Nov. 6 — Former POW Jessica Lynch, whose dramatic rescue offered Americans a glimmer of hope at one of the low points of the Iraq war, discloses in her upcoming biography that she suffered a brutal sexual assault during her captivity in Iraq. While a medical report indicates that Lynch had been sexually assaulted, Lynch says she has no recollection of the attack. "Even just the thinking about that, that's too painful," she tells Diane Sawyer in her first interview since her nine-day captivity in Iraq. I'm No Hero In the interview, Lynch also clears up conflicting stories about her actions during the March 23 ambush in which Lynch was taken prisoner. Initial reports portrayed the Army supply clerk, then 19, as a hero who was wounded by Iraqi gunfire but kept firing until her ammunition ran out, shooting several Iraqis. But Lynch confirms that was not the case. She tells Sawyer she was just a soldier in the wrong place at the wrong time, whose gun jammed during the chaos. "I'm not about to take credit for something I didn't do," she tells Sawyer in the interview, airing Tuesday, Nov. 11. "I did not shoot, not a round, nothing," she tells Sawyer. "When we were told to lock and load, that's when my weapon jammed … I did not shoot a single round … I went down praying to my knees. And that's the last I remember." Lynch, now 20, says she feels hurt to have received praise she says her colleagues deserved. "It hurt in a way that people would make up stories that they had no truth about. They did not know whether I did that or not. Only I would have been able to know that, because the other four people on my vehicle aren't here to tell that story. So I would have been the only one able to say, 'Yeah, I went down shooting.' But I didn't. I did not." "I don't look at myself as a hero," she adds. "My heroes are Lori [Pfc. Lori Piestewa], the soldiers that are over there, the soldiers that were in that car beside me, the ones that came and rescued me." Piestewa was one of the 11 members of Lynch's unit, the 507th Maintenance, who were killed in the ambush near the southern Iraqi town of Nasiriyah. Lynch, who spent nearly four months in a military hospital in Washington, D.C., after her ordeal, says she still feels like a soldier — and something else. "I'm a survivor, for all the things that I've been through," she tells Sawyer. Lynch described the moments of the ambush as terror and confusion. "Once it started, it was just chaos," she said, adding, "You could hear them [bullets] bouncing off our vehicle. You could hear people screaming. It was scary, so scary." She said her convoy was surrounded by Iraqi attackers: "They were coming from everywhere. We had vehicles getting stuck, vehicles running out of gas … our weapons were jamming." Her unit was ambushed after missing a turn and becoming separated from the convoy they were traveling in. "We weren't thinking quickly. We were so tired, we were hungry … it was just a mistake," Lynch said. In the chaos of the ambush, Lynch says, she discovered that her gun was jammed and she was unable to defend herself. She was never able to fire her weapon. She says it may have been Piestewa who fought fiercely and went down firing. "That may have been her. But that wasn't me, and I'm not taking credit for it," Lynch said. Lynch says she remembers Piestewa protecting her: "She was there for me … She had my back the whole time." Fearing the Worst Lynch was held in an Iraqi hospital for nine days after the ambush, and she describes the fear she felt during her captivity as well as the excruciating pain from her injuries. "I couldn't move … It was so horrible, like I've never felt that much pain in my whole entire life." She said she was never mistreated at the hospital, but she still feared for her life. "I