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TechnoratiVictim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR
A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.
Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.
"Don't plan on working back in Iraq. There won't be a position here, and there won't be a position in Houston," Jones says she was told.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave.
"It felt like prison," says Jones, who told her story to ABC News as part of an upcoming "20/20" investigation. "I was upset; I was curled up in a ball on the bed; I just could not believe what had happened."
Finally, Jones says, she convinced a sympathetic guard to loan her a cell phone so she could call her father in Texas.
"I said, 'Dad, I've been raped. I don't know what to do. I'm in this container, and I'm not able to leave,'" she said. Her father called their congressman, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas.
"We contacted the State Department first," Poe told ABCNews.com, "and told them of the urgency of rescuing an American citizen" -- from her American employer.
Poe says his office contacted the State Department, which quickly dispatched agents from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to Jones' camp, where they rescued her from the container.
According to her lawsuit, Jones was raped by "several attackers who first drugged her, then repeatedly raped and injured her, both physically and emotionally."
Jones told ABCNews.com that an examination by Army doctors showed she had been raped "both vaginally and anally," but that the rape kit disappeared after it was handed over to KBR security officers.
A spokesperson for the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security told ABCNews.com he could not comment on the matter.
Over two years later, the Justice Department has brought no criminal charges in the matter. In fact, ABC News could not confirm any federal agency was investigating the case.
Legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law.
"It's very troubling," said Dean John Hutson of the Franklin Pierce Law Center. "The way the law presently stands, I would say that they don't have, at least in the criminal system, the opportunity for justice."
Congressman Poe says neither the departments of State nor Justice will give him answers on the status of the Jones investigation.
Asked what reasons the departments gave for the apparent slowness of the probes, Poe sounded frustrated.
"There are several, I think, their excuses, why the perpetrators haven't been prosecuted," Poe told ABC News. "But I think it is the responsibility of our government, the Justice Department and the State Department, when crimes occur against American citizens overseas in Iraq, contractors that are paid by the American public, that we pursue the criminal cases as best as we possibly can and that people are prosecuted."
Since no criminal charges have been filed, the only other option, according to Hutson, is the civil system, which is the approach that Jones is trying now. But Jones' former employer doesn't want this case to see the inside of a civil courtroom.
KBR has moved for Jones' claim to be heard in private arbitration, instead of a public courtroom. It says her employment contract requires it.
In arbitration, there is no public record nor transcript of the proceedings, meaning that Jones' claims would not be heard before a judge and jury. Rather, a private arbitrator hired by the corporation would decide Jones' case. In recent testimony before Congress, employment lawyer Cathy Ventrell-Monsees said that Halliburton won more than 80 percent of arbitration proceedings brought against it.
In his interview with ABC News, Rep. Poe said he sided with Jones.
"Air things out in a public forum of a courtroom," said Rep. Poe. "That's why we have courts in the United States."
In her lawsuit, Jones' lawyer, Todd Kelly, says KBR and Halliburton created a "boys will be boys" atmosphere at the company barracks which put her and other female employees at great risk.
"I think that men who are there believe that they live without laws," said Kelly. "The last thing she should have expected was for her own people to turn on her."
Halliburton, which has since divested itself of KBR, says it "is improperly named" in the suit.
In a statement, KBR said it was "instructed to cease" its own investigation by U.S. government authorities "because they were assuming sole responsibility for the criminal investigations."
"The safety and security of all employees remains KBR's top priority," it said in a statement. "Our commitment in this regard is unwavering."
Since the attacks, Jones has started a nonprofit foundation called the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which is dedicated to helping victims who were raped or sexually assaulted overseas while working for government contractors or other corporations.
"I want other women to know that it's not their fault," said Jones. "They can go against corporations that have treated them this way." Jones said that any proceeds from the civil suit will go to her foundation.
"There needs to be a voice out there that really pushed for change," she said. "I'd like to be that voice."
© 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
100 Comments so far
Show AllARPSDKEDARKI (thanks KEM) -- Perhaps you missed my comment at the top, when I said in part that the "original contract is likely to be null and void constitutionally, considering that her agreement was based on her legal status as a human being - not a sex slave."
ARPSDKEDARKI. ___ For any young woman or man, who may never have lived the "street life" of big cities, or any of innocent kids who are unaware of what the real world can be at that age. It is unfair to judge them for accepting a good paying job and then expect that they may know what they may be getting into. There shooooooould never have been a danger from her 'co-workers'.
I personaly would not judge her, I would judge the ones who raped and SODOMIZED her, and the ones who allowed such behavior to be prevelant within their exhaulted, wealthy corporation. Who is to say she knew, or she should have known, that if she accepted the job, she would be in danger of her life from her co-workers?
this may have already been observed:
while this event had to be unspeakable for this young woman, perhaps it begs some discussion about throwing her lot in with thieves and rapists. who did she think she was working with, Boy Scouts? Halliburton has been raping Iraq and stealing money from U.S. citizens in order to do it.
why would a 20-year old girl traipse across the globe to work in those conditions? for the almighty dollar, i guess.
i didn't like it when my mother said it to me, but "all actions have consequences." did she deserve it - NO! was it likely to happen - yes. was it even more likely that she would get no justice - certainly. this is another example of the naivete'and hubris of young americans.
http://www.free-press-release.com/submit/
This link is to the submit page on free press releases dot com.
