Forward of Los Angeles Times article "Officer Was at Crossroads of Abu Ghraib Command" by David Zucchino and Greg Miller, from August 1, 2004.
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.Officer.t crossroads Of Abu Ghraib Command
Capt. Carolyn A. Woo cceived and distributed data on interrogations. Investigators hope she can help untan teNevents behind the abuse.
By David Zucchino and Greg Miller, es Staff Writers
FT. BRAGG, N.C. - As investigations into e abuse of prisoners at U.S. detention centers in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, one indicat biguity surrounding the issue is that an obscure captain in Army intelligence has become a pot Ily pivotal figure even though she's not accused of wrongdoing.
The officer, Capt. Carolyn A. Wood, created a widely di oint chart at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison that spelled out what kinds of interrogation tactics rmitted under Army rules and what methods required special approval.
But what is expected to make Wood, 34, a crucial witness for invest' er unique assignment at the sprawling facility last year put her, in the words of one colleague, "at the center of the hourglass,
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receiving informatio frombove and from below" in the prison chain of command.
As a result, Wood may s ed light on central questions in the wide-ranging inquiry: Did the decisions of
senior commanders who/ ., nted to increase the flow of intelligence from detainees play a role in the abuses?
What interrogation techrnqu were approved? And who was responsible for ensuring that soldiers at
military prisons follaed t
Last month, a report by the Arm nspector-general documented almost 100 cases of detainee abuse and
wrongful death in U.S. detentionacilities but called them "aberrations" committed by a few
inadequately supervised tro he report was met with skepticism by senators who didn't think it
delved deeply enough.
Wood began her career as a 20-year-oTE rivate, had no direct role in interrogating detainees, according to
friends and colleagues. But her administr ive job as reports officer put her in a unique position topawitoi -
, e at the interrogation center. and shepherd the transmission of intelligen
Pr (Pr
Sitting at a makeshift desk in a dilapidahed buding on the prison grounds, Wood was a conduit for day-to-
day information collection, sending anireceivi g e-mail on a laptop computer. Friends and colleagues say
she oversaw the production and distribkon_ lligence reports from interrogations.
"She would disseminate information, taking it from lower levels and then sending it up the chain of
command, and then back down," said a friend of the !aptain's who was familiar with prison operations.
./
Wood's chart, which was posted inside the prison, liste approved interrogation techniques from an Army
field manual in one column and more coercive methods quiring commanders' approval in the second
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column It became a sort of icon of the Abu Ghraib scandal.
The appearance of Wood's chart, titled "Interrogation Rules gagement," during a Senate hearing May
19 seemed to surprise Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the top .S\ commander in Iraq. He testified that
he had never seen the chart, hadn't approved it and had)vo ildea who had created it.
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Wood apparently prepared the chart on her own initiative in late s er 2003, when there were no clear written guidelines beyond the standard Army field manual. The J9i Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib, where Wood was the reports officer in chargeiras not formally established until
Sept. 20.
The chart was posted in the interrogation center before Sanchez issued hi first written regulations. Sanchez and other senior commanders have debated senators over whether Woo s pilation was approved by superiors and whether it contradicted Sanchez's rules. \
There is no direct evidence that Wood, who left Iraq in February and was s ioned at Ft. Bragg until May, was involved in or condoned abuses. In fact, her preparation of t chart suggests that she understood the disjointed state of command at Abu Ghraib, which Sanch z has called "dysfunctional."
The prison had one military police officer for every 8 1/2 detainees, compared wit e MP per two detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Wood brought to Abu Ghraib a background as an intelligence officer at Bagram air base Afghanistan, where interrogation techniques generally are harsher than those used in Iraq. Th t experience, coupled with her central role in Abu Ghraib and her training in "tactical exploitation ' of intelligence, have made Wood an important source of information for investigators.
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nds and colleagues, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Army has ordered soldiers not to discu her, described Wood as an efficient workaholic who had a knack for organization and neatness.
