In an effort to rally support among nations growing increasingly skeptical about NATO-led attacks on Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya -- especially India, Russia and China -- US ambassador Susan Rice announced in a closed door meeting at the United Nations Security Council that Gaddafi's forces were issuing Viagra, the drug used to treat erectile dysfunction, to soldiers "so that they go out and rape" civilians in areas that support the rebels.
Rice did not provide any supporting evidence for her allegation. She made the comment as part of a debate with another envoy to highlight that "the Coalition is confronting an adversary doing reprehensible things."
Sources: here and here.
Rice's offhand, and frankly bizarre, remark should be investigated with the utmost seriousness and objectivity before it is permitted to influence NATO policy regarding Libya. Rape allegations are lobbed too often and too easily for no reason other to achieve an emotional, knee jerk reaction, and to unfairly convict the accused in the court of public opinion.
The stakes in this instance, for the world community, are too high to allow a false rape claim to stand, and that's true even if we think the military action against Gaddafi is justified.
As an African American woman, Ms. Rice should be sensitive to her own nation's tragic history of overreacting to false cries of rape, and to the devastating impact such overreaction has had on the black community. It is, of course, hoped that her allegation was not concocted out of whole cloth in an effort to engender rape hysteria and to paint the opposition as evil. If it was, Rice should be summarily dismissed from her post.
The power to cry "rape" should be reserved for those times when it actually occurs, and that's true whether the speaker is a rape victim or a UN ambassador purporting to report on a war atrocity.
Thanks to Aharon
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31 comments:
"It is, of course, hoped that her allegation was not concocted out of whole cloth in an effort to engender rape hysteria and to paint the opposition as evil. If it was, Rice should be summarily dismissed from her post."
Yes, from a point of intelligent and rational discuss, it would certainly be hoped that there was at least some faint basis for this bizarre claim - yet, from what I've seen of the rape-hysterics and gender-feminists, I'm inclined to believe that hope in this case is really more like wishful thinking.
Jaded skeptic that I am, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop - the proclaimed need for the US to spend untold sums of money for the rehabilitation of women in Libya (who are assumed to have all been raped).
no incubators?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu8CCJTJCQk
Wait, what?
Are we really sinking that far that we have to hinge further involvement in the internal affairs of Libya on rumors of the Libyan government issuing Viagra to her own soldiers?
I shudder at this new era of human rights imperialism. It used to be "no blood for oil" was the rallying cry of the American Left; now we have "let's shed blood because the bad guys use Viagra!"
Prior to Desert Storm I, the allies claimed the Kuwaiti women were being mass raped by the Iraqi troops. Then it was the Afghanistan women being allegedly victimized by the Taliban. Then back to the Iraqis with the secret police allegedly having special rape rooms prior to the War on Terror invasion of secular Iraq for allegedly having connections to Islamic terrorists and developing WMDs. Now, it is the Libyans troops being issued Viagra to allegedly make them sex fiends or something.
I wonder, if we go back to the American Civil War era, were Northern Newspapers running propaganda stories about mass regular rapes by Southern troops of civilian women? Hopefully society was not so low to use the early anti-male women's sufferance movement propaganda.
Atlas
Misandry is really pushing the boundaries of absurdity these days.
This story, for one.
And this one- University Discourages Neutrality in Sexual Misconduct Trials and Cites "persuasive and logical" Behavior from Accused is Evidence They Are An Abuser. http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/04/29/op-ed-a-thumb-on-the-scale-of-justice/
And this one- Woman asks for, receives PFA. Husband, ordered to surrender his guns, goes home, commits suicide. Woman then blames judge for not protecting husband. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11119/1142770-53.stm
Atlas... good question, "was the North writing propaganda that said the southerners had rape caves, and chaining thousands of women to trees and raping them??
It would make for an interesting thesis, "The history of inflammatory rape propaganda".
Whether or not Viagra is being issued I can't say, but the notion of Muslim soldiers committing mass rape as an integral part of warfare is well grounded in Islamic history, theology, and doctrine. "Women whom your right hand possess" (women captured in warfare) is one of the exceptions laid out in the Quran to its rules of adultery. It is neither forbidden nor is it a crime under Sharia law to have sex with such a woman against her will.
Not only is Kuwaiti women being raped by Iraqi soldiers and Afghani women being raped by Taliban soldiers not in the least surprising, it would be far, far more surprising if they didn't rape those women.
This is the most loony thing I have ever heard.
The scary thing is - how many people take this garbage seriously, and will believe stories like this.
Well, at least she isn't accusing them of sodomy. That would be issuing Weapons of Ass Destruction.
randian wrote: "the notion of Muslim soldiers committing mass rape as an integral part of warfare is well grounded in Islamic history, theology, and doctrine".