Write a brief but descriptive first paragraph listing your congressperson's name etc…paste this article in…and submit the press release..
These free releases work wonders, and get printed all over the world.
This link is to the press release I just created in 2 minutes…got 2 minutes?
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200712/1197341208.html
Sorry suprize outrage of course when an individual case becomes public knowledge emotions engage and overflow. Sad that we haven't understood what has been going on in our name for years. Do you really find it hard to believe that companies and individuals will go to whatever means necessary to keep bad PR (as in Public Relations and Press) away from being associated with them? Really?
Rape a nation, rape a concept such as the Constitution or the truth, rape an enviornment and yet to rape the individual is something hard to figure yeah you got me there. Where did we think things were leading?
But evidently something within the system or what is left of it still works the call to daddy and the congressman got her out. How many others don't have the phone, daddy, or the congressman?
And who at Justice or some level of our so called government will deal with this just one more crime in the long line of crimes being done to and for us by the might and right which once was America?
On a personal level I am sorry for every one of these wrong doings and someday hope to brightly awaken from this long nightmare.
Peace Love Light & Forgiveness......out
"Jamie Leigh Foundation, which is dedicated to helping victims who were raped or sexually assaulted overseas while working for government contractors or other corporations."
Dear God, such a foundation needs to exist?
Whether someone is using this story for political reasons goes to the motivation of the one using it.
Stories like these need to be exposed to prevent them from happening again, and for justice's sake.
Will people politicize it? Probably, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be aired.
the next batch of women going over to iraq for work should make a pack and just wait til night, cut all the american males dick's off then feel safe.
Check out this excellent Harper's article, about the bigger issues (the laws they fail to enforce and why):
Bush League Justice
Namaste … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Mahatma Gandhi … … … … … … … … … …
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world »
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed »
These animals, including the heads of KBR, need the Old Yeller treatment!
That's alright, the entire Bush administration would make any decent person sick.
As a mother of three daughters I am beyond horrified, incredulous -- outraged. Ms. Jones, you are the true heroïne having come forward against this insane administration who permits crimes against humanity, crimes against its own citizens, crimes of torture, unbelievable pain to victims, their parents, and loved-ones, crimes that THEY, Bush/Cheney accuse others (other countries) of having committed! At this time, I have to assume that - Bush and Cheney both fathers of daughters! - would have to and WOULD - cover up such crimes even if committed against their OWN DAUGHTERS just to SAVE THEIR OWN HIDES! Excuse me, I'm getting sick.
There has been some fair coverage of this story today on the TV news channels, but they didn't mention the 'lost' medical records on any I saw. It did make KBR and Halliburton look bad. None of the suspects now work for the company and other women are now coming forward with like stories.
I wrote to my Paper the Baltimore Sun after reading this article ask why they dont look into stories like this and why do people take such a blind eye to what is happening. If this is not an inhumane crime what is??
Tijuana, the rape kit may have been "disappeared", but the medical chart notes should still be there. Or do you want to suggest that she raped and sodomized herself? She's lucky to be alive. That they put her in a container under guard without food or water tells me they were deciding what to do about her. And her best interest was not a consideration.
And for the record, very few women lie about being raped. There are too many cases of mistaken identity which is a different topic, and that is where preserving evidence is critical. I once had to pick someone out of a line up for armed robbery, and it's very hard and stressful. And the way the police set it up makes it even more difficult.
Violence begets violence. We should ALL be working for peace. There are no winners in war.
Whatever Paul Bremer did by giving so-called "immunity" to Americans in Iraq, it is completely illegal under the Geneva Conventions and the War Crimes Act.
Ms. Jones should take her case to the International Criminal Court, where it should and probably will be heard. Even retroactive immunity cannot save Busch Co. They will be held accountable!
Publish the names of all the mercenaries, locate each one in turn, take that loophole, twist it around his or her neck, and pull it tight.
This for Jamie:
I am tormented by the fact that you have received the same treatment meted out daily to those other innocents, the Iraqi peoples.
It is, frankly, time to face the facts of your existence;
1. you will not be given a fair hearing of your case.
2. you do not have evidence of the crime due to the
complicity of US Army "Doctors".
3. the perpetrators will not be apprehended pending an
impartial trial by jury for there is no Justice Dept.
I suggest this:
1. Can you personally identify the apes who are guilty
of the crime?
2. If so, solicit support in the proper places in
order to render the full consequences of their
actions upon the perpetrators as quickly as possible.
As you have surely become aware, there is no justice to be had in a system arranged expressly for the benefits of known mass murdering criminals who STILL remain atlarge.
Kem,
unfortunately pens are for hire too.
I don't understand why she should not be getting sympathy because she was an employee of KBR? What is the rational there, sorry I don't understand? What difference does it make, whom she did, or did not, work for?
Then another question. Why does her case, and how she has been so shabbily treated, have anything to do with a different incident? Just wondered?
BeForKids>Antidote, I agree with your observation about a gender difference, ...
