Carolyn Wood
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Wood, United States Army
captain, is a military intelligence
officer who served in both Afghanistan
and Iraq
. She was implicated by the Fay Report
to have "failed" in several aspects of her command regarding her oversight of interrogators at Abu Ghraib. She was alleged by Amnesty International
to be centrally involved in the 2003 Abu Ghraib
and 2002 Bagram prisoner abuse
cases.
Wood previously served ten years as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant, before being commissioned as an officer.
Featured in the 2008 Academy award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side
.
Two prisoners, Dilawar and Habibullah
, were killed in custody in December. When Military Police
guards were charged with their beatings they tried to mitigate their responsibility by attempting to link the intelligence unit's expanded interrogation procedures as leading to such abuse. The MPs had been trained to use non-lethal force
on violent and combative detainees, including painful peroneal strike
s referred to as "compliance blows". These strikes are used in civilian law enforcement but were later determined to not be part of Army doctrine.
Their arguments failed to exonerate them but was readily accepted by critics and opponents of the U.S. side in the War on Terror
.
Many of the enhanced interrogation procedures, such as the use of barking dogs, were later overturned after review by military lawyers
. The practice of shackling a captive's hands above their heads was classified as criminal assault.
But, on legal advice, Wood invoked her right to protection against self-incrimination.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted speculation over Wood's role, addressing the concern that Wood had been unaware of the most extreme abuse of her subordinates, and addressing the concern that Wood had merely passed on authorization for the abuse from more senior officers.
The Hard Site was opened on August 25, 2003. This was intended as an isolation area to house detainees determined to be of intelligence value, but it was also used by MPs to isolate violent detainees. It became the location of the incidents that first provoked public controversy after criminal detainees were moved into the Hard Site for rioting, and then later revealed to have been humiliated by guards on the night shift.
As in Bagram, the accused guards claimed they were ordered to do this to soften detainees for interrogation. Wood testified in the pretrial hearing against Lynndie England
that the conduct went far beyond the intelligence orders she had given to the MPs at Abu Ghraib.
England later admitted the intelligence rules had played no role in the incident but the incident had already provoked a major Army inquiry into Army practices at Abu Ghraib.
Wood played a key role in drafting the interrogation rules that were issued from General Ricardo Sanchez
's office on September 14, 2003.
These were revised twice more, on legal advice that the originals could lead to violations of the Geneva Conventions. Many techniques remained, however, and some were to be permitted on a case-by-case basis only with General Sanchez's authorization. The Army inquiry concluded there was confusion on this matter under Captain Wood's leadership, and some interrogation techniques continued to be used without the required authorization.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee
:
's final mention of Wood contained the following findings:
When asked if she would have approved the use of dogs against detainees Wood testified: "Using an unmuzzled dog goes against the CG's (commanding general's) policy,"
s for the services she provided in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to a CBC
documentary on Abu Ghraib
a Bronze Star awarded to Wood following the deaths in custody was awarded for valor.
According to the Arizona Daily Star
on March 26, 2005 Wood was still stationed at Fort Huachuca.
According to the CBC, Carolyn Wood was only a First Lieutenant when her company was sent to Bagram, and that her second Bronze Star was awarded to after her return from Abu Ghraib. The CBC said, on November 16, 2005 that Wood was still an interrogation instructor at the Army's military intelligence
instruction centre at Fort Huachuca
.
As of October 2008, CPT Wood remains on Active Duty, assigned to the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade
, and is the Company Commander of the Headquarters and Operations Company of the 527th Military Intelligence Battalion.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
captain, is a military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
officer who served in both Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. She was implicated by the Fay Report
Fay Report
A report commonly known as The Fay Report was appointed to look into the scandal at Abu Ghraib.General Paul Kern was the appointing authority for the report....
to have "failed" in several aspects of her command regarding her oversight of interrogators at Abu Ghraib. She was alleged by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
to be centrally involved in the 2003 Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Beginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...
and 2002 Bagram prisoner abuse
Bagram torture and prisoner abuse
In 2005, The New York Times obtained a 2,000-page United States Army report concerning the homicides of two unarmed civilian Afghan prisoners by U.S. armed forces in 2002 at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Bagram, Afghanistan. The prisoners, Habibullah and Dilawar, were chained to the...
cases.
