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"Congress must investigate the rape of Jamie Leigh Jones and others, hold those involved accountable, and bring US contractors under the jurisdiction of US law."

Sign the petition

Jamie Leigh Jones was a 20-year-old woman working in Iraq for a subsidiary of Halliburton when she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by several co-workers.

The next day, Halliburton told her that if she left Iraq to get medical treatment, she could lose her job.¹

Jamie's story gets even more horrific: For the last two years, she's been asking the US government to hold the perpetrators accountable. But the men who raped her may never be brought to justice because Halliburton and other contractors in Iraq aren't subject to US or Iraqi laws. They can't be tried for a crime in any court.²

This is one of the most disturbing stories we have come across in a while. We're calling on Congress to investigate Jamie's case, hold those involved accountable, and bring US contractors under the jurisdiction of US law so this can't happen again. If hundreds of thousands of us speak out against this outrageous story, we can force Congress to take action.

Can you sign the petition? The text is in the blue box at the right. Clicking below will add your name.

http://pol.moveon.org/contractors_accountable/o.pl?id=11800-1923106-8dAtb4&t=3

Support Jamie Leigh Jones' Foundation

Jamie started an organization to help US citizens who are victims of sexual abuse, rape and harassment while working abroad for federal contractors, corporations or the government. Her organization wants to ensure that overseas contractors and corporations act responsibly, and those who commit crimes are held accountable.

Click Here to Support Her Foundation

Is this what our ancestors fought and died to promote?
Is morality "situational?" Are these "Christian" acts?
Where is the outrage?

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A month after killings Iraq insists Blackwater quit
Africasia, UK - Oct 15, 2007 The United Nations last week called on rogue security guards in Iraq to be prosecuted for possible war crimes.

State Department Use of Contractors Leaps in 4 Years

Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times

A DynCorp worker, kneeling, trained policemen recently near Kabul, Afghanistan. DynCorp got 94 percent of $2.2 billion in police training and drug eradication contracts from a State Department bureau.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

State Department lays down more rules for private security contractors in Iraq
Mike Rosen-Molina at 8:48 PM ET

[JURIST] The US State Department Tuesday laid down [press release] additional rules and procedures governing the operation of US private security contractors working with its personnel in Iraq. The new rules, supplementing a series of interim measures [JURIST report] announced earlier this month, are likewise based on the recommendations of a report [PDF text] by the Secretary of State's Panel on Personal Protective Services set up after Blackwater [corporate website; JURIST news archive] company guards working for the State Department killed up to 13 civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square on September 16. Contractors will now be required to provide a certain number of Arabic-speaking employees and to provide their employees more comprehensive training. Private security guards will also be subject to stricter rules regarding the use of force. An Embassy Joint Incident Review Board will be set up to investigate incidents where deadly force is used.

Panel head Patrick Kennedy said that the rules were needed to establish a legal framework [briefing transcript] to better restrain and police private security firms; the firms have largely operated free from oversight due to legal loopholes [JURIST report]. In response to the September 16 incident, the Iraqi government said it had revoked Blackwater's operating license [WP report]. Blackwater maintains that the shootings were provoked [JURIST report], and has made long-term plans to stay in Iraq, despite the Iraqi action. Reuters has more.

Blackwater Heavies Sue Families of Slain Employees for $10 Million in Brutal Attempt to Suppress Their Story
By Daniel J. Callahan, Marc P. Miles, AlterNet
The lawyers representing the families of four American Blackwater contractors killed in Fallujah make the case that the company's executives are suing the families to keep them quiet and to avoid any accountability.

War Policy, April 30 | IPS Research Fellow Erik Leaver is quoted in TomDispatch.com commentary by Jeremy Scahill about a glaring loophole in the recently vetoed Iraq spending bill. Its restrictions on troop deployment did not apply to military contractors, giving the Bush administration room to escalate the use of mercenaries in Iraq.

Hired Guns, April 25 | IPS Fellow Sanho Tree is quoted in this Dissident Voice article about the growth of mercenary recruitment in Latin America, including thousands of "contractors" now deployed in Iraq.

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