AntiPolygraph.org Message Board

Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Drew C. Richardson was the FBI's senior scientific expert on polygraphy before his retirement from the Bureau last year.

With regard to Mr. Sullivan's quote, how can you be sure it is taken out of context? You apparently haven't read his book, Of Spies and Lies: A CIA Lie Detector Remembers Vietnam. Here's the context (p. 174):

Quote:

Case officers' job is to recruit agents who can provide significant information. Their performance is evaluated based on the number of agents they recruit, as well as the quality of the information the agents provide. Polygraph examiners, in contrast, are responsible for trying to authenticate or validate case officers' agents. Our performance is evaluated on the number of admissions we obtain and the amount of information developed from those we test.

Although it is a bit of an oversimplification, it can be said that our successes--getting agents to admit that they are not who they say they are--are case officers' failures. When an agent or asset fails a polygraph test, the case officer's roster of agents is diminisheds he might have to retract previously reported information, and he might be criticized for poor agent handling. This is particularly difficult for a case officer to accept when the agent makes no admission. Polygraph is more art than science, and unless an admission is obtained, the final determination is frequently what we refer to as a scientific wild-ass guess (SWAG).

Did we take this last sentence out of context in placing it on the AntiPolygraph.org home page? I think not. But if you think Mr. Sullivan meant something other than the plain meaning of the highlighted words, please explain.

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Posted by: Sullivan Quote Posted on: Jun 22^nd, 2002 at 9:31pm	Mark & Quote Quote
Thanks for the quote from his book - I now put him in the same category as the other idiots you quoted.

Posted by: Eastwood Posted on: Jun 22^nd, 2002 at 7:33pm	Mark & Quote Quote
Yes, that's quite a "who's who" list of individuals mocking the polygraph on your home page: Ames, Deutch, Drew Richardson (who is he??), etc. As for the quote attributed to John Sullivan (a former senior examiner wouldn't say that - I'm sure it's taken out of context.) What a group. Your credibility is at zero.