CIA Paid Psychologists $80 Million For Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report indicates that two American psychologists were paid $80 million by the U.S. government to create enhanced interrogation methods for the CIA.

The two men, Dr. John "Bruce" Jessen and Dr. James Mitchell, were psychologists who had previously worked for the U.S. Air Force when they were hired following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to fashion enhanced interrogation techniques for the CIA.

The men are listed in the recently-released Senate Intelligence Committee report under pseudonyms, but their real names have since been released by the media. The psychologists were the co-founders of Mitchell, Jessen & Associates based in Spokane, Washington.

The two men had previously taught "SERE" or Survival, Evasion, Resistance Escape training to members of the U.S. Special Forces. The classes taught members of the military how to survive torture if they were caught in a foreign land.

Although the two men initially signed a contract with the U.S. government for $180 million, their contract was eliminated in 2009, meaning they only earned $80 million out of the total amount.

Some of the enhanced interrogation techniques outlined by the Washington-based company included insult slaps, simulated drowning, use of insects, stress positions, walling ,and sleep deprivation, among others.

"On the CIA's behalf, the contract psychologists developed theories of interrogation based on 'learned helplessness,' and developed the list of enhanced interrogation techniques that was approved for use against [al Qaeda operative] Abu Zubaydah and subsequent CIA detainees," the recent Senate report states. "By 2005, the CIA had overwhelmingly outsourced operations related to the program."