The former warden of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq testified on Wednesday that he attended a meeting in which the then-commander of the Guantanamo Bay prison recommended using military dogs for interrogation. Major David Dinenna testified at the end of a preliminary hearing for two US Army dog handlers accused of abusing Iraqi detainees. Dinenna said at a September 2003 meeting, Major General Geoffrey Miller, the Guantanamo Bay commander, talked about the effectiveness of using the dogs.
"We understood that he was sent over by the secretary of defence," Dinenna testified.
He said teams of trainers were sent to Abu Ghraib "to take these interrogation techniques, other techniques they learned at Guantanamo Bay and try to incorporate them in Iraq".
The statements bolstered defence claims that the use of dogs to terrify inmates were sanctioned high up the US chain of command and were not the actions of a few rogue soldiers, as the government claims.
Prosecutors have said Sgt Santos Cardona and Sgt Michael Smith used the dogs in a competition to frighten prisoners into urinating on themselves. The government asked for a court martial on criminal charges.
But their defence lawyers contend the Sergeants were following orders and that the charges should be dropped.
The investigating officer, Major Glenn Simpkins, will take up to two weeks to consider the evidence and make a recommendation as to whether any charges should be dropped, and how any remaining charges should be dealt with.
On Tuesday, witnesses testified that military dogs bit at least two detainees at the prison in Iraq, one severely enough to require stitches.
Witnesses said the unmuzzled dogs were used to terrify inmates at the direction of Colonel Thomas Pappas, the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at the prison, and Steven Stefanowicz, a civilian contractor who directed interrogations.
A defence lawyer told reporters the approval came from top officials as the army tried to bring to Iraq some of the techniques that human-rights advocates have criticised at Guantanamo Bay.
"They were trying to Gitmo-ize Abu Ghraib," said Harvey Volzer, civilian lawyer for Cardona, 31.
The government's star witness was Pte Ivan "Chip" Frederick II, who testified by telephone from a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is serving an eight-year sentence for his role in the Abu Ghraib scandal.
He said Cardona's barking dogs frightened one inmate so much that he ran to Specialist Charles Graner Jr, a guard and central figure in the Abu Ghraib scandal who was sentenced in January to 10 years behind bars.
As the inmate flailed at Graner, Cardona released his dog, which bit the detainee on the left thigh, Frederick said. The inmate then ran toward a locked exit gate and Cardona again released the dog, which bit the man on the right thigh, Frederick said.
Another witness, Pte Sabrina Harman, said she stitched the wound on the right leg - 12 stitches, according to the inmate's statement to investigators.
"It seemed like a lot of blood," Harman testified.
Harman said she then posed for a thumbs-up photograph, shot by Graner, that is among the prosecution exhibits. She is serving a six-month sentence for her role in the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Cardona and Smith, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are charged with cruelty and maltreatment, conspiracy to maltreat detainees, aggravated assault, dereliction of duty and making false official statements.
Poster Comment:
Witnesses said the unmuzzled dogs were used to terrify inmates at the direction of Colonel Thomas Pappas, the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at the prison, and Steven Stefanowicz, a civilian contractor who directed interrogations.
Steven Stefanowicz, John Israel are Mossad. Read about these and other Ghraib/Gitmo Jews...
It's interesting that Sivits is mentioned in the Taguba report – the Army's own internal assessment of the situation at Abu Ghraib – only once, and that is when he is listed as a "suspect." His specific crime is nowhere noted. On the other hand, the report does affix primary blame on four individuals: "Specifically, I suspect that COL Thomas M. Pappas, LTC Steve L. Jordan, Mr. Steven Stephanowicz, and Mr. John Israel were either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib (BCCF) and strongly recommend immediate disciplinary action as described in the preceding paragraphs as well as the initiation of a Procedure 15 Inquiry to determine the full extent of their culpability."
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=2537