How do you connect the horrendous acts of abuse on detainees in the Abu Graib prison scandal with the innocent acts of the girls on a local high school cheerleading squad? Well, that comparison would throw even the most grotesque triple-X pornographer for a loop. But it did not faze the ringleader of the light-stick-ass-plunging, naked-pyramid-stacking, masturbation-evoking, genital-shocking Charles Graner.

The comparison between cheerleaders and Abu Graib abuses also didn’t stop Graner’s attorney, Guy Womack, from stating during the trial, “Don’t cheerleaders all over America form pyramids every day? Is that torture?” Well, I’m not aware of the naked-cheerleader pyramids in the high schools of America, but it sounds like a money-maker for Hugh Hefner.

Graner was recently found guilty of the Abu Graib prison abuses and sentenced by a jury to 10 years in prison. This is a step in the right direction. I have several close friends in the military, one of whom is currently serving in Iraq. The majority of the military are good people, but bottom-feeding scum like Charles Graner denigrate the military’s name and should always be punished.

I am shocked to hear on my radio show that some people still come to the defense of Graner, saying we have to do whatever we can, including torture, to get information out of “enemy combatants.” Well, first of all, the only thing that “enemy combatants” means is that the captured POW wasn’t wearing a military uniform on the “battlefield.” Accordingly, outrageous defenders of Graner’s torturous actions say he doesn’t have to be held accountable in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, which are the international laws basically dictating that you can’t do whatever you want to a prisoner, including acts of torture.

These laws were put into place so that when our soldiers get captured, they have less of a chance of being treated in the same way Graner and the rest of his gang treated the Iraqi detainees. Oh, and by the way, it was later found by non-partisan investigations that many of the “prisoners” at Abu Graib weren’t guilty of any crime and had no connections to terrorism whatsoever.

Others defend Graner’s torturous actions by saying, “Well, the terrorists chop off our heads every day, so why should we treat them in any more of a humane way?” That’s an easy one. Because if we proclaim to have the moral high ground over the terrorists, then we can’t stoop to the level of people who chop off heads. In addition, the Abu Graib scandal was played out countless more times on Al Jazeera television than on any of the big three networks in America, invigorating increased anti-Americanism throughout the world and the beheadings that followed in Iraq.

Charles Graner proved a horrible, sadistic human being and is being punished for it. It is encouraging to learn that justice has been served in his case, at least in light of Graner. He claims that the higher-ups told him to go through with the torture, but any sane person knows that following every order you are given is ridiculous and proves Graner’s complete lack of morality, independence, integrity and judgment.

No rational member of the military would follow an order to sodomize someone with a light stick, force them to masturbate, starve them for weeks, make them defecate on themselves or shock their genitals. However, if orders from the higher-ups in the military are condoning this activity, then we must confront these people and fix the problem immediately so the military’s good name is not further tarnished.

The future image of our country depends on holding people accountable for their actions. In Graner’s case, he has been made a solid example and has shown others around the world that this kind of grotesque, evil activity will not be tolerated by the United States of America, and if it happens, it will be prosecuted. There are always some bad people in any institution, and the American military is not infallible. I’m proud to say our country is locking up an evil criminal that will be dishonorably discharged and no longer represent the United States military. We don’t need criminals like Charles Graner trying to invent a new Pulp Fiction-like sex scene in the name of our troops.

Casey Hoff ([email protected]) is a UW student and the host of “New Ground with Casey Hoff,” live Monday through Friday, 9-11 a.m., on Talk Radio 1670 WTDY.