Ex-Gitmo chief takes military 5th on abuse

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152AP_Guantanamo_Abuse_Investigation.html

Thursday, January 12, 2006 · Last updated 2:45 p.m. PT

Ex-Gitmo chief takes military 5th on abuse

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- The former commander of the Guantanamo
Bay detention center, who has been tied to the
prisoner abuse scandal, is declining to answer
questions in two courts-martial cases involving the
use of dogs during interrogations.

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller invoked the military's
version of the Fifth Amendment right to not
incriminate himself, a move that was defended Thursday
by the military's top commander.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, told Pentagon reporters that while he expects
military leaders to do the right thing, that does not
mean they should lose their constitutional rights.

Pace said officers should "tell the truth as they know
it." He added, "We expect our leaders to lead by
example. But we do not expect them to give up their
individual rights as people."

Miller's lawyer, Michelle Crawford, said Thursday that
her client repeatedly has answered questions about the
matter in various investigations, interviews and
congressional testimony. In May 2004, for example, he
told the Senate Armed Services Committee there "was no
systemic abuse at Guantanamo at any time."

"From our perspective, nothing has changed since he
began answering these questions. In fact, not a single
new question has been posed," Crawford said in an
e-mail.

She added that "Miller's decision to stop answering
these same questions and exercise his Article 31
rights was made wholly independent of any
investigations, inquiries, or other proceedings that
may be pending."

Military investigators proposed disciplining Miller
for failing to oversee the interrogation of a prisoner
who was suspected of being involved in the Sept. 11
attacks. But that recommendation was overruled by a
military commander who concluded Miller didn't violate
any U.S. laws or policies.

The commander referred the matter to the Army's
inspector general, who looked into it and closed the
case.

His decision to invoke his Article 31 rights - which
are similar to the Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination - affects two general court-martial
proceedings scheduled for the coming weeks.

Sgt. Michael Smith and Sgt. Santos Cardona are facing
courts-martial in connection with charges they used
their dogs to frighten detainees at the Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq. The two dog handlers, attached to the
320th Military Police Battalion, were charged with
dereliction of duty and maltreatment of detainees.

Smith told investigators in February 2004 that he and
Cardona used their unmuzzled dogs to help the military
intelligence unit with interrogations.

Miller, who recently requested retirement, took
command of the Guantanamo detention center in Cuba in
late 2002 with a mandate to get more and better
information from prisoners.

In August 2003, the Pentagon sent Miller to inspect
interrogation procedures in Iraq, and he recommended
using the Guantanamo techniques on prisoners in Iraq
to improve intelligence on the growing anti-U.S.
insurgency. He was sent to Iraq in March 2004 to run
detainee operations.
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