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Everything that’s wrong with the world

Jill

Is basically summed up in this comment to a story on another KBR rape case:

If we can look the other way while female “employees” are raped, why can’t we open gov’t funed bordellos, get the whole thing out in the open, and then look the other way. That, in and of itself, would be the greatest protection for those females hoping to take advantage of the lucrative oportunities available to them in the war zone, while at the same time creating another lucrative oportunity for the women who want to make money in the sex trade. Simple solution. Police the approved houses of ilrepute, give the whores medical attention, and away we go.

There’s a great solution: Instead of actually doing anything about rapists, let’s give them Iraqi women to rape and call it “sex work.”

(And before anyone says that I’m equating prostitution with rape, my point is that the Americans in Iraq who are raping their fellow employees are looking to rape — that is, to hurt women sexually. Offering up a house full of Iraqi women isn’t going to turn them into kind and thoughtful johns. I suspect the commenter know this, and just doesn’t care).

This is just another in a line of allegations that American mercenaries and military men are sexually assaulting their own. What’s astounding isn’t just that it’s happening, but the arrogance that it’s happening with — the American rapists in Iraq are confident that they can get away with it. And if prosecutions of soldiers and defense contractors are any indication, they can.

And if defense contractors and soldiers think that they can get away with doing this to American women, imagine what’s happening to Iraqi women.

21 thoughts on Everything that’s wrong with the world

  1. So they’re suggesting comfort women, only this time they’ll be paid. Surely the propensity of these men to rape will suddenly dissipate as soon as there are women to sleep with for money. Last I checked, rape didn’t cost a thin dime and the government won’t protect American women, what are the chances they’d protect Iraqi government sponsored prostitutes. I can’t fathom this, does this commenter think rape happens because there’s no one to pay for sex? I can’t wrap my mind around this.

  2. Jill, it’s not you equating prostitution with rape, its whoever wrote that article, seeing as their inspiration for their bordello idea comes from knowing that rape is ignored. But only a moron would suggest that, hey, knowing these men are rapists, lets get poor Iraqi women to sell themselves to the rapists, and hope that the money exchanged makes them somehow not-rapists. That’s not how it works. Exchanigng money does NOT mean that the act is not rape.

    Furthermore, if they’re suggesting ‘looking the other way’ in terms of the legality of the bordellos, how the hell are they going to protect the sex workers from rape, or prosecute johns who do? I thought so, they’re just gonna keep looking the other way. And that’s a solution, how? The way I see it, it would give rapists an excuse to rape even mroe women, because in addition to their colleages (who I doubt they’d stop raping anyway, since they get away with it, and the poster has not said anything about STOPPING looking away), and the government provided prostitutes, who by virtue of being ‘under the radar’ so to speak, will ahve no protection from rape, or recourse if it happens.

    What an incredibly badly-thought out, racist (let’s just get ’em to rape Iraqis instead!), insensitive, useless idea.

  3. Ah, yes, let’s set up our own special little Iraqi joy divisions. That’s a capital notion! That’ll foment good will toward Americans amongst the Iraqi people!

  4. No one likes to talk about it, but there’s also a fair amount of male-on-male rape in the military, mostly during basic training and aimed at recruits who are considered “effeminate.” The Pentagon has refused to release statistics.

    Most VA hospitals have supports services aimed at these victims. And no, it’s not a new development.

  5. Does this twit really think that Iraqi women are going to be lining up to respond to a “Help Wanted — Hookers” ad in the Baghdad Post?

    And if legions of Iraqi women were desperate enough to offer themselves up to full-time rape at the hands of U.S. “defense contractors,” wouldn’t that kind of run counter to the idea that we’ve made Iraqis’ lives so much better since we invaded?

  7. Did we learn nothing after occupying Japan after WWII? Outcrazyophelia is right about the comfort women thing, and if I remember correctly, that didn’t really stop rapes then. Why would it now? this plan has been tried and sucked once, let’s not do it again

  8. female “employees”

    What’s up with that? If they’re female, then they’re not real employees or something.

    Whoever the misogynistic douche who wrote that comment is, i hope there’s no women in his vicinity.

  9. Every time I read it something new to be outraged about grabs my attention.

    creating lucrative opportunities? WTF!? Just what female entreprenures everywhere are looking for, essentially being paid to be raped as he has set up this lovely little scenario. He might as well propose paying the KBR employees who were raped as part of their “lucrative opportunity.”

  11. One of the things that led to Tito’s break with Stalin, as recounted by Milovan Djilas in Conversations With Stalin, was Stalin’s insistance on looking the other way when it came to Russian soldiers raping the Yugoslav civilians they were supposed to be rescuing, and his dismissal of Yugoslav protests as ingratitude.

    But I see this guy wants the US to take Stalin as a role model.

  12. well said. i am learning about the korean sex trade that starts as brothels near american military bases and is exported to ‘massage parlors’ in the us and canada.

