Bush Administration Misses Deadline To Respond To KBR Rape Questions
Bush Administration Misses Deadline To Respond To KBR Rape Questions
Last month, ABC News reported that a former Halliburton/KBR employee, Jamie Leigh Jones, had been gang-raped by her co-workers while working in Baghdad. She was then left by the company in a “shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water.”
Shortly after the news broke, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice “requesting details on how many Americans in Iraq had reported being sexually assaulted or abused, how they were investigated, and if any had been recommended for prosecution.” He gave the State Department a deadline of Dec. 21 to respond. Yet according to Nelson’s office, the senator has not yet received any response:
He has not received a reply, a spokesman confirmed. … Nor has Nelson received replies from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates or Attorney General Michael Mukasey, to whom he also wrote asking for information and assistance, according to the lawmaker’s spokesman. […]
Asked about missing that deadline, a State Department spokesman told ABC News, “If the senator has asked questions, I’m quite sure we will provide answers. But it’s not something I could discuss with you.”
Former Halliburton/KBR employees have described an atmosphere of “rampant sexual harassment.” Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) has also confirmed that his office has heard from multiple other women who were victims of sexual assault while working for KBR in Iraq.
The refusal of the Bush administration to respond to Nelson’s request mirrors its foot-dragging on Jones’s case over the past two years. Despite Poe’s involvement in the case, the Justice Department has refused to bring criminal charges against anyone, and it appears that no “federal agency [is] investigating the case.”
Last month, the Justice Department also refused to send a representative to answer questions on the case before the House Judiciary Committee. “This is an absolute disgrace,” remarked chairman John Conyers (D-MI).
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Ignoring, foot-dragging, stonewalling, and obstruction is SOP for this administration. nothing new here.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 amWhat part of spreading freedom do you people not understand?
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 amEh. The little woman was *asking* for it. Send her ass back to the kitchen where it belongs!!
/snark off
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:17 amIf it ain’t Monica they don’t care lol.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:19 amWhat’s sad is that the administration completely blowing off any form of Congressional oversight and giving the finger to checks and balances is no longer news. It’s just another day in Washington.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 amQuarterbacks take a knee to safely run out the clock and win the game. Bush is the first quarterback to employ that strategery while he’s losing the game and the clock is running out.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 amIf you aren’t with us your against us. Remember that slogan republicans? Well it is appropriate here. If you don’t stand up and demand answers about this from our govt then you support the sexual harrassment.
I’m using a well worn tactic from the republican playbook. Define the argument and attack.
If there isn’t universal outrage over the lack of response on this sexual harassment then those who stay quiet support this type of behavior.
disgusting.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:26 amRape…torture…kidnapping…lying…
It doesn’t matter to this administration or its supporters - they’ll do it all.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 amUnder Bush the DOJ has been transformed to the Department of InJustice, that is plain for anyone with eyes to see.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 amBush was too busy raping the Statue of Liberty.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 amIts sort of twistedly symbolic that an American military wife was gang raped by mercenary contractors.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 am“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.”
WHOA…. If the congressman is correct, what “investigation” needs to be done here.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:37 amWhat gets me is that this isn’t just about the same old political mischief (”is it or isn’t it a crime”) that we have come to know and love from this White House.
What we are talking about is RAPE. Something that every American over the age of 12 can fully understand is a CRIME. It beats the heck out of me why Americans aren’t outraged.
Maybe Americans are all thinking about the Duke lacrosse case and assume that all women who cry rape are liars (never mind that there are a number of rape and sexual assault accusations at Halliburton/KBR, along with an overwhelming lack of investigation — could they ALL be liars?).
Maybe Americans trust Cheney so much that they figure any company he once ran couldn’t POSSIBLY condone this.
Maybe Americans just have reached saturation point with all the scandals associated with this administration and are tuning out.
And that might be the ultimate strategy of this administration. Numb the Americans, and then we can get away with anything.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:37 amIt’s a disgrace of your own making, Rep. Conyers. YOU took IMPEACHMENT off the table!
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 amYou lefties just do not get it, do you? Government is not there to help the weak and undeserving. If a woman is raped or harassed in Iraq, it is her own fault. She should have done a better job in checking out the work environment before signing up with KBR. She should have determined whether there were any clear laws providing for extra territorial jurisdiction over KBR. It is not our fault that she was stupid. She should have reviewed Iraqi law which would have told her that KBR and its employees were protected from Iraq prosecution. Do you really think that it is the government’s duty to read and think for her? Besides, she is weak and got what she deserved. She lacks responsibility or she would have been prepared to defend herself.
These women should be prosecuted for interfering with US operations in Iraq. KBR and other large corporations do not just support the US government. They have paid enough political contributions to be the US government. They are headed by rich individuals. Who do you want to protect:
1. Wealthy, intelligent and successful corporate executives who have proven their value to this nation by accumulating money, or
2. A victim who probably had to take a job with KBR because she is immoral, stupid, uneducated. She does not count or she would display GOD’s favor by accumulating great wealth.
