Fraternity pranks are done to willing subjects who want to join a fraternity. The Iraqi prisoners weren't volunteers. One way we seek to assure decent treatment for American pows is to treat the prisoners we take humanely. It's worse than criminal to abuse prisoners, it's stupid in that it increases the risks for Americans taken prisoner. The military was already proceeding with criminal investigations of Abu Ghraib before the press ran with the story. They didn't regard this as a prank. All Rush needed to so was ask around within the military, it shouldn't be difficult for him to do so.
"One way we seek to assure decent treatment for American pows is to treat the prisoners we take humanely."
... and that concept has worked so well with these people, like it did with the Japanese in WWII ...
Of course it was a criminal act, but to even compare it in any way to how they already have treated our people is to make an attempt to justify the actions of the enemy.
Do you seriously believe their words that the beheadings were in retaliation to these criminal frat pranks ?
Are you attempting to raise the level of criminality of certain of our soldiers up to that of the level displayed by the leaders of the enemy ?