kept repeating, 'Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me,'" she said. Lynch said the Iraqi medical staff tried to reassure her, but she was skeptical. She said she refused the food they offered her, fearing that it could be poisoned or unsanitary. Lynch said no one among the staff at the Iraqi hospital was abusive to her, "no one beat me, no one slapped me, no one, nothing … I mean, I actually had one nurse, that she would sing to me." At one point, Lynch said, she overheard Iraqi doctors planning to amputate her leg. "I started just crying and screaming and just doing everything that I could … And they just backed off. They took me back up to my room and left me there." The Rescue Lynch says that when U.S. special forces burst into the hospital in search of her, her first reaction was panic. "I heard the Americans coming in, 'Get down, get down,' you know. And that's when I started to really panic … that's when I really, I felt like getting down on the ground and crawling under that bed because I didn't know what was about to happen," she said. She says she heard the U.S. soldiers ask about her, speaking in English, but she was still terrified. "I thought, 'Here it comes.They're about to kill me … It's about to happen.'" It wasn't until the soldiers spoke to her that she began to feel hope. Lynch said the soldiers told her, "We're American soldiers. We're here to take you home." She went on: "And I was like, 'Yeah, I'm an American soldier too' … It was obviously a dumb thing to say — 'I'm an American soldier, too' — but it was the first thing that came out of my mind." One soldier, Lynch said, ripped an American flag off his suit and handed it to her. "I would not let go of his hand. I clenched to his hand because I was not going to let him leave me here. He was going to take me out." It wasn't until she was being evacuated in a U.S. helicopter, Lynch says, that she felt, "My God, this is real. I'm going home." The U.S. military filmed the rescue, and U.S. television networks aired the dramatic green night-vision footage repeatedly as they reported how the special forces team, acting on a tip from a brave Iraqi lawyer, engaged in firefights on their way into and out of the hospital. "I don't think it happened quite like that," Lynch said, "though … anyone, you know, in that kind of situation would obviously go in with force, not knowing who was on the other side of the door." It later emerged that there were no firefights at the hospital. The hospital staff said there were no Iraqi soldiers there, and questioned the need for the Americans to use force. Lynch told Sawyer she does not remember seeing the lawyer, Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief, who is the focus of a TV movie that is being made without her participation. But if he did help her, she said, she is grateful. Asked whether the military's portrayal of the rescue bothers her, Lynch said, "Yeah, it does. It does that they used me as a way to symbolize all this stuff. I mean, yeah, it's wrong … I don't know what they had … or why they filmed it." But Lynch was unequivocal in her gratitude to the soldiers who rescued her. "All I know was that I was in that hospital hurting … I wanted out of there. It didn't matter to me if they would have came in shirts and blank guns. It wouldn't have mattered to me. I wanted out of there." "They're the ones that came in to rescue me. Those are my heroes … I'm so thankful that they did what they did. They risked their lives. They didn't know, you know, who was in there." Lynch told Sawyer she wrote her upcoming biography with journalist Rick Bragg, not for money, but "to let everyone know my side of the story … the soldiers who were beside me in that war and the soldiers that are still over there."

