‘Using dogs to intimidate prisoners was OK’

The use of dogs to intimidate prisoners during interrogation at Abu Ghraib in Iraq was approved by military intelligence officers at the prison, and was one of several aggressive tactics they adopted, even without approval from senior military commanders, according to interviews gathered by Army investigators.

The documents assembled by Army investigators and obtained by The New York Times cite accounts by US dog handlers who say use of military working dogs in interrogations at Abu Ghraib was approved by Col. Thomas M. Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade. Previously, Pentagon and Army officials have said only the top US commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, could have approved the use of the animals for interrogations.

At least two non-commissioned officers, Sgts. Michael J. Smith and Santos A. Cardona, said they used unmuzzled military dogs to intimidate prisoners. They said they were acting under instructions from Pappas, the commander of the intelligence brigade. Both sergeants said Pappas had assured that the use of dogs in interrogation was permitted and did not require written authorisation. The memorandum for the record issued by the interrogation centre on Oct. 9 listed the ‘‘presence of working dogs’’ as ‘‘approved’’ on basis of authorisation from the interrogation officer.