The dog was just barking

When I read about Bush's press conference in yesterday's paper, I saw an article talking about the military trial of a dog handler stationed at Abu Ghraib. I don't live under a rock-- why was this my first exposure to this trial? I read the paper a lot, and watch the news every day. I missed the little reporting done on this particular trial.

In today's paper, his sentence is reported. You can read about it here.
He received a sentence of 179 days, for using his canine charge to scare prisoners and even having a contest with another handler to try and make the prisoners urinate and defecate on themselves.

In the article I read yesterday, one of the defense attorneys is reported to have used the defense tactic that all that the dog did was bark at the prisoners. The breed of the dog the soldier handled was Belgian Sheperd. These type of dogs are not easy to train; they develop intense bonds with their humans and strive to please. His dog was unmuzzled and lunging at the prisoners. That's a bit more than barking, in my opinion.

The sentence this soldier received is a slap on the wrist. Eugene R. Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, is quoted as saying "...it's [the soldier's sentence] not impunity, but it's getting real close."