"She's the e of person who would take it upon herself to try to organize a confusing situation by putting
together that art the way she did," a friend said.
An interrog worked with Wood in Afghanistan said she provided file boxes for her
colleagues to re office clutter. "She was very organizational," he said. "She got tired of
people's stuff all o r the place."
These colleagues sad W d would not have tolerated the abuses documented in photographs taken at Tier
lA of Abu Ghraib. •ne int ogator said she sometimes argued the cases of detainees at Bagram who were
considered for trans anamo, where conditions are more severe.
"I think she's a quality person. S . Just a straight-line officer," he added. "I don't think she would have
approved of anything like [the abu e] unless somebody above her told her it was going to happen that way."
That characterization is challenge he reported allegations of a military lawyer for one of seven members of the 372nd Military Police Com cing criminal charges over events at Abu Ghraib.
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At a hearing in Baghdad in April, the la e , Capt. Robert Shuck, said Wood was "involved in
intensive interrogations of detainees, co °tied some of the activities and stressed that that was
standard procedure, what the accused [M Was doing," the Washington Post reported in May,
quoting from a transcript of the proceeding.
In addition, investigators are conducting a crimi al i quiry into the deaths of two detainees who were under
the control of the unit Wood served with in Afghanis n in December 2002.
One friend of Wood's said she had been questioned art of the ongoing investigation headed by Lt. Gen. Anthony R. Jones, who was examining the role of 'tart' intelligence specialists at Abu Ghraib. The friend said Wood felt she was not sufficiently suppo ed by commanders at the Senate hearings.
Army spokesmen at the Pentagon, at Ft. Bragg and in Bagl?da have refused to provide details about Wood or her role at Abu Ghraib. They have not allowe her hotograph to be released.
They said only that Wood had served as a military intelligen e operat vns officer at the Bagram Collection Point in Afghanistan and was assigned to the 519th Milita I ence Battalion at Abu Ghraib. Wood has declined interview requests.
She was transferred to the 519th from a military intelligence unit in Tikrit, orthern Iraq, because the 519th was understaffed, a friend said. She reported to Col. ThomasIM appas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade. The head of the interrogatio censer, Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, also reported to Pappas.
Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, who conducted an earlier investigation oft .e prison, vbrote that Pappas and Jordan were "directly or indirectly responsible" for detainee abuses because t y failed properly train or supervise soldiers under their command.
Taguba also cited abuses by members of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center and, the 205th brigade but did not name anyone pending the completion of Jones' investigation into "the extent of culpability of MI personnel." Wood was not mentioned among those interviewed by Taguba.
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Wood's position at the pris ,Was elevated Nov. 19, when Sanchez gave Pappas and his military intelligence brigade "tactical control" off prison for base protection and detainee security. A military police commander previously had been _charge of tactical control.
Col. Marc Warren, the top -Ai-my la in Iraq, who said he had spoken to Wood, told a Senate
hearing in May that Wood prepare• he chart "with all good intentions" but because it displayed the logo of Sanchez's command, i the false impression that it had been approved by senior
commanders.
Warren added that the chart "was intended fo, be a prophylaxis - there's really nothing insidious."
Wood's role at Abu Ghraib does not seem to havefim eriled her Army career. She is a Bronze Star recipient who served in Bosnia and earned a college de\gree hile in the service. She made the leap from enlisted person to officer by completing the Airmils anding officer candidate school in 1999.
In May, Wood attended a captain's course at the Command an`d general Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., a base spokeswoman said. The course is requiredor promotion. Wood is currently training at the Army's military intelligence school at Ft. Huachuca rAz., a base spokeswoman said.
At the Senate hearing, Sanchez was asked how a junior command s h as Wood could prepare such a specific list of regulations without consulting with senior commanders r approval.
"Sir, it's difficult for me to understand it," the general replied. "You'd hav% the commander."
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