actions.
In the second half, Lagouranis grows a spine and realizes he was being terrible. He tries to whistleblow, files reports, talks to CID, all that stuff. Nothing comes of it, but it was good to see him actually practice the values he claimed to hold in the first 130 pages. In the end he argues that anti-torture platforms based on the efficacy of torture are missing the point because it’s immoral whether it works or not, and I do agree with him there. But practicality outweighs morality for a lot of people, and if that’s the reasoning it takes to turn more of them against torture, I say go for it. Doesn’t matter how you change people’s minds as long as it happens.
I also appreciated the things he wrote that apply to a lot of soldiers when they get back from a war zone: the disconnect with civilians, insomnia, relying on alcohol, etc., but that’s stuff I can get from a lot of books and not just this specific one.
The quality of writing was good, leagues better than usually awful war memoirs. There were a couple footnotes, but no properly bibliography or citations section, which was disappointing. Generally, though, it’s very worth reading for people interested in US commission of war crimes in the war on terror.
The first half of the book was the most artfully done cognitive dissonance I’ve ever seen. Lagouranis claims to be left wing and somehow distances himself from policies and opinions espousing torture while directly committing it and believing it to be reasonable course of action, whether it’s moral or not. He claims to not know why interrogators think fear and humiliation are effective tactics while having no objection to committing torture on the same page (p. 83). He disparages other soldiers’ laziness, say their lack of interrogation efforts will only lead to less intelligence and more insurgency (p. 103) while apparently not realizing his own prisoner abuses will also contribute to Iraqis’ desire to get America out of their country. Takes pride in himself for not using a prisoner’s nakedness to humiliate him before throwing him in a shipping container blasting heavy metal and using strobe lights in the prisoner’s face (p. 118). And, my favorite, says “if torture works—which is debatable” (p. 118). It’s clearly NOT debatable, dude, you can actively see it not working day after day. He admitted to everything he did, but he didn’t write in a way that made me feel like he was actually taking responsibility for his actions. This dissonance might have been understandable if he enlisted right out of high school, but I had no sympathy for a 33-year-old man who apparently had no ability to critically examine his own actions.
In the second half, Lagouranis grows a spine and realizes he was being terrible. He tries to whistleblow, files reports, talks to CID, all that stuff. Nothing comes of it, but it was good to see him actually practice the values he claimed to hold in the first 130 pages. In the end he argues that anti-torture platforms based on the efficacy of torture are missing the point because it’s immoral whether it works or not, and I do agree with him there. But practicality outweighs morality for a lot of people, and if that’s the reasoning it takes to turn more of them against torture, I say go for it. Doesn’t matter how you change people’s minds as long as it happens.
I also appreciated the things he wrote that apply to a lot of soldiers when they get back from a war zone: the disconnect with civilians, insomnia, relying on alcohol, etc., but that’s stuff I can get from a lot of books and not just this specific one.
The quality of writing was good, leagues better than usually awful war memoirs. There were a couple footnotes, but no properly bibliography or citations section, which was disappointing. Generally, though, it’s very worth reading for people interested in US commission of war crimes in the war on terror.
June 12, 2018
I am weary of such books.
Tony Lagouranis' "Fear Up Harsh" (co-authored with Allen Mikaelian) is at least a decade old and was written long before the Obama administration had a chance to prosecute the previous administration's war criminals. The author's easy treatment of his own war crimes at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere reminds me of Eric Fair's "Consequence." Both men were translators turned torturers. Both excuse their own deeds by pondering the evil that lurks in the human spirit, and both deflect blame for these policies up the food chain (where of course it also belongs). Both bristle at the message they received upon returning to the States: "thank you for your service." But both go as easy on the American public as they do on themselves.
Sad to say, neither book looks carefully or critically at personal or national evil either. And, as a consequence, neither book can prescribe how to stop it. Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, dozens of White House lawyers, and the U.S. Attorney General, were no doubt to blame for shredding the Geneva Accords and winking at torture. But this is an old story, and it's exactly how American injustices are perpetrated — if you don't like the rule of law, then rule that the law means something it never meant before. Or, worse, make war an exciting adventure for young men – one sanctified and guaranteed to hold no moral hazards.