BESIDES, IT IS NOT LIKE SHE WAS DRAFTED
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 amJMOHR…I’m banking on sarcasm in regards to your previous post.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 amThe question of the day should be… what do the Democratic (much less the Republican) candidates have to say about this? I would think that the moral standing of the United States, already on shaky ground, would be of top concern to presidential candidates.
Then again, maybe they’re more worried about Britney…..
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 amWonder when they will claim executive privilege. Hey, if they can do it with Tillman’s murder and get away with it, what’s keeping them from doing with this woman’s rape?
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:51 amNot doubt in my mind about that, Tweedster.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:51 am#19
I know, I’ve seen some of JMOHR’s posts before so I knew this must have been just a demo of the typical troll attitude.
How does it make any sense to have let Bremer rig jurisdictions so that these contractors aren’t bound by US OR Iraqi law? WTF?!
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 amJMOHR. That was too good, is it really that easy or were you channeling Rush?
If God hadn’t wanted her to be gang raped and left in the container, he wouldn’t have allowed it to happen.
And those poor guys who did it were under immense pressure keeping us safe and free. Freedom isn’t free you know. Who is watching out for their feelings I ask. Tarts are a dime a dozen, guys who are willing to leave the comfort of home to be mercenaries for our great country are hard to find.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 amAnd that might be the ultimate strategy of this administration. Numb the Americans, and then we can get away with anything.
-Comment by missmolly
missmolly rang my bell with this. Could it be? It sure looks like it.
With an estimated 6-8 second attention span, the ‘average American’ will turn away from any in-depth news or political coverage. I submit that this may well be the root of the problem.
Of course, Bushit members like Rove & Cheney may make most Americans lose interest, too.
And #15, JMOHR - WTF?
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 amWhy should the Bush Administration cooperate with anything the Dems request? Despite their frequent handwringing, the Dems continue to cooperate fully with everything the Bush Administration request, even in the absence of even the slightest degree of reciprocation.
Maybe the Dems should ask Schumer (Mukasey’s most ardent cheerleader) to have a heart to heart talk with him, and if Schumer if scared to do so, he could bring Feinstein along to hold his hand.
Although a few outliers exist (although unfortunately, not enough to cause concern for the mainstream) in both parties, make no mistake — both the Dems and the Repukes are now the servants of Big Money. If their is any difference, the Dems at least put on a show of not enjoying what they are doing.
Many will say that we cannot afford public financing of campaigns. This writer would contend that we cannot afford not to enact such reforms.
Although this country would have no doubt been better off if Nader hadn’t run in 2000 (Gore would be President rather than Bush), the following quote quite succinctly sums up the state of affairs in this country:
George W. Bush we can dismiss with a summary comment: nothing more than a corporation disguised as a human being,” Nader said last week in California. But in the case of Gore, “there’s no end to his betrayal. . . . The only difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush is the velocity with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 am–Ralph Nader quoted by Thomas Edsall, Washington Post, October 23, 2000.
from the abc link…..”"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. ”
The State dept, of which Rice is the head, rescued this women from the container and they can’t muster enough energy to follow thru.
this administration is scum of the lowest order. All who support this administration lick that scum.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:58 amcaption to Condi’s pic: “Of course she was raped; she had jugs like this.”
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:00 pmThat bears repeating, curmudgeon,
George W. Bush we can dismiss with a summary comment: nothing more than a corporation disguised as a human being,â€
A morally bankrupt corporation at that…
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:00 pmComment by JMOHR — January 3, 2008 @ 11:41 am
Brilliant sarc post, JMOHR. The sad thing is that there are people who really think that.
I suspect their ideal world is like the wild west as depicted in far too many movies — survival of the fittest, and if you can’t help yourself don’t expect anyone else to help you. Kind of makes me wonder why any laws would be needed at all. Oh, right — we still need laws to keep gays from kissing each other and protect American flags from being burned.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 pmAnd don’t forget the zygotes missmolly, someone has to ensure they get flushed instead of researched.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:04 pmcurmudgeon, so true. The silence from the democrats is deafening.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 pmComment by JMOHR — January 3, 2008 @ 11:41 am
You channeled troll almost too well, I almost posted an attack before I realized it was sarcasm =)
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:09 pmWell the Nazis did it first. And we know Bush wants his government to be just like Hitlers.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:11 pmMaybe my 20/20 vision isn’t what it used to be, right!!
