Dirty Sanchez

Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez personally authorized the use of dogs in detainee interrogations, although he testified to Congress that he had not done so:
 

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. commander in Iraq, allowed dogs to be present during interrogations beginning Sept. 14, 2003. In an update of his order a month later, Sanchez allowed dogs to be used at the discretion of interrogators without his specific approval, according to classified documents obtained by USA TODAY. It was in the next two months that abuses at Abu Ghraib were documented, including use of dogs to terrify naked prisoners.

In April 2003, Rumsfeld had issued an order banning the use of dogs during interrogations at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a technique he had allowed there previously. But Rumsfeld's order applied only to Guantanamo, so commanders in Iraq were not told about the restriction.

[snip]

Sanchez has testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that he never approved a request for permission to use dogs in an interrogation. But his rule said his permission was not required. In an Oct. 12, 2003, memo to prison commanders and military intelligence officials, Sanchez wrote, "Should military working dogs be present during interrogations, they will be muzzled and under control of a handler at all times to ensure safety." The memo contains no requirement that Sanchez or any senior officer be consulted in advance. There was no requirement that dogs be muzzled outside of interrogation rooms.

[snip]

Army Col. Thomas Pappas, who headed the military intelligence brigade running interrogations at Abu Ghraib, told an Army investigator early this year that interrogators and translators told him, " 'It's not very intimidating if they're muzzled.' And my response to that was, 'Well, then don't use them. Find another way.' "