  13. Greetings Jill,

    Although I am not a true feminist myself, I can agree with your view on the treatment of Iraqi women by our military.

    I have a blog radio show, Political Talk, that is having a discussion on pro-choice on Sat. April 5 from 10pm-11:30pm eastern. I’d love to have a representative like you to be my special guest!

    My co-host and I are both pro-life, so it would be unfair to not have a voice from the other side.

    Please let me know if you, or anyone one that you know, would be interested, and I shall give more details.

    Thank you, and I hope to hear from you soon!

    Jamie

  14. (And before anyone says that I’m equating prostitution with rape,

    Ordinarily, I would say this is problematic, but I think we’re all in agreement that it’s not in this specific case.

    But is it really an inaccurate comparison in any war zone, much less a war zone in an extremely conservative Muslim society that vilifies extramarital sex? I honestly can’t imagine that there are ANY willing prostitutes in Iraq. If we define sex as something that requires enthusiastic consent, and I think we’ll be hard-pressed to find non-troll commenters at Feministe who wouldn’t say that, does it not then follow that all dalliances with prostitutes in the region are essentially rape by coercion?

    This is something that’s just marinating right now; I just started considering it a few minutes ago. I’d really appreciate it if someone wants to point out flaws in my logic, or discuss this further, so pick away if I’m being obviously stupid and can’t see it.

  15. why can’t we open gov’t funed bordellos

    That’s pretty much what happened in South Korea with the prostitute tent cities that sprang up around US military encampments. I was just looking at a book about it a couple days ago. I forget the name of it though.

  16. i read a comment like that on another blog actually. still stunned and disgusted by it.

    not sure if you posted about this before, jill but here’s a couple other stories:

    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.
    http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=3977702&page=1

    “If you wanted to get a promotion you didn’t necessarily have to have the qualifications,” remembered Lindsey, a former KBR contractor. “You just needed to be sleeping with the person who was doing the hiring.” […]
    In a sworn affidavit for the Jones case, Lindsey said: “I saw rampant sexual harassment and discrimination.” […]
    Her affidavit also said: “When anyone would report an incident of abuse or harassment, they would be threatened with a transfer to a more dangerous location.”

    http://www.khou.com/topstories/stori….176e684a.html

  17. (And before anyone says that I’m equating prostitution with rape, my point is that the Americans in Iraq who are raping their fellow employees are looking to rape — that is, to hurt women sexually. Offering up a house full of Iraqi women isn’t going to turn them into kind and thoughtful johns. I suspect the commenter know this, and just doesn’t care)

    You know, I’m not so sure the commenter does know this. Oh sure, he’d know this if he were honest with himself and thought about the issue a bit, but I don’t see any evidence that he has done so. (either the honesty or the thought) That is, in his proposal I see the commenter has focused on the sex, and has completely bought into the myth that rape happens because rapists are desperate for sexual release. (and can’t, for some reason, find their dick with both hands, or even with one) I don’t know why this myth persists, but I see echoes of it whenever rape is brought up in non-feminist circles.

  18. Most people don’t understand rape. I talked about this post to my (beginner feminist) boyfriend, and he a) didn’t understand why promoting an Iraqi prostitution ring wouldn’t work, and b) didn’t apparently know that rape had nothing to do with sex (although some rapists may try to excuse it that way) and everything to do with power and asserting that power. After I lessoned him, he said, “Oh, well why don’t they just start prosecuting the rapists, then?” If only it were so simple… Oh wait, it is. This is a perfect example of how being a product of the patriarchy is detrimental. People don’t question misogyny even if it’s staring them in the face.

  19. Prostitution and human trafficking are already pretty big among Iraqis now. When you have a couple of million widows and a 50% unemployment rate the result isn’t pretty, google “sex trade syria” a lot of people who find my blog seem to be looking for something to that effect (and like one guy who googled “do US diplomats have access to prostitutes”.) As far as I can tell from stories I’m hearing it’s really very not hard to find someone that will hook you up in the green zone.

  20. What’s astounding isn’t just that it’s happening, but the arrogance that it’s happening with — the American rapists in Iraq are confident that they can get away with it.

    Jill, I’m surprised you find this astounding. Since this is a war being fought without any expectation of sacrifice for the population as a whole (remember the good old days when Iraqi oil was going to pay for the whole war itself?), I fully expect the U.S. government to not get rid of personnel needed to keep our presence in Iraq, either the soldiers (who are supposed to answer to the UCMJ, which prohibits rape) or the contractors (who fall into the legal black hole of whether ANY law applies or whether charges will ever be brought).

    When the government puts the numbers game ahead of law or a sense of honor, then what you’re always gonna get it is numbers ahead of law and honor. It’s all mathematics, and this fact is something we must report openly, loudly, and clearly to the People if we expect to change the policy.

    Asking a person to behave legally, or hell, just decently, in a lawless environment is probably asking WAY too much of your average person. And it is a horrible governing philosophy, which, apparently, is our current horrible governing philosophy.

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