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
Having your head firmly implanted in your a$$ may have something to do with that.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm#13 Molly,
I’ve long thought that a strategy with this administration is to throw as much as they can out there and eventually the public will become numb to it. From torture to no-bid contracts, from Supreme Court Nominees who do not believe in Stare Decisis to rid our nation of that pesky Habeus Corpus. They do everything they can and want to do that has been on republican wish lists for years (9/11 did not change everything, it just gave them a convenient excuse to do what they have always wanted to do). They do it and then convince as much of the public as possible that since it does not directly affect them (how have YOUR rights been infringed?) that the public accepts it or does not fight it hard enough. And the portions of the public they don’t win over they simply overwhelm with scandal after scandal so we become scandal fatigued. I must admit that among the many many violations that Bushco has perpetrated I would have no idea where to start in order to fix them. It is akin to a leaky roof with 40 leaks and a heavy rain falling and you’ve run out of pans to catch water.
#14, sorry but any impeachment attempts would simply yield the republicans a political victory. Regardless of the wrongdoings of the administration, there are simply not enough votes to impeach. The republicans are more concerned with party than they are with doing what is right or with following the law so they would never break ranks in any kind of numbers that would make impeachment possible. And any failed impeachment only gives the a political victory and legitimizes everything they have done.
I’ve always wondered what would happen if a president simply said no to every oversight attempt, now I know. They have shown that in our country there is no way to force a rogue administration to come into compliance with the law. All the president has to do is say no and no one can force them to comply. Though I must admit that having a compliant media does help. Think about it how do you make the president do anything when he is ion the wrong? Do you have him arrested? How do the police get past the secret service? Face it a president determined to be an obstructionist has the power to do so.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pmJK, you simplistic asswipe of the blind right. The State dept. rescued the women from the container.
Can anyone say JK is a goose stepping mental midget? The case isn’t being moved forward by the State Dept. This is more obstruction of justice.
Can you say that? Can you put your bushcrap caked fingers around that?
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pmCan’t really see the Bushies doing anything that could damage Cheney’s pension…
But why not set the trial lawyers loose on this one? Rape is a whole different level of seriousness, but sexual harrassment lawsuits and bread-and-butter cases for trial lawyers, and also have a reasonable track record of getting a message home.
Anything to get justice for this brave lady, working around the Bushies rather than through them seems the only way to go.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 pmJohn Kerry thinks that by using a democrats name he can get “lefties” to say bad things about a democrat. Unlike the real John Kerry, this republturd is too cowardly to stand and fight.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:22 pmComment by hellinabucket — January 3, 2008 @ 12:18 pm
the main thing is that he read the article (many times). he may have missed the point (a missed deadline) but still for jk it’s a step in the right direction. and jk’s visits to this site help support it. and with every visit jk gets a little bit more progressive and a little more smarter. you may not have noticed it but his friends have. unfortunately they think he’s becoming gay.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pmJohn Kerry thinks that by using a democrats name he can get “lefties†to say bad things about a democrat. Unlike the real John Kerry, this republturd is too cowardly to stand and fight.
Comment by Bobwurst — January 3, 2008 @ 12:22 pm
well he’s no jas hendler that’s for sure.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:28 pmJohn Kerry = Mr. President
Enough said.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pmwayne
You’re a riot!!
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
He wsan’t being funny. That homeschooling really isn’t good for reading comprehension is it?
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:34 pmwayne
You’re a riot!!
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
still supporting the progressive cause.
thanks, jk.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 pmhttp://freedomguide.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 11/ message-to-ron-paul-campaign.html
http://freedomguide.blogspot.com/
Physical Freedom involves getting your body into shape; eating organic, working out, purging all the toxins and learning how to survive and fight. Rense.com is good to find out how to purge and purify your body, while http://www.awrm.org is the militia site to go to for learning how to fight. http://www.rwva.org is where you go to learn to use that tool of Freedom, the rifle.
Mental Freedom involves more than learning how the world is, it involves learning how to THINK FOR YOURSELF. It involves becoming your own leader because that is what it takes to financially and physically Free yourself.
Ultimately, you can’t Free your mind if you’re not Free spiritually. This means finding your way back to God. God your Father wants you to be Free-not to be slaves of the beast, of violent, inbred psychotic bluebloods who run the corporations, the central banks, the government, the media that fills your mind with crap.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:43 pmThat is what you get for having a ‘Fictitious president’ running a criminal bunch of FACISTS bastards!
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 pmThey will ignore Congress as long as Congress doesn’t turn off the funding hose. Quae cum ita sint, . . . !
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pmIsn’t there some outstanding subpoena Condi needs to yet respond to?
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:52 pmSure didn’t take long to find a sycophant willing to defend rapists did it?
Many have said here that the Bushbots would defend Bush if he were to rape a dog on the front lawn of the WH. It seems like hyperbole until you read some of the shit that the smaglickers like JK post, the you realize it’s true.
There’s nothing they won’t defend so their defense of anything has zero value.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 pmDefending this woman would imply that KBR/Blackwater could do anything wrong. This would lead to admitting that it may be a mistake to have mercenaries with no judicial oversight in the occupied lands.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 pmTo admit this would lead to even more admissions of failures, so, the silence must be maintained, at all levels, at all cost.
