Iraqis raped Lynch during her captivity, book reveals

NY Daily News ^

[saquin]

BY PAUL D. COLFORD AND CORKY SIEMASZKO New York Daily News

NEW YORK - (KRT) - Jessica Lynch was brutally raped by her Iraqi captors.

That is the shocking revelation in "I Am a Soldier, Too," the much-anticipated authorized biography of the former POW. A copy of the book was obtained by The New York Daily News on Wednesday.

Best selling author Rick Bragg tells Lynch's story for her, often using her own words. Thankfully, she has no memory of the rape.

"Jessi lost three hours," Bragg wrote. "She lost them in the snapping bones, in the crash of the Humvee, in the torment her enemies inflicted on her after she was pulled from it."

The scars on Lynch's battered body and the medical records indicate she was anally raped, and "fill in the blanks of what Jessi lived through on the morning of March 23, 2003," Bragg wrote.

"The records do not tell whether her captors assaulted her almost lifeless, broken body after she was lifted from the wreckage, or if they assaulted her and then broke her bones into splinters until she was almost dead."

The 207-page saga published by Knopf hits bookstores Tuesday, which is Veterans Day.

In it, America's most famous G.I. - for the first time since her dramatic rescue on April 1 - dispels some of the mystery surrounding the blistering battle that resulted in her capture, her treatment by the Iraqis in a hellish hospital, and the searing pain that is her constant companion.

A 20-year-old from the hollers of West Virginia, Lynch knew what could happen to her if she fell into Iraqi hands. A female pilot captured in the Persian Gulf War had been raped.

"Everyone knew what Saddam's soldiers did to women captives," Bragg wrote. "In (Lynch's) worst nightmares, she stood alone in that desert as the trucks of her own army pulled away."

The nightmare became real in the dusty and dangerous city of Nassiriyah, when Lynch's unit got separated from its convoy and was ambushed by Iraqi fighters.

Bragg, a former New York Times reporter who quit after admitting he had a legman do some of his reporting, gives a cinematic account of the desperate firefight that mortally wounded Lynch's Army buddy, Lori Piestewa, and 10 others in the convoy.

But while early Pentagon reports suggested the young Army private heroically resisted capture, Lynch told Bragg she never fired a shot, because her M-16 jammed. "I didn't kill nobody," she said.

Lynch also denied in the book claims by Iraqi lawyer Mohammed Odeh Al-Rehaief, who said he saw one of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's black-clad Fedayeen slap her as she lay in her hospital bed.

"Unless they hit me while I was asleep - and why do that?" she said.

Lynch described to Bragg how Iraqi doctors were branded "traitors" by Saddam's henchmen for helping her and how they tried to treat her wounds in a shattered hospital where painkillers were scarce. She said one nurse tried to ease her agony by singing to her.

"It was a pretty song," she said. "And I would sleep."

Lynch also confirmed reports in the book that Iraqi doctors tried to sneak her to safety in an ambulance but turned back when wary U.S. soldiers opened fire on them.

But eight days after she was captured, Lynch found herself face to face with a savior.

"Jessica Lynch," he said, "we're United States soldiers and we're here to protect you and take you home."

"I'm an American soldier, too," Lynch replied.

Lynch's painful recovery from an ordeal that left her barely able to walk, unable to use her right hand or control her bowels is vividly described. So, too, is Lynch's discomfort with the spotlight - and with being called a hero.

"I'm just a survivor," she said in the book. "When I think about it, it keeps me awake at night."

---

© 2003, New York Daily News.

[#3Fan]

What I believe is that this ugly *itch has an obligation to thank this gentleman, the Iraqi lawyer for saving her pretentious life. If it were not for him we would not be plagued with her existence.

The mentality of a Lynch-basher. Wishes our POW was killed.

[#3Fan]

CNN neglected to mention that she told him she would meet him later so you're getting all worked up for nothing. Actually since you're fliiping out so bad, I think you've had this saved and couldn't wait for something to come up to get hysterical about. You're the typical Lynch-basher: jealous, insecure, and perpetually angry.

[#3Fan]

SO what! That's still no excuse for her not to take 2 minutes and just thank the guy. Is she so greedy that she doesn't want to endorse HIS book because it may take a few bucks from her book and movie? I haven't watched CNN in years. I watch FOX.

