Sexual Violence is a Trademark of Imperialism

Weekend Edition April 3-5, 2015

New Report Out of Colombia Reveals Familiar Story Regarding American Imperial Violence

Sexual Violence is a Trademark of Imperialism

by BRIAN PLATT


A new report out of Colombia reveals that between 2003 and 2007 US military personnel and contractors stationed in Colombia raped at least 54 children and dozens of women. According to Renan Vega, the lead author of the report,​“There is abundant information about the sexual violence, which occurred under absolute impunity because of the bilateral agreements and the diplomatic immunity of United States officials.” (TeleSur, 3/23)

In 2004 54 girls in the town of Melgar were sexually abused by American military contractors. The abuse was filmed and sold as pornography. The victims and their families were then forced to flee the town under threat of death. In 2007 an Army sergeant and a contractor raped a 12 year old girl inside a US military base. Colombian authorities were blocked from making an arrest by the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) foreign nations sign when forced to host American soldiers. The perpetrators were then flown back to the US to evade charges. (TeleSur, 3/23)

Horrifying as these actions are they are nothing new or unusual. In 2006 US soldiers raped 23 women in Colombia. In 2007 there were another 14 reported cases. Nor are these actions relegated to just Colombia. The vast overseas network of American military bases that buttresses the empire represents also a vast system of rape and violence. Twenty years ago 85,000 Okinawans took to the street in protest after two American marines and a sailor kidnapped and raped a 12 year old Okinawan girl “just for fun” according to one of perpetrators. Admiral Richard C. Macke, commander of US forces in the Pacific, heaped insult onto injury when he responded to questions about the rape, “I think that [the rape] was absolutely stupid. For the price they paid to rent the car, they could have had a girl,” meaning a prostitute from one of the many brothels set up for the use of American servicemen.

Indeed the life of Okinawans is considered cheap by their American occupiers. As historian Chalmers Johnson notes, between 1988 and 1995 169 soldiers in Okinawa were court-martialed for sexual assault. This rate was twice the rate of the general population in the United States. A startling fact consider the great lengths the military goes to cover-up rape at its overseas bases and the immense social pressure in places like Okinawa on women not to report. In fact the 169 number must be a vast underestimation of the actual level of victimization. (Blowback)

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/03/sexual-violence-is-a-trademark-of-imperialism/

Good reads:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016119158