Whoa--Jessica Lynch Slams Rescue 'Lies'

by ashitaka 41 Replies latest social current

• 

  Simon

  One thing that has been overlooked in all of this is that the people were captured despite apparently killing a lot of the Iraqi force. They were not killed in cold blood were they? They were taken to a hospital like others in different attacks were (the UK reporter who was shot by friendly fire)

  On the news I saw an Iraqi soldier shot and wounded, without a weapon. What did the US soldiers do? They shot him, murdered him in cold blood and then whooped and hollered like it was some sport. Absolutely disgraceful and shameful behavior. I'm sure they will win a lot of hearts and minds that way.
• 

  Sentinel

  Just MHO, but taking the life of another human being may be necessary in some cases of clear cut self-defense; but as you described, Simon, so many times, war is an excuse for using human beings for target practice. There doesn't seem to be any rules in place. These are likely individuals who will return from war and either become, or continue to be serial killers!!
• 

  Stacy Smith

  That same video was shown here Simon. It was claimed all the offenders were city fans.
• 

  DakotaRed

  One thing that has been overlooked in all of this is that the people were captured despite apparently killing a lot of the Iraqi force.

  Did the fact of 11 or so that died escape you? Pfc Lori Pestewa died after capture. Even Lynch was due to have her leg amputated that night the US warmongers violated Iraqi law and kidnapped her from their loving arms. Seems I also remember a video prior to any rescue kidnapping of the POWs detainees with some bodies laying in the background with bullet holes in their heads. Maybe that one didn't make it to the BBC?
• 

  Gretchen956

  Lowering standards to accomodate women is not what feminism is about.

  This lament is so old and tired. I was married to a cop for 15 years. I remember when they were first letting women into the police force. I never saw so much hatefulness and vindictiveness and harrassment. The same thing was said then. But those standards, thankfully, aren't always the measure of a good cop. Women stand their own in police work, some of the best cops are women and now are highly respected.

  In the military there are women who train very hard to be part of the action. I have never desired to be in the military, I'm a pacifist at heart. But I believe that women can have a place without the whole thing falling apart. The women that were in that group that were ambushed, were administrative people. I have yet to see what they were doing there in the first place. These women were not trained in combat operations. So I'm not sure how they could have done anything differently.

  And, lastly, I think there have been actions on both sides that have been despicable. But what a lot of people tend to forget is that these people believe that they are defending their country from an occupying force. We are detaining people we capture without charging them or letting them see a lawyer or their families for over 18 months. That even violates the Geneva convention. I was happy to see today that the Supreme Court decided to hear that case. ...not to mention, as Simon pointed out, we are killing unarmed civilians.

  I'm not sure what all the emotion is about here on the subject of Jessica. Basically we all agree that she was hyped all out of proportion. She says she was hyped all out of proportion. What I can't understand is the pointing of fingers and blame that is being dished out. I hope she was not raped, she probably was. If the Iraquis took her they probably made sure there was nothing to find with a rape kit. This is probably something that will never be decided, certainly not by us.

  Tell you what, lets lay it all on the feet of those pesky aliens in the mother ship.

  Gretchen
• 

  DakotaRed

  But I believe that women can have a place without the whole thing falling apart.

  Some women can, Gretchen. But, on average, females do not have the strength of males. When training standards are lowered to accomodate those women, everyone suffered, exactly as happened.

  Combat requires very difficult and stingent training and even some men cannot handle it. The majority of men cannot finish Navy SEAL training. With the job they have to perform, would it be wise to lower their training standard to accomodate anyone? I think not. Wanting to do something and being able to do it are very different matters.

  There is no such thing as a level playing field in combat. It's fight to win or die. Those with the harder training survive, those without it, die.

  The military is not the place for social experimentation. If you had read the article I recommended, you would see what happened and why and how the Marines also were ambushed the same way and were able to fight off their attackers.