Fox got the story from CNN. She told him she will meet with him, I'd imagine that took 2 minutes already. You're griping because you want to gripe.

[DreamWeaver]

All I know is that I have read from many ofher reliable news sources that Jessica Lynch is VERY upset with the lies and distortions that are being said to make her a hero and she adamantly claims she was not raped or slapped by any Iraqi's, she owes the Iraqi Dr's her life. They atempted to get her back to US forces in an ambulance but was fired on by them and had to return bak to the hospital. She states that this rescue was very distorted, she did not go down firing at enemies, it was an Amercian Indian woman who did any firing. So, who do I beleive ? I believe JL before I beleive any of our mainstream media etc.

[#3Fan]

You make wild generalizations about things that you have absolutely no first hand knowledge and you think that you have "turned it around" on me?

Here we go with the "don't discuss military matters if you've never served" speech. Terrell started it with me, don't blame me for discussing this.

Yes, all military jobs require physical strength-that's why they will kick you out if you don't pass your PT test, that's also why they won't let the physically disabled join. You still haven't addressed the issue of whether or not an Army 5 ton has power steering and pointing out that most large vehicles do is completely beside the point.

I'm not that worried about it. It probably does. If you want to look up the statistics of that truck, knock yourself out.

I never said male Marines struggle to outdo female Marines, I said that all-male boot camp presents males with the opportunity to prove themselves men (to prove their masculinity). And yes, males have to do things to graduate boot camp that females do not. Female Marines do not have to do a single chin-up to graduate, but males are expected to meet a much stricter standard. When you have mixed gender boot camp standards are set according to the least common denominator. So when females are present physical standards are not as exacting (this has been well documented in books such as "Making the Corps" and "Women in Military: Flirting with Disaster") as when the training is done with males alone. The Clinton era policy of mixed gender boot camp results in a watered down training environment that does not prepare young soldiers as well for combat as well as they might be.

Then separate them in boot camp.

Why don't you point out a job that you think does not require physical strength to preform and I will show you how you are wrong in that assumption?

How am I supposed to do that if I've never served? I have my theories and will vote my theories. I'm not an economist and yet I support those that go for flatter taxes. I'm not about to change that. If I can vote for those who support flatter taxes without being an economist, then I can support those who have the same military theories as I without being a veteran (if it comes to that, which it probably never will, it's all we can do to keep socialists out, let alone decide between those that agree on everything but military structure).

The difference between us is that I am talking about things that I have direct, first hand knowledge of and you are making wild generalizations about things you have absolutely no clue about.

Common sense and logic go a long way and it decides most of the issues I vote about. I don't have a stack of documentation that proves why I should vote one way or another on any issue. And again, Terrell started this with me, so quit blsaming me for discussing this subject.

Up until this point I have avoided talking about Jessica Lynch directly because I prefer to focus on the larger issue of women in the military and the problems that come from ignoring basic human biology. I will use what happened to Lynch to illustrate how this applies in the real world.

Why? She did no worse than the men in that Humvee. If you want a sample case of women in combat, pick a woman that wasn't immediately incapacitated.

Suppose for a minute that Lynch had not been rendered unconcious during the fighting. And suppose that one of her male compatriots in the vehicle with her would have lived (I believe that the 1SG was in her vehicle so let's use him for our example). The male is injured and cannot escape under his own power. Do you think that Lynch-five foot three and 120 pounds-could have carried him to safety?

I've said over and over that I don't believe women should be in the infantry. So this is a case that will happen only once every 12 years according to the stats we have so far. In that time there will be 10,000 incidents where a better choice of men due to women filling less-demanding jobs will save lives here and there.

The policy that you are defending is dangerous and can cost people their lives.

I think it saves lives over the long run.

It is only in place to placate feminists like Patsy Schroder who don't give a fig about who gets hurt so long as she can advance her agenda.

Then why isn't Bush, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz saying anything about it?

You are her useful idiot

Looks like your disposition is typical of those that discuss this issue and use Lynch as their poster child for whatever agenda they have.

[#3Fan]

No she wasn't worth saving.

A Lynch-basher wishing death to a POW.

Have you read how she recently condemned the Pentagon for filming her rescue?

You've been fooled by another liberal lie. They quoted her out of context in the headline. And even if it wasn't a misquote, "condemn" is extreme language.

