http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=3977702&page=1 [rquoter]Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR KBR Told Victim She Could Lose Her Job If She Sought Help After Being Raped, She Says By BRIAN ROSS, MADDY SAUER & JUSTIN ROOD Dec. 10, 2007 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 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."[/rquoter]
I made a reference to it in the Pelosi thread, but it does deserve a thread of its own. Really now. Having to get a Congressman to put pressure on the State Department to rescue a raped and kidnapped woman from an American company? Sadly, one of the things that caught me a little by surprise was that a Republican congressman was the one that acted. The fact that these people are accountable to none is beyond the pale and really just an excuse. If the Dems wanted to go after them, they could find a way. I'm sick of these Kafkaesque Catch 22 excuses that everyone claims make it impossible to do anything about government malfeasance.
Particularly troubling a raped and kidnapped American woman from an American company. If they will do this to a fellow American it should be no surprise they will treat Iraqis terribly. I don't think its fair to expect that Republicans won't be revulsed by something like this. This is a terrible situation that most people of all political stripes will find terrible. I don't think this should be a partisan issue especially as a Republican is the one leading on getting action on this issue.
Yep, I know, but given the enabling of this administration under the Republican Congress, the general sleaziness, the disregard for American values like habeus corpus... can you blame me for being mildly surprised? I included that comment as a marker for how far we've come since 2000 as a country and in our politics.
well of course the vice presidents former company was involved! they need to remove the loophole that gives contractors immunity from being prosecuted for their crimes while in iraq. there was an interrogator who raped an iraqi boy, was never charged, and is now back living comfortably in america - the military cant charge him, the iraqis cant charge him and the u.s. government cant charge him. those contractors can do whatever the hell they want and they know that they wont be held accountable - it needs to stop.
I simply cannot believe that this is really the case. There are lots of clever lawyers in this country and there cannot really be a situation where the law absolutely prevents justice. Unfortunately, the clever lawyers working for the administration seem intent on using their cleverness to avoid accountability. I hate to sound like we're some third world tinpot country, but we really are going to need a Truth Squad after Bush leaves office.
^ It sounds like as far as criminal law that is the case but that still doesn't rule out civil law which the article indicates the person is pursuing.
I just cannot believe that a contract essentially granting the authority to commit crime is legal. I can't believe the State Department has the authority to grant immunity. Yet nobody seems to want to bring this before the courts... it's just accepted as fact. It's incredibly disturbing.
this is a post-9/11 world we live in. if the vice presidents former company cannot allow their employees to rape and imprison their co-workers w/out fear of repercussions than the terrorists have already won! you libpigs are only against this stuff b/c you hate bush and america.
Testimony from today... <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U2WyitSWa0Y&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U2WyitSWa0Y&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> The State Department refused to send anyone to the hearing after promising a representative would be there.
Tell me what you guys and gals think about this. I found this story on another site this morning and I realized that I knew this girl back in the 2003-04 year. My buddy met her while she was working at Hooters and they dated for almost a year. He actually moved in with her. She turned out to be totally crazy. Her whole life story was one lie after another. The biggest lie she told us all was that she was being treated for cancer. This went on for months and finally someone, I think it was my buddy, found out that she never had cancer. Another wopper of a lie was that her Dad was the CEO of a major telecom company, I can't remember which one she claimed it was, but she was always talking about how rich he was and how she was going to inherit all his money. Well, after they dated for a few months, my buddy met the Dad and went to his house and talked to him, and the dude was working at some small business in Houston/Woodlands area and he was living in a three bedroom house driving a civic. He asked him about MCI or Sprint or whatever it was and the geezer had no idea what he was talking about. So after all these lies my buddy and her started having issues. First off, let me tell you that my buddy is the least confrontational guy you will ever meet. You could literally slap him in the face and he would be like "Hey, why did you do that?" I have NEVER seen him be the slightest bit aggressive. Apparently, one night she got real emotional and grabbed a knife and said she was going to hurt herself. He had to wrestle the knife away. Then she called the police and accused him of assault. Because they lived together, he had to spend the night in jail, and of course when he got out, he packed up his stuff and high tailed it. That was the last I ever heard of her until now. I have no idea if what she is saying about KBR is true, but personally, I could never believe anything this girl said. What I will say about KBR is, whatever the case may be, they sure are complete numbnuts for sending a 19 year old girl over to Iraq with a bunch firefighters and contractors... can anybody say "recipe for disaster"? No college degree, Work Experience from Hooters, 19 years old... bunking with a bunch of guys in the desert... ??? If somebody is guilty here, they better get to the bottom of it and put the guilty SOBs in jail. But on the flip side, I bet there is another side to this story that may be closer to the truth. KBR could sure use some HR consulting, that's for sure.
Stories like your account of this girl are dime a dozen. Stories of american contractors raping an american woman and holding her hostage are ... well .... hmmmmmmm. Since Halliburton/KBR are evil, we can safely assume all affiliates are gang-raping thugs. If its in the news, its gotta be true!
The article says that the agents from the Baghdad agency "rescued" her from a container. Have there been anymore details on that front? Were the agents just some typical psycho women looking for attention too?
I want to be clear here. I am not saying that in the KBR incident that she lied at all. I have no idea, I was never there, I don't know any of the people, besides her involved, and I hope that investigators go completely off of the evidence. I'm just saying, when I knew this girl, she was coocoo crazy. I also think it is interesting the amount of silence on the other side. I also get the impression listening to her testimony, that she is not being entirely truthful. My speculation is, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Like say, some KBR guy had drunken sex with her, treated her bad the next morning, and she came to the conclusion it was time to cash in. Just my speculation. What is strange about this case so far is that it is only a one sided testimony of the events. I'm curious what comes out down the line and why no one has been arrested yet.
Awful, awful story if true. At the very least, it deserves investigation to the fullest extent. It's also not fair to take a shot at Republicans for coming to the aid of the girl...they're humans too. (Most anyway)
if what you say is true then it really flips the story around. needless to say, there needs to be an investigation to hash out what really happened.
