Jurors in Abu Ghraib Trial Served Overseas

[Rose Siding]

FORT HOOD, Texas -- The 10 men picked as jurors in the first Abu Ghraib prison abuse trial have all served in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

The four officers and six enlisted soldiers will hear opening statements Monday in the court-martial of Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of the scandal. All are also stationed at Fort Hood.

They will determine whether Graner, 36, of Uniontown, Pa., was illegally beating inmates or following orders to soften up the detainees for interrogation.

"This case involves terrorists and insurgents and the war on terrorism," defense attorney Guy Womack said. "We could not pick a truer jury of peers than to have a combat veteran tried by combat veterans."
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Graner, shown in some of the notorious photographs taken inside the Baghdad prison, was upbeat after the jury was picked Friday.

"The sun is shining, the sky is blue and this is America," he said. "Whatever happens is going to happen, but I still feel it's going to be on the positive side."

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