General to testify in new Abu Ghraib trial

updated 2:07 p.m. ET April 18, 2006

WASHINGTON - A military judge Tuesday ordered an Army general who instituted tougher interrogation policies at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to testify at the court martial of a dog handler in the prison scandal.

The judge, Marine Lt. Col. Paul McConnell, agreed to allow attorneys to question Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller during the trial of Sgt. Santos A. Cardona, who is accused of using his dog to abuse inmates at Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

Miller would become the highest-ranking military officer to testify in the Abu Ghraib scandal. Early this year, Miller said he was refusing to answer questions, but he is prepared to testify now, Cardona’s lawyer said.

McConnell rejected a request from Cardona’s lawyers to summon Defense Secretary Donald  Rumsfeld to testify.

Cardona’s lawyers say that Miller, who was sent to Abu Ghraib by Rumsfeld shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, has valuable testimony about the interrogation techniques that led to prisoner abuse.

Miller was commander of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when he was dispatched to Abu Ghraib in 2003 as the U.S. military sought intelligence from prisoners in an effort to stamp out a growing insurgency.

Evan Vucci / AP Army Sgt. Santos A. Cardona

In August 2004, an independent review panel found that Miller’s call at Abu Ghraib for strong, command-wide interrogation policies contributed to a decision authorizing a dozen aggressive interrogation techniques beyond the traditional ones specified in the Army Field Manual.

In addition, dog teams were sent to Abu Ghraib in November 2003 on Miller’s recommendation.

In January, Miller invoked the military’s version of the Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself.

Cardona, a 31-year-old soldier from Fullerton, Calif., is scheduled to go on trial next month. Cardona faces charges of maltreatment of detainees and dereliction of duty.

Background to the scandal
A month ago, another Army dog handler at Abu Ghraib, Sgt. Michael Smith, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received six months behind bars for using his snarling dog to torment Iraqi prisoners. Smith and Cardona worked together.

The Abu Ghraib prison scandal erupted during the presidential campaign in the spring of 2004 when photographs of the abuse were leaked to the news media.

Nine other soldiers have been convicted of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Critics have called for an outside investigation into whether high-ranking military officers and civilian Defense Department officials condoned abuse at the prison.

Former Cpl. Charles Graner Jr. received the longest sentence — 10 years in prison.

Lynndie England, a 23-year-old reservist photographed giving a thumbs-up in front of naked prisoners, is serving three years behind bars.

Smith’s trial saw the highest-ranking officer yet take responsibility for abuse at Abu Ghraib.

Col. Thomas M. Pappas, the former top-ranking intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib, testified under a grant of immunity at Smith’s trial that he failed to set appropriate controls for the use of dogs at the Baghdad-area prison.

Pappas testified that he approved a one-time use of muzzled dogs inside interrogation booths but he later learned he lacked the authority to give such an order.

Pappas was reprimanded, fined and relieved of his command for his role in the scandal.

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