[AmericanInTokyo]

I dunno. Knowing some of the (damnable) ways of many of those rabid towelhead fundamentalists, jehadis and Ba'athists, they just as soon would have -----y raped an unconscious male US soldier, too.

[#3Fan]

On this thread? I don't know. I haven't read the thread. On other threads there were many claims that were not in the report.

Like what?

If you agree that's all that happened, how is she a hero (heroine)?

I've said many times that there is a degree of heroism to those who put themselves in harm's way for others.

Walters? I thought we were talking aobut Miller. I assume you mean Miller, which was whom I was talking about on the other thread.

I said Walters wasn't close to the Lynch vehicle and Miller was and that it was probably Miller that Lynch was mistaken for since he killed nine Iraqis near the Lynch vehicle.

You assumed I was talking about just the vehicle Miss Lynch was riding in. I was talking about the group that was in this same situation, Group 3.

Of course Miller was involved in this conflict! He was POW from the 507th! Where did you mention Group 3?

We don't know the disposition of Buggs and Anguiano, the other men in the truck. It remains under investigation.

Yep, and so we can't assume anything yet as other have done.

Why is it so important to not misquote you?

"Why is it important?"! Don't you care about accuracy? I've said a million times that Miller fought the Iraqis, you can't just go and say I didn't. It's a fact that's central to this discussion! It's like saying I said the United States is on the Asian continent. It's a ridiculous thing to get wrong about me.

Are you some sort of prophet?

Sometimes.

People misquote me all the time, usually from error in memory. Big deal. I just find my original quote and declare it.

Yeah, usually it's no big deal, but this WAS a big deal.

[#3Fan]

Look there is something called being gracious.

She was gracious, she said she would meet him.

We know he helped save her life, he was in her hometown. Could she have given 1 hour of her time to make a public thank you and take a picture?

She's not just sitting around eating Bon Bons and watching Oprah all day. She's probably on a heavy rehab schedule, maybe even on heavy medication a lot.

She would look gracious and thankful for the Iraqi lawyer's help in directing her rescuers to her. End of story, no contoversy, but no she snubs him, controversy and she looks ungreatful, IMO.

She didn't snub him, she said she will meet him in private. Maybe she doesn't want to be around any Arabs right now. Many men couldn't be around any Japanese after being tortured by them and after coming home.

Also saying that she didn't like her rescue being filmed shows a bit of self centerness.

I think she said it to make the bashers happy because the bashers are all mad that she's getting more attention. So she says something to placate them and then they attack her for saying the same thing they've been saying for 7 months. She needs to just not worry about the bashers because the bashers bash just to bash.

One the film will be used for future training for future rescues, second like it or not people had a vested interest in her, due to the press coverage. People were happy to see her alive and she seems ungreatful that people cared about her and wanted to see a picture of her alive and rescued.

She's been criticized for 7 months for being on TV. So she comes out and humbly says it wasn't necessary for her to be on TV. Then the ones who were saying the same thing just a few months ago are now bashing her for saying that! I hope she quits trying to make these people happy and just pays attention to those that have been on her side from the beginning.

I don't know if she being coached or if those are here true feelings, but she seems to be ungracious.

No, she's trying to diffuse the criticism but it's just getting worse because those who are criticizing her will always find something wrong in what she says.

I know that she went through more pain than I probably ever will in my life and appreciate her sacrifice, but there is something about having grace in a situation and it may be she is lacking because she is very young, but JMO, she could have said thank you for all the prayers people sent to her and not make people feel guilty because they watched her rescue on TV.

She has said thanks. I've got an idea. When these 20 year old soldiers are put through hell, how about we quit trying so hard to cut them down when they get home. I'm appreciative of her sacrifice and I think it's petty to worry about things like movies, attention, or who she thanked and who she didn't, or whether she gets grumpy now and then. She sacrificed for her country fercryinoutloud!

[#3Fan]

Have you mistaken me for someone who really cares about this?

Prove you don't care by going away from these threads.

[Dustbunny]

Since it was Bragg that actually wrote the book and he has a tendency to make things up (lie) and Jessica apparently has a 90% memory loss of the events, I will take the book, which I will not read and the movie, which I will never watch, with a grain of salt. The book and/or the movie a work of fiction with some actual events included.