Wood previously served ten years as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant, before being commissioned as an officer.
Featured in the 2008 Academy award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side is a 2007 documentary film directed by American filmmaker Alex Gibney, and produced by Eva Orner and Susannah Shipman, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature...
.
Bagram Abuse controversy, December 2002
In July 2002 Wood was in command of about 20 analysts and interrogators in the intelligence unit located at Bagram Collection Point. She expanded the interrogation procedures with the use of stress positions, isolation for up to thirty days, removal of clothing, and exploitation of detainees' phobias, such as the use of barking dogs.Two prisoners, Dilawar and Habibullah
Habibullah
Mullah Habibullah was an Afghan who died while in US custody on December 4, 2002.His death was one of those classed as a homicide, though the initial military statement described his death as due to natural causes.Habibullah's brother was a Taliban leader....
, were killed in custody in December. When Military Police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
guards were charged with their beatings they tried to mitigate their responsibility by attempting to link the intelligence unit's expanded interrogation procedures as leading to such abuse. The MPs had been trained to use non-lethal force
Non-lethal force
Non-lethal weapons, also called less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than are conventional weapons...
on violent and combative detainees, including painful peroneal strike
Peroneal strike
A peroneal strike is a temporarily disabling blow to the side of the leg, just above the knee. The attacker aims at the common peroneal nerve, roughly a hand span above the knee, towards the back of the leg...
s referred to as "compliance blows". These strikes are used in civilian law enforcement but were later determined to not be part of Army doctrine.
Their arguments failed to exonerate them but was readily accepted by critics and opponents of the U.S. side in the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
Many of the enhanced interrogation procedures, such as the use of barking dogs, were later overturned after review by military lawyers
Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army
The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at all levels of command. The Judge Advocate General's Legal Service includes judge advocates, warrant officers, paralegal noncommissioned...
. The practice of shackling a captive's hands above their heads was classified as criminal assault.
Invoked her right to protection against self-incrimination
Wood was called as a witness during the court martial of Willie Brand the first GI to be charged.But, on legal advice, Wood invoked her right to protection against self-incrimination.
The Arizona Daily Star quoted speculation over Wood's role, addressing the concern that Wood had been unaware of the most extreme abuse of her subordinates, and addressing the concern that Wood had merely passed on authorization for the abuse from more senior officers.
Abu Ghraib Abuse controversy, August–December 2003
Wood arrived in Abu Ghraib on August 4, 2003 and took the initiative to recommend the establishment of the Hard Site in Abu Ghraib based on her experience in Afghanistan.The Hard Site was opened on August 25, 2003. This was intended as an isolation area to house detainees determined to be of intelligence value, but it was also used by MPs to isolate violent detainees. It became the location of the incidents that first provoked public controversy after criminal detainees were moved into the Hard Site for rioting, and then later revealed to have been humiliated by guards on the night shift.
As in Bagram, the accused guards claimed they were ordered to do this to soften detainees for interrogation. Wood testified in the pretrial hearing against Lynndie England
Lynndie England
Lynndie Rana England is a former United States Army reservist who served in the 372nd Military Police Company. She was one of eleven military personnel convicted in 2005 by Army courts-martial in connection with the torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad during the occupation...
that the conduct went far beyond the intelligence orders she had given to the MPs at Abu Ghraib.
England later admitted the intelligence rules had played no role in the incident but the incident had already provoked a major Army inquiry into Army practices at Abu Ghraib.
Wood played a key role in drafting the interrogation rules that were issued from General Ricardo Sanchez
Ricardo Sanchez
Ricardo Sanchez is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for the Senate election in 2012 for the seat of retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.-Early life and education:...
's office on September 14, 2003.
These were revised twice more, on legal advice that the originals could lead to violations of the Geneva Conventions. Many techniques remained, however, and some were to be permitted on a case-by-case basis only with General Sanchez's authorization. The Army inquiry concluded there was confusion on this matter under Captain Wood's leadership, and some interrogation techniques continued to be used without the required authorization.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
:
- Army Col. Marc Warren, a U.S. military lawyer, told the committee that Woods, who is a military intelligence officer, developed the list of techniques after researching methods "used by interrogators in other places," or described in "any document that we could find" on Army interrogation rules. Warren conceded that the methods Woods came up with, if used in certain combinations, "may very well ... violate the Geneva Conventions."
