Name: "Mutt and Jeff" (aka "good cop/bad cop")

Source: DOD Working Group memo; Miranda v. Arizona; pick your cop show

Description: The "bad cop" threatens the subject or acts in a way that creates fear or anxiety. The "good cop" comes in to displace the bad cop, sometimes by physically ejecting him from the room to protect the detainee. The intercession is supposed to build rapport and trust and induce the detainee to tell the good cop what he knows, lest the bad cop come back.

Physical, Psychological, or Other Effects: Negligible

Locations Used: Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan

Legal Opinion: This is, quite literally, one of the oldest tricks in the book. As a mental ruse, it rarely rises to the level of illegality. But under certain circumstances, some threats can evolve into the type of coercion that violates the Geneva Conventions. The April 16, 2003, Pentagon memo states that this technique may violate the conventions' prohibition against intimidating detainees.