Ok, so we seem to agree on the basic issue, that there is a difference in tone, which I would call marked.
BeForKids>... we don't stone women to death for getting raped. But we don't treat them very sympathetically either, as any rape trial witness can testify.
Ok, but what is curious to me is that here, she seems to be getting nothing but sympathy, despite her being in the employ of KBR. In the case of the men who were sent to their death in Falluja, it was quite different.
Are you serious?
I guess that if you go to work for KBR in Iraq, this is what you got coming.
I don't believe in the death penalty. I wish Timothy McViey for example was still in his small cell thinking about those innocent people, including many babies he wounded and killed.
The men who raped this girl should be severely punished, and so should any of their employers who are protecting them and any others who are covering for them. That act should hve been thoroughly investigated by the company right then, that day the hospital records proved that indeed she had been both raped and sodomized. This is absolutely incredible to me.
P/S Hope no one charges that I think it's icredible, and that is wrong for some reason.
Antidote, I agree with your observation about a gender difference, but not about half the bloggers here saying KBR or Blackwater employees got what they deserved. I believe only a few people people took that view. Not even vile murderers deserve to be killed. Although I am surprised at how many "progressives" favor the death penalty for certain crimes. I hope it isn't half the people who blog on these sites. I didn't get the impression it is, although I didn't do a head count.
Still, we live in one of the more uncivilized countries in the world. I don't say the most uncivilized, since we don't stone women to death for getting raped. But we don't treat them very sympathetically either, as any rape trial witness can testify.
EAZEFLYER, on one post you wrote this is an outrage and little else.
My gosh man, what is wrong with you? Is that all you feel? How can you call yourself progressive? It's a defense mechanism. Not caring is the problem and obviously you don't care. You are just playing politics. I am surprised at you, it is shocking, shame, shame shame on you. Maybe you shold post your comments somewhere else where you will be appreciated.
Hi Eazeflyer, isn't that all realy stupid for an adult to write such nonsense about you, about anyone? ___ Get the point there WTA?
I do wish there was something productive I personaly could do to help Jamie Jones, but all I know of to do, is let her know I too am sorry and to hope for all the best for her in the future. All I can do at this site, is express a total outrage of what our government has allowed our country to become and contine to do what I am currently doing in our community, to let all know about such things as this and help to have better people elected.
Hm. Have we noticed that she was an employee of KBR?
Recently the families of the Blackwater employees killed in Falluja have been suing their prior employer. It appears that they were negligently sent into action without proper support. In fact, it appears that they were deliberately sent out improperly defended. One of the people killed, Scott Helvenston, was in conflict with his immediate superior, Justin McQuown, over issues of cost-cutting and also over the apparent fact that McQuown, as training instructor, resented Helverston's higher level of knowledge. So, McQuown sent Helverston into Falluja with a team he had never trained with, with insufficient armor and without a tail-gunner. In other words, Helverston was deliberately murdered by his coworker. The family has been suing Blackwater and is facing difficulties related to the contract that the employee signed and questions of jurisdiction/arbitration. In some ways, not unlike the issue we find here.
On the other hand, the attitude in comments on the various CD articles about that case seemed to be at least 50% that this guy, and the other people killed with him, got what they deserved. A large portion of the comments took the position that they didn't give a damn about the outcome of the lawsuits.
What are we to make of this gender difference?
"If all one felt, was surprise that she was alive?" ___ Who is it that felt that?
One brief statement and some begin to assume. A blogger could have written, "I'm ashamed of what my goverment has allowed" and written nothing else. __ Wow, what type of a progressive do we have here and if that is all you feel, you must be a Blah- Blah- blah puke. What kind of sense does that make? To write a bunch of trash of one who expressed just one opinion and chose not to write a long blog.
Some seem to glory in an attempt to shove others noses in the mud by writing such trash and attempt to give an impression they are superior and then give lessons to some poor soul on what a progressive should be, by writing things that are only figments of their silly imagination. Assume, assume, assume and start a shit fight for no good reason.
I agreed with another here, that one here did indeed do just that, he behaves as a disruptive shill, or troll for the neo-cons. If he doesn't wish to be thought as a shill and a distractor ___ than he should not act and write about others as such.
As for my comment, "if that girl had been tortured, sodomized and raped and perhaps left with a lifelong agony ad trauma of the memory was one of MINE". Indeed, I would have vengence, if the government and their overpaid leaders failed to have those guilty properly punished. If any disagree, that is their right. How I would act under those circumstances, would be my option. If some others would wish to turn the other cheek with such a vile crime against a young girl, ___ so be it. If you think I am not a "progressive" because of that, think as you please, write whatever you please and I will do likewise. If you don't approve of what I write, ___ scroll on by or condemn me to your pleasure.
The Augean stables of this administration nauseate with a vomitous effusion of corruption and putridity from which the venting of this latest long-stifled and unpunished capital crime yields but one of myriad malodorous vapors. The entire Bush-Cheney infrastructure reeks with the poisoned perfume of imperial aggression, false witness, rapine, riot and plunder... a madly coherent, mocking, immoral and seemingly untouchable Christian-Zionist/Trotskyite/neo-con demonstration of "might makes right".
