You can find the clip at She is one in a string of sexual assault and harrassment victims who suffered what they did while employed by Halliburton in Iraq.
Her particular story is the worst I've heard and far worse than I had thought before conducting the interview. She was initially harassed sexually in the Green Zone in Baghdad. When she reported on her supervisor to a Halliburton ethics line, they simply told her supervisor.
When she transfered to Basra the environment was intensely worse and the sexual harassment constant. She attempted to report to Halliburton;s human resources office in Kuwait but was caught and brought back.
She was assaulted by a State Department employee who attempted to rape her. She was then denied medical attention and locked up and cut off from outside communication. She was offered sleeping pills to help her anxiety, and then woke up with her supervisor naked on top of her.
No one in any of these cases has been prosecuted criminally. No one has been disciplined by the State Department or Halliburton.
The State Department offered Barker money (our money!) to drop a civil suit, which she refused.
Halliburton has forced a civil suit into arbitration.
A caller to the program asked why Congress doesn't do something. But how can Congress compel the Justice Department to do anything, while impeachment is off the table?
http://www.davidswanson.org
DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.
More and more of these kinds of atrocities are going on yet Congress feels compelled to request that the Justice dept. investigate Roger Clemons? It just blows my mind, when real criminals and liars run rampant in our government as well as their contractors. All I can hope for now is that we clean house in Congress in 2008 as well.
by
Judy Ramsey (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 82 comments)
on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 3:33:31 PM
Re: Halliburton/ State Dept. Rape Stories Get Worse
What has happened to Ms. Barker and her co-workers at Halliburton is unconscionable! These abhorrent crimes are indicative of an administration which is operating above the law. Sadly, unless justice is served there'll be other Ms. Barker's. The American people must begin to realize that there is no accountability anymore in our government. None! We can only add these blatant violations to a burgeoning list of war crimes, crimes against humanity and treason committed by this nefarious cabal. At which time you then place the list back under our broken table of justice and remain vigilant. What more can be done?
by
Munich (0 articles, 74 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 898 comments)
on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 6:42:51 PM
2 comments
How would you rate this?
You must be logged in (if signed up) to do ratings.
It's free to signup! And easy. And takes just a minute or two....
Must Read (
Well Said (
News (
Touching (
Funny (
Supported (
Interesting (
Inspiring (
Valuable (
