The Rape of Iraq

In the Muslim world rape is not something to be spoken of lightly. Women who are raped rarely speak of it, because to do so brings shame on the woman and on her family. This is not right, but this is how it is in a patriarchal society.

Sabrine, a very brave Sunni woman, decided to speak publicly about her treatment — rape — at the hands of Iraqi security forces (trained by the USA). She did so on al Jazeera. The result —

In Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Makiki moved quickly to try to defuse a potentially explosive scandal after a Sunni woman claimed she was raped by three officers of the Shiite-dominated police.

But the government's response — siding with the officers and trying to discredit the allegations — threatened to bring even more backlash.

A statement by al-Makiki's office accused "certain parties" — presumably Sunni politicians — of fabricating the claims in an attempt to undermine security forces during the ongoing Baghdad security operation, which began last week.

The 20-year-old married woman said she was assaulted after police commandos took her into custody Sunday in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Amil, accusing her of helping insurgents. She was taken to a police garrison and raped, she said.

"It has been shown after medical examinations that the woman had not been subjected to any sexual attack whatsoever and that there are three outstanding arrest warrants against her issued by security agencies," the government statement said.

It added: "The prime minister has ordered that the officers accused be rewarded."

There was no comment from Sunni officials, who expressed outrage over the alleged rape and demanded swift punishment. Sunnis blame the police for many of the death squad killings of Sunnis over the past two years.

Calling the victim a liar, and rewarding her attackers. This is what we're teaching? These are the values we're instilling?

And what will be the Iraqi response to this violation? Sabrine could have been anyone's sister, wife, daughter... There are three women scheduled to be executed by the government. Their crime? Ties to the resistance. As Riverbend notes:

Humanitarian organizations are warning that three Iraqi women are to be executed next month. The women are Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad.

They are being accused of 'terrorism', i.e. having ties to the Iraqi resistance. It could mean they are relatives of people suspected of being in the resistance. Or it could mean they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of them gave birth in the prison. I wonder what kind of torture they've endured. Let no one say Iraqi women didn't get at least SOME equality under the American occupation- we are now equally as likely to get executed.

And what of the situation in Iraq?

And yet, as the situation continues to deteriorate both for Iraqis inside and outside of Iraq, and for Americans inside Iraq, Americans in America are still debating on the state of the war and occupation- are they winning or losing? Is it better or worse?

Let me clear it up for any moron with lingering doubts:

It’s worse. It’s over. You lost.

You lost the day your tanks rolled into Baghdad to the cheers of your imported, American-trained monkeys. You lost every single family whose home your soldiers violated. You lost every sane, red-blooded Iraqi when the Abu Ghraib pictures came out and verified your atrocities behind prison walls as well as the ones we see in our streets. You lost when you brought murderers, looters, gangsters and militia heads to power and hailed them as Iraq’s first democratic government. You lost when a gruesome execution was dubbed your biggest accomplishment. You lost the respect and reputation you once had. You lost more than 3000 troops. That is what you lost America. I hope the oil, at least, made it worthwhile.

It hasn't. And it never will.