Guilty Abu Ghraib Guard Joins Prison Cheerleading Squad
(2005-01-16) — Charles Graner, the Abu Ghraib guard sentenced yesterday to 10 years for Iraqi prisoner abuse, said he’ll “make the best of a bad situation” by signing up for recreational and vocational training activities at the military prison, including cheerleading and classes in modeling.
“It will be fascinating to get to know prison life from the other side of the bars,” said Mr. Graner, whose sentence includes a demotion to private, dishonorable discharge and loss of all pay and benefits. “I’ve always been athletic, so cheerleading is a natural choice for me and after my prison term, I hope to pursue a career as a male model. My face is already recognized around the world thanks to my amateur modeling endeavors.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress reacted to the Graner verdict and sentencing by questioning whether those decisions were actually made by the military jury.
“We believe that the jury was simply obeying orders which came from the highest levels in the Pentagon,” said one unnamed Senate aide. “Don’t be surprised if this week you hear calls for Bush to fire Rumsfeld over this new scandal.”
