General denies urging use of dogs in interrogations

By Bill Trott

FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the highest ranking officer to testify in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, said on Wednesday he never suggested using military dogs in interrogations of Iraqi prisoners.

Miller was called to testify as a defense witness by a military police dog handler charged with using his dog to abuse prisoners at the jail outside Baghdad, one of a number of low-ranking troops prosecuted for ill-treatment of prison inmates.

But Miller's testimony appeared to undercut the defense of Sgt. Santos Cardona, 32, of Fullerton, California, who argues that he was acting with the consent of superior officers. He is charged with dereliction of duty and assaulting and threatening Iraqi detainees with his Belgian shepherd.

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In about 40 minutes of testimony Wednesday, he denied recommending the use of military dogs to threaten interrogation subjects.

"We discussed using dogs only for control -- not for interrogation," Miller said under cross-examination.

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