LaVena Johnson, a private in the Army was brutally raped, beaten and killed in 2005. Her teeth were knocked in, her nose broken, she had teeth marks on her body and there was corrosive liquid poured into her vagina, most likely to destroy evidence. Then she was shot and her body set on fire. After all this, the military called it ... a suicide.
Who are they kidding? What is the real reason they are covering up this murder? A trail of blood from the private's body led into the tent of a military contractor from Kellogg, Brown & Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton at the time). I don't want to make any conclusions now about who might have done this and why it was covered up, but one thing that is exceedingly clear from the evidence is that she was murdered and there needs to be an investigation into who did it.
There is a website set up to follow this case and demand justice: http://www.lavenajohnson.com/
I got pretty worked up about this on last night's show. That's because I actually care about justice and I care about our troops (instead of just putting a bumper sticker on my car):
In my opinion, this was part of the atmosphere of lawlessness that was fostered in Iraq by the Bush administration. But I don't want my opinion to get in the way here because this should be something that we can all agree on. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has already improved a lot of the conditions on the ground in Iraq and this doesn't have to be political at this point. If Republicans care about the troops as they say they do, they have to care about what happened to PFC LaVena Johnson.
This is something we should be able to unite on. If we can't get justice for Private Johnson, who can we get justice for?
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If You Care About the Troops, Then You Have to Care About Private LaVena Johnson
Posted Jul 31st 2008 2:43AM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Iraq, Young Turks, Military, Video
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 4)
1. Stink -- If you cared about justice you would not have politicized this issue with your "Bush Administration" rantings. Go play "Hide the Pickle" with buddy Osama bin Obama. ---------------------
NOBAMA 08!
Obama Sucks at 5:44PM on Jul 30th 2008
2. This country needs a "Truth Commission."
Captain Negative. at 7:04PM on Jul 30th 2008
3. Your pathetic little "care about our troops" mascarade fools noone. I usually waste two to three minutes of my week scanning your blog and I have NEVER seen you write anything in suppport of our heroes. Instead true to form you write a fluff piece on an alleged "cover up" . Why don't you just call our troops killers or tell everyone how you would like to see bush beheaded? My two minutes are up, I will leave you to your two admirers.
Doug P at 7:12PM on Jul 30th 2008
4. >>>A trail of blood from the private's body led into the tent of a military contractor from Kellogg, Brown & Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton at the time). I don't want to make any conclusions now about who might have done this and why>>>
First Cenk makes the Cheney connection then he says he doesn't want to draw conclusions. Please tell us the distance of the blood trail to the contractor's tent. Unless the tents were interconnected, that had to be one hell of a blood trail leading through sand over any significant distance at all. It would seem as though blood would coagulate or adhere on military issue gear instead of leaving a suspicious tell all blood trail. If you're gonna play Sherlock Holmes Cenk, give us more info so we can draw our own conclusions. I don't trust you.
>>>In my opinion, this was part of the atmosphere of lawlessness that was fostered in Iraq by the Bush administration. But I don't want my opinion to get in the way here because this should be something that we can all agree on.>>>
Sweet Cenk, your understanding that military conflicts/wars are all squeaky clean is a testimony to your oblivion. According to someone like you, from the comfort of your desk, battlefield psychosis or depravity under adverse conditions should never happen. This has been the most clinically run operation in the history of any major conflict. A few renegades don't constitute "lawlessness"!
>>>Defense Secretary Robert Gates has already improved a lot of the conditions on the ground in Iraq and this doesn't have to be political at this point. If Republicans care about the troops as they say they do, they have to care about what happened to PFC LaVena Johnson.>>>
This is the clincher. It doesn't have to be "political" at this point according to Cenk but it's up to Republicans alone to search their hearts as to what happened to this girl, all the Democrats are exempt on this one. Great job on not politicizing this, what an idiot!
Drawing a distinction this has something to do with anything other than an isolated incident that possibly needs to be investigated further is just one more undeniable fact that the author of this article promulgates hateful dissension at all costs with no room to even discuss the topic at hand.
It's always a loaded deck with this asshole...
Bobby at 7:52PM on Jul 30th 2008
5. Doug P, perhaps you should stop speed-reading and go for READING COMPREHESION instead.
The VICTIM is a U.S. soldier!
The alleged perpetrator is a civilial contractor.
Captain Negative. at 7:53PM on Jul 30th 2008
6. Bobby,
"Fog of war" is neither a justification nor an excuse for rape and murder.
Captain Negative. at 7:58PM on Jul 30th 2008
7. Thanks for caring
DaveK at 12:44AM on Jul 31st 2008
8. Her teeth were knocked in, her nose broken, she had teeth marks on her body and there was corrosive liquid poured into her vagina, most likely to destroy evidence. Then she was shot and her body set on fire. After all this, the military called it ... a suicide.
Hi Bobby,
How are things going?
How in the world did she knock her own teeth out, break her nose, bite herself with no teeth, and poor corrosive liquid in her vagina from raping herself? And top it off, how did she light herself on fire after shooting herself?
