On May 15, Assistant Regional Security Officer (ARSO) Trey Howerton, of the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, congratulated 22 participants from Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee on National Security, and the General Prosecutor’s Office for completing the Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) course on “Interviewing Terrorist Suspects.” The Interviewing Terrorist Suspects course was aimed at defining how to develop effective listening and observation skills that allow the participants to maximize the information gathered through an interview with a terrorist suspect and minimize contamination of that information.
ARSO Howerton stated that the course is one of four ATA courses planned in 2015 for Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies, sponsored by Diplomatic Security’s ATA Office and facilitated by the U.S. Embassy’s Regional Security Office. He went on to thank the participants for their efforts in combatting terrorism and extremism. ARSO Howerton also mentioned that the ATA program adheres to the “train-the-trainer” methodology and expressed his hope that the knowledge officers gained during this course will be shared with their colleagues.
The ATA Office was established in 1983, and is part of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. It is an essential U.S. Government mechanism that provides training, equipment, and technology to partner governments actively engaged in fighting terrorism.
Since 1992, the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe has provided more than $1 billion in programs that support Tajikistan’s security, democratic institutions, education, health care, and economic growth.
