Rape in Iraq by U.S. Soldiers?

Question

First off let me preface this question with my disgust with the troops that raped the young woman and killed her family. Do you this that this story that will not go away is a product of the liberal media trying to discredit or efforts in Iraq? I ask this because in the last year in the USA we had 36,000 reported rapes. We have over 50,000 troops in Iraq & it seems that four drunken GI's can hardly reflect the honor or values of the other brave soldiers serving their tour of duty. Please answer without using the words "Bush", "Illegal" or "Fox New"

Answer 1

Should they be punished? Yes to the max. Should I and my fellow Marines,Soldiers,and Sailors be spit upon for theses few bad occurrences? Hell no. The media isn't getting shot at. The media isn't serving our country and dying for freedom. Yet they have the biggest pull in what the average citizen thinks. Waste of time to watch the news. Thank you to all who still support us.

Answer 2

I hear someone say "product of the liberal media" and it's hard not to assume they heard it on the radio or TV or something. I will do my best here and I hope I don't sound mean or cutting...

Are the 36,000 reported rapes in the USA a product of the liberal media trying to discredit men? How did the rape of a girl and the murder of her family become about the media or about the honor of the troops or about anything except RAPE and MURDER? There's a word for this kind of language and it's called "unspeak." Without saying anything you've said a whole world. Suddenly this girl getting raped and the media reporting it becomes a whole different world where there is a biased media and not only that but the aim of this biased media is to discredit our country.

Even if we let that part go, even if we let this be about the media instead of about rape and murder, even if we let it be about who's more patriotic, then essentially what you're saying is that reporting rape and murder is a liberal trait, and covering it up so that we don't look bad is a conservative trait.

Answer 3

I think the problem lies with WHO did the raping. Lots of guys get BJs from their girlfriends, but when the president gets one, it's a whole new ballgame. He represents our country and should therefore represent our morals. The same thing should be said for US soldiers. They should be an honorable representation of our country as they come into contact with people from all over the world. Just because rape sadly occurs far too much in our country doesn't make it any less news-worthy when it happens overseas. Even if it IS a media agenda, it's not a bad one to take on.
I think it also shows that our troops have been there too long. The waiting and then more waiting and then waiting some more- it's SO not an excuse, but it's certainly an avenue to do bad things.

Answer 4

It is a controvestial subject, so it is going to get media attention.
It led to the very disturbing deaths of the captured GIs, but I wouldnt go so far to say the media is attacking someone, or the "liberal media is trying to discredit our efforts in Iraq", but more along the lines of people are watching this story closely and it brings in ratings.

Ask yourself honestly, is this just 4 troops or can there be more?

Our troops are undermined by mercenaries in Iraq, they wear Armerican style garb and dont excercise the same restraint with the Iraqi people as the Soldiers do. Those that were dragged in Falluja in '04 were mercenaries. Look up videos with the Blackwater Security group. They use suppressed weapons to protect a convoy. Keep in mind these are not American Soldiers, they are "Civilian Contracters."
Put yourself in Iraqi shoes, who are you more scared of? the guys beheading in the streets or the guys busting down your door. I am sure this is very frustrating for troops and when you have no release things will boil over, and we will only see more and more of these incidents, however unfortunate.

Answer 5

This incident does not in any way reflect the morales and views of the American fighting men and women at all, nor of those from around the world who are serving beside us.
This also does not reflect on the morale of the troops. The average American in Iraq has a very high morale. For proof, I offer the 7 friends that I have on the ground "in-country" and they are all saying the same thing.
This is simply a few people who decided to put "be stupid" first on thier list of things to do that day. My hope is that they will be dealt with as harshly as the military allows.

Answer 6

Folks---when you want to take a dog to a dog fight, do you want the sweet, cuddly, furry, tiny dog that will sit quietly in the corner or on your lap and shake at the sound of thunder? Or are you going to pick a pit bull that's been trained to be a formidable fighting animal---a dog that will, at any given moment, lose all control and just attack anything that moves?

