High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group

U.S. government unit for interrogating important terrorism suspects From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group

The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) is a U.S. three-agency intelligence-gathering entity that brings together intelligence professionals from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the United States Department of Defense (DoD).[6][7] It is administratively housed within the FBI's National Security Branch.[8]

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High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group
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Seal of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group
ActiveAugust 2009 – present[1]
(15 years)
CountryUnited States
AgencyFederal Bureau of Investigation
Central Intelligence Agency
Department of Defense
Part ofNational Security Branch (administrative)
AbbreviationHIG
Commanders
Current
commander
Lawrence Buckley[2]
Notable
commanders
Eli Miranda[3]

George Piro[4]

Frazier Thompson[5]
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The HIG was created by President Barack Obama in August 2009 with its charter written in April 2010.[9][10] It was established to question terrorism suspects soon after their arrests, to quickly obtain information about accomplices and terrorism threats.[10]

The group was to be responsible for interrogations overseas.[11] In January 2010, the Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said that the group would begin interrogating people in the U.S. as well.[11] The HIG claims to use authorized, lawful, non-coercive techniques and conducts research on the effectiveness of interrogation techniques and provides training for their interrogators, other U.S. Intelligence Community and law enforcement partners and allies abroad.[7]

The HIG is administered by the FBI.[6] The Director of the HIG is an FBI representative with two deputies, one from the DoD and the other from the CIA.[6] The HIG is subject to oversight by the National Security Council, the Department of Justice, and by Congress.[6][10]

The group's creation stopped a bureaucratic war between the CIA and the FBI over who had responsibility for interrogations.[9][12]

HIG questioned Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American citizen responsible for the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt,[10] Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,[13] and Benghazi terror suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala.

References

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