2 theories at Abu Ghraib trial: bad apple or big mess

An Army dog handler was part of a small crew of corrupt soldiers who enjoyed tormenting detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a prosecutor at his court-martial said in an opening statement Tuesday.

Photo: 2 theories at Abu Ghraib trial: bad apple or big mess

"This is a case about military policemen who were trained better and knew better and decided to do otherwise," Maj. Matthew Miller said.

But a defense lawyer said Sgt. Santos A. Cardona, who is charged with abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib, followed the law and obeyed orders at a time when the Pentagon was demanding intelligence from Iraq through a fractured chain of command.

Civilian attorney Harvey Volzer said in his opening statement that confusion ensued after Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then commander of the U.S. prison compound at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, visited Abu Ghraib in August 2003 and quickly recommended changes that some MPs perceived as putting them under the authority of military intelligence officers.

"No one had any earthly idea who controlled whom," Volzer said.

Compounding the problem, he said, was the absence of Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, then commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, who was in charge of military prisons in Iraq but who Volzer said was rarely at Abu Ghraib.

"You're looking for a chain of command that just doesn't exist," Volzer said.

Karpinski has been relieved of her command, reprimanded and demoted to colonel for her role in the prisoner abuse scandal.

Cardona, 32, of Fullerton, California, is accused of letting his tan Belgian shepherd, Duco, badly bite at least one detainee, Mohammed Bollendia, and competing with another dog handler to frighten detainees into soiling themselves. He also is accused of using his dog to harass and threaten detainee Kamel Miza'l Nayil in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Cardona faces up to 16Ѕ years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Maj. Miller said Cardona harassed prisoners for "nothing more than the entertainment of the accused and the enjoyment of the other corrupt cops serving on the night shift at Abu Ghraib."

Cardona, who was assigned to the 42nd Military Police Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is the second Army dog handler charged in the scandal. Sgt. Michael J. Smith, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was convicted at a court-martial in March of maltreatment, conspiracy, dereliction and an indecent act. He was sentenced to 179 days in prison.

Nine other low-ranking soldiers have been convicted of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib, in many cases by forcing them to assume painful or sexually humiliating positions while being photographed.

Earlier Tuesday, the judge, Marine Lt. Col. Paul H. McConnell rejected the government's request for a warrant to bring former Army specialist Megan M. Ambuhl Graner to court to testify against Cardona. Graner, who was among the first seven soldiers criminally charged in the Abu Ghraib scandal, did not show up in response to a subpoena, Maj. Christopher Graveline said.

McConnell said he could not enforce the subpoena because it ordered Graner to appear May 17 instead of May 22. The trial was once scheduled to start May 17 but it was postponed.

Graner pleaded guilty in October 2004 to dereliction of duty for failing to prevent or report the maltreatment. She was discharged from the Army without prison time, reports AP.

O.Ch.