Taguba Report Annex 51: Testimony of Lieutenant Colonel James T. Edwards, Commander, 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion

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Lt. Col. Edwards was a force provider to the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center. His was an Interrogation Company. It provided interrogators & analyst to the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center, otherwise known as the JIDC. He also had an MP platoon that pulled some duty on perimeter security of Abu Ghraib. Lt. Col. Edwards then stated "I've heard rumors of events that have happened. I have not seen evidence". and that concluded his understanding about detainee abuse.
around the prison.

Doc_type: 
Interview
Doc_date: 
Monday, February 9, 2004
Doc_rel_date: 
Monday, October 18, 2004
Doc_text: 

On 9 February 2004, a team of officers, directed by Major General Antonio Taguba, conducted the following interview. Major General Taguba was appointed as an Investigating Officer under the provisions of Army Regulation 15-6, by Lieutenant General David D. McKiernan, Commanding General of the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), to look into allegations of maltreatment of detainees, detainee escapes and accountability lapses, at Abu Gharib, also known as the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility (BCCF). The panel also inquired into training, standards, employment, command policies, and internal policies, concerning the detainees held at Abu Gharib prison. Finally, the panel looked into the command climate and the command and supervisory presence
The following persons were present:
COL , MP, CFCC — PMO, Interviewer
LTC JA, CFLCC — SJA, Interviewer
LTC 05th MP Battalion, Interviewer
LTC 202n MI Battalion, Respondent
SSG , 27D30, CFLCC — SJA, Recorder

The interview is summarized as follows:
Sir, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Regular Army. I am Commander of 202nd Military to igence Battalion, am currently based at Abu Gharib, Iraq. I assumed command of the 202nd on 6 July of 2003. On 3 February 2004, my transition of aut • I assumed my role at the BCCF from the Commander of the 165th MI, LT rs. He's in Kuwait, right now. When I took command of the battalion, it was in the process of re-deploying. I had a trail body still in Kuwait, and the main body was at Fort Gordon.
I am a force provider to the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center, the area applicable to this investigation. My Alpha Company is an Interrogation Company. It provides Interrogators and Analyst to the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center, otherwise known as the JIDC. I do not operate the JIDC. It is operated by the Deputy Director, LTC Sean Faust. Again, I provide forces. I sustain them — like a headquarters company does for them. The rest of my battalion provides tactical HUMINT Operations for the entire JTF, and provide the management of that. I have nine tactical HUMINT Teams that operate around Iraq, four mobile interrogation teams that operate around Iraq, and I'm in the process of bringing in two long-range surveillance units that will flush out the rest of my task force. I also have an MP platoon that pulls some of the perimeter security around the prison. COLIIIIPe's my boss. He transitioned authority on the 5th of February from COL Pappas. I provided him a document, to be published, which has been staffed with the tenant units, that lays out responsibilities at the base camp, because on the base camp, you have two primary battalions. You have an MI battalion, and an MP battalion, and then various other units.
Aftem4)( S/
Essentially, that document, which is for the FOB Commander to issue, charges the MP
battalion with all detainee and confinement operations, and the JIDC Director is
responsible for Interrogatio rations. I pick up the mayoral responsibilities. The
FOB Commander, COL s in charge of everything. He is in control of the entire
facility. He's the commander of the 504th MI Bde.
Sir, I talk to LTC ink who is the Battalion Commander for the MP Battalion, now. I talk to him several times a day. The formal venue for that is the Force Protection meeting at 1600. It's held in his briefing room, and hostidly him. In the Base Defense Plan And
that to re-publish, that's one of the
Responsibilities Order, at we're asking COL requirements — for the MP's to host that meeting. Typical things discussed there are operations outside the wire, and threats to internal security. And, as you know, we have a very challenging situation, getting mortared, routinely, casualties... I've already lost equipment. I've lost a TPU that took a direct hit. That's a coordination meeting between the long-range surveillance assets that work outside the wire, the 82nd, who owns the dirt outside, the people that run the tower for external security, and I provide forces for that, my tactical HUMINT team that gathers intelligence from walk-in sources, as well as the entry control point, and the MP's run detainee ops, in terms of confinement operations, and they put out any information that's related to what happens, there. The MP's are also responsible for the internal reaction force and the QRF.
I am familiar with the Interrogation ROE. In fact, I carry a copy with me.
LTC11111111111hands a document to CAWS
It's the dumb version, a bulletized power point presentation. Having just gotten there, I've directed that all of my soldiers be re-trained on that by this Friday. The brigade is also wrestling with the problem of multiple units providing forces to the JIDC, and who's in charge of all these guys. What the brigade has now done is anybody in the 504th MI Bde, who works in the JIDC has been chopped to me. We did some mission analysis to show what types of things they should be attached - lodging, UCMJ, support, mail, all those types of issues... The brigade is in the process of cleaning that up. I've assumed responsibility for approximately 3 quarters of the people that are over there, now. Still, at my count, 46 individuals do not fall under the current standards.
Sir, if there was a significant event, it would be reported immediately to my TOC. We wouldn't wait for a meeting, and we would take immediate action, as required. Most of the SIGACTS that we've been dealing with numerous mortar attacks, stuff like that. We're still forming our task force, as well, and we're trying to get 2 more companies from the states. Additionally, I have an open door policy. And, of course, I have 3 staff meetings a week, Command and Staff. Information flows to me in all those ways. Plus, what I get from walking around talking to soldiers, daily. We're living in a third world prison, so I've spent a lot of time in the LSA, making sure the roofs don't leak; we get rid of mold... There's some third world latrines down there we're trying to seal up. I've spent .a couple of hours a day at the JIDC, mostly talking to my guys who are in tactical HUMINT Ops.
Sir, I've heard rumors of events that have happened. I have not seen evidence. That's part of my motivation for re-iterating the training for the ROE and detainee ops. Soldiers in my unit have been deployed a lot, so they understand WOE. My concern is getting another 100 soldiers under me, who, perhaps, do not, so that's why I've directed this training to occur.
I'm performing a mission, here, that is not how my battalion is organized. I'm an EAC/CI HUMINT Battalion, called a collection and exploitation battalion. I've been re­organized to form a tactical exploitation battalion, a corps level mission, that's why I'm getting the LRS in, and that's why I'm reorganizing my counter-intelligence assets to do CI HUMINT. So, when you say, am I short, it's difficult to say exactly where. I believe this month I will report C2 or C3, which will largely be due to personnel. We are challenged. There's about a 20 personnel difference in MTOE authorization.
My unit was here from November '02, until 15 July 03. They weren't home long. There are issues, because of dep tempo. The command climate survey I conducted in September showed that 40% of the unit had low morale because of dep tempo, and we were one of the broken red line units, when the Secretary of Defense decided to establish red lines. We were one of the red lines that had to be waived by him, to come back so soon. The result of that was DEPORD came late. Stop Loss/Stop Move hit hard, and it was quite messy in December. We got our DEPORD on the 5th or 6th December, and we were deployed on the 7th of January.
It's not going to change. We're going to be here; we're going to do our mission; and we'll go home. I believe we need a force that can take control of external security, so we can focus on doing our jobs. I believe the MP's were responsible for the facility, and for some reason, they removed that from the MP's, and placed it on COL Pappas, the 205th MI Bde Commander. Shortly after that, COL Pappas decided to pull 165th MI Battalion from Balad, to help with that. Somealimplications are we have an ad hoc base staff. I've staffed a memo that COL as from the JTF, trying to get a garrison staff, because, right now, we're taking that out of hide. MI and MP brigades lack some of the expertise that a combat arms unit would have, like engineers, preventive medicine and some other things. We have 2 major areas we have to fix — one of those is standing water and drainage at the camp, which could be breeding sites for insects, and we have a lot of rubble, which is difficult to move, because of hazardous waste, there. The removal of that rubble and debris, I believe, would remove breeding ground for rodents.
I have an MP platoon, which is OPCON'd to me, 3rd platoon of the 170th MP Company. When 165th MI moved, they had some of their LRS capabilities taken away from them, so they put in a Request for Forces, and received an MP platoon. They man 2 of the 4 security towers I'm responsible for. They also provide convoy security.
My troops were trained on Geneva Hague as part of SRP. The good news about being in my unit is we've done Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Brigade SJA is very versed in that, and the nuances in Intel oversight. She gave a special class for interrogators, which focused on the aspects related to interrogating. Following the SRP, we had the DOD SJA come in and talk about interrogations in Afghanistan. That drove the point home that we have to do this right, because people will come back and ask questions. Also, one of my soldiers called into a radio talk show, and had been discussing ethics and all that. His concern was he wanted to do everything right. So, it was interesting to get feedback in that way, and to know that my soldiers have gotten the message.
If one of my soldiers were involved in an incident similar to what's rumored, I would notify my higher commander, and ask for someone outside the unit to conduct an investigation. I wouldn't want anyone to think we were trying to hide anything
The panel stopped, to discuss LTC Mks statements.
Finished with their discussion, the panel gave LTL a list of items, to be addressed, and brought back on a Sworn Statement.
SWORN STATEMENT
For use of this form, us AR 19045the proponent agency Is ODCSOPS
PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT
AUTHORITY: Title 10 USC Section 301;Titie 5 USC Section 2951X.O. 9397dated November 22,1943
!SSW.
PRINCIPAL PURPOSE: To provide commanders and law enforcement officials with means by which information may be accurately
ROUTINE USES: Your social security number Is used as an additional/alternate means of identification to facilitate filing and
DISCLOSURE: Disclosure of your social security number Is voluntary.
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