On the other hand, what’s being advocated for here, including by Rep. Slaughter, is very selective protection of women’s rights. Based on? Their cooperation with the same system that allows these men to have any immunity at all regarding both American and Iraqi women.

Status-based “protection” based on your cooperation with the agenda isn’t actually protection of women’s rights, it’s protection of the system.

Protection of women’s rights = removing all prosecutorial immunity from contractors, allowing prosecution on behalf of Jones AND on behalf of other women who do not have her status.

Advocating for less is actually pitting women against other women.

Asshole.

James, you’re an asshole. Let’s make that clear. I’m astonished you can type so prolifically with one hand.

Many progressive bloggers, myself included, have voiced anger over Blackwater attacking Iraqis and U.S. soldiers. Blackwater has not been held accountable. If you support the war (I think it was always a bad idea) than getting contractor than anger the civilian population and U.S. military person is a top priority.

James, I fail to see who is arguing for American women to get special treatment over Iraqi cilivians. Progressive bloggers don’t want women raped or civilians murdered. One not be a genius to understand why people are angry about the law protecting contractors. The simple solution is to place contractors under Pentagon supervision. Blackwater and KBR would be held liable under military law. THe White House isn’t about to do that.

Apologies to Jill for derailing the thread: this anti-Jamie Leigh Jones trolls annoy the fuck out of me.

Here is Jones the video thanking her supporters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g-K_0XLgVs

She is, however, on an equal footing with an Iraqi in Iraq.

Actually, no. If an Iraqi in Iraq is raped by a fellow countryman, she has (at least in theory) more recourse than Jamie Leigh Jones does.

Do you really think she is implicity implying that Iraqis should have the same rights to treatment, services, and proper investigations as they would if there were Americans in the US? You are kidding yourself, because Iraqis were not even mentioned as an afterthought.

No. I think she’s taking a necessary first step to hold contractors legally accountable.

Yes, ideally we would be able to assert that contractors should be subject to Iraqi law, and that Iraqis would be protected as well. But that’s a much harder case to make. Given the circumstances, it makes sense that a U.S. Congressperson would push the U.S. Department of Justice to take a closer look at this case.

And are you seriously arguing that because protections don’t extend fully to Iraqi citizens, they shouldn’t extend to anyone?

A law was passed giving contractors impunity and this only becomes an issue when US civilians end up on the receiving end of what they were dishing out…

Actually, it was an issue long before this (Google is your friend here). It was a huge issue when contractors shot Iraqis. It has been discussed in the mainstream media, by Congresspeople, and on this blog many, many times. This is just one aspect of a widespread effort to require contractors to have legal accountability.

Slaughter’s letter does not include every single important aspect of this debate; not even close. But it is one of the first major calls to action on this issue. If you’re not supporting it, fine; don’t call your Congressperson. But this post is not going to turn into a venue for you to say that a rape victim deserved it (I’m not sure how else to interpret “this only becomes an issue when US civilians end up on the receiving end of what they were dishing out”) or to derail an otherwise productive conversation. So, goodbye.

A law was passed giving contractors impunity and this only becomes an issue when US civilians end up on the receiving end of what they were dishing out, then when it brought up the only people who are thought deserving of consideration are US civilians.

Where the hell have you been that you think that the lack of accountability for contractors hasn’t been discussed multiple times on this blog? Go back in the archives to when the big report about Blackwater was released, at a minimum, and then come back and tell us that we haven’t been screaming about this for years.

Sorry, but you sound like the conservative asshats in 2001 who were demanding that feminists denounce the Taliban when we’d been doing it for years and they wouldn’t listen

Where in the letter did it mention extending protections to anyone but US citizens?

“Nothing in the letter says that this accountability would only be available to American citizens.”

Only because non-American citizens were not even thought worthy of consideration. The letter says: “There are over 20,000 Americans employed by US government contractors in Iraq. These individuals have the same right to treatment, services, and proper investigations when they are the victims of violent crime as those of us here at home.” Do you really think she is implicity implying that Iraqis should have the same rights to treatment, services, and proper investigations as they would if there were Americans in the US? You are kidding yourself, because Iraqis were not even mentioned as an afterthought.

“IOW, james, she’s not on equal footing with an American in France, because an American in France can pursue a case in the French courts.”

She is, however, on an equal footing with an Iraqi in Iraq. Which is the appropriate comparison. Do you not feel I have any justification for feeling slightly outraged by the parochialism of all this? A law was passed giving contractors impunity and this only becomes an issue when US civilians end up on the receiving end of what they were dishing out, then when it brought up the only people who are thought deserving of consideration are US civilians. I think I’m totally justified in thinking that Slaughter regards the problem as not being impunity per se, but this applying when Americans are on the receiving end.

I also got the letter. Jill is telling the truth. The letter came from Zac Petkanas, Slaughter’s Director of Internet Communication.

Do you really want to be defending that via bitch-deserved-it arguments?

I have been getting weird troll comment about how KBR is innocent. These anonymous commenter don’t care how many women came forward or that KBR admitted to taking the rape kit. Everyday, more and more of Jones’ story is verified. These trolls somehow believe pointing out KBR’s horrible behavior is an attack on conservative values. People like Adrew Sullivan realize that defending torture does not help conservatism.

Marc Fuller created a Facebook group in support of Jamie Leigh Jones. She posted this message and video to the group.

Thank you all so much for your support. It brought tears to my eyes when I went to the “Support Jamie Leigh Jones against KBR” page. I am so thankful that so many wonderful people have joined this support page and posted so many comments. Your support is dear to me. If you want to keep up with the latest news regarding congressional hearings, actions, The Jamie Leigh Foundation, my case etc., please visit http://www.jamiesfoundation.org

Best Wishes,

Jamie Leigh

As to saying that JLJ got what she deserved, that’s way, way out of bounds. Being against colonialism is not the same as asserting that a woman who participates in in deserves to be raped, but what you wrote pretty plainly says the later! And it’s not even as if she were raped by some Iraqi, angry at the foreign army of occupation in his land — which itself wouldn’t be defensible. She was raped by some American KBR guy in a trailer farm base full of KBR guys. So that’s a blow against colonialism … exactly how?

I see the language you’re talking about. I agree that it shouldn’t be there. The problem to be addressed is the hole in the law that subjects the rapist to absolutely no law, not the operation of local law. But that’s a slender reed for opposition to doing something to bring a rapist to justice.

I’m going to put it to you directly, James: are you really, really advocating that the rapist go free because his victim was a KBR employee in Iraq, or do you agree that he ought to face trial, somewhere under some law, for what he did?