enhanced interrogation

American English
This page is about the doublespeak term enhanced interrogation

Meaning

torture

For example

  • Terrorism suspects we found in the villages were taken to secret prisons for enhanced interrogation.

  • The U.S. government calls it "enhanced interrogation", but what they did to us was torture.

Note:
This well-known example of doublespeak was created by the U.S. government to describe the systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the U.S. Armed Forces that began soon after the 9/11 attacks on the USA.

Variety

This is typically used in American English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

Quick Quiz

People who carry out "enhanced interrogation" are

a. interviewers

b. terrorists

c. torturers
a) interviewers b) terrorists c) torturers

Contributor: Matt Errey