KBR rape case not high on media's newscasts as it should be

The Pentagon's largest private contractor, KBR, is being sued by a woman who says she was gang-raped by fellow employees of a KBR unit in Iraq.

The woman, Jamie Leigh Jones, is saying that the contractor and its former parent and Cheney's lovechild Halliburton, created an unsafe and uncomfortable place for women to work in Iraq by allowing such behavior and other sexual abuse and harassment to continue.

Bringing this accusation to the public a week ago, Jones testified Wednesday for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee at a hearing.

Jones, who had been forced to live in an all-male bunker, said the incident happened when a few of her fellow guards invited her over to have a few drinks. The man who made her drink, assured her it was safe.

"Don't worry," He said. "I saved all my roofies for Dubai."




Excerpt from Jones's testimony (emphasis added):
"I felt safe with my co-workers, I believed we were all on the same team. I took two sips from the drink, and don’t remember anything after that. The next morning I was extremely sore between my legs and in my chest. I was groggy and confused. I went to the restroom and realized I had bruises between my legs and on my wrists, and was bleeding between my legs. When I returned to my room a man was laying in the bottom bunk of my bed. It wasn’t the same man who gave me the drink. I asked him if he had sex with me, and he said that he did. I asked if it had been protected, and he said no. I was still feeling the effects of the drug from the drink and was now very upset at the confirmation of my rape. My heart sank that day…"
After a rape kit and examination was done, the doctor confirmed that Jones had been penetrated both vaginally and anally and was "quite torn up down there."

Both of these companies and other private contractors like Blackwater have been under political fire these past few months over discrepancies in conduct. KBR has been audited and accused of tax fraud, while Blackwater guards have been accused by the FBI of killing 14 Iraqis without cause Sept. 17. Iraqi officials have gone as so far to expel Blackwater from the war-torn country. This was in September, but I am unsure if the ban is still in place.

What is incredibly sad about this incident, besides the abuse of women and the lack of accountability of contractors conduct, is that I have yet to really hear about it in detail on broadcast news. I listen to NPR extensively, I watch a handful of 24-hour news channels. Through an online investigation, I see that news channels such as MSNBC and ABC have given air time to the topic. But the amount of time given is insufficient, as this is another crime against humanity that has been caused by the American presence in Iraq.

Media Matters for America, a non-profit U.S. media watchdog, has reported that the CBS Evening News failed to mention Jone's testimony while other stations had it.

But again, I believe it was not enough. This story, and any other accusation or hearing about a private contractor, should be a top story and on the recap of the hour's news.

If I am wrong and if I just have failed to see it, let me know because I sure as hell don't see much of it on the news.