ELICITATION: A SUBTLE TRADECRAFT is a compact training

manual for American military personnel, Special Forces operators,

civilian and DOD intelligence officers and counterintelligence

agents on the tradecraft of Elicitation which is an interaction with a

human intelligence source wherein the source is largely unaware

that information is being intentionally drawn from them.

The book’s focus is upon intelligence gathering. While this

may include developing admissions, the principal objective of

elicitation is obtaining information. Toward that end, the book

presents elicitation as a five step process together with case

studies which illustrate field application.

The Five Steps are:

1) Strategy (wherein the elicitor selects a targeted human source and identifies

source vulnerabilities that can be exploited during elicitation);

2) Initiation (wherein the elicitor chooses among available logistical options for an

elicitation encounter such as time, place, pace, and manner of engaging a

targeted human source);

3) Approach (wherein the elicitor uses veiled persuasive reasoning to draw sought-after information from a targeted human source).

4) Execution (wherein the elicitor assimilates an appropriate strategy, the effective

approaches, and a safe smart initiative into an elicitation encounter); and

5) Closure (wherein the elicitor probes the depth of information to be derived from a targeted human source.)

In addition, “Elicitation: A Subtle Tradecraft” describes verbal, nonverbal, and

paralinguistic cues which not only assist the elicitor in assessing the credibility of a human

source but also guide the elicitor on the evolving success or failure of an elicitation

encounter. Finally, the book provides suggestions on recognition of, and resistance to,

hostile nation elicitation initiatives against unsuspecting American targets.

Paperback, 140 pages