Hi moving on,

I'm referring to this post I wrote:
Did you go by "another CIA reject"?


CIA Polygraph Thoughts
Apr 19th, 2014 at 11:55pm Mark & Quote Quote  I wrote these thoughts about the CIA polygraph after having gone through the process myself and had my clearance denied.

//I’ve been doing some research on the use of the polygraph in a certain agency of the federal government, and I have come to the firm moral conviction that it should be banned to protect the innocent. Some helpful open source readings that have lead me to this conclusion are:

The Gatekeeper: Memoirs of a CIA Polygraph Examiner
The Value of the Polygraph in CIA’s Personnel Security Program
What Federal Applicants Should Know about Polygraph Tests
US polygraphs way beyond tests, close to unlawful interrogation
Based upon these public resources, I have written down some principles for innocent people who might receive false positives and are hence interrogated.

Why the CIA’s Polygraph Program should be eliminated
1. Innocent people who are trustworthy, loyal, of good conduct and highly qualified can and do make false confessions. Why?

Innocent people can be placed under so much psychological pressure and stress, that they exaggerate the severity of their conduct or say something false and incriminating about themselves in order to satisfy their interrogators and be free to leave. (See: False Confessions)
Under the right conditions and with the heavy use of interrogation tactics and psychological manipulation, innocent people can begin to believe that they are guilty of conduct that they have actually not committed. (See: Internalized False Confessions)
2. It violates our Fourth Amendment Right to Privacy. If an applicant “fails” the polygraph he is given only two options: either he can walk out the door and lose the job offer, or he must submit himself to an excruciating session of interrogation where he must disclose his most personal and private conduct. The polygraph post-test amounts to psychological rape.

Principles to keep in mind
1. No one is rejected simply based upon not being successful with the polygraph exam.
Note: By “not being successful/failing” the polygraph, I only mean the polygraph detecting areas of concern to the polygrapher. Polygraphers give applicants, who do not show physiological reactions, the benefit of a doubt and give them a “pass.”

2. The polygraph is not able to detect lies, it only measures physiological reactions to specific questions. They have burden to prove that the rising of the physiological reactions correlates only with lying.

3. The CIA uses the polygraph to assist the adjudicator in making adjudicative decisions by obtaining confessions of personal conduct that they could not know simply based upon the SF-86 background check.

4. Keep in mind the top 3 principles, and do not trust the polygrapher. Their only objective is to elicit unfavorable information from you by means of psychological manipulation and deceit.

How to “pass” it
1. Do not say anything that the polygrapher and adjudicator could use against you to deny you your security clearance. Whatever you say can and will be used against you. Treat the polygraph interview as a job interview. (See:13 adjudicative guidelines.)//