On Dec. 2, Rumsfeld approved 16 of 19 stronger coercive methods. Now the interrogators could use stress strategies like standing for prolonged periods, isolation for as long as 30 days, removal of clothing, forced shaving of facial hair, playing on ?individual phobias? (such as dogs) and ?mild, non-injurious physical contact such as grabbing, poking in the chest with the finger and light pushing.
According to the log, al-Qahtani experienced several of those over the next five weeks.
The techniques Rumsfeld balked at included ?use of a wet towel or dripping water to induce the misperception of suffocation.? ?Our Armed Forces are trained,? a Pentagon memo on the changes read, ?to a standard of interrogation that reflects a tradition of restraint.? Nevertheless, the log shows that interrogators poured bottles of water on al-Qahtani?s head when he refused to drink. Interrogators called this game ?Drink Water or Wear It.?
After the new measures are approved, the mood in al-Qahtani?s interrogation booth changes dramatically. The interrogation sessions lengthen. The quizzing now starts at midnight, and when Detainee 063 dozes off, interrogators rouse him by dripping water on his head or playing Christina Aguilera music.
According to the log, his handlers at one point perform a puppet show ?satirizing the detainee?s involvement with al-Qaeda.?
He is taken to a new interrogation booth, which is decorated with pictures of 9/11 victims, American flags and red lights. He has to stand for the playing of the U.S. national anthem.
His head and beard are shaved. He is returned to his original interrogation booth. A picture of a 9/11 victim is taped to his trousers. Al-Qahtani repeats that he will ?not talk until he is interrogated the proper way.?
Invasion of Space by Female: Over the next few days, al-Qahtani is subjected to a drill known as Invasion of Space by a Female and he becomes especially agitated by the close physical presence of a woman. Then, around 2 p.m. on Dec. 6, comes another small breakthrough. He asks his handlers for some paper. ?I will tell the truth,? he says. ?I am doing this to get out of here.? He finally explains how he got to Afghanistan in the first place and how he met with bin Laden. In return, the interrogators honor requests from him to have a blanket and to turn off the air conditioner.
Soon enough, the pressure ratchets up again. Various strategies of intimidation are employed anew. The log reveals that a dog is present, but no details are given beyond a hazy reference to a disagreement between the military police and the dog handler.
But a much more serious problem develops on Dec. 7: a medical corpsman reports that al-Qahtani is becoming seriously dehydrated, the result of his refusal to take water regularly.
He is given an IV drip, and a doctor is summoned. An unprecedented 24-hour time out is called, but even as al-Qahtani is put under a doctor?s care, music is played to ?prevent detainee from sleeping.? Nine hours later, a medical corpsman checks al-Qahtani?s pulse and finds it ?unusually slow.? An electrocardiogram is administered by a doctor, and after al-Qahtani is transferred to a hospital, a CT scan is performed. A second doctor is consulted. Al-Qahtani?s heartbeat is regular but slow: 35 beats a minute. He is placed in isolation and hooked up to a heart monitor, TIME reports.