There are only its victims and those relatively few and powerless who hunger and thirst for justice. But justice has fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter.
And Hercules tarries.
This statement about progressives is right on..spot on.
Just becuase KEM pocketed the whole statement, it doesn't apply only to KEM, but to all progressives. Real progressivness has to be some kind of ideology, so hard to reach that dream of a perfect state with no boundries, we are all so far from perfect. The part that hurts, is the statement below applies to just about all of us.
Work---Sleep----Eat----Work---Pay Rent---work---sleep
sound progressive?
People, "progressives" are so wrapped up in cynicism and being right, that it seems to interfere with their ability to have an emotionally honest response to the atrocities of the world.
If all you feel is surprised that she's still alive, what does that say?
Its like a defense mechanism.
The problem is that it's the same model the oppressors use.
Saddam used chemical weapons on his own people, do you think our government really care about that….. No… Just like theses posts don't really seem to care about the victim.
Its just said to claim the moral high ground.
So, I feel that not really caring is the problem.
For progressives to use this story to bash people they already hate is to diminish it.
It's called playing politics, and not so progressive.
Calling people snakes, and secret operatives is attacking too!!!
It seems like the people doing the most name calling win again.
Name calling is of course a huge mind control tool. This is an exact case and point. People call vicious names, then play the victim, then gain support through name calling and victimhood.
People used to take action once they read words, because we were happy to make a decision to stand up, now people seem to just argue about who's fault some issue is.
It is a farmiliar pattern in social interaction, to abandon those who are called enough names by other. No one wants to be seen with a this or that
type of person. It's like 'better be on this name caller's side" or they will start calling me names...'don't do anything' or I'll be called 'hippie-democrat-left-liberal-gun control--commie--socialist..
It is okay to say you would kill unrelated people at this corperation in revenge for the trespass of a loved one? Random violence? These people get defended?
That's complacency.
Words to Action: I just went to Jamie's site. She sure has been through a LOT. But, she's a fighter. What a courageous gal! And another thing, we all need to stop with the sniping. KEM is a very good man with a very big heart. Please don't attack him just because you disagree.
Thanks
Tears come to my eyes and heart as the hurt of your soul and your parent's pain haunts our common American soul. Native Americans, Afro-Americans raped and murdered for some four hundred years and now your own are been treated the same...Is this karma and the effects our legacy? Where have all the flowers gone….
http://www.jamiesfoundation.org/
You should go to Baghdad and tear it up then, if violence is your answer. You have the same rights as the blackwater guys over there.
KEM PATRICK
Talk about acting human....
Yeah, KEM PATRICK, just post on a public forum, some conspiracy about taking out top executives at Haliburton...good to know where your heart is...
KEM, I gather that you have forgiven me.
Another thing that occured to me: I can only imagine how scarey it must be for Jamie to have endured two years already to see justice done in the shadows of the DOJ and the rest of this immoral government. Thank heaven for her Congressional Rep. I just don't want her to stand alone anymore. I want her to know that we are out here fighting for her too. I think I'm going to see if I can locate that foundation of hers. Back soon.......
Just read back through this entire string here, to be sure. A small kernel of truth was I believe lost in the mud slinging.
"So, I feel that not really caring is the problem." -War=Peace
We are all guilty here, with so much excess in the world, every gram we take more than we need, is stolen from another...all Darwinistic tendencies aside.
Raise your hand if you care...
complacency
Main Entry: com·pla·cen·cy
Pronunciation: \-sən(t)-sē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural com·pla·cen·cies
Date: 1650
1 : self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies
2 : an instance of complacency
Hi REBEL, Actually babe, my mate said the same thing about the PB dogs. One day she tried one and now they are one of both of our favorite dishes. She doesn't like the horse radish however. Of course before we take a bite, ___ we remove the hot dog.
Can you imagine what that gal went through? Not only being gang raped, but then the absolute fear of being in that hot windowless storage container with no water and wondering if they would either sodomize or rape her again, or allow her to die alone and never see her loved ones again. I hate it, and I have a big problem of believing our government has become the scorge of this planet it has.
I assure you, if it were one of mine, I wold not hesitate to take every guilty one out I could, including some of the higher ups in the company.
Rebel Farmer,
These free press releases just go out into the internet, where people look for content for there publications, editors for magazines, newspapers, pr managers for polititians and lobbyists. Search engines pic up these releases, so they carry some weight, kind of like aged information, dated and cataloged online...neat I think...
WAR=PEACE, I said you and I drop it. I responded to another. So here we go again huh? Name calling? I do believe you are the one who said the crappy things about me to start this sorry discussion.
I responded to the things you said and you didn't like it. Now why claim I'm having a temper tantrum? That is just not so, I am not one bit angry, I don't get angry with a computer screen and with fools. or any who I can't even see, or will never meet. I'm disgusted with people like you who attempt to annoy everyone, like you did with your second blog.
