Woman soldier claiming sexual harassment in Iraq arrested

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1802093,00.html

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Tuesday June 20, 2006
The Guardian


A female soldier in the US military has refused to serve in Iraq, accusing some of her superiors of using the war zone as a pretext for sexual harassment.

In what is believed to be the first case of a female soldier refusing to serve because she feared sexual harassment, Suzanne Swift, 21, a specialist with the 54th military police company, told the Guardian she did not join her unit when it left for a second tour of duty in Iraq because it meant a return to a regime of harassment.

"It was like their goal to get someone to be their girl for their deployment and usually they wanted someone lower ranking so they could have the upper hand or control," Spc Swift said. "It's like some sick power trip."

Spc Swift's decision to go public in her charges against three of her superiors - is rare in the US military where veteran advocates say women risk retribution if they complain of harassment. But she joins a growing number of US troops who, having enlisted, are refusing service in Iraq. Officially, the Pentagon says there are 4,400 troops absent without leave. Soldiers' advocates believe the true number of deserters is far higher.

Spc Swift joined their ranks on June 11 when she was arrested at her mother's home in Oregon five months after the rest of her unit left for Iraq. She was returned to Fort Lewis, Washington, where a spokesman, Joe Hitt, said she could face desertion charges. Her complaints of sexual harrassment are part of the same investigation.

Didn't I read the "Whistle-Blower" protections were Torpedoed by
the Gang-of-five in the SCOTUS?

Thanks to those responsible for the compromise which just keeps on giving.

:sarcasm:

from Democracy Now! website:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/15/1410258

Police in Eugene, Oregon have arrested a 21-year-old Army Specialist for refusing to return to fight in Iraq.
The soldier, Suzanne Swift, served in Iraq for a year but decided she could not return. And like thousands of other soldiers, she went AWOL. Not only did Swift feel the war lacked purpose, she said her superiors repeatedly sexually harassed her while serving in Iraq.

Swift remained AWOL until Sunday night when the Eugene police knocked on her mother's front door. She was arrested and taken to the county jail. Then she was transferred to Fort Lewis in Washington. She has been forced to return to her unit but is barred from leaving the base. No charges have been filed against her yet for deserting.

We speak with Suzanne Swift's mother, Sara Rich.


Sara Rich, mother of Army Specialist Suzanne Swift. Email her at formydaughtersuzanne@yahoo.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
interview with Amy Goodman at http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/15/1410258

We posted exactly the same thing at the same time!
Heh-
BHN

back to interviews and articles...

i love that they always cover the deserters and resisters to this illegal occupation

I considered doing the satellite tv thing
JUST so I could watch DN.
Decided against it because I can watch
the only two programs I watch online-
C-Span and DN!

And yes, thank goodness SOMEONE is giving
media time to the resisters.

God bless them for having the moral courage
to just say no.

BHN

I don't recall the day it aired, but I did post a link
to a Yahoo address that you can send letters of support to.
I THINK it was,
formydaughtersuzanne@yahoo.com
If that link is wrong, you could probably find it by
searching the DN archives from last week.

The mom sounded like a really strong person.
No wonder her daughter had the courage to speak out-
The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree and all.

Personally, I am going silently mad as I digest
the madness brought upon the world by the
neocon cultists.
Seriously, I don't know how much longer I can
take it.
BHN

the military is infested with rapists, molesters and abusers. It's part and parcel of the power, domination and control culture propogated by the military.

I'm the only guy in my family who has not been in the military. You couldn't pay me enough to join (unless we were being invaded and it really was to defend the country). I don't understand the attraction people have for military culture. Bullies win. I just don't get that.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of flack for your statement so I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone in believeing the military is a sadomasochistic dominance hierarchy. It makes people who can kill. I'm not going to take up the philosophical question of whether having around a vast number of people trained to kill is neccessary.

I expect I'll get shredded by a whole lot of complaints now, but I figured I can't be the only one who see this.

I know that the military has a percentage of good and decent
men and women, but it also has a percentage of uneducated
people who would probably end up in prison were it not for
military service.
Many gang bangers and thugs are right at home in the service-
and the military benefits from their mentality and has perfected
the art of focusing their banal instincts to a productive(?) end.

Equal education for all would help, but will not happen-
it benefits an Empire to produce a certain amount of cretins
in its population; they make excellent cannon fodder.

BHN

I was also a girl scout at one time when I was a kid and it like that but mostly boys

with a no-show job campaigning for the state's Senator. Lease her a house she can trash. When her tour's up, burn her records. Then don't forget to be nice to her because someday she'll be President.