Soldiers Made Game of Scaring Prisoners
Associated Press | March 15, 2006
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,91040,00.html
FORT MEADE, Maryland - An Army dog handler charged with abusing detainees
at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq said he was competing with another canine team
to frighten the prisoners into soiling themselves, a Soldier testified at a
court-martial Tuesday.
The testimony on the second day of the trial was the most damaging evidence
the government has presented against Sgt. Michael J. Smith.
Human rights advocates say the trial could help clarify who approved the
harsh treatment that they say amounted to torture. Defense attorneys in
other Abu Ghraib cases have argued that the approvals stretched to the
Pentagon.
Sgt. John H. Ketzer, who had worked as an interrogator at the prison in
Iraq, testified that he followed the sounds of screaming to a cell where
Smith's black Belgian shepherd was straining against its leash and barking
at two cowering, teenage male detainees in a part of the prison reserved
for juveniles and women.
Ketzer said Smith laughed as he told Ketzer shortly thereafter, "My buddy
and I are having a contest to see if we can get them to (defecate on)
themselves because we've already had some (urinate on) themselves."
Under cross-examination, Ketzer said he had thought Smith was just joking
about the contest.
Ketzer's testimony came a day after a prosecutor, Maj. Matthew Miller, told
jurors in his opening statement that Smith and another dog handler, Sgt.
Santos A. Cardona, were rogue military policemen.
"We contend that there is no Soldier who would honestly and reasonably
believe that this conduct was lawful and authorized," Miller said Monday.
Smith, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is accused of using his dog to
harass, threaten and assault detainees in late 2003 and early 2004 - the
same period during which guards at Abu Ghraib subjected inmates to sexual
humiliation and other abuses documented in widely seen photographs.
Smith faces up to 24 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all 13 counts.
Cardona's trial is set for May 22.
Private Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II, who was convicted in 2004 of abusing
Abu Ghraib prisoners, testified he spoke with the dog handlers outside an
interrogation booth about the approval from Col. Thomas M. Pappas, who was
commander of military intelligence at the prison.
"They said it was all right - Col. Pappas had authorized the use of dogs as
long as they wore muzzles," Frederick said.
A defense attorney, Capt. Jason Duncan, countered that Pappas' instructions
were aimed at getting information from a detainee whom interrogators
considered a valuable source - a perception that Duncan said had been
communicated at least as high as Pappas' commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo
Sanchez.
Pappas, who was commander of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib, has been
reprimanded and fined for his role in the scandal. He is among the
potential defense witnesses.
Sanchez had authorized the use of muzzled dogs for interrogations in
September 2003, and then modified the policy in October to require prior
authorization.
Duncan said Steven Stefanowicz, a civilian contractor who directed
interrogations, had pressed for approval to use dogs after a prisoner said
to have been captured along with Saddam Hussein was brought to Abu Ghraib.
Another detainee, Ashraf Abdullah Al-Juhayshi, was alleged to have been an
al-Qaida agent.
"Everybody, to include Colonel Pappas, General Sanchez, was told the guy
was al-Qaida and he's a great resource to us, so requests were made to use
the dog as an interrogation technique on him," Duncan said.
Prosecutors presented as evidence Monday a series of photographs showing
Smith restraining an unmuzzled dog that appears to be snarling at
Al-Juhayshi.
The nine American Soldiers convicted so far in the Abu Ghraib scandal have
all been low-ranking Reservists.
Smith is charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with five
counts of maltreat of detainees, four counts of assault, two counts of
conspiracy to maltreat detainees, one count of dereliction of duty and one
count of indecency. The indecency allegation is that Smith had his dog lick
peanut butter off the genitals of a male Soldier and the breasts of a
female Soldier while another sergeant videotaped the act.
---
The Bush Regime: "A bunch of mindless jerks who'll be
the first against the wall when the revolution comes."
---
SCOTT MCCLELLAN - arrested for lewd behavior after witnesses report him
masturbating in a movie theatre during "Brokeback Mountain."
.
|