The truth will not stay silent.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 pmOh, can anyone say “DUKE LACROSSE CASEâ€!!!
Comment by John Kerry
Gee, I didn’t know that the Duke LaCrosse victim had to be rescued from a storage container where she was being held hostage. And I didn’t realize that a rape kit taken by an attending physician (who said she was definitely raped) disappeared once it was in the hands of the offending agency. So many parallels with the Duke LaCrosse case, I don’t understand how anyone could miss them.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 pmAt least, it’s good to see that the Bushies won’t respond to a Republican congressman any more than to Democratic ones.
It must be that whole Repeal Article I thing they have going - Congress is irrelavent.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:16 pmThe REAL John Kerry is a PATRIOT to the USA.
The REAL George W. Bush is a COXUCKER punk TRAITOR to the USA.
Just like ALL the Bush WAR CRIMINALS, especially Daddy Bush.
And TRAITOR Reagan the MORON.
Sincerely,
NRA Gun Nutes
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pmContempt — pure and simple.
Congress? Hello…?
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pmComment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
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you’re still here.
:)
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:34 pmWe know she has blood on her hands. And obstruction in her purse.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pmJK, you must have traded your brains in for puss. Obstruction of Justice. Do you understand this? You should since Scooter (republicans have such pussy nicknames) was convicted of this crime.
Obstruction of Justice. The State Dept. can’t even stand up for a rape victim.
Don’t expect you to. Don’t expect anything from you other than a continual stream of birdshit crazy goosestepping to the tune of the neocon.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 pmI wish my comment a #15 was really a sarcastic tome. However, I was accurately posing the conservative position. The conservative and Republican elite really believe in what I stated.
A seven year old child has an awful accident. It is the child’s fault that his parents failed to have insurance. It was the parents fault that they did not sell the home which they built from nothing into a home that helped rehabilitate the neighborhood in which they lived. It was the parents’ fault that they failed to make more money. (If the child got sick and died because the home and all other money was spent to help the child, then it would have been the parents’ fault for failing to provide adequate housing.
You join the military, then you should accept the fact that you volunteered to die, be mistreated in the military health care system and discarded on the trash heap of hummanity after you return home. Afterall, you were not drafted.
If you were in New Orleans, then it was your fault not to have gotten up on your feet (no matter how old, sick or poor) and evacuated yourself from the city.
The Republicans and conservative elite believe this bull shit. They believe that greed is good. They believe that having money means that you are better than others. They do not really understand the concerns of the poor, the working class or the middle class. They do know how to play upon the prejudice of others. They can convince the red state majorities that only those who are inferior will suffer poverty. They can convince the middle class that their money is going to support poor drug addicts who father many children and fail to provide for them. However, they are adept at hiding the advantages given to the rich and corpocracy that far outstrips the social safety net that existed in this country.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pmTrue JK She Lied and the prosecutor ate it up. However she lied where people could hear her. She was not lying from inside a cargo container 8,000 miles away where she had to be rescued from. On top of that through the process of investigation her lies were exposed. Are you against investigating the present case? Are you in favor of the State department obstructing the investigation? What is everything this woman says is true? What then? If everything she says is false I already know what your condescnding response will be, now you tell me what is wrong with investigating and what your response will be if she is proven correct? And why such anger about even looking into the situation? Would you feel the same way if she were your daughter or sister?
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pmJK, you are probably not totally stupid, just acting so so I will type really slow. Remember the headline to the story?
“Bush Administration Misses Deadline To Respond To KBR Rape Questions”
Rape has been charged, and questions were asked that are being stonewalled. How do we find out of the rape occurred if there is no investigation?
Here’s an analogy. I called you a smaglicker in an earlier post, but that is just an accusation. We need to investigate how many dcks you have licked, and whether they were clean or not. It’s quite possible that George, Dick and KKKarl have good hygienic habits and my accusation is false. In that case you would just be a run of the mill ccksucker. But I am betting that I am right.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:56 pmWould you feel the same way if she were your daughter or sister?
Comment by Severus — January 3, 2008 @ 1:55 pm
Probably.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:01 pmComment by JMOHR — January 3, 2008 @ 1:55 pm
I can’t remember reading a better laid out description. Void of explicatives as well. Thanks for the reminder of what bugs me about republicans.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pmComment by JMOHR — January 3, 2008 @ 1:55 pm
Well done, JMOHR. You nailed the warped thinking of the batshit insane wingnuts.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:05 pmNext up, several soldiers and mercs claiming she was ‘loose’ and ‘asking for it’, followed by several Rush Limbaugh like ’she knows she liked it’ s…
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:15 pmComment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
Which is why the name fits you so well.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:20 pmRonald Reagan was a fake. GHWB has multiple personalities. GWB is a dry drunk coke addicted AWOL fearmonger. Nixon was Nixon.
John Kerry is no coward. He doesn’t use someone else’s name to post. John Kerry served this country with honor and continues to do so. GWB couldn’t be accounted for during Guard Drills.