Botts at 8:03PM on Jul 30th 2008
9. "In my opinion, this was part of the atmosphere of lawlessness that was fostered in Iraq by the Bush administration. But I don't want my opinion to get in the way here because this should be something that we can all agree on."
*************
If you truly didn't want your opinion to "get in the way here" you could have taken a pass on expressing it. Of course if you did that, there would be no point in bringing the topic up at all.
bob at 8:05PM on Jul 30th 2008
10. Hey there Big Guy,
No offense boss, but the Bush Admin is seeing to it that the White House floors are waxed, the curtains cleaned and the new silver flatware is polished. I say new because rumor has it the Clinton's left behind plastic forks, spoons and knives along with those aluminum lawn chairs in the White House Rose Garden).
It's about Obama and McCai....McCai...Obama and John M. The chapter on Bush is over.
Willet at 8:11PM on Jul 30th 2008
11. >>>6. Bobby,
"Fog of war" is neither a justification nor an excuse for rape and murder.>>>
That would be correct Captain,
Who said it was?
nonetheless stress factors or either unknown criminal elements take precedence in the battlefield under abnormal conditions. These same occurrences (criminal activities) happen in far greater numbers on the streets of America under different variables nowhere equal to what our troops contend with.
Don't spin what I said to mean I condone it, read my last paragraph. It's been investigated by CID but seems like "further investigation" is needed.
Explain to me please as to my comments why this entire issue is or should be solely a concern of Republicans caring about the troops?
Bobby at 9:18PM on Jul 30th 2008
12. i am embarrassed for my country when i hear americans voice their opinion that a moral war is possible.
dust4ngel at 9:18PM on Jul 30th 2008
13. >>>Hi Bobby,
How are things going?
How in the world did she knock her own teeth out, break her nose, bite herself with no teeth, and poor corrosive liquid in her vagina from raping herself? And top it off, how did she light herself on fire after shooting herself?
Botts at 8:03PM on Jul 30th 2008>>>
Hello Botts,
things are well here, how about with you?
Unless she was a contortionist with very long arms able to squeeze off a round from her M-16 then upon finding she hadn't completed her mission had the coherency to knock her teeth out & set herself on fire I'd say there was still room for lengthy investigation. When that investigation is finished in a competent fashion hopefully if wrong doing is a part the responsible party or parties will be brought to full justice in a military court of law.
Even when the system is flawed people cry out for justice long after the fact. That's what I see occurring here....
Bobby at 9:39PM on Jul 30th 2008
14. All Cenk bashing aside (since personally I believe in free speech, so he can ramble as he pleases whether I agree with him or not and I will stand up to defend his right to do so) there is a VICTIM here who IS/was a soldier and he is calling attention ro this fact. How in the hell does anyone kick their own teeth in, and set themselves on fire? I cannot see how this could possible be a suicide. But maybe I'm just a liberal (oops, I said it!!) dumbazz, but how big of a "DUH" do you have to have???
web jones at 10:05PM on Jul 30th 2008
15. WHERE IS NANCY "DISGRACE" WHEN YOU NEED HER. The plain truth is that
this case does not receive the attention it deserve because the victim was a female African-
American soldier and there are no network rating points to be gained by broadcasting this crime. Had this horrendous crime been perpetrated on a blond-haired, blue eyed "Tiffany", the FBI, the CIA, military investigators, any one and every one with a badge would have been crawling all over each other. A white girl, Natalie Holloway, disappeared in Aruba and the US government sent the FBI and US military equipment and advisors to that foreign nation to investigate. Pat Tilly, a white soldiers death was covered up and his white parents received help from the "White" House and congress. Two female soldiers, one white and one black, were captured then freed; the white female soldier was trumpeted all over the press and media as some kind of heroine; the black woman was totally ignored. Then they found out the white woman's story was not even true and they hushed it up real quick. Why do the government and the media refuse do the same for this black woman who stepped up to the plate and put life in the line of fire for her country? I am sure LaVena Johnson did not imagine that her own rape and murder would be her reward for serving her country; I am sure she never imagined that her life would be snuffed out by one of her own countryman and the crime swept under a dingy rug in a dusty and dirty foreign nation. Stories such as LaVena Johnson’s do not get lost in newsrooms, they get ignored and suppressed on purpose. Why has this story been cut from CNN, FOX and MSNBC? Where is the Larry King interview with this child's parents? No Katie Couric, no Barbara Walters, not even a tear jerk from the idiots in “the View”. Why are there no hour long specials on this woman's murder and coverup; where are the howls of outrage from all the women's groups? This fits the American pattern of valueing white women over black women, white people over black people and proves again that the heart and soul of this nation is “white” with racism. In this sad and sordid tale there is enough shame to go around: Shame on this President, as Commander-In-Chief the buck stops at his desk. Shame on Congress who is supposed to be the people’s watch-dog; shame on the media for their crass and unforgivable refusal to make this a front line story. Shame on America for betraying a black female soldier who was willing and who ultimately died to protect our freedoms.
LFunches at 9:52PM on Jul 30th 2008