That is exactly what you type guys do, you start something for no good reason and then claim innocense and accuse the one you attacked in the first place. That's 'shillerism'. Whether you are a shill or not, or use several names, or work out of an office is not anythig I know. Some here suspect you of veinga paid shill. I never said you did those things either. I said it was possible for shills to do so. ___ You protest too much.__
Okay? Now since you wrote to me again, I answered and Lets drop it. You got what you wanted and I attempted to let others be aware of bloggers here such as you. You cannot deny what you wrote in your second blog and later say "What is the problem, I wasn't trying to offend anyone." We're not stupid here, we can read.
Words to Action: How do these press releases work exactly? Do they go to my congress critter? Where do they go? And what's with the Ron Paul thing in your headline? And shouldn't ABC be sourced for the press release? It's all very confusing to me.
Okay KEM, am I forgiven? You KNOW how much I like you. Except for the hotdogs and peanut butter. Yuck!
http://www.free-press-release.com/submit/
This link is to the submit page on free press releases dot com.
Write a brief but descriptive first paragraph listing your congressperson's name etc...paste this article in...and submit the press release..
These free releases work wonders, and get printed all over the world.
This link is to the press release I just created in 2 minutes...got 2 minutes?
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200712/1197341208.html
And was it not KBR (kellogg brown and root), the same company where as Cynthia McKinney drilled Donald Rumsfield concerning the sex-slave rings out of Europe, and asking why they were getting MORE contracts. Well, you can pretty much guess who maybe doing the exploiting of teens and producing massive amounts of porn coming out of the area onto the WWW,,,,,,
Just a guess,,,,,,
Cynthia was not outed for her views on 9/11, guess again........??????
Coffeelover,,,,,,,,
Kem,
Didn't you say "so lets you and I drop it" then posted more name calling, what happened ?
Couldn't let it rest could ya,,, one last jab.
And you have failed to respond to anything I've said.
Yeah….a large office and several computers…right
I was worked up,…you are having a temper tantrum.
And the more you post, the more you make my point…
So what do ya say lets you and I drop it…
PEACE.
The Iraqi government needs to get rid of the administrative rules put into place by Paul Bremer before he turned Baghdad back over to the Iraqis. What a load of crap that was!
I believe the Iraqis have their hands tied behind their back by those administrative rules. They won't be able to establish a government independent of the U.S. until they toss those damn rules out the window.
I'm sorry this happened to Ms. Jones. I wonder how many other women were raped by Halliburton/KBR co-workers? These men's attitudes remind me of lawless towns from the 1800s in the U.S. Except the women banded together and got paid for their services.
Assholes.
Don't be, CHUNGA. I explained why I respond to such bloggers. And I didn't overblow it. I gave my reasons why he was not correct about me and then he and several others jumped on. It's a shame really, look at the source though. I also do believe there are many more shills here than there were three months ago, as RESTORE DEMOCRACY noted here. In fact many more recently.
Of course I take it personally when someone writes crap that is not so and is derogatory about me. (I don't lose any sleep over it or let it bother my mnd.) Iwiill get as nasty s they do. I do have a bit of concern, that such bullshit harms the entire purpose of a very fine site.
I woner why you are being a bit critical of me now and not of the absolutely bizzaire post of WAR=PEACE? Which is exactly my point, of how some can have us bickering among ourselves, while the instigator smiles and slithers off to another site to undermine it.
Yes, I once used a females name, because I was confused about how to sign in here. I thought it was to be my password name, not my blog name. I finally got it corrected with the help of the editor and buried 'Evelyn' after she fell out of the attic window and never used that name again. I use my name only and don't know how one could have two or more names listed on one computer? The CD soft ware won't allow it. Now if a team of spies or shills are blogging here, they can manage it with a large office and several computers. Their term is "Rat f$%king."
There are reasons why Cheney is called Dick. He has a head with no hair, no brain, no vision and no hearing. He is supported by a Bush and screws or pisses on anyone he can.
To KEM PATRICK - I have been reading and contributing, as I have time, to CD for quite some time under a coupe different handles. I remember when you used to use a handle that made me think of Edith Bunker when I read your posts :-). Anyway it seems that you have gotten a bit prickly of late, what's going on? Are you feeling frustrated and hopeless at the worsening state of things, or are your bio-rhythms just low? I mean I can see your point with what WAR=PEACE wrote initially, but it seems a bit overblown and taken personally. No offense I am just concerned for your well being.
I must say that the response to this by the Victim is inspiring. In the same position I do not know that I would be able to feel anything beyond vengeance. Jamie Leigh Jones is a true hero and I am going to take Rebel Farmers suggestion and contact my representative in congress and my senator. If we are going to pretend that we have evolved beyond the practices of our barbaric ancestors then it needs at least to be reflected in after the fact accountability of the perpetrators of such atrocities!
WAR=PEACE said "But to clarify, it feels short on respect to instantaneously throwing Cheney's face on the dartboard.( and I'm not talking about respect for Cheney. )" I gotta say I had the same response to the very firs comment in this thread by horrified. Like others I experience a myriad of emotions from reading this article, mostly I am outraged by the actions of the KBR and US officials, and disgusted by the original perpetrators. The CIA should be immediately dispatched to find our who made the decision to lock this poor woman in a shipping container after her assault and threaten her job, what sort of sick ass holes are running the show over there??? My emotions take me to vengeful places that my locical mind abhors.