You JK, are spineless. Now get back on topic or continue to be a prick, or both but as long as you stay off topic I won’t bother with you. pissant.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pmLet’s see the volumes of information the state dept. has investigated to establish if there has been crime(s) committed. You do understand that don’t you pissant?
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:24 pmAs a former military and civilian prosecutor, I am disgusted by JK’s comments #53. Any prosecutor should investigate an alleged rape when there is adequate physical evidence, credible witness testimony or other circumstances suggesting that a crime occurred. Are you suggesting that KBR and the US government have acted appropriately? Are you suggesting that the only time a corporation may be said to have failed in its duty to control its female employees from harassment and rape is after a full trial?
1. JK suggests that this could be just the same as the Duke rape case. He fails to note that the prosecutor in that case acted unethically, with held evidence and turned the case into a three ring media circus for political purposes. He was appropriately disbarred for those actions. However, there was sufficient evidence to initiate an investigation.
2. The Jones case presents quite a different matter. Jones was indeed locked in a shipping container. Indeed, embassy personnel from Baghdad had to rescue her. She was indeed examined by Army medical personnel and found to have severe vaginal and anal injuries consistent with forceable rape. KBR security was provided the rape kit with the physical evidence and lost it. Frankly, this provides a compelling basis for believing that a crime had been committed.
3. I too often find conservatives who lack an sense or morality or decency running to the “… does not count unless it has been conclusively proven in court …” standard. JK knows that this is nothing more than a tactic to shield those who deserve scrutiny.
a. This is not a matter of a court lawsuit. This is the matter of determining whether the Bush administration Department of State is appropriately exercising its management of contractors. It is a matter as to whether the Department of Justice has appropriately investigated complaints of whether the Jones woman was raped.
b. As noted above, there is adequate evidence that a crime likely occurred to require a review of KBR’s competence as a contractor and to question whether US citizens serving as contractor employees in Iraq are appropriately protected. One does not have to wait for a case to be tried in court. This is especially true since it is unlikely that any court will have jurisdiction over this matter.
JK you are merely attempting to temporize as most scum like you do. There will never be sufficient finality to the matter to find that KBR, the Department of State and Justice Department has failed to live up to their responsibility. You remind me of some of the worst criminals that I ever represented or prosecuted.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:26 pmHmmm!! I’ve read and reread this and for some reason cannot find the word ALLEGED in this story! Maybe my 20/20 vision isn’t what it used to be, right!!
Oh, can anyone say “DUKE LACROSSE CASEâ€!!!
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
———————————-
Oh, well there ya go. The whole reason nobody is doing any investigation is because the media aren’t using the world “alleged” enough.
You’re trying to distract from the main point with shiny objects. The point is that we have a woman who claims to have been raped. And shut up in a container without food and water. This is partially corroborated by those who rescued her from the container. Inquiries by Congressman Ted Poe (a Republican, BTW) result in several other women saying that they too have been victims of sexual assault at this company.
This seems to be sufficient to investigate further. Which apparently isn’t being done. Furthermore, when Congress asks for documentation that investigations are happening, the White House stalls.
Instead of getting all worked up about the word “alleged”, I would think that you would want to get to the bottom of this. If this was your wife, your mother, your sister, or your daughter making a claim of rape, would you want this matter to die because a woman lied in the Duke lacrosse case? Or because the media reporting the case failed to use the word “alleged”?
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:27 pmGeorge W. Bush was an AWOL coward and is a MURDERER little COXUCKER punk TRAITOR to the USA.
Like the rest of the Bush WAR CRIMINALS TRAITORS.
Sincerely,
NRA Gun Nutes
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:28 pmHey Kerry, give back the rape kit and the investigation can proceed.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:29 pmAsshat.
OK libbies I’m WAITING!!!!!!!!!!
C’mon boys, just give me ONE piece of evidence that she was in fact RAPED!!!
Let’s go!!
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
————————————————————–
From ABC News:
“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.”
I guess there WOULD be evidence if that rape kit hadn’t mysteriously disappeared…
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:32 pmSee JK you keep painting this as a liberal/conservative issue it is not. A woman has charged that she was raped there is nothing conservative or liberal about that particular crime. However your response is 100% political, and I might add your callousness dose not paint a very attractive picture for conservatism. Though personally I think your response has nothing to do with conservatism and has everything to do with being a republican…I.e. any position a democrat takes must be vigorously opposed regardless of the merits of the position.
But once again why do you seemingly want no investigation whatsoever to occur? Is it because as a conservative you are loathe to accept any form of oversight, even when it comes to real law? Are you afraid that the issue of what laws are these contractors operating under might be examined? Is it simply that the political fallout could be tremendous if the charges proved to be true? Do you just hate women and think they lie about everything? I really am curious, why the hatred of even opening an investigation? You bring up the Duke case and I noted that the investigation properly showed that the woman was lying, the same thing would happen in the present case if it were to be examined. So why the hate?
