Women in the U.S. Military "...are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire..."

These are the words spoken on the above video by Rep. Jane Harman (D-California) during her testimony at a hearing on sexual assault in the military held by the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs this week.

She shared this information as the result of a recent visit to a VA hospital:

"My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military," said Harman, who has long sought better protection of women in the military.

"Twenty-nine percent say they were raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and downward spirals many of their lives have taken since.

"We have an epidemic here," she said. "Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq."

This testimony, along with the heartbreaking stories of family members and the women soldiers themselves who were victims of rape don't even give the full scope of the problem.

Back in 2006, a little-reported finding from testimony at the Commission of Inquiry for Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration came from former commander of Abu Ghraib, Col. Janis Karpinski. It demonstrated that the fear of assault by their comrades-in-arms was so great, it led to the deaths of some women soldiers:

...several women had died of dehydration because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being assaulted or even raped by male soldiers if they had to use the women's latrine after dark.

The latrine for female soldiers at Camp Victory wasn't located near their barracks, so they had to go outside if they needed to use the bathroom. "There were no lights near any of their facilities, so women were doubly easy targets in the dark of the night," Karpinski told retired US Army Col. David Hackworth in a September 2004 interview. It was there that male soldiers assaulted and raped women soldiers. So the women took matters into their own hands. They didn't drink in the late afternoon so they wouldn't have to urinate at night. They didn't get raped. But some died of dehydration in the desert heat, Karpinski said.

Later she testified that "Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former senior US military commander in Iraq, gave orders to cover up the cause of death..."

This week, we also saw how the military is taking a cue from the Bush Administration, going to any lengths to cover up the extent of the problem including breaking the law:

As part of their investigation, the subcommittee invited and then subpoenaed Dr. Kaye Whitley, the director of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, to testify. But Deputy Defense Undersecretary Michael Dominguez ordered her not to appear before the committee, claiming that the responsibility “rests with me.”

Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) responded by asking, “What is it you’re trying to hide.” Waxman then took him to task, even threatening to hold him in contempt:

WAXMAN: We subpoenaed her. You’ve denied her the opportunity to come and testify and put in a situation where we have to contemplate holding her in contempt. I don’t even know if we could hold you in contempt, because you haven’t been issued a subpoena. […]

I don’t know if we need to subpoena the Secretary and then hold him in contempt; Mr. Chu, and hold him in contempt; you, and hold you in contempt. Those are better options to me than to hold her in contempt, when she’s put in this untenable position, when her — in the line of command — instructs her not to comply with a subpoena of the United States Congress.

Watch the video below:



The final slap-in-the-face happens when women veterans seperate from service.

In May 2008, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash talked to Veterans Affairs Department officials about her bill to specifically provide care to women combat Veterans, an underserved population. She was surprised to find resistence.

...they brought up several concerns:

* Providing child care for women seeking mental health counseling could take away from direct care for VA patients.

* There’s no need for a study of female veterans’ needs because VA is already working on one.

* Staffing requirements for health care workers who can handle military sexual trauma would force VA to take a “cookie-cutter” approach.

Specifically regarding sexual trauma:

Cross also said VA opposes staffing standards for military sexual trauma therapy, which has become an issue since post-traumatic stress studies have found that women may have a higher rate of PTSD because of prior sexual trauma or attacks that occurred in the line of duty.

In light of the amount of sexual trauma inflicted by fellow soldiers, this resistence is suddenly not so surprising.

If we could just hide those darn homeless...

Assemblyman Dan Sullivan is running for mayor. We already knew that because he has been acting and speaking like a candidate for the last several years.

So it wasn’t a surprise to hear Mr. Sullivan’s recent remarks regarding Anchorage crime or his suggested use of a “Guiliani-style approach” by cracking down on panhandling and other “visible offenses.”

Exactly what problem is he trying to address?

The rise in the Violent Crime index has been a result of increasing Homicide, Rape and Aggravated Assault. All of these have roots in Alaska's ever-exploding Domestic Violence problem

- According to the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), Alaska has ranked among the top five states in the nation for rape and sexual assault over the last 27 years.

- In 2006, there were 6000 cases of Domestic Violence reported in the State.

- The Alaska Bureau of Investigations reports that of 30 murder victims between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006 (FY06), 10 were domestic-violence-related and 1 involved a sexual assault. In 2005, Alaska was the 2nd most dangerous state in the country for women - 1/3 of homicides were Domestic Violence related and 80% of those were men killing women. In 2004, we were number one.

- In 2006, the number of rapes per capita in Alaska was 2.5 times that of the U.S. average. According to national statistics, when the identity of the perpetrator is known, 80 - 90% of them are previously acquainted with the victim.

Please tell me exactly how focusing on panhandling and “visual offenses” is going to fix that? Sullivan wants to do the equivalent of removing an unsightly mole while allowing Anchorage to bleed to death from an arterial wound.

I have to give Dan credit; he’s following a plan that has a successful track record. Giuliani has managed to turn police improvements started by his mayoral predecessor David Dinkins, the National downward trend in crime and the efforts of a Police Official he later fired so as not to share the limelight into a potentially successful bid for the Presidency.

And after all, who wants to take a candid look at actual solutions to Alaska’s systemic violence problem?

There is no way to slap a band aid on it. Treating the disease will involve lots of money funneled into education, social services and different prevention programs that won’t provide quantitative results for years. It will require a serious look into why so many men with a history of violence against women and children can still purchase a gun with ease. It would require truly dealing with racial issues in Alaska as five of the eight murdered Alaskan women in 2004 were American Indian/Alaska Native, just a bit out of proportion when Natives make up about 13% of the population.

On the other hand, in 2005 Alaska was ranked 38th out of 50 states when it comes to Robbery and was ranked 28th regarding Property Crimes, which includes Burglary, Larceny/Petty Theft and Vehicle Theft. These are considered to be the "street crimes" Mr. Sullivan’s “solution” would potentially be addressing.

So in Alaska, it's not the unknown panhandler or homeless person that we need to be worried about. There is no actual evidence that they are in any way responsible for violent crime, while we have lots of evidence that they are often the victims of violent crime.

However, hustling them out of sight is the easiest way to get a slap-on-the-back (or a campaign donation) from the “hang ‘em high” crowd.

Yes, it is obvious that Dan Sullivan wants to be mayor. The question is: will he address any of Anchorage’s real problems if he wins?