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You Make Me Sick

THURSDAY JANUARY 31 2008 6:00 AM

Submitted by FearTheReaper. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Private Contractors, Iraq, Justice Department, State Department, Bush, Rape, Jamie Leigh Jones

Yes, you. I think you are fucking disgusting. Wait, I take that back. I only think you're disgusting if you are an American citizen; you Brits and Scots can rest easy. Now, you may be wondering why it took me so long to realize that you are lazy, filthy, awful creatures. Turns out I didn�t know so many of you were okay with gang rape.

Last month a woman came forward to reveal she had been gang raped while working for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq. I cannot fathom the strength it would take to tell the nation you were gang raped by fellow employees of a company working under a government contract.

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.

I guess we can be happy they didn�t kill her; because that is the only thing worse I can think of in this situation. The story is truly horrifying and it sounds like they may have actually planned on killing her, but she managed to call her FATHER.

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. Jones described the container as sparely furnished with a bed, table and lamp.

Yeah, I�m sure they were just keeping her in that container until she calmed down from the gang rape. No way they were discussing killing her. Jones managed to convince a sympathetic guard to give her a cell phone, which she used to call her father.

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.'

Just the kind of call a father wants to receive. Dad called his local Congressmen, who called the State Department, who then sent agents from the US Embassy to the base, where they freed Jones from the container. Army doctors examined Jones and determined she had been raped "both vaginally and anally." Then they gave the rape kit to Halliburton/KBR security officers, who made sure it disappeared.

That was two years ago. During those two years it became apparent our State Department and Justice Department are not going to do anything about a young woman being gang raped by other Americans while working in Iraq.

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.

Why? Because private contractors operate outside of the law in Iraq. Apparently, they can rape at will, without expectations of any punishment. Without any criminal prosecution forthcoming, Jones sued Halliburton/KBR in civil court. But that might also be a problem.

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 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.

Politicians, like Hillary Clinton, then demanded hearings and asked why there was no justice for this woman. Of course, through all their blustering, our lawmakers failed to mention that they are partially at fault. Congress left these giant private contractor legal loopholes open. Congress has not created proper oversight in regards to Iraq, and that created the environment that led to a woman being gang raped by her fellow employees.

The press dug up more instances of overseas rape, which the Justice Department ignored.

The Department of Justice declined to prosecute a State Department employee who allegedly sexually assaulted a female Halliburton/KBR worker in Iraq, despite a recommendation from the State Department that he be charged

Then Congress had a hearing on December 19th, but the Justice Department decided to take a pass and refused to send a representative to answer questions.

I'm embarrassed that the Department of Justice can't even come forward," said the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, D-Mich.

�This is an absolute disgrace. The least we could do is have people from the Department of Justice and the Defense over here talking about how we're going to straighten out the system right away."

So, here we are over a month later. The State Department and Justice Department are stonewalling Congress.

A Republican lawmaker wants Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to answer questions in person about the high-profile rape case of Jamie Leigh Jones, after lower State Department officials failed to provide information that satisfied him.

One branch of our government is asking another branch of our government why they are blowing off the gang rape of an American citizen. The answer is simple: The gang rape is the result of the Bush administration�s total lack of oversight of private contractors in Iraq. At the same time, the Justice Department has been turned into a political wing of the White House and the case of Jamie Leigh Jones is a glaring example of what happens when our system of law is usurped by politics. The rule of law crumbles as it caters to political interests. This is the sort of case that can explode and shine a light on the entire system.

Now, why do I think you are disgusting, filthy animals? Because, what the fuck have you done? I immediately wrote my Senators and Congressman, explaining my disgust. The fact that America is quietly sitting around, after a woman was gang raped, while her rapists are protected by our government is sickening. The fact that the system is set up to allow something like this to happen is repugnant. But what is more repugnant is that we sit on our fat asses doing nothing, while women are gang raped and people are killed.

If we put massive pressure on our government to answer for this injustice, there would be action. That is sort of how a Democracy works. And you fuckers are silent. Which makes us complicit in the gang rape of an American citizen. Or you, anyway. At least I managed to take time out of my day to write an email and make a phone call. But don't worry about it, after all, you've got that Lost message board to get to.

144 Comments

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RandomNerd

Malverne, NY

January 2005

JAN 31, 2008 10:27 AM

I've signed the move-on petition, but I must admit, I haven't helped much.

It's times like this that a parliamentary system sounds very nice- a bit more responsive, rather than hoping the voters forget before the next election.

_kungfoo_

Altadena, CA

April 2005

JAN 31, 2008 11:04 AM

wildswan said:

defaultx said:
a haliburton bunny ranch in the green zone would solve a lot of problems.

Really? People are raped because of a lack of willing and available partners?

This is news to sociologists and rapists alike.

No kidding. Out of all the stupid shit he posts, that's got to be the stupidest.

Benzino

Winnipeg, MB

November 2006

JAN 31, 2008 11:24 AM

I heard about this like last month. Truly sickening, those who did this should be thrown in jail with nothing but a prison rat to keep them company.

Chainlink

Dickeyville, WI

August 2005

JAN 31, 2008 11:48 AM

Letter sent.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I for one hadn't heard anything about this.
Truly foul. They really need to be held accountable.

coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JAN 31, 2008 11:54 AM

defaultx said:
a haliburton bunny ranch in the green zone would solve a lot of problems.