I found Lagouranis's mention of military interrogators kneeling on the necks of Iraqis to be chilling. Ten years later some of these same men are now in police uniforms, kneeling on the necks of black and brown Americans. But this is not an observation you'll find in "Fear Up Harsh."
The title of the book invokes not only the hyper-aggressive interrogation style that Lagouranis embraced early in his career as torturer. It also embodies the Shock and Awe style of American militarism. It also embraces the very American use of violence and authoritarianism to get whatever we want.
Lagouranis lets himself off the hook too easily by advancing a "darkness in men's souls" scenario — something like “let yourself be surrounded by evil and it will get to you.” In this way the author's own actions are easily excused by a greater evil overwhelming his own humanity. Yet this is really just another way of saying: I was just following orders. A careful reader knows better. Starting with Chapter One the author describes a reckless young American man drawn to "fear, relief, excitement, and power." The Iraq war, at least initially, met his personal needs. But his participation in it obviously didn't do much for Iraqis.
Tony Lagouranis' "Fear Up Harsh" (co-authored with Allen Mikaelian) is at least a decade old and was written long before the Obama administration had a chance to prosecute the previous administration's war criminals. The author's easy treatment of his own war crimes at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere reminds me of Eric Fair's "Consequence." Both men were translators turned torturers. Both excuse their own deeds by pondering the evil that lurks in the human spirit, and both deflect blame for these policies up the food chain (where of course it also belongs). Both bristle at the message they received upon returning to the States: "thank you for your service." But both go as easy on the American public as they do on themselves.
Sad to say, neither book looks carefully or critically at personal or national evil either. And, as a consequence, neither book can prescribe how to stop it. Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, dozens of White House lawyers, and the U.S. Attorney General, were no doubt to blame for shredding the Geneva Accords and winking at torture. But this is an old story, and it's exactly how American injustices are perpetrated — if you don't like the rule of law, then rule that the law means something it never meant before. Or, worse, make war an exciting adventure for young men – one sanctified and guaranteed to hold no moral hazards.
I found Lagouranis's mention of military interrogators kneeling on the necks of Iraqis to be chilling. Ten years later some of these same men are now in police uniforms, kneeling on the necks of black and brown Americans. But this is not an observation you'll find in "Fear Up Harsh."
The title of the book invokes not only the hyper-aggressive interrogation style that Lagouranis embraced early in his career as torturer. It also embodies the Shock and Awe style of American militarism. It also embraces the very American use of violence and authoritarianism to get whatever we want.
Lagouranis lets himself off the hook too easily by advancing a "darkness in men's souls" scenario — something like “let yourself be surrounded by evil and it will get to you.” In this way the author's own actions are easily excused by a greater evil overwhelming his own humanity. Yet this is really just another way of saying: I was just following orders. A careful reader knows better. Starting with Chapter One the author describes a reckless young American man drawn to "fear, relief, excitement, and power." The Iraq war, at least initially, met his personal needs. But his participation in it obviously didn't do much for Iraqis.
August 1, 2021
This book represents the attitude and ruminations of what is known colloquially as a “barracks lawyer:” an inexperienced and immature soldier with an overblown sense of intellect. While what the author describes in the book did happen, he presents is as the norm for all aspects of military interrogation in Iraq, which is was not. It is clear that the author has an amazingly high level of intellectual conceit and overblown self image. He was an inexperienced interrogator who was placed in lousy circumstances, with no and/or poor leadership. He did not rise to the occasion, relying on his own sense of intellectual superiority to justify both his actions and self righteousness. This book does a poor job of representing the majority of activities. While I agree with the author that Iraq was a completely unnecessary war, and that strategic planning and execution once the initial invasion was completed was non existent, the author’s representation is naive and immature and adds little to any real discussion beyond emotional rant.
December 8, 2020
Lagouranis does a great job detailing his experiences in the second Iraq War as a US Army interrogator initially stationed at Abu Ghraib immediately after the scandals there had ceased. In doing so the reader can gain a valuable insight into both effective and ineffective intelligence collection techniques as well as leadership and the day to day life of an Army interrogator at the time.
June 26, 2008
I read so many books as part of my job. Most of them I don't really need or want to talk about here.
But this was an extraordinary book. It is a very honest and soul-searching account by a young man who, through his fascination with languages and his desire to learn Arabic, ends up becoming an army interrogator. He is sent to Iraq.
