A former warden of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq testified today that he attended a meeting in which the then-commander of the Guantanamo Bay prison recommended using military dogs for interrogation.
Maj. David Dinenna testified at the end of a preliminary hearing for two Army dog handlers accused of abusing Iraqi detainees. Dinenna said at a September 2003 meeting, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, the Guantanamo Bay commander, talked about the effectiveness of using the dogs.
"We understood that he was sent over by the secretary of defense," 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 chain of command and were not the actions of a few rogue soldiers, as the government claims.
Prosecutors have said Sgt. Santos A. Cardona and Sgt. Michael J. 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 attorneys contend their clients were following orders and that the charges should be dropped.
The investigating officer, Maj. 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.
AP