I think you are in Luv ( what ever that means) when you are more interested in what she says rather how she looks. Maybe yu just have crush on her. Either way, Jamac, only yu can know if yu are really in love.

Kowneny...It does take two to tango, but sadly one of us is in an extended coma, and therefore lacks any legal representation to finalise and validate any mutual divorce. Besides, Sland have already unileteraly withdrawn from the union. Either way, iam all for anyone who thinks that they are better off on their own, and could do without somalia. Just wondering, how does one mantain somali unity under two independent states. People might feel some of sense of brotherhood, but as states, i think our interests will diverge, not converge

Bee.....Let me see if i understood right, you are saying that i can take little excursion back home, all alone, and get hooked up with young honey, and still turn around and blame my wife for letting me loose in such enviroment. Coool, get any more pointers....lol... Ladies, Wats wrong having more than one wife, atleast,you will know about your's husband relationships. it is not like da west where da husband has nice wife in sububarn, works late in da city ( mistress), and goes to lot of business trips (Girlfriend)....lol In all seriousness though, These marriages are unhealthy, break up famalies, and wreck all parties. Most of the time , the first wife doesn't even know that her husband got married. That makes it even worse. Personally, i rather have one hopefully happy wife rather than bunch of angry ones.

Lets Roll!

Geedid....Gas chambers. You are being very kind to them. If i had my way, i will locked in well-lit cell decorated images of starving masses of 1992. Starve them to death, n let them know how would 9 yrs somali boy in Baidio would have felt. Saaxib...All somali leadership are da same to me including Riyaale. I can imagine the Dhaqameed of Sland trying to help, not likes of Riyaale. N as there is no hope as long as likes of Yeey n Aided are around.

Gediid....My apologies first for Fadhi Ku dirir thing....I was out of line.Coming back to the matter at hand, I will have disagree with yu. Edna's remarks was not in any way hightlighting the predicaments facing somalis. It is more like compare and contrast session for her, searching for thing that was bad in Somalia, and sort of laughing at it. It did offend larger populace whether that was her intention or not. Unlike others here, iam not really concerned if she sees herself as somali. As far as iam concerned, somalinimo baryo ma aha. Iam all for anyone leaving the union. Just don't use our miseries as means to gain sympathy for her cause. If she wants to talk, Let her talk about all thats good in Somaliland, and leave "other somalis" alone. Afterall it is how well Sland is doing that will win it its independence, not how bad of a shape somalia is in. N yeah, yu are right Che sounded better....I still get revolutionary spirit though....lol

Well, somalis were not very active in slave trade, but they did sold, and own slaves. N also somali expansionism towards west (ogaden) n south resulted in the enslavement of natives. Someone actually once told me ogaden somalis owned slaves as late as the 60s. The present day bantu-somalis are mix of original local bantus, and the slaves brought by the Arabs n Europeans. It is sad we didn't incorparate in them into the somali society and treat like true citizens that they are, but agian ethnic somalis can't even stand each other , let alone others.

Gediid.....Saaxib, Hadal haan buuxiyo, but do excuse us for taking an offence to Enda's continous barrage of anti-somali sentiments. She is a somali woman ( and as such commands our respect), but she is also the representative of an entity that lately became fond of lambasting somalis.I can't speak for others, but i think her character/reputution wasn't being questioned here. Besides her ruputation as distinguished woman precedes us, and anything posted on SOL won't change that. Anyway, i guess what iam saying is if 13 yrs push for recognition didn't yeild anything for Sland, it is rather sad to see Sland officials using southern misery as selling point. We have the right to protest against anyone who uses our suffering millions's misery for scoring political points. It doesn't matter if the individual is male or female. One should be held accountable for actions. Well, thats all i had to say, i guess yu dismiss my comment as reactionary fadhi ka dirir nuisance if it is gonna ease your mind. Remember though you wouldn't be here if yu weren't fadhi ku dirir yourself....lol. Later Dost

Riyaale mediatating between southerners.....lol. What a joke. Hargeysa or for that matter any other outsider can't fix the southern problem. The solution must be come from within somalia itself.

SmithnWestern.....Saaxib, it is nature of the somali politics that will turn these lands and its people into exclusivist tribal fiefdoms. Surely, the so called leaders bear some of the blame, but it is the somali mindset that is mostly to blame. When things go soar in places like Pland, its inhabitants don't question the leadership, but rather come up with great conspiracy theories. If our people were progressive, somalis wouldn't have been stuck with these idiotic leaders. You got ppl like Riyaale calling for the expulsion for illegal immigrants. We all know he wasn't referring to the ethopians. It is nice to say kick the southerners out....lol....n for what, to achieve security. For those supporting riyaale in his call for the expulsion of "illegal immigrants", the fact that riyaale's administration is corrupt, and imcompatent is non-issue, and has little to do why things are going bad in the north. It is easier for them to accept the story stating that it is 'other somalis' who are destabilizing Sland.

Sophist....wat were yu doing in Jin Tun session...I thought it was granma's only event. Well, i used to hear about colonies of Jin living near Bososa. The reer bari folks say that you would hear all kinds of noises, engines of cars roaring,but will never see a soul. I also heard stories of men being lured by Jin in Marka n Berbera. I don't know if there is any truth to this though, i guess it is da story of over imaginatative youngster,but Somalis do use black magic to take care those whom they envy. Anyone from Beledweyne would know Baxaaris sending crocodiles to trap girls in the river. Nomadic herders use Fal to predict things, and even warlods and politicians turn to black magic. N i also heard stories of taxi drivers in mogadisho recalling having a female passengers that look human, but had donkey legs. I think this one was simply urban folktale.

