![]() But Pentagon officials at the time were divided about the direction of that assistance-whether it should prepare the Tunisian military to address conventional threats, from tanks and aircraft, for example, or less conventional ones, like insurgents and terrorists. A year after the attack, the administration of then president Ronald Reagan announced it was bolstering its security assistance to Tunisia. 3 In tandem, Tunisia’s Western backers, worried about a continued threat from Libya’s mercurial and aggressive regime, also responded. 2 “Gafsa was the start of our modernization,” noted one retired Tunisian general in an October 2019 interview. In the aftermath of the battle, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense (MOD) sought to remedy these military deficiencies. He tried to make small talk as he watched her work.Frederic Wehrey is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on governance, conflict, and security in Libya, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf. Suddenly, he grabbed her between the legs. "Knock it off," she told him, then turned and headed for the safety of her nearby room. He rushed at Moore from across the room and pulled her close, groping and fondling her. She fought back and screamed for help as he repeatedly tried to force her down onto the bed. ![]() From the hallway, her battle buddy called back. She reported the October 2002 assault to her first sergeant, but he instructed her to drop the complaint. He said the sergeant who attacked her was preparing to transfer back home to his family, that it was better for everyone's career - hers included - to just move on. "I said, 'I don't think that's the answer,' " Moore recalled. Less than a month later, she began to receive bad job reviews and went to a mental health counselor for support. What followed is familiar to many victims of sexual assault and rape in the military, according to active and former troops, families, victims advocates and veterans groups. Less than eight months after she reported the assault, Moore was diagnosed with a pre-existing psychiatric illness that she had never heard of: personality disorder. Similar accounts from members in every branch of the military show that those who disclose sexual assault face commanders who often disregard their reports and send them to uniformed counselors, who subsequently find them to be mentally unfit for duty, according to a seven-month San Antonio Express-News investigation. Through dozens of interviews with experts and victims, and a review of thousands of pages of military and medical documents, the newspaper found the problem to be pervasive and long-standing, with cases spanning three decades. ![]() The pattern of expulsions continues, defying policies to limit the psychiatric discharges and to ensure qualified doctors evaluate sex-assault victims. The mental health diagnoses can come with little or no psychological evaluation, and many are later disputed by doctors outside the military. Victims often had no history of mental health problems. ![]() ![]() Among them were soldiers who had established promising careers, passed the rigors of boot camp with honors and attained top security clearances. ![]()
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