Is this a flag-worthy comment?

Shell_Shock

Rockmart, GA

May 2007

JAN 31, 2008 12:00 PM

We live in a culture where the line between rape and sex has been blurred.

This is not about politics. This is not about culture. This is not about religion.

It is all about humanity.

We can prescribe to our children that it is all about the lines and that the real world has them. Lines give shape. They give perspective. This is the perspective that feeds conscience. Through our collective cynicism, we have stood by idly and watched younger generations care less and less. As long as they get what they want, when they want it then we are cool with it as long as they just shut up. Does it not bother anyone that drivel is all that spews forth from any media outlets anymore? This drivel starts at the top and works itself down to our impressionable youth.

I hope the cries of this crime have a ripple effect on rapes, murders and other violent crimes all over the world. One victim's plea is not enough. Do not just have empathy for Jamie. We need to use her case a springboard to wake up and see our entire world for the screwed up place that it is.

Maybe then we can fix it.

captainkidd

Tuscaloosa, AL

April 2007

JAN 31, 2008 01:38 PM

everybody is bashing on defaultx's comment but overseas personnel seeking sex has been an issue since WWI. i've seen documentaries that interviewed sex-workers that serviced troops in WWII. there are posters from WWII that warn troops of STDs. STD's from prostitutes were considered a threat to troop numbers. the idea of having licensed and disease-free prostitutes to service troops is not a new idea that defaultx just created. more and more cases of horrible actions surface and show you that a war zone and male dominated environment can fuck with one's psychology. Jarhead was a pretty cool book/movie that delved into that subject. there's no real protocol for when someone starts to lose it in the military.

As far as KBR... There's so much fucked up shit going on with private contractors. One example Ive heard from some KBR employees is that KBR decided to downsize so what they did was go through employees stuff. If you had porn or liquor (contraband due to islamic customs) then you were out the door. Of course that stuff was overlooked until they needed a reason to get rid of people. There's probably a hell of a lot more women that were harassed/assaulted over there than who spoke up. Its fucked up but so is the fact that we are having our troops systematically killed day in and day out for no proven benefit for anyone.

mingol

Singapore

July 2005

JAN 31, 2008 01:47 PM

You've missed the point. His comment wasn't obnoxious because it suggested that brothels be set up. It was obnoxious because it conflated sex and rape.

captainkidd

Tuscaloosa, AL

April 2007

JAN 31, 2008 02:00 PM

Maybe I'm ignorant on the stances of what psychology and sociology says about the two but could there not be a correlation similar to long-term prison inmates who turn to homosexuality while behind bars? It just seems like an all-male environment that deprives men of the opportunity for heterosexual sex might lead them to act in unconscionable ways when normally they might not.

Nessuno

Washington, DC

May 2006

JAN 31, 2008 02:01 PM

captainkidd said:
everybody is bashing on defaultx's comment but overseas personnel seeking sex has been an issue since WWI. i've seen documentaries that interviewed sex-workers that serviced troops in WWII. there are posters from WWII that warn troops of STDs. STD's from prostitutes were considered a threat to troop numbers. the idea of having licensed and disease-free prostitutes to service troops is not a new idea that defaultx just created. more and more cases of horrible actions surface and show you that a war zone and male dominated environment can fuck with one's psychology. Jarhead was a pretty cool book/movie that delved into that subject. there's no real protocol for when someone starts to lose it in the military.

People are bashing the comment because it didn't mention disease. It just said 'so many problems' and since the article is about rape most people would assume he thought rape was one of the problems prostitutes would solve. His logic sounds like a Geroge Carlin bit. "Every once in a while, they get horny, they gotta bust out and rape somebody." These guys didn't think they'd pay for doing this and there is no oversight. Horny men don't necesarily make potential rapists.

You do realize you just compared gay sex in prison to rape, right?

Consentually getting some in jail because you're horny is still different from violently forcing another inmate to take it up the ass. Dear god man.

comrade

Portland, OR

April 2004

JAN 31, 2008 02:07 PM

Thanks for the heads up. I've already contacted my senators.

lefthandright

New Zealand

September 2006

JAN 31, 2008 02:12 PM

This article stands head and shoulders above all the rest of your articles. Namely because this time, instead of just highlighting a problem and leaving it at that...you have taken the extra step and asked why the reader has done nothing about it..and have given information on how they can.

Colinism

Atlanta, GA

July 2005

JAN 31, 2008 02:18 PM

captainkidd said:
Maybe I'm ignorant on the stances of what psychology and sociology says about the two but could there not be a correlation similar to long-term prison inmates who turn to homosexuality while behind bars? It just seems like an all-male environment that deprives men of the opportunity for heterosexual sex might lead them to act in unconscionable ways when normally they might not.

Giving the benefit of the doubt on this one, but regardless of the circumstances that people may or may not be in. Rape is still a crime this is not just about the crime committed here but also on the lack of proper enforcement. What happened to her was terrible, the cover up that followed is just disturbing to say the least.

Colinism

Atlanta, GA

July 2005

JAN 31, 2008 02:20 PM

Nessuno said:

Your assuming that all the men that take it up the ass in prison were willing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_rape

coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JAN 31, 2008 02:21 PM

There is no correlation (unless you are only talking about prison rape and not consensual sex). Rape is about having power over someone else. It has little, if anything, to do with sex.

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