Spycraft - Melton [213]
A direct assessment might involve pretext testing or face-to-face interviews with targets. The target would be unaware of the true purpose of the interview since the psychologist would be introduced by the case officer as a friend, colleague, or knowledgeable specialist about a common area of interest. Thereafter, the psychologist would observe and record the target’s verbal skills, interaction with the case officer, body language, temperament, and other personality and behavioral characteristics.
The “unexpected” usually became “expected” during the interviews. In support of an operational project with a cooperating service to build a new counterterrorism team, an OTS psychologist posed as the American official who would make the decision on members for the team. Over the course of several days, the psychologist administered assessment tests to several dozen candidates under the guise of “the final interview.”
After the team members had been selected, several additional individuals were nominated to become office manager for the project. As the psychologist talked with a young woman about her interest in the office manager position, it became evident that the candidate had no applicable skills for the work. She could not type, claimed no previous work in an office environment, had never done filing, acted as a receptionist, or exhibited any knowledge of office procedures.
The perplexed psychologist finally blurted the question, “Well, what are you good at?”
“Hijacking airplanes,” replied the applicant.
Inquiries about office skills ended, and further questioning by the psychologist confirmed that the woman had been part of the planning and execution of three hijackings. She was reclassified from potential office worker to possible field operative.
In situations that precluded personal interaction, OTS psychologists made discreet observations of targets at a distance. These could often be done during diplomatic receptions, social events, or while seated at an adjoining table in a restaurant. The evaluation of clandestine video or audio surveillance tapes of a target represented another quasidirect assessment technique. These clandestine observations supported both operations for assessment of recruitment targets and collection of personality information on foreign leaders.
A daring, but ultimately abandoned, plan for assessment by discreet observation occurred when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in 1958. A TSS psychologist was directed to remain at his home on a specific day for a special assignment. The psychologist’s residence adjoined an empty field, large enough for a helicopter landing area. When he saw a helicopter land in the field, he was to climb aboard for a ride to Camp David where Khrushchev was scheduled to confer with President Eisenhower. Once at Camp David, the psychologist would be slipped into a closet in the room where the two heads of state were meeting. From a nonobvious peephole in the closet door he was to observe the Soviet leader’s demeanor, voice inflection, body language, and any other characteristic that might provide insight into his mental and psychological state. The psychologist waited throughout the day, but no helicopter appeared. In the tradition of “need to know,” no reason was ever given for scrubbing the operation.
For personality and behavioral assessment, OTS selected psychological tests and procedures applicable to the target’s position, nationality, prospective operational role, and relationship with the case officer. The tools OTS used for assessment testing fell into three classes: commercially available tests that measured intelligence, psychological characteristics, aptitude, interests, and personality traits; modified commercial tests that were adapted for particular operational purposes; and CIA proprietary in-house-developed test and evaluation procedures.