While I know more than the typical American, I am no expert on Islamic and Arab ideology and history. Is the above notion for all women or for non-Muslim women? Libyan women are still Libyan and Libyans are not raised fundamentalist. BTW, I'm not suggesting some rapes aren't occurring.
In the Palestinian Territories, there is much violence between the different factions to include beatings and assassinations. Yet, I have read that rape is a rare occurrence among Palestinians (Muslim Arabs) even if they belong to enemy groups.
Atlas
UPDATE:
UNITED NATIONS — There is no evidence that Libyan military forces are being given Viagra and engaging in systematic rape against women in rebel areas, US military and intelligence officials told NBC News on Friday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42824884/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/
Atlas
Is the above notion for all women or for non-Muslim women?
Both. Any woman is fair game, though naturally non-Muslim women are preferable targets. Heck, non-Muslim women don't even need to be in a warzone to be targets, simply being non-Muslim is enough. Just ask the Copts in Egypt, the Chaldeans in Iraq, the Maronites in Lebanon, and the Christians in Nigeria.
The fact that, under Sharia law, rape requires 4 male witnesses, makes official statistics regarding rape in Muslim countries highly suspect. If that were the law in the US, our official rape rate would be zero.
Yet, I have read that rape is a rare occurrence among Palestinians (Muslim Arabs) even if they belong to enemy groups.
Depends on who is saying it. Under Islamic law, having sex with a captured woman against her will is not rape. An Islamic spokesman can tell the Western world no rapes are happening and not (in his mind) be lying, because he doesn't consider what is happening to be rape. Deceiving the kuffar is a bonus.
Western observers, steeped as they are in political correctness, often fall prey to the error of thinking that when a Muslim uses the word "rape", they mean the same thing a non-Muslim does.
randian,
I'm aware of the Sharia Law rule of having four male witnesses. I had been considering that having four male witnesses to a rape, in consideration of how a number of women creatively rationalize and others make false-rape allegations, a way to protect innocent men and keep new inter-tribal wars limited.
Either way, thank you for your reply.
Atlas
Anon at 4:36,
"It would make for an interesting thesis, "The history of inflammatory rape propaganda".
Agreed. I would like to read such a thesis.
Atlas
You don't need an unjust rule like "4 male witnesses", so long as a woman's claim of rape requires corroborating physical evidence.
@Randian
Under Islamic Law, rape is strictly forbidden.
In fact, it is punishable by death.
So no,it is NOT an exception under Sharia Law.
Interesting how some of the commentators here willingly accept
his garbage without asking for proof.
Isn't this what feminists do all the time?
Make stuff up,
or use half-truths?
Oh yeah,
and I am a Muslim.
Don't fucking call me a rapist
or someone who condones rape under
any circumstances.
-CrackAddict (www.addictedtocrack.blogspot.com)
randian, weell if that is true they must have copied it from Moses and the Hebrews. Read the Bible and the even more disgusting Talmud.
"I had been considering that having four male witnesses to a rape, in consideration of how a number of women creatively rationalize and others make false-rape allegations, a way to protect innocent men and keep new inter-tribal wars limited."
I thought the same based on reading that the punishment for it was death and conditions in which such laws were formulated, but then I read that it isn't death in all cases(don't have the article link on this machine) and:
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110218074314AAqxJR2
Woman to be charged with making false rape report
Submitted by anthony on Thu, 2011-04-28 23:08.
Story here.
'A woman is expected to be charged with filing a false report with police after she reported an attempted rape on April 18, Boaz Police Chief Terry Davis said.
The woman allegedly told police the attempted rape occurred on Butler Avenue, where she said she pulled over for a vehicle flashing its headlights at her after she left Walmart.
The investigation is continuing, Davis said, but the woman is expected to be charged with filing the false report because it has been determined the incident did not happen.'.
http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20110427/NEWS/110429783?Title=Woman-to-be-charged-with-making-false-rape-report-
http://news.mensactivism.org/node/16554
"You don't need an unjust rule like "4 male witnesses", so long as a woman's claim of rape requires corroborating physical evidence".
True, yet of course when the Sharia Law was written there was not today's modern scientific/medical testing available. Even today, women claiming rape and identifying a man are not (I believe) required to undergo a rape test/medical testing at the hospital though she can still press charges and the accused can still go to prison if convicted. The Duke LAX players case is one of many examples of how medical technicians (females) knowingly fabricated rape test results to prosecute innocent men. In the case of the Duke players, the woman technician was much later fired from her job yet not prosecuted.
