Col. Ann Wright: When Rape Hobbles Bush Administration Policies...

When Rape Hobbles Bush Administration Policies: Sexual Assault and Rape by US Military in Japan Leads to a Major Incident
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2008-05-23 16:51.


By Ann Wright, Colonel, US Army Reserves, Retired


One would hope that behavior that requires the “regrets” of the President of the United States and the Secretary of State and the stand down of United States military forces for “reflection” and retraining in ethics and leadership would be punished severely enough to send a clear signal that the behavior will not be tolerated.

Yet the history of sexual assault and rape of women around US military bases, particularly in Okinawa, reveals a military institutional acceptance of this criminal behavior and the lack of enforcement of military regulations against such behavior by senior military officers.
Many in Okinawa and in the United States are watching the US military’s response to the latest rapes and sexual assaults to see if this pattern will change.

Since 1945 when US military stormed onto the island of Okinawa to dislodge Japanese military in World War II, Okinawan women and girls have been sexually assaulted and raped by US military personnel. The Okinawans know the history of every assault. 30 women were raped in 1945, 40 in 1946, 37 in 1947 and the count goes on year after year. The first conviction of a US military soldier for rape was in 1948.

During my recent trip to Japan, I met with members of the organization Okinawan Women Act Against Military Violence. According to reports compiled from police records and other sources by that organization, hundreds of Okinawan and Japanese women have been sexually assaulted and raped by US military since 1945.

In the latest series of incidents, in April, 2008, the U.S. military in Japan charged a Marine with rape and other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in the alleged sexual assault of 14-year old girl in Okinawa. US Marine Staff Sergeant Tyrone Hadnott, 38, who had been in the Marines 18 years, was charged with the February 10, 2008, rape of a child under 16, abusive sexual contact with a child, making a false official statement, adultery and kidnapping. In February, Japanese authorities had released Hadnott after the girl dropped the allegations against him, but the Marine Corps conducted its own investigation to see if Hadnott violated codes of military justice.

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http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33606

:puke:

was that some of those convicted for some form of sexual assault and given light sentences then went on to rape again, in the US. It's like the experience in Japan made them decide the risk was worth it.

Or rather, not funny.

You would have to think so if you look at the data and the government (non)response to the hundreds of incidences reported each year.

The fact that it is practiced on female soldiers, marines, etc and promoted as a non-credit course at the Air Force Academy (and Annapolis & west point) would seem to indicate that view.

How any parent can send their daughter into an environment like that is beyond me.

Why are we even there? Bring 'em home and shut down the foreign bases. We'll be "protected" here at home and the Japanese will breathe a lot easier.