This is entirely the fault of those who think that this sort of modern war for profit, and mercenaries dressed up as corporate contractors somehow presents a cleaner more presentable face to it. The fact is that war is a disgusting and inhumane activity and we need to put an end to it. It was not all that long ago that Women is battle served only as concubines for the mighty warriors, or worse. To the victor went the spoils, pillaging a raping the conquered enemy. War brings out the worst in people, there is no civilized way to do it. There is no excuse for the actions of the many layers of perpetrators involved in this crime. However it proves, along with all the other atrocities reported, that we have not evolved as far as we like to pretend we have. War is a disgusting practice that must be stopped, until it is this sort of thing will continue.
Excellent points STIV, and we only hear a bit of it. As time goes on, if we don't correct our government, we will not only hear of such, we or our loved ones may very well be one of the victems someday.
I forgot, then WAR=PEACE types often end their apolgetic blog with the word ~Peace~
Reminds me of TV preachers or paid shills.
I missed it, WHY IS THIS STORY COMING OUT 2 YEARS LATE? And who is the 'lead investigator'? Why did it go to arbitration?
The article states:
Over two years later, the Justice Department has brought no criminal charges in the matter. In fact, ABC News could not confirm any federal agency was investigating the case.
Legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law.
---
US contractors in Iraq are ABOVE ANY LAW ANYWHERE!
--
2 YEARS!!!
No WAR=PEACE it was not me. I only use my legal name here. I do tend to agree with the comment however and am glad to see that I am not the only one who didn't appreciate your second post. Like others like you, you write some crap and then come back and attempt to smooth it over with excuses and attempt to give the impression you are being picked upon and you didn't write anything that was critical or wrong with anappart intern to hurt others or give 'wisdom' lessons.
The problem there for you is, any who wish to see what you actually are, can scroll back and see what it was you did write and for no good reason. And as we continue this, 'didn't have to happen in the first place' argument, people lose sight of what the informative article was all about and perhaps leave some people here with bad feelings and perhaps wish they never came to Common Dreams to read or write in the first place. __ So lets you and I just drop it.
First the rape the Iraqi oil reserve and then go after young women like Ms. Jones...I am far from imagining that the Halliburton and KBR employees were paragons of virtue before the illegal invasion of Iraq..but we all know what a war of occupation can do to the invading forces (witness some of the vietnam atrocities commited by former good ol' boys)...So as some of the previous comments suggested Bush, Cheney, and Co. are accomplice to this atrocity. I can't help but compare this incident and the response of the companies and our military to cover-up with the recent gang rape victim in Saudi Arabia and how she was punished by Sharia law..the response here in the West was surely, "What a barbaric system"..but are we so morally superior when more or less the same thing is happening under our noses on a daily basis...As Dr. King put it so well..America is nearing spiritual death..Are we beyond hope?
I took the strange WAR=PEACE comment personally Rebel. He/she was refering to my comments. He wrote that I am so wrapped up in being right, that I can't have the ability to display a decent emotional response to the atrocities of the world and I don't care about the victem, I'm playing politics and that is not the way a progressive should think. Yet he stated his ONLY feelings were sorrow. That's his business and I have no problem with his feeling sorrow, so did I, but it was not my only emotion.
I Don't believe you thigk those things of me. REBEL, I certainly don't think that way, I feel ashamed also, that our screwed up government, MY government, allows such and in fact, authorizes torture. Many things went throgh my mind while reading the article, I normally don't just focus on a single emotion. One of my thoughts was, this young woman will never, ever fully get over that experience and I wish we could all give her a hug.
As BeForKids noted, they locked her in a steel, windowless, ventless shipping container, in a desert land, with no food or water. They were going to kill her. She is very lucky to have lived to tell it and I am both surprised and very pleased she was rescued. I also wnderered how many other Americans have been killed by their co-workers in Iraq and the murder was then blamed on insurgents.
Actually, the first thought I had was of my two daughters, and how I would have felt and reacted had it been one of them. Indeed WAR=PEACE, I had several emotions and I don't have to be Progressive to have them. I dindn't wish to write a book here on the subject matter in that post either. I was progressive long before I ever heard the term Progressive.
I often wonder why some wish to start such crappy arguments here in the first place. If we ignore them and don't respond, allow them to sow seeds of discontent, it can over time, only serve to ruin the forum. I may be in a minority on that opinion, yet that's my opinion and therefore I usually reply and attempt to answer in a rational manner.
The "very troubling" cliche has lost it's usefulness. This is an atrocity if there ever was one.
I really don't see what's so controversial…
Or why rebel farmer has to explain my post to BeForeKids.
Or where RestoreDemocracy came from with:-" War=Peace is just another brainless Limbaugh-mercenary heckler paid to harass liberal bloggers and try to demoralize us."
Hilarious, thank you. (is that you Kem?)
Btw "I'm surprised she still alive" is a chilling truth
But I don't think I overreacted at all. How could someone.
But to clarify, it feels short on respect to instantaneously throwing Cheney's face on the dartboard.( and I'm not talking about respect for Cheney. )
Because the issue becomes just another dart at the dart board rather than serious offences… this is a story that that should hit home to everyone, right, left whatever. Sisters and mothers everyone got'em. Raped. And locked up might as well have sent her to Guantanamo and water boarded till she dropped the charges, how's that sound.
