FBI agent says Guantanamo was like ‘animal house,’ says photos show drunken carousing ‘day and night’The first full-time female FBI agent stationed at the US prison in Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba says she
witnessed a drunken “spring break” atmosphere during her tenure — and has photographs to prove it.
In a little noticed
complaint Friday,
the 43-year-old agent, Theresa Foley, alleges that she experienced a
“generally sexist, discriminatory and ‘boys club’ atmosphere” during
her time at Camp Delta in Cuba and that she contracted a permanent
debilitating disease as a result of being forced to sleep in
rat-infested quarters. Foley is suing the Justice Department over her
illness and purported sexual harassment.
Her illness has led to a hysterectomy and spinal collapse.
Other FBI agents, she says, ostracized her because she refused to
participate in the alleged carousing. She claims to have attended
parties with other FBI agents in which they wore a “mocking imitation
of Arab or Afghan attire” and has pictures of “personnel at Guantanamo
engaged in drunken carousing in a sexually charged atmosphere, day and
night,” including shots of “female employees in bathing suits or
revealing attire sitting on the laps of male employees, and female
employees being hugged, kissed and likely groped by male employees.”
Foley claims she was dubbed a lesbian by male FBI agents and told, among other things, that her “nipples were leaking.”
“Other photographs reveal, among other things, what appear to be
intoxicated FBI employees wearing some type of mocking imitation of
Arab or Afghan attire, and personnel at a Halloween party dressed in
orange detainee jumpsuits (apparently as a joke),” Foley writes. “Still
other employees appear to be completely intoxicated and engaged in
various activities which indicate both a pervasive discriminatory
atmosphere toward women, as well as behavior inappropriate for
employees stationed at a detention facility for terrorists. Some of the
behavior resembles stereotypical ’spring break’ behavior. This highly
inappropriate behavior by FBI personnel and other U.S. Government
personnel working at Guantanamo, was known by the FBI, was encouraged
by the FBI, and was tolerated by the FBI.”
“This pervasive sexually discriminatory and harassing atmosphere was
at such an extreme, that it is accurate to describe the prevalent
atmosphere as an ‘animal house’ atmosphere,” Foley continues. “When FBI
agents were not busy interrogating terrorists held at Guantanamo, they
were expected and encouraged by their managers and supervisors to be
sun bathing, snorkeling, fishing, drinking, carousing and engaging in
romantic relationships with each other. Over the course of her stay at
Guantanamo, once it became clear that SA Foley did not believe this
conduct was appropriate for an FBI Special Agent, and refused to engage
in this conduct, SA Foley was ostracized and maligned.”
Animal House, a 1978 comedy depicting the opprobrium of a
college frathouse, has become all-but-synonymous with puerile college
drinking fetes.
Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:17 pm