If you want animals fighting in your military, and if you are one of those folks who have told some of us to "grow a pair," because we've questioned whether or not we are fighting for anything or just more criminals in cammy clothes; and if you are the ones who continually use "sex" as something that has absolutely no meaning, other than to make yourselves feel good, or to get control over someone else, or to manipulate a person or a situation for your own selfish benefit-----this is the fruit of that way of thinking.

Why are you surprised that these men are treating sex any differently than the men and women write about on these pages? Why are you surprised that rapes and murder and torture are happening in this war-----any war?

We send them over there to kill people, control people, and intimidate people. Rape is just the sex act performed with the intent to control and intimidate---sex without permission---sex with no meaning of anything but an animal instinct. Men who leave here as psychologically whole individuals will never be whole again. NOT EVER. That is a fact.

Why are you surprised? Do you think America is the only one raping, murdering, intimidating, and controlling? Look who we just took out of the dictatorship!!! The United States put Hussein into power to keep the middle east on their knees while Iran was misbehaving.

How naive is this country if you think rape is not a part of war! We raped their country----why not their women? Sex is no big deal anyway, right? At least that's what I'm learning from people on these answer blogs. Sex just feels good.

Questions like, "How long do I have to wait to get it." Well, some people don't wait at all. They just reach the level of selfishness that they take it, whether the other person gave them permission or not.

This is war folks.......while you sit in your comfy computer chair, people are dying. That's a fact. People are being raped, tortured, dismembered, beheaded, intimidated, and treated like human garbage. That's a fact of war. If these things were so disgusting to you, then maybe we can stop all the "gung ho, go-gettum" talk and look at what war is.

The real enemy is war itself.

Answer 7

This is sort of complex. The vast majority of U.S. soldiers are upstanding, brave, moral people with a lot to say for their honour. But, just like any organization of people, there are your rotten eggs. This is compounded by the fact that in the last two years the military has made their acceptance standards a little more lax to get enrollment up. Combine all that with the fact that soldiers are asked a lot of over there in a very stressful environment, you're bound to get your rapes, your Abu Ghraib scandals, etc. This is of course no excuse, and if there is sufficient enough evidence, soldiers that perpetrate such acts should be punished to the full extent of the law, just like any other American citizen.

Answer 8

Rape is not sex, it's abuse of power. A soldier or anyone else raping comes from their twisted thinking that they are so powerful and indispensable, they think they can get away with it. They are trained to think their manhood stems from abusing power over others, and they are no better than the lowest life forms. Too bad many of the same guys get medals , promotions and hero's welcomes. BUT, this is an invasion and occupation, witih everything that goes along with that, so this rape and the murders were done to send what was an attempt at a warning to other Iraqi's. Like everything else in Iraq, that backfired too.

Answer 9

The best way, in my opinion, to bring this to more peoples attention is to start contacting local media outlets (tv, radio, newspapers). Anyone that has broadcast this story, and ask them why this story is so much more important than all of the rapes that occur in the US on a daily or even and hourly basis. Maybe if we start asking the media to start being more aware of what is happening here at home, more will get done here.


Don't get me wrong what the soldiers did to that young girl was very wrong and they should be punished for it. As a member of the military your conduct is expected to be above the norm, not below it. Even in war there are rules that are to be followed.

Answer 10

Keep in mind this is America. Everyone is innocent until proved guilty. These people will have their day in court. One could possibly be extradited to Iraq to face charges there? The active duty military will be subject to the UCMJ. If found guilty they may be given the death penalty? Hopefully DNA testing will help reveal who the actual criminals are in this travesty! 99 percent of our military forces are truly professional in nature. Their will always be a few that slip through the cracks or eventually crack under the stress of engagements. God knows what we do in our lifetimes. There will be a judgment day for all of us. Atrocities like this happen in all wars/conflicts. Look at what we have had to endure since the invasion/liberation of Iraq. (Be-headings, mulilations, burning of bodies from bridges, etc).

RJ