Ex-DIA Interrogator Eric Maddox: Hunting Saddam Hussein

Eric Maddox is a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, 82nd Airborne Infantry Paratrooper, Jumpmaster, and Qualified Ranger, who went on to become an interrogator and Chinese Mandarin linguist with the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 2003, Eric was assigned by the DIA to a Delta Force Special Operations team in Iraq, where he conducted over 300 interrogations and collected the intelligence which directly led to the capture of Saddam Hussein. As a result, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Director’s Award, and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement. He was later hired to work w/ the Department of Defense conducting over 2,700 interrogations while deploying eight times in support of the Global War on Terrorism including multiple tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Eric retired from service in 2014 and is now a private consultant and negotiator where he helps corporations, universities, sports teams, and CEOs master the art of questioning, negotiations, and information gathering. Eric is also the author of “Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein.”

In this Episode of The Alpha Human Podcast, Eric recounts his deployment to Iraq as an interrogator, a story that quickly evolves into an unexpected race against the clock manhunt for the Ace of Spades, Saddam Hussein, #1 on the Military's blacklist of Operation Enduring Freedom's most wanted. Eric's story reads like an edge of your seat thriller and details the against the odds discovery of Saddam Hussein's whereabouts by a rookie interrogator on his first mission. Along the way, we learn how Eric completely upends the SOP and process for interrogation and literally rewrites the rulebook on how to elicit effective intelligence in high-pressure detainee questionings. We also discuss his views on the importance of complete sincerity while interrogating, why it is crucial to convince a subject that they are guilty, and why he starts all interrogations with the assumption that he knows nothing about the subject. We also explore Eric's current role as a consultant in high stakes negotiations and his Empathy Based Listening curriculum for companies and sales teams.

Links:

Eric Maddox - https://ericmaddox.com/
Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein - https://amzn.to/35uTIRz
“We Got Him!” The Anniversary of the Capture of Saddam Hussein - https://bit.ly/3oKy0kl