  As for the hype surrounding it, the same article also mentions that early reports of what happened were given to embedded reporters along with the admonition they were "UNSUBSTANTIATED!" But, the media ran with it anyway and now, the Pentagon catches hell for it. Why isn't she lambasting the media for their part? Why only Bush and the Army? Yes, she is being used, but the one million dollars for the book seems to have eased her conscience a bit.

  No one can explain what Jessica did to receive the Bronz Star. She accepted it when she could have declined it. What I find most unconscionable was her snubbing the Iraqi Lawyer who was responsible for notifying the US Military of her whereabouts when he came to Palestine to meet her. Maybe she will clear some of it up during her Barbara Walters interview this week.

  Regardless, she has a tough time ahead and alienating those around her will only complicate matters for her. Maybe she originally thought the Army was a country club to get a free college education like others have. If so, she was wrong.
• 

  Phantom Stranger

  Israel seems to integrate genders just fine.
• 

  wasasister

  Good point, Phantom, and one that I was about to make before I saw you post. The Israeli Army is one of the most effective in the world. Beyond the fact that there seems to be very little sexual harassment going on (no Tailhook scandals), but they seem to have found a role for female soldiers without lowering the bar.

  I would be interested to study the differences a little more before speculating on how they've managed it.

  As to Jessica Lynch and whether or not she was sexually assaulted: I don't think anyone will really know for certain unless she miraculously regains her memory. The fact that so many have jumped on the possibility - including our dear Stacey - is a bit strange.

  It does seem that most of her injuries were sustained during the vehicle crash and even bruising of the genitalia could have happened without a rape. I'm not saying she was not, but I don't think any doctor would go out on a limb to say it was absolutely a fact.
• 

  DakotaRed

  Israel seems to integrate genders just fine.

  Do they?

  But for now, no matter how well they can shoot, none of these woman will actually see combat. Some will become exercise instructors, tank instructors or radio operators. Those jobs are very attractive to women: serving as an instructor for a male only unit is the closest a woman can get to a combat role today. But most women will be relegated to secretarial and support positions. Much of the work women do, admits the army spokesperson off the record, is unnecessary paper shuffling. Because Israel has compulsory service for all, the army finds work for all female soldiers even if it's a waste of time. This ensures that army service does not fall on a small percentage, but leaves many women frustrated.

  On the surface, Ben Yehuda has coped admirably with her past. She has written definitive dictionaries and history books, and has her own weekly show on Israel Radio. She was married, and has grandchildren. But she is, she says, deeply scarred by what she went through.

  "I don't recommend fighting to anyone. We need to solve the problem of equality at home: not in the battlefield. I suffered too much because of these experiences," she says.

  http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3321/win10b.htm

  The army study mirrors the earlier findings of Israeli scholar Martin van Creveld, a specialist in international conflict and author of the book "Men, Women and War," who found that women lacked the physical strength needed for fighting at close quarters and that their relative weakness could, in some cases, put themselves and their comrades in unjustifiable danger.

  Van Creveld concluded sending women into frontline combat units would reduce efficiency, increase costs and could prove "criminal." His opinion largely swayed British officials in their 2001 decision not to lift the ban on women in combat.

  Van Creveld, who has studied the historical experiences of women in the military dating back to the Roman era, works to "explode the myth" about Israeli women in combat serving as ably as men. During the 1948 independence war, for example, women only served a brief couple of weeks on the frontlines before a group was ambushed and the desecration of their bodies prompted officials to sideline women warriors.

  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35170
• 

  Gretchen956

  I looked at your article long enough to see that it was right-wing propoganda. I notice that the article you posted last is also from a similar source. Give us some independent, substantiated data from sources that aren't aimed at advancing their agenda.

  This is the last time I'll post on this, you won't convince me, I won't convince you. Instead of being objective it will be a lose-lose as is typical these days with the polarized political parties. What a shame. I think its time I went green.

  Gretchen