[cake_crumb]

Nail on the head BUMP!!

[Dustbunny]

TY

[91B]

Theories?!? All you have are theories?

Sounds like every liberal I have ever had a discussion with, "you see in theory..." I hope that you have made more of an effort to inform yourself about tax policy than you obviously have about military policy.

You don't have to have served to be informed, but you haven't even gone so far as to do that. You are, quite literally, ignorant and you are an idiot because you discuss matter and make baseless claims, without bothering to inform yourself.

You are the one who stated "that vehicle doesn't have power steering?" and when informed that it might not (it would depend on the specific truck because older models were ordered without that feature) blissfully ignored your mistaken assumption. And then you dismissively put forth that you are "not worried about it". I should say not, given that it helped to expose your cluelessness.

Why don't you answer the question about whether or not you believe that Lynch could have pulled her comrade to safety? It matters not that she wasn't in "the infantry" (the fast moving nature of modern combat blurs the distinction between frtonline and rear troops-Lynch couldn't have gotten more "in combat").

I have been waiting for Bush and co. to do the right thing about the feminization of the military for years now, they might if "conservatives" would hold their feet to the fire on the issue.

Don't come back to me with any more theories. That's just so much more balloon juice. Until you have something substantial to say on the matter, don't waste my time. Stick to talking about NASCAR.

[William Terrell]

A big difference. Extra money would have to be spent on recruiting which takes away from preparation and weapons from the front. Plus if they had to draft, there would be more casualties because of non-committed soldiers.

How much money would be spent on recruiting than the money already spent on recruiting? How much money is spent on "preparation and weapons"? What, specifically are you talking aobut when you speak of those two things?

These things you have to answer before you can evaluate a difference as "big".

It only happens once every 12 years on a fluke. During those 12 years many lives are saved by having a better choice of men on the front.

I asked, "If all of those 100,000 women were in jobs that allow direct contact with the enemy, then how does that free up men. For closer contact with the eneny? Evidently, the job Miss Lynch, as an example, couldn't get more into contact with the enemy."

You are saying that one instance of a woman contacting the enemy 12 years ago and one now. Support your answer with logic or cites. What was the "one" instance 12 years ago?

Or it could go to the front if women kept doing button-pushing jobs.

Cite the number of women doing putton pushing jobs that are not in the tradition area of women's service.

Because that money spent on recruitment could be better spent on weapons and preparation. They wouldn't be spending tens of millions in Nascar if they had an endless supply.

You've said exactly that three time before. Cite some logical or statistical support for it.

Sure. But difference is so obvious, more than a change of scenery.

I asked, "You don't distinguish between 1) a world war with many countries and millions of men involved with constant front line conflicts over a corse of years, and 2) maybe four or five small local conflicts involving ten of thousands of men with sporatic front line conflicts over a course of weeks? Wouldn't you think that the former would product a hell of a lot more casuslties from just the nature of the conflict?"

Please explain your answer.

But not all. And that led to more casualties.

I said that in my experience during 13 months in Viet Nam, in actual combat, that the draftees did as good a job as the volunteers. I was a volunteer. Let me be more precise. Every single draftee, without exception, I served with did as good as his counterpart volunteer.

Please cite your experience, examples or statistics that makes you think draftees do a worse job in combat and that leads to more casualties.

Have you ever served in combat with draftees?

Frequency of occurance. That'll probably be the only time the 507th exchanges angry fire.

You're telling me that if a conflict happens less than so many times, it can't be called "combat"?

They set a record for advancement.

I asked, "What is our military's record now as opposed to before the Clinton administration?"

Cite the record for advancement.

Yep. It's my theory and I'm sticking to it until I see right-minded evidence that shows otherwise. You vote your theories and I'll vote mine. I also have theories about flat taxes, freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, and private property rights that are based on logic and common sense instead of some bureacrat report.

But you have cited no logic or data that supports your theory. The 12 year thing is as close to it as you come. That is how long it was between the first Gulf war and this one. No. lol I can vote my theories based on logic and common sense if I want to. I do on a lot of subjects, like the ones listed above. You started this discussion with me here, not vice-versa.

You have not run through any logical sequence that lead to your conclusions. Do you know what logic is? It is a line of reasoning from known facts to reasonable conjecture.

I may have indeed started the discussion with you. This means you don't have to support your conclusions?

