The Wire

The US Government last week announced new military training on following legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield in response to the continued investigation into the deaths of two dozen civilians at Haditha. A US military court also found US army dog handler, Sergeant Santos Cardona, guilty of assaulting an inmate at the Abu Ghraib Prison. He was sentenced to 90 days hard labour without confinement. Human Rights First was at the trial and report that Sergeant Cardona thought that the use of dogs against prisoners was part of US Army procedures. The incident highlights the need for the introduction of the US Army Field Manual,that was to be released in May but is yet to be distributed. Stephanie Raison spoke to Human Rights First Washington Director, Elisa Massimino, about the need for ethics training in the US military.