Now, the latest move is for University boards to determine based on a 51% chance (in their minds or political values) a rape might have occurred to kick the accused (male) out of school and have those comments on his school transcript for life. All the physical evidence they require is a female student with good acting skills crying victim-hood.
Atlas
Simple solution: cut off Viagra sales to Libya.
Whoooooooaaaaaa!
Under Islamic Law, rape is strictly forbidden.
In fact, it is punishable by death. So no,it is NOT an exception under Sharia Law.
If you're going to lie, you would do well to do it to people who don't know you're lying.
I never said rape isn't forbidden. I said having sex with women "whom your right hand possess", against their will, isn't rape in Sharia law.
Now, we in the west call that rape, and will continue to call that rape, no matter what CrackAddict says.
It is Quran 23:5-6 that establishes the right of men to have sex with female captives. From "The Noble Quran" by Khan, the most prevalent English translation in US mosques:
"And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts), except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame".
It is important for westerners to understand this distinction, for in it Muslims like CrackAddict can spread honeyed lies about Islam.
randian, weell if that is true they must have copied it from Moses and the Hebrews. Read the Bible and the even more disgusting Talmud.
Ah, the anti-Semitism. Muslims can't help themselves. Note, naturally, that the Bible and Talmud say no such thing.
This allegation is ever more bizarre since Islam claims, despite antedating both Christianity and Judaism by centuries, that the latter two are corrupted copies of it. Ergo, Muslims cannot have copied the practice of deeming the rape of female captives not to be rape. Muslims must, by Islam's own theology, have originated it.
True, yet of course when the Sharia Law was written there was not today's modern scientific/medical testing available.
That may be, but since the rule was an edict by Muhammad himself it cannot be rescinded.
In any case, the rule wasn't made to protect men, it was made to protect Aisha, Muhammad's favorite pre-pubescent wife, from allegations of adultery. That it serves to protect men from just allegations of rape is a side effect.
Note that the rule, with respect to women, applies only to her. A husband can serve as his own 4 witnesses against his wife merely by reciting the allegation of adultery 4 times. From Quran 24:6 "And for those who launch a charge against their wives, accusing them, but have no witnesses or evidence, except themselves; let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies, (swearing four times) by Allah that he is the one speaking the truth."
@Randian
You're talking to someone who actually attended an Islamic school.
So I know what I'm talking about.
Accusing me of lying?
Check.
Quoting verses in isolation.
In other words,
using half-truths?
Check.
Using emotional arguments,
instead of actual facts?
Check.
Funny.
Guess maybe you'd like to kill 2 birds with one stone, eh?
Let's oppose feminism,
while demonizing Muslims at the same time.
If you want to hate,
grow a spine and admit it.
Don't hide behind false facts.
Racists in the MRM is the
last thing it needs.
-CrackAddict
So I know what I'm talking about. Accusing me of lying?
Yes. Because you are. Invoking the fallacy of argument by authority does not help your case.
Quoting verses in isolation. In other words,
using half-truths?
Then no doubt you can show my error. Put up or shut up.
Using emotional arguments, instead of actual facts?
Do tell. Where have I resorted to invective and ad hominem?
Let's oppose feminism, while demonizing Muslims at the same time.
Yes, lets. I oppose all objectionable political ideologies.
If you want to hate, grow a spine and admit it. Don't hide behind false facts.
There's that "false facts" thing again. If my "facts" are false, I have no doubt you can show where I have erred.
My Quran, Sahih Bukhari, and Reliance of the Traveler all shake in anticipation.
I can't say that it's a big surprise that this was made-up feminist agitprop.
I'd HOPE she's be fired for this piece of blatant misinformation, as men have been for merely offending PC "sensibilities."
"In any case, the rule wasn't made to protect men, it was made to protect Aisha, Muhammad's favorite pre-pubescent wife, from allegations of adultery. That it serves to protect men from just allegations of rape is a side effect."
Your arguments are summed up here:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/002-rape_adultery.htm
and which seem to be blatantly dishonest like the "1 in 4" lie.
And no, I am not a muslim and I am not gonna bother making a list of links to refute that site's claims, since it takes only a few minutes of google search, a bit of common sense and an unprejudiced viewpoint to do so.
@Randian
Shake in anticipation?
Fine.
I'd rather not derail this
thread further.
Kindly e-mail me your sources.
And don't throw names about.
Give me all the relevant
verses,
the sayings of the prophet,
the contexts,
and the most widely-accepted
interpretation.
And then we can bring it back to this site.
-CrackAddict
@Randian
I forgot to include my e-mail address.
But since you have a blog,
you can go ahead and post there,
and I'll post my response.
@CrackAddict
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