Notorious Abu Ghraib guard released from prison

[WhiteTara]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A former guard termed a ringleader in the physical abuse and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was released from prison Saturday.

Charles Graner Jr., a U.S. Army reservist, served 6 ½ years of his 10-year term at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, said Army spokesperson Rebecca Steed.

Graner, from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, was credited with good conduct.

snip

"I didn't enjoy it," Graner testified. "A lot of it was wrong. A lot of it was criminal."

During the court-martial, the defense contended military police were following orders to "soften up" prisoners for interrogation.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/06/abu.ghraib.release/

---

And still the monkey gets drunk on the weekends and the heartless dick gets to make nasty comments and rummy is still a dummy. But hey, Charles Graner went to prison.

[Cleita]

1. Now that the cat is out of the bag that Rummy

knew about and orchestrated all our torture sites, why isn't the Dept. of Justice investigating this?

[bluestateguy]

2. Is he ineligible for veterans benefits if he was dishonorably discharged?

Will taxpayers have to pay for his health care?

[jmowreader]

4. He is ineligible for veterans benefits

Among other things...

He cannot call himself a "veteran."

He has no access to VA medical care, the GI bill, or college aid.

He can't receive any form of government aid.

He probably can't get a loan from a bank.

He can't apply for unemployment benefits.

He can't vote. He can't hold public office, and he can't serve on a jury.

Nor can he own a firearm.

Or apply for a lot of jobs.

In other words, he's completely screwed. Which, in this case, is good.

[24601]

9. There is nothing in the Constitution barring him from serving in

Congress or as President/VP or as a federal judge/justice. Where qualifications for federal offices are spelled out, a criminal record is not mentioned as either a plus or a minus.

In fact, only through impeachment may an individual be barred from future federal office. Although I suppose that the death penalty would achieve it de facto if not de jure.

[lunatica]

10. He can reveal the truth though

[happyslug]

14. He is a resident of Pennsylvania, he CAN vote since he is out of prison

Pennyslyvania, like many other states do NOT forbid felons from voting upon release from prison,

List of States that permit ex-felons from voting and states that permit ex-felons to vote:
http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=286

[bahrbearian]

3. Good thing we got the bad apple.

[Hubert Flottz]

8. Meanwhile General Miller enjoys his retirement with full military

bennies.

Edit to add...

Retired United States Army Major General Geoffrey D. Miller

Snip...

Abu Ghraib prison scandal

In August 2003, Miller was sent to Iraq by the Department of Defense to help get more information out of Iraqi prisoners. In September, Miller submitted a report that recommended "GTMO-ising" their approach - combining the detention and interrogation units at Abu Ghraib into the Theater Joint Interrogation and Detention Center. Specifically, Miller suggested that prison guards be used to "soften up" prisoners for interrogations.

In his final report on the prison abuse, General Antonio Taguba blamed Miller's recommendations for the abuse at Abu Ghraib, and noted that using military police for interrogation was a breach of official policy. Miller denies that he was specifically ordering guards to humiliate and torture prisoners to get confessions out of them.

After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse story broke in March 2004, Brigadier General Janis Karpinski was suspended and Miller was appointed the deputy commanding general for detainee operations for Multinational Forces in Iraq. In this role, Miller reports directly to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez. Since his appointment, Miller has vowed to reduce the number of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, adhere to military laws as well as the Geneva Convention, investigate allegations of abuse, and reform the Iraqi prison system. He banned the use of hoods on prisoners during transport and set up a new system to allow prisoners to have visitors.

Since the investigation of abuses at Abu Ghraib, some have suggested that Miller encouraged abusive tactics. In an interview with BBC Radio, former prison commander Janis Karpinski claimed that Miller told her to treat prisoners "like dogs" in the sense that "if you allow them to believe at any point that they are more than a dog then you've lost control of them".<7> Major General Miller denies that he ever made the comparison. Read More...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_D._Miller

[MADem]

5. He will do one of two things.

He'll either change his name and disappear after he serves his probation, or he'll run around to all the news outlets giving interviews to try to rehabilitate himself.

If he was going to do any photographing and recording, he should have recorded those CIA or other INTEL guys giving him the "illegal orders" rather than engage in the reprehensible behavior that he was convicted for. And he should be ashamed for ordering so many subordinates, who also paid for their conduct, to follow his idiotic lead.

He wasn't a child--he was an experienced civilian prison guard. He knew better.

If he didn't enjoy it, why did he take so many "frat house" pictures of everyone smirking and laughing?

[6000eliot]

6. The bigger shame is that only a few low-level people will ever pay for this.

[Hubert Flottz]

7. They should have followed that chain to Bush's brain...

Everyone all the way up the chain of command to Karl are war criminals and Obama let them slide. "Human Rights" your ass!

America, Beacon of Bullshit!

[sarcasmo]

11. Should have been Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld in jail not these patsies.

[AlphaCentauri]

12. Imagine this guy been Castro or Gaddafi's soldier

who would be accused for Abu Ghraib?

[CanSocDem]

13. Lord of the Flies....

...kept coming to mind as I watched this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3NKikNcHM4


The SOP movie.

.

[Mr Dixon]

15. SAD

The real criminals always avoid prison; money and dirt keep the rich out of prison.