I don’t expect an answer because you only have rhetoric.
But I will answer your question…I have no evidence of rape other than her charges and the fact that she was imprisoned in a shipping container…of course I am a guy with a computer not a police investigator with access to the evidence file.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 pmI apologize for the rude and nasty posts today. I flagged myself as abusive. (not flagellate, different abuse) It’s just the internet, it’s not like I smashed JK’s nose with a beer mug.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep from getting angry in the face of such blind Bushbots. How anyone can defend the blocking of an investigation into possible rape is beyond me, but then these same fools defend the use of Executive Privelege to block Tillman’s death investigation, or the outing of a CIA agent, or torture and the obstruction of that investigation, and, and, and…..
Again, sorry. Later.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm75. I also think this case SHOULD be investigated and, IF there are facts that indicate she was in fact raped, the person (s) who did this should be taken to court.
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
Well, it is nice to see that you agree in principle with the post and basically everyone here on this board. The fact that this administration is dragging its feet and IMPEDING any investigation from taking place is the issue. True to form though, you glossed over that and made this a game of semantics and turned it into a political issue. How do you reconcile being so intellectually dishonest? You prove this by admitting to being in favor of an investigation, while at the same time making this thread try and focus on something altogether different than the gist of the story.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 pmGlad to hear you still believe in the innocent until proven guilty concept (though not for brown non-christians wink wink). But once more i have a question, where does it say that anyone has been found guilty of rape? A woamn has aledged that she was assaulted. Throughout this thread your stance has appeared to be against having any sort of investigation or congressional oversight. Now in your latest post you seem to at least agree an investigation should occur. So why all the very harsh rhetoric and why all the nasty fuss? I still say it is because you are a republican who feels that anything democrats seem to favor must be opposed tooth and nail regardless of the logic surrounding the issue.
Also I don’t see where Misss Molly gets it wrong, all I see from you is full steam ahead opposition to common sense.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 pmHere we go again. Well said JK. Tweedster puts it very well how you have glossed over the foot dragging of this administration. Now do you support a full investigation, or are you for obstruction of justice?
What’s it gonna be boy yes or no? And no you can’t sleep on it.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:03 pmC’mon boys, just give me ONE piece of evidence that she was in fact RAPED!!!
Let’s go!!
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
she said so. that’s a piece of evidence, and worthy of a trial. Blackwater is guilty, or would not have kidnapped and hid her in a container, and would not have had the rape kit evidence destroyed. Your partisan hackery is more evidence of your treason and hatred of American law.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:04 pmJK,
Why is acceptable for the State Department to impede the progress of the investigation of this woman’s allegations?
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:04 pmAnyone ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?????
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
You should ask Larry craig and Scooter Libby, both guilty and both free, under your republican “law”, a sad, cruel joke on true American patriots.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:06 pmSo moron, why not investigate? What happened to the rape kit, sluggo? Why is the Bush adminstration blocking the investigation?
What are you so afraid of?
I’m all for innocent until proven guilty - so let’s get busy with the proving part, shall we?
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:10 pmOK, JK, would you be in favor of determining who intercepted the rape kit and having them prosecuted for obstruction of justice?
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:21 pmHow about polygraph exams for all parties, accuser and accused?
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:22 pmHow bout that, JK?
Here is a few simple FACTS for everyone, (I won’t address them to some here, because they are obviously in the river and need a pair of oars):
1) Mike Nifong brought the Duke case forward simply to win a tough reelection fight against two opponents in Durham, a city with a sizeable African American community, the accuser was African American.
2) In the Duke case, North Carolina State Bar filed ethics charges against Mike Nifong over his conduct in the case, accusing him of making public statements that were “prejudicial to the administration of justice” and of engaging in “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.”
3) The rape kit in the Jamie Leigh Jones case disappeared after Doctors turned it over to KBR, clearly an obstruction of justice issue.
4) As noted here by many others, but worth repeating to drive home the point, the victim was rescued from a CONTAINER where she was being held AGAINST HER WILL.
5) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victims Survey, 2005, almost two-thirds of all rapes were committed by someone who is known to the victim. 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger — 38% of perpetrators were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 28% were an intimate and 7% were another relative.
6) In the United States, 1.3 women are raped every minute. That results in 78 rapes each hour, 1872 rapes each day, 56160 rapes each month and 683,280 rapes each year.
7) The United States has the world’s highest rape rate of the countries that publish such statistics. It’s 4 times higher than Germany, 13 times higher than England, and 20 times higher than Japan.
As far as FALSE ACCUSATIONS: yes there are many, some statistics show anywhere between 25 to 40 percent.
However, when the evidence has been destroyed, when a victim is rescued from confinement, when a respected former Judge (Ted Poe) who has seen thousands of these cases in his courtroom believe that a crime (in this case many crimes) has occurred, one would think the American people would be livid. One would think the media would be demanding answers, one would think parents would be on the phone to their congressperson. One would think…..