I meant no offence to anybody
peace
I'll check out the other posts thanks Rebel Farmer
Dick Cheney and Halliburton have gang-raped the U.S. for years. According to Naomi Klein in "Shock Doctrine," Cheney has kept his shares of Halliburton and is still on the corporate payroll. That makes him not anly a war criminal but a war profiteer.
Halliburton, and the U.S. out of Iraq and Cheney out of the WHite House.
Do you remember Hadeer? the 14 years old Iraqi girl that was gang raped and burned alive with all her family!I wonder how many Hadeers are there that we never heared from them as all their family were killed!some times I don't believe we are in the 21 st century...this girl will do better if not only fight these bastards but to fight for every woman there regardless if their dad's and mom's can or can not call a fucker to save them...justice for all
P.S. I went on over to the original ABC News post and read some of the 591 comments over there. It's interesting.
BeForKids: Like I said, War=Peace did not choose his words very well or frame his comment well. I didn't take his comment personally. I just figured he was pretty outraged by what happened to Jamie and over reacted.
As someone above said, I'm sorry. I'm 68 and served 12
years in the US Army. I used to get chill bumps when the
National Anthem was played and I looked at our flag.
About all I feel now is shame. I'm ashamed of what our
country has become. Our government permits torture, rape,
and murder and calls it "spreading freedom". What is really
flustrating is that it seems the common people are powerless to do anything. Our choices for public office are bought and paid for long before we have our
"elections". We have a choice between two people who are
just flip sides of one coin, choosen by the people with the most MONEY. I had a glimmer of hope in 2006 when we rid
ourselves of a few "Bushies" but it quickly died when I
saw the newly elected Demorats weren't any better. They
have balls the size of a pinhead. The only real difference
I can see is that the Dems don't claim to get their instructions directly from God.
RestoreDemocracy, I can't agree with you about the name War=Peace. I see it as a satirical take on Orwell.
Rebel Farmer, suggesting that progressives don't really care what happened to Jamie Lee Jones could use some explanation without being construed as progressive-bashing. I'm waiting.
thanks rebel farmer
War=Peace is NOT weird! He has contributed a lot on many differest threads here at CD. And I believe his post above was heart felt, but probably could have been couched in less confrontational terms. That goes for the responses as well.
That being said, I too want to send my sympathies to Jamie. What she has endured is very diffecult to fathom. Her courage now to stand up to her attackers and to also defend others who have suffered the same fate is wonderful. But she is going to need help from all of us.
I strongly suggest that we all write our Congress critters and tell them where we stand on this. They need to join with Representative Poe and get to the bottom of this and see that justice is done. The price that should be paid for this travesty is not just that the rapists be held accountable. Haliburton and KBR must pay as well. And not just in dollars. No tax dollars should EVER be given to any company that tramples on the human rights of ANYBODY. Period. No more government contracts for these companies, EVER.
Also, e-mail this article to everyone you know. Have them also write their congress critters. Lets help Jamie get this thing off the ground. I'm sure she could use a little air under her beautiful wings!
War=Peace is just another brainless Limbaugh-mercenary heckler paid to harass liberal bloggers and try to demoralize us.
Ignore its stupid comments.
The crime committed against Ms Jones is both a moral and a political crime, above and beyond our emotions about the topic... which matter, but aren't the main issue here.
In addition, "War equals Peace" is obviously a stupid statement, and typical of the political element that uses Doublespeak to manipulate and abuse. It bears a striking resemblance to the concept "War in Peace" which the Nazis used before and during WW2, consisting of psychological manipulation, harassment of opponents, and covert operations.... carried out by thugs and gangsters.
Most importantly, however, is that Ms Jones should be compensated and vindicated. She is courageous to speak openly of it, as rape victims are sometimes too traumatized to talk about what happened. Those perpetrating the crime, and those who covered up the crime, both should be legally punished.
Is the Army is now so infested with privatized/contracted mercenaries that it has begun to displace the real US Army we once knew.... starting with 'Today's Army' under Nixon, accelerated by the Reago-Bush machine.... trying to build a Corporate Army run by and to serve corporations, to displace a US Army to serve Americans, and conduct themselves in a way that honors Americans.
And that is at the core of the problem in Ms Jones' situation, such greed-based politics invites inhumane attitudes and behavior.
"Just like theses posts don't really seem to care about the victim"
I must take exception to this. Obviously we care, we're not Republicans.
The ones who care are powerless and the powerful don't care.
This is a political website, BTW.
Funny…
I'm a dictator because you feel bashed. Bashed?… pl-ease.
But putting defensiveness aside do you want to address my point?
The pursuit of justice will be far more effective if we keep the Halliburton/KBR gang rape coverup in context, and persistently focus public attention on the crimes against the nation and against humanity committed by government and corporate officials who have deceived and defied the American public, serially violated the laws of the land, caused the deaths of a million Iraqis, and racked up trillions of dollars in public debt.