His is an insider's view of all the dark stuff we hear about in the news these days. He has to realize, finally, that he himself has a fascination with what his army buzzword labels as "enhancements" of the interrogation experience.
Starting with Fear Up Harsh, a series of aggressive threats that are supposed to scare the prisoner, he slowly starts trying tougher and more inhumane tactics. As long as he understands that the "enhancements" he adds to his interrogations are approved by some higher up, he eventually drifts into using them on maybe one especially tough prisoner. Soon, though, he is using them on ALL prisoners, 80% of whom he knows to be innocent and having no intelligence value.
He shows how seductive such a dark journey can be, and how inevitable.
This is a terrific book. Anyone interested in this topic that seems to be all around us these days--in short, torture and our government's endorsement of it--should read this book.
But this was an extraordinary book. It is a very honest and soul-searching account by a young man who, through his fascination with languages and his desire to learn Arabic, ends up becoming an army interrogator. He is sent to Iraq.
His is an insider's view of all the dark stuff we hear about in the news these days. He has to realize, finally, that he himself has a fascination with what his army buzzword labels as "enhancements" of the interrogation experience.
Starting with Fear Up Harsh, a series of aggressive threats that are supposed to scare the prisoner, he slowly starts trying tougher and more inhumane tactics. As long as he understands that the "enhancements" he adds to his interrogations are approved by some higher up, he eventually drifts into using them on maybe one especially tough prisoner. Soon, though, he is using them on ALL prisoners, 80% of whom he knows to be innocent and having no intelligence value.
He shows how seductive such a dark journey can be, and how inevitable.
This is a terrific book. Anyone interested in this topic that seems to be all around us these days--in short, torture and our government's endorsement of it--should read this book.
October 9, 2008
On widespread and arbitrary torture and prolonged detention throughout Iraq, continuing after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. The use of torture and detention regardless of someone's guilt, innocence, or suspected or useful intelligence (torture by convenience and habit). The large-scale strategy of "round up everyone in a geographic area, interrogate/torture them, and then send them to prison when they don't have any information." The lack of real consequences for whistleblowers and yet, the lack of whistleblowers. Racist Army culture, inefficiency, lack of training, US vs. Iraqi (all Iraqis-- the people meant to be "liberated?") mentality.
Comparable and different from torture used in Israel and by police in the US.
We're complicit.
---
And on the book itself, out of context: commentary on the mind and morality. The Nuremberg defense still works for ourselves.
Comparable and different from torture used in Israel and by police in the US.
We're complicit.
---
And on the book itself, out of context: commentary on the mind and morality. The Nuremberg defense still works for ourselves.
August 31, 2007
Although it reads quickly, it is a very hard book to read. Lagouranis' first hand account of how we just messed up in Iraq is depressing and heartbreaking. For all those people who say, "We were attacked and lost 3,000 people on 9/11," or "We were going after an evil man," or "We're trying to bring them democracy;" we all know a certain road that is paved with good intentions. It doesn't matter what we meant to do, it matters how we did it. You can't just will a positive result. We went into Iraq not knowing what we were doing, and so much of what we did had had adverse results. Talk about blowback. The senselessness of what we did and how we did it makes one want to scream. It's like Kafka wrote our occupation plan.
June 14, 2011
Another book that points out why we can technically win wars but loose the peace. The author was an army interrogator. He notes that his early training was provided by those that had no real experience in the subjects they were teaching. When he reached Iraq he ran into those characters that see themselves as always in the right regardless of morality. The Army, for the most part, arrested whoever they felt like and assumed they were guilty. The interrogator's job was to essentially exact a confession. The army used the flimsiest excuse to keep Iraqis imprisoned and often sent them to Abu Gharib, whether guilty or not. It is a relatively fast read but it is also somewhat depressing because Americans never seem to learn.
December 3, 2015
Not as advertised. Very few diverse personal stories, rather, a continuous rhetoric about a quasi-ultra liberalist view about and condemning War in Iraq. Constantly goes after Republicans and advances an extremely biased view of "the Sandbox".
Very little substantial narrative, more of a personal political journey. Author makes his political biases clear, which I respect, and it's my fault I kept reading even though I knew exactly where he was going.