Findings of the Fay/Jones Report
The Fay/Jones ReportFay Report
A report commonly known as The Fay Report was appointed to look into the scandal at Abu Ghraib.General Paul Kern was the appointing authority for the report....
's final mention of Wood contained the following findings:
- Finding: CPT Carolyn A. Wood, Officer in Charge, Interrogation Control Element (ICE), Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center, 519 MI BDE A preponderance of evidence supports that CPT Wood failed to do the following:
- Failed to implement the necessary checks and balances to detect and prevent detainee abuse. Given her knowledge of prior abuse in Afghanistan, as well as the reported sexual assault of a female detainee by three 519 MI BN Soldiers working in the ICE, CPT Wood should have been aware of the potential for detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. As the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) she was in a position to take steps to prevent further abuse. Her failure to do so allowed the abuse by Soldiers and civilians to go undetected and unchecked.
- Failed to assist in gaining control of a chaotic situation during the IP Roundup, even after SGT Eckroth approached her for help.
- Failed to provide proper supervision. Should have been more alert due to the following incidents:
-
-
- An ongoing investigation on the 519 MI BN in Afghanistan.
- Prior reports of 519 MI BN interrogators conducting unauthorized interrogations.
- SOLDIER29's reported use of nudity and humiliation techniques.
- Quick Reaction Force (QRF) allegations of detainee abuse by 519th MI Soldiers.
- Failed to properly review interrogations plans which clearly specified the improper use of nudity and isolation in interrogations and as punishment.
- Failed to ensure that Soldiers were properly trained on interrogation techniques and operations.
- Failed to adequately train Soldiers and civilians on the ICRP.
-
- Recommendation: This information should be forwarded to CPT Wood's chain of command for appropriate action.
Courts Martial of the dog handlers
In late May 2006 Wood testified at the courts martial of the Abu Ghraib dog handlers that all personnel at the prison had signed General Sanchez's memo authorizing extended interrogation techniques.When asked if she would have approved the use of dogs against detainees Wood testified: "Using an unmuzzled dog goes against the CG's (commanding general's) policy,"
Military career
Captain Wood was awarded two Bronze StarBronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
s for the services she provided in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to a CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
documentary on Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib
The city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...
a Bronze Star awarded to Wood following the deaths in custody was awarded for valor.
On January 22, 2003, Capt. Carolyn A. Wood receives a Bronze Star for “exceptional meritorious service” as the head of military intelligence interrogators at Bagram. She and her small platoon of 15 interrogators from the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion returned from Afghanistan to their base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina earlier in the month. On May 8, 2003, Wood receives her second Bronze Star
According to an article published in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on June 23, 2004, six months after her withdrawal from Abu Ghraib Wood was taking an advanced interrogation course at Fort HuachucaFort HuachucaFort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, the Army's primary intelligence training centre.The Guardian reported that although Wood hadn't been charged, she had been allocated a military lawyer.
According to the Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
on March 26, 2005 Wood was still stationed at Fort Huachuca.
According to the CBC, Carolyn Wood was only a First Lieutenant when her company was sent to Bagram, and that her second Bronze Star was awarded to after her return from Abu Ghraib. The CBC said, on November 16, 2005 that Wood was still an interrogation instructor at the Army's military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
instruction centre at Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
.
As of October 2008, CPT Wood remains on Active Duty, assigned to the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade
501st Military Intelligence Brigade (United States)
The 501st Military Intelligence Brigade is a United States Army formation, assigned to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command under the Operational Control of U.S. Forces Korea located in South Korea. The 501st MI Brigade conducts Theater level multi-discipline intelligence, Aerial ISR,...
, and is the Company Commander of the Headquarters and Operations Company of the 527th Military Intelligence Battalion.
External links
- Army Details Scale of Abuse of Prisoners in an Afghan Jail, New York Times, March 12, 2005
- An open letter to US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
- Tim GoldenTim GoldenTim Golden is a Republican member of the Georgia State Senate, representing the 8th District since 1998. He was previously the Democratic Minority Caucus Chairman...
, Abuse case falters, long after 2 Afghans died, New York Times, February 13, 2006 - Failures of Imagination, Columbia Journalism ReviewColumbia Journalism ReviewThe Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
, 2005, issue 5