The rest of this post is essentially the same statement over and over again. As I said before, I ask questions and you repeat yourself. My first line in the post to which you are answering was, "You are repeating. I'm asking questions and you're not answering, so I repeat the question." You split the statement to avoid to the implication.

Thanks for your participation. I'm through. I think any here that may have been ambiguous about the principles involved in women in combat roles would see the lack of any substance in your position. That's enough for me.

Bye.

[William Terrell]

Bye, again. Waste of time to debate with you.

[91B]

The other day there was a thread where some freeper was asking for advice about what to look for in a calculus teacher. Not knowing anything about calculus, I did not comment, as I might have said something like "look for a calculus teacher with a good haricut".

But now, given my interaction with #3fan I see that I was wrong. That one does not need to be informed about a subject to offer a theory. So remembering that the Little Rascals had a mule named "Calculus" I have decided that calculus is the study of the mathematical principles that govern a mule shaped universe and I will post advice to that fellow to ride a mule to class in order to improve his grade.

[philetus]

Thanks for the info. I didn't see that.

[Voice in your head]

I don't think that there are any plans to change the current role of women in the Army. They cannot join the infantry, armor, or special forces. They are also forbidden from holding an MOS as a combat engineer and almost all field artillery MOS's. Lynch was in a maintenance unit. Her weapon was not for the purpose of her being sent into a foreign land to kill people, but rather for defense of herself and her comrades, in the event that they came under fire. The real crime is that a private had a weapon malfunction and she was unable to correct it. That is either poor maintenance or poor training - in either case, her leaders let her down.

[#3Fan]

Theories?!? All you have are theories?

Yep. A lot of mathematics are theories.

Sounds like every liberal I have ever had a discussion with, "you see in theory..." I hope that you have made more of an effort to inform yourself about tax policy than you obviously have about military policy.

Yeah, I've said I know more about taxes because I deal with economics every day of my life. I've repeatedly said I've never been in the service so on those matters I vote according to my theories and what the brass say, brass that I philosophically agree with on most things. I've told Terrell the same thing but apparently he thinks I'm the guy to talk to about military structure. lol Whatever...I'll answer posts to me about it I guess. I'm just one vote though.

You don't have to have served to be informed, but you haven't even gone so far as to do that. You are, quite literally, ignorant and you are an idiot because you discuss matter and make baseless claims, without bothering to inform yourself.

I let the veterans and the brass worry about the military and I go with the ones that I agree with on most things that I have first-hand knowledge about. I don't have time to be an expert on everything in the world so I pick a few things that really interest me and things that I can study on my own where no one will have an advantage over me. That can never be with the military since I've never served. On one or two things, I bet I know more that 99.999% of the people on earth.

You are the one who stated "that vehicle doesn't have power steering?" and when informed that it might not (it would depend on the specific truck because older models were ordered without that feature) blissfully ignored your mistaken assumption.

What assumption? It was a question. I asked if it did. When the person I was asking didn't answer, I figured it probably did and no one has proved me wrong yet.

And then you dismissively put forth that you are "not worried about it". I should say not, given that it helped to expose your cluelessness.

LOL No, I can't say that I'm worried about it. It probably had power steering. Maybe it didn't. Doesn't matter much.

Why don't you answer the question about whether or not you believe that Lynch could have pulled her comrade to safety? It matters not that she wasn't in "the infantry" (the fast moving nature of modern combat blurs the distinction between frtonline and rear troops-Lynch couldn't have gotten more "in combat").

She probably couldn't but the situation hasn't been documented yet that a male soldier died when a female couldn't carry him to safety. Meanwhile we've had 10,000 incidents in the infantry where there were men pulled to safety a few times in there. More lives were saved by having better men do that due to more choice.

I have been waiting for Bush and co. to do the right thing about the feminization of the military for years now, they might if "conservatives" would hold their feet to the fire on the issue.

That you Todd? lol If Bush, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz suddenly called for a restructuring of the military, I'd probably support them but GOOD!

Don't come back to me with any more theories.

Hey, you guys asked. lol

That's just so much more balloon juice. Until you have something substantial to say on the matter, don't waste my time.

Why do you keep asking?

Stick to talking about NASCAR.

I thought Kenseth's dad was great today. That was the best part of today's race.