In speaking to a well respected therapist, I learned that in this type of case, where so much has been hidden and evidence lost, there is a very strong possibility Ms. Jones is telling the truth. I for one would give her the benefit of the doubt and keep an investigation going until the truth came out.
At least let’s give everyone involved a polygraph and see what shakes out!
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:27 pmJohn Kerry - I would like to see your law degree. I will show you mine. I would like to know your experience in the law. I have been a county prosecutor, a military JAG and SAUSA. So let me clue you in a little:
1. Innocent until proven guilty is a concept of criminal law. It is not a concept of civil law. It is not a concept of government contract law (yes, I spent the other half of my career litigating, writing and advising on federal government contracts.) You seem to be ignorant of this little fact, are you not?
2. I am sorry that you have literacy problems but there is more than her just claiming to have been raped. You just conveniently ignore the fact that she had been examined by Army doctors who found evidence of rape. They prepared a rape kit which was given to KBR security personnel who promptly lost it. I will tell you how this will play out in court:
a. KBR failed to ensure the protectioin of its employee. The plaintiff was found being held against her will in a shipping container. He release from the container required the intervention of US embassy personnel.
b. The evidence establishes with a preponderance of evidence(rmember, this is not a criminal prosecution) that the plaintiff was raped. Plaintiff was examined by US military personnel who found physical injury to her vagina and anal areas consistent with rape. Indeed, mililtary personnel prepared a rape kit to preserve essential phyical evidence.
c. The rape kit was presented to KBR security personnel who knew of the alleged rape, who appreciated the necessity of preserving evidence and have since lost the kit without any explanation. You are reminded that under the rule of spoilation of evidence that you may assume that the evidence contained in the rape kit substantiates that a rape occurred.
d. The physical evidence of forceable sex, the excited utterances of the plaintiff to her parents while being held in captivity by KBR personnel, the confirmation of her capitivity by embassy personnel as well as the spoilation of evidence by a party to this suit who knew or should have known of the importance of preserving this evidence paint a conclussive case against KBR.
3. The government must determine whether KBR is a responsible contractor. Again, this is not a criminal case. It is an administrative determination within the State Department under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Dept. of State Supp thereto. The evidence in the Jones case is enough to prove the case by a preponderance of evidence. We have yet to hear a response by KBR. We will never hear a response from KBR because it would present the potential for civil liability on their part. However, there have been many other allegations of rape and sexual harassment concerning KBR that only hightens the concern over the contractors responsibility as a government contractor.
4. There is a policy determination that needs to be made concerning whether adequate laws exist to protect personnel serving contractors over seas in support of a US military venture. There is a policy determination to be made as to whether the initial decision to deny jurisdiction to the Iraqi government and the failure to enact adequate extra teritorial law to cover such contractors was adequate. This takes an even lower level of evidence.
JK - I hate people like you. You represent the worst element of society. Your kind has justified corruption, bigotry and every other form of injustice in this society.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 pmWhen are those wimps in Congress going to wake up and start enforcing the law? Rice should be in jail, and so should Rove and Meiers.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:02 pm“are we to believe anything she says just because she’s a woman??”
Comment by John Kerry — January 3, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
Of course not. It’s just as possible for a woman to lie as it is for a man. But that’s not the point.
What we have here is a woman who says she was raped. This does NOT mean hang the person she accuses without a trial. This means the case should be investigated, and if there is sufficient evidence (including the victim’s testimony), the perpetrator(s) arrested and tried.
This woman’s claim, former employees describing an environment of “rampant sexual harrassment” there, and other employees saying that they too have been victims of sexual assaults has caused Congress to say “we’d like to know what’s going on and what we’re doing about it”. Yeah — I think there are enough red flags here to do some digging. After all, this is a company contracted by the United States, so the U.S. does have the right to know if KBR is maintaining the standards expected of all U.S. contractors.
So Senator Nelson writes to Condi Rice, “requesting details on how many Americans in Iraq had reported being sexually assaulted or abused, how they were investigated, and if any had been recommended for prosecution.†Condi still hasn’t replied.
We have managed to turn the thread into a “was she or wasn’t she?” argument, when the REAL issue is “what is Condi hiding, and why won’t she tell Senator Nelson what he wants to know?”
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 pmJohn Kerry: You really do not know how to read, do you! Read comment 89. It does not take a criminal trial or evidence beyond reasonable doubt to come to a conclusion as to what happened in this instance. There is more than sufficient evidence to draw the conclusion that for purposes of policy discussion, contractor responsibility and (most likely) civil liability, there is sufficient grounds to say the rape occurred. Now let us hear a detailed response to the points in comment #89 or show yourself to be the witless fool that you now appear to be.
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:15 pmYes, but that’s not in dispute.