Overall disappointed because of the lack of a war-time portrayal of an interrogator EXPERIENCE, but consistent with other recent Iraq War books that are obviously unable to disclose classified information which creates inconsistencies and holes in the narrative.
Very little substantial narrative, more of a personal political journey. Author makes his political biases clear, which I respect, and it's my fault I kept reading even though I knew exactly where he was going.
Overall disappointed because of the lack of a war-time portrayal of an interrogator EXPERIENCE, but consistent with other recent Iraq War books that are obviously unable to disclose classified information which creates inconsistencies and holes in the narrative.
April 29, 2014
Fear Up Harsh is a timely book, with the current debate going on in our country regarding the use of "torture-lite." Even more importantly, it is an interesting and informative read. The content might be controversial, but the fact that the recorded stories constitute Tony Lagouranis' personal experience of the war (which might be shared among many others) is uncontested. It makes the reader appreciate the trials that our soldiers went through on our behalf, and the struggles that they likely still face today.
I definitely recommend this one, especially for anyone wanting to know more about today's torture debate or about the experience of an interrogator in Iraq.
I definitely recommend this one, especially for anyone wanting to know more about today's torture debate or about the experience of an interrogator in Iraq.
December 9, 2014
Suggested to me by a friend who once lived in Baghdad. The story describes how people do their duty which creates an unintended atmosphere. The story describes different perceptions on what force is justifiable during interrogations. It was written by someone who disagrees with the events that happened at Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities, but shows how reality, unlike fiction, is not a black and white instance but a continuously changing atmosphere. That dynamic rather than static reality of social interaction is shown to be a major factor in how torture became a common practice over time in a high pressured environment.
December 22, 2009
Wow, this has to be one of the whiniest echo's i've ever heard, if it was't complaining about abu ghraib which he wasn't there for, he complains about the command, and his lack of insight into interrogation which ultimately led him to committing torture. While his command is partially at fault for allowing what happen to take place the burden lies squarely on him, he knew that what he was doing was wrong and did so anyways, overall maybe 20 percent of the book may be of use to the professional interrogator but the rest is a waste.
June 11, 2011
A bad book by a self-confessed bad interrogator. Interesting contrast when read alongside Chris Mackey's "The Interrogators." Lagournis does make a compelling case that the training interrogators received circa 2002 was useless, and the intelligence-gathering policies of the Army in Iraq circa 2004-2005 were a joke, as they often mimicked the NSA's vacuum approach, which in this case ended up sucking in all sorts of innocent people and depositing them in Abu Ghraib. Not good for anyone.
September 10, 2013
I'm always skeptical of books that have co-authors. I know that not everyone with a story to tell has the skills to tell that story, but I wonder how much of the words are genuinely from the individual who had the experiences. This book in particular narrated some interesting experiences and made some good points regarding American military practices and politics, but I don't know how much it was polished up by the co-author.
December 12, 2014
If you ever had doubts about the war in Iraq, take the word of someone who was there. Not me, dummy, the author. A first-hand account of Army Interrogator Lagouranis, he shares his personal descent into darkness and revulsion at his own actions, and the discomfort he feels at well-meaning people who've "thanked him for his service". A compelling and disturbing look into the soul of a man literally on the inside. Highly recommended.
August 25, 2013
Does the United States torture? We don't have much in this account aside from the author's word, so some will undoubtedly read this and say "it didn't happen." Others will undoubtedly read it and say "it should happen." Everything in this account may have happened or nothing in this account may have happened. The truth may be somewhere in between. But should it have happened? Probably not.
January 3, 2013
This book is one everyone should read if they want to see how torture begins, where it ends, and what it does to the psyches of those involved - both the victims and the perpetrators. I highly recommend it.
August 13, 2007
Read this in 2 days. It was written by a friend of mine. It sort of confirms what I suspected. And boy do I love finding out that I've been right!
October 4, 2007
Not self-righteous, dark turn through our sub-conscious, Excellent and honest.
June 27, 2008
Cool book about interrogating people in Iraq. As I said elsewhere, I thought it was funny that he admits to using Jeanine Garofolo's audio book as a torture device.
September 20, 2008
Thoughtful reflection on frustrations of the Iraq War and on interrogation, in particular, and what it does to both the interrogator and the suspect.
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