Why on earth would army doctors turn over the rape kit to the alleged perpetrators of the crime?! I can understand the administration covering this up, but why the army? Can she at least file a civil suit in the US against Halliburton? Hopefully the 20/20 piece will stir enough outrage in the public, to demand that KBR start having accountability. Can there be any doubt now, as o the other atrocities they've been accused of?
If they treat their fellow Americans that way, imagine how they treat the Iraqis..
they should change the name from KBR to KRB....Kellog Rooting your Brown
Some fires burn only once. The brightest and strongest are honor and trust. When they are gone, you never get them back.
Bushcon has been assraping 'merica since '63. Is this going to be covered by the MSM anytime soon?
Hiring a contractor to hunt them down, and kill them all one by one if I couldn't do it myself. That would would be my wildest dream if I were in her shoes. Sorry.
When we consider the mind set and moral aptitude of the type of person who will be a hired killer, and are then highly trained for that type of work for blood money, caring not at all whose blood it is they spill, it is not at all surprising that such type incidents occur. I fear we only hear the crunch of the tip of the bloody iceburg.
The Hessians the British bought to wage their war against the Patriots in America comes to mind. They were considered to be the most brutal, murdering, souless men any here had ever encountered. They were truly barbaric. It is ironic, that thousands of them stayed here to settle after our War Of Independence ended.
Apparantly those Hessians genes are still active. Our motorcyle gangs of Huns, Pagans, White Supremists, Hells Angels, KKK and Blackwater recruits are some examples. Then too, some may gain the status being elected to high office.
The Halliburton organization is not held accountable. Blackwater is not held accountable. The Carlisle Group is not held accountable. The bush /cheney organization is not held accountable. Congress is not held accountable.
This woman was raped but will anyone that can do anything about it actually care? The answer is NO.
Until accountability is brought back into the fold, civil rights abuses such as these will become more and more numerous.
This isn't about 'bashing' any certain organization. It is about one thing only. HONOR. It's something America has lost somehow. I pray that one day it can be restored.
Does anyone really think that we should any longer expend any energy debating whether or not the United States had now gone down a dangerous road of fascistic, militaristic, and imperialistic mayhem?
The next time some sheepish rightie tries to belittle me as being a conspiracy nut for pointing to KBR and Haliburton as the most evil examples of corporate hegemony in this country and the world, I will tell him or her to kiss my fing ass and hand them a copy of this story. I hope these bastards fry! And no matter what, they will live a horrible life when they come back. Karma is a bitch, and they will come back a lowly fat kid in proverbial playground of hell.
Castrate the bastards!
I hate to think of the conditions for non-US citizen women mercenaries in the employment of KBR or other profiteering racketeers in Iraq.
War is hell.
Neither is bashing others for expressing honest opinions WAR=PEACE. I agreed totally with your opinion and offered another observation, so as not to be repetitive. It was not the ONLY thought I had and have on the story.
I beleive the entire incident is horrific and have many thoughts on the subject. So to say that one is very surprised that she lived is not unusual at all to me, for I am surprised, and also thankful that she was rescued before they murdered their accuser and witness.
Politics was not on my mind, nor was being progressive. It was a human nature response, with the hope that such things and our use of mercenaries and unjust wars can be permanently corrected, __ nothing more.
So don't make an issue of what some may blog here who are in agreement with you, but may use different words than you choose to use to express their outrage, or you come across as a dictator. Which is not progressive thinking is it.
Jamie Leigh Jones -- Our hopes and prayers for your successful pursuit of justice, and sincere thanks for your taking on the task of protecting our contractors, when neither the USA nor your previous employer have any concern for their constitutional rights.
The supposed "loss" of the rape kit is tantamount to obstruction of justice, as well as conspiracy, and possibly in violation of the racketeering laws (RICO). If the ten or so criminals cannot be found, take their bosses, and higher bosses to trial.
There is no such thing as an iron clad waiving of one's rights, and that original contract is likely to be null and void constitutionally, considering that her agreement was based on her legal status as a human being - not a sex slave.
Unbelievably heinous and reprehensible, and being paid for by our tax dollars too!
Namaste … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Mahatma Gandhi … … … … … … … … … …
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People, "progressives" are so wrapped up in cynicism and being right, that it seems to interfere with their ability to have an emotionally honest response to the atrocities of the world.
If all you feel is surprised that she's still alive, what does that say?
Its like a defense mechanism.
The problem is that it's the same model the oppressors use.
Saddam used chemical weapons on his own people, do you think our government really care about that….. No... Just like theses posts don't really seem to care about the victim.
Its just said to claim the moral high ground.
So, I feel that not really caring is the problem.
For progressives to use this story to bash people they already hate is to diminish it.
It's called playing politics, and not so progressive.
Jamie Leigh Jones must have some serious courage...good for her.
Rates of rape go up during war time. The example set by those on high trickles down in the form of permission to those below. The war-rapists Bush, Cheney et al give tacit permission for these fucked up males to rape women.
Cheney is a rapist--physically, mentally and spiritually too...
Guess they never heard of "a woman scorned".. go Jamie Leigh! I hope you get the bastards one way or another!
Sick. Not a good thing to be a woman in Iraq neither an American or an Iraqi one. As a woman I am staying the hell away from there.