The real question is how many Americans here, over the age of 12, can understand what we are talking about is a rape committed outside of the US ?
The DOJ not taking an interest in this case is presented as though it is a surprise. Why ? What was the last case involving the rape of a US citizen outside of the US that the DOJ took an interest in ?
Is there an arguement that US legal jurisdiction now encompasses crimes committed within the US, plus any victim that’s been on CNN ?
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:55 pmIf so, nobody’s yet made that argument or any other for why this concerns the US legal system.
#87, not surprisingly you miss my points. Of course this is a political forum, but you are trying to make a rape investigation into a conservative/liberal issue. It should not be that at all. It should be about cooperating and finding the truth. You only seem to want to push the bush hating liberal angle. That is what it will become when the state department stalls and obstructs, but it should not be that. Anyone interested in the truth should be interested in having all parties involved cooperate regardless of politics.
As to the innocent until proven guilty issue I still say I am 100% right. The accused are allowed their innocence until it is proven that they have done wrong, but so too is the accused allowed to make her claims. So far no one is being punished here except the victim. We all know her name and she is being ridiculed by the likes of you and your republican cohorts. Besides the name of the company do we know the names of the perps? This reminds me of the Louima case where he made his claims and nearly all the conservative pundits attacked him as a liar who engaged in rough homosexual activity before he assaulted a police officer. In the long run the truth was far more sinister and far far from what the conservative commentators had to say. You guys are so wrong so often that it is nearly impossible to believe anything you have to say anymore.
Also JK since you believe in the principle of innocent until proven guilty (Except for brown non-christians of course) how did you feel about the Clinton Witch Hunts of the 1990’s? Vince Foster? Travel Gate? OJ Simpson?
January 4th, 2008 at 8:54 amTo JK, the fact that the rape kit was handed over to KBR and it disappeared (BIG SHOCK THERE!) means either this is a big left-wing conspiracy to discredit the administration and KBR or that it just means the rape victim is lying.
January 4th, 2008 at 4:52 pmand yes I agree Severus, the innocent until proven guilty wasn’t applied to Clinton during the 90’s by this crowd which suddenly has seen the light when it comes to KBR and the State Department…
January 4th, 2008 at 4:53 pmSTILL WAITING for you to understand that the EVIDENCE MIGHT have been tampered with…
shouldn’t be too hard to get!!!
January 4th, 2008 at 5:01 pmAND DON’T try to pin your sick positions on me, JK. I’m in favor of giving the victim the benefit of the doubt considering the fact that Bremer turned Iraq into a lawless paradise for contractors…with Order 17…
But yeah, if there are no consequences, maybe there’s a better than given chance that this incident happened because the contractors knew that they wouldn’t be held accountable…
January 4th, 2008 at 5:06 pmWHAT??? Can you read? †Last month, ABC News reported that a former Halliburton/KBR employee, Jamie Leigh Jones, had been gang-raped by her co-workers while working in Baghdad.†SInce TP did the original story on this the viewpoint of all you libs is that this woman was in fact telling the truth about being raped so therefore you all immediately believe her. That’s my point!
One can easily turn that around and say since the wingnut blogs are ranting and raving about how the victim is lying, the viewpoint of all you wingnuts is that this woman is indeed lying so therefore you all immediately smear her and discount her story. That’s my point!
January 4th, 2008 at 5:11 pm#96 excuse me JK, Innocent until proven guilty…remember. OJ was found not guilty in a court of law. Regardless of what your personal feelings are, or mine for that matter, he was found not guilty. That is pretty clear. Do your principles only apply when there is an issue of a company with deep conservative ties involved? It’s hard to uphold your supposed principles when the case is so extreme, isn’t it?
Of course going back to my original points, the evidence of her rape or lack therof will come with an investigation, which currently it appears as though both Sttate and KBR are resisting. If they have nothing to hide, why do they hide?
I only mention Foster because there are still a great many of your kind (non-conservative Republicans) who believe unequivically that CLinton had Foster Killed to silence him. Once again an issue of Innocent until proven guilty, regardless of the silliness of the charges.
January 4th, 2008 at 5:37 pmFor once, can you think of the possibility that the rape kit being handed over to KBR would possibly indicate that it might have been disposed of? Gee, it’s not that hard to get…
January 5th, 2008 at 2:10 amLet me think…18 minute gap in the tapes means there was no crime committed…because there was no evidence in those 18 minutes, so Nixon was INNOCENT!
yOU KNOW The Nixon Library used to suggest that Watergate was a Democratic-led coup against the president…many of your colleagues are suggesting the same thing, that this is a stunt designed to discredit Bush, the State Department, KBR, the War in Iraq, etc.
January 5th, 2008 at 2:13 amI’m still waiting for JK to respond to JMOHR…oh well
January 5th, 2008 at 7:37 amIt must be great to live in a Republican world. Any evidence that the GOP or its allies dispose of means that they are innocent.
January 5th, 2008 at 6:31 pm