Army Dog Handler Facing Abu Ghraib Charges

[Rose Siding]

HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- The court-martial of an Army dog handler charged with abusing detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq could help clarify who approved the harsh treatment that human-rights advocates say amounted to torture.

Sgt. Michael J. Smith, 24, is accused of using his unmuzzled dog to harass, threaten and assault detainees in late 2003 and early 2004 -- the same period in which guards at the prison subjected inmates to sexual humiliation and other abuses documented in widely seen photographs.

Military justice experts and civil-rights activists expect Smith's attorneys to argue that his actions, documented in some of those Abu Ghraib photos, were condoned by superiors in a chain of command stretching to the Pentagon.

Prosecutors, however, have portrayed Smith and another dog handler, Sgt. Santos A. Cardona, as rogue military policemen who made a game of trying to frighten prisoners into urinating or defecating on themselves.

Smith's trial was set to begin Monday at Fort George G. Meade, midway between Baltimore and Washington. He faces up to 29 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all 14 counts. Cardona's trial is set for May 22.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-abu-ghraib-dog-handler,0,616735.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines