U.S. military halts plan to return dog handler to Iraq

The U.S. Army decided on Friday to stop a plan to send a convicted dog handler, one of the American soldiers involved in abusing Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison, back to Iraq after his deployment was disclosed by the news media.

The decision came following a report by the Time magazine on Thursday that Santos Cardona, who was court-martialed for abusing Iraqi inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison, had been ordered to return to Iraq after serving his sentence.

Cardona, 32, a dog handler during his assignment at Abu Ghraib, was convicted of dereliction of duty and aggravated assault in connection with using a dog to intimidate a kneeling prisoner at the jail outside Baghdad.

He was sentenced in June to hard labor without confinement for 90 days, demoted from sergeant to specialist, and fined 7,200 U.S. dollars by a court martial.

News reports said Cardona left Monday for Kuwait, with the 23rd Military Police Company from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and from Kuwait he would proceed to Iraq.

The Army said it put the plan to a halt because the publicity about his conviction could make him a target for insurgents and put other soldiers in danger.

The Abu Ghraib scandal surfaced in April 2004 after pictures of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners were made public. So far 11 U.S. soldiers had been convicted of crimes in connection with the abuses between late 2003 and early 2004.

Source: Xinhua