William Edwards - Inside Abu Ghraib: Memoirs of Two U.S. Military Intelligence Officers

A good friend of mine approached me and said, Paul, I have a friend of mine who is a former high ranking U.S. Army officer called Bill and he has a friend called Bob, who is also a high ranking officer. They have served in Iraq and might wish to use their stories to form the basis of a book. I have no further information as I did not wish to pry. I thanked my friend and contacted Bill.

Writing a book is similar to a marriage inasmuch as you will be spending several months with the clients and its essential that you all get along and have a warm platform of communication. Before committing to any book, I always request to have an in-depth conversation with the client, just to gauge whether I feel I can work with them long term. In less than five minutes, Bill gave me the whistle stop tour of his decorated military career, pinpointing some of the hair-raising moments from Abu Ghraib, and I instantly felt the sincerity and humility from the man. He then recommended a Zoom call with Bob.

On a parallel to Bill, Bob radiated with that similar warmth and honesty, again, sharing a few moments about Abu Ghraib, which confirmed the solid foundation for this book.

Putting aside the integrity of Bill and Bob, unique selling points are an essential factor of any manuscript. After shining a torch in a few corners and detailing a number of anecdotes which had previously not been publicized, Bob added one more gem: PaulTheres a number of sources out there which always talk about the soldiers downrange; however, a unique aspect that needs highlighting is the role of the wives back at base and the effects on the families. Bob was right. I conducted extensive research and this kind of information mainly came in the form of formal papers, presenting qualitative and quantitative data. In essence, with very little direct dialogue from the spouses and children. After those initial two conversations with Bill and Bob, I knew we had a lot of fresh material to bring to the readers table.

Working with military personnel has been a fantastic experience as they would always assist in any questions I had and any necessary bridges to facilitate peripheral interviews for research. It was essential to speak with certain key members of the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion and more poignantly, Bill and Bobs families. Within hours of requesting a detailed conversation with any of them, either Bill or Bob had set up the line of communication. That primary research is essential in bringing unique content to the table, but also adding color to existing anecdotes.

The writing process took around eight months from blank page to draft manuscript. I hope you enjoy walking in the shoes of Colonel William Edwards and Major General Robert P. Walters, Jr., as much as I did.

Paul Zanon

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This book is a collection of personal memoirs from Major General Robert P. Walters, Jr., and Colonel William Edwards, presented with author Paul Zanon.

Speaking in the first person in a candid and often raw form, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Walters and Major Edwards (their ranks at the time of serving in Abu Ghraib) give their recollections of one of the most abhorrent prisons in history. Their narrative pulls no punches as it outlines their respective journeys to Iraq and their eventual deployment to Abu Ghraib in November 2003 under the banner of the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion.

Assigned the nearly impossible task of improving the security posture in unfathomable conditions, LTC Walters and Major Edwards shine a torch in a number of previously untouched corners, sharing firsthand anecdotes of death, destruction, but on occasions rib-tickling laughter. With extensive input from their wives and daughters and a healthy involvement from a small selection of officers who served alongside them, their story will evoke emotions on several levels.