Ture Taht.

SmithNwestern....Iam all for self-determination or limited autonomy within somali state,but i must say these lands make no sense anymore. They are turning to be exclusivist tribal lands. As for Mrs Edna,i think she is doing more damage than good. It is rather sad to see her develop this pattern of degrading "other somalis". Whats even sadder is hearing her references to the colonial era, and its reprecussions.During her tour in da states, the good lady said something to the affect that northerners are more civilised than southern brethens coz they colonized by the english. I have never heard a somali expressing any pride in being colonized by gaalo.

One's health issue is private matter. Obviously the wives of these wakcos need to be informed. That job should left to the health professionals and these wackos themselves. The somali public has no right to know who is infected,and who is not. But nomadz will be happy if these individuals disappear from the so called somali political stage.

Yu r wlcm

loooooooool......kixkixkixkixkix. Iam not big fan of Qabqablayaasha, but that "reporter" got he deserved. It was funny, o man.

Continued

I saw many sites dedicated to somali n abyssinain cats. It is special breed, and very unique. I like big cats though. Beautiful animals

Shuju....Ppl are suffering alright, but da sad thing none of us will do anything about it.

HornAfr....lol....Now imagine callling somebody shuun. It is gonna be simply awkward specially for Xamaris.

CHESTNUT TREE (Honesty) of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritates easily and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner. lol.......I apparently have difficulty in finding a patner, and lack confidence, but to balance these traits, i happen to be a born dimplomat,and honest being....Hmmmmm Interesting.

"I am crying for my brothers" Somali mourner May Allah bless their souls. Samir iyo imaan Ala haka siiyo waalidkod iyo walaalo huud. Ramadan Kariim Nomads. Teary tributes were paid in Rome to 13 Somali immigrants who died at sea in a desperate attempt to reach Europe's shores. Hundreds of mourners on Friday filed past their coffins, laid out in front of Rome's city hall, paying last respects to the unnamed men and woman who sought better life but fell victims to cold and hunger instead at sea. Survivors of the nightmarish 16-day voyage, rescued last Sunday by Italian coastguards, said about 50 more corpses had been dumped at sea. "I am crying for my brothers," said on Somali mourner. About 150 Somali immigrants and several hundred other mourners stood in sombre silence as 13 hearses arrived one by one and city officials placed the coffins on a raised platform. Shock The tragedy has traumatized many Italians and Rome responded with a formal ceremony to honour the dead at a vast square that was once the heart of the Roman empire. "I came to express compassion with these people who fled their homeland in search of a better life only to find suffering and death," an elderly Roman woman said, crying and making the sign of the cross. Many Somali woman covered their faces in their headscarves, while others held high their national flag. Deaths At least 12 other African immigrants have died in two other shipwrecks off Italy this past week, prompting shrill calls for granting safe passage to immigrants. Italy's government has enacted tough legislations to discourage immigrants from sneaking in. But unmindful of the lurking dangers, rickety old boats are still leaving Tunisia and Libya on a regular basis, packed with immigrants and heading straight for Italy's shores. Many of those on board, like the 13 Somalis, never make it

Originally posted by LANDER: hmm...I knew someone would bring up the NSS. [/quote lol......it falls within the territory walaal. Besides it is natural to be curious. I wasn't velifying him,but just wondering since he is from the generation that listened and acted upon on Aabi siyaad's higher wisdom.

Xamar Caddeey through and through. I have said it before anything north of Xamar is Big NO NO. It is too dry and too homogenous with screwed up local somali dialects.....lol....I could entertain the idea of Hargeysa being temporary capital city, but than again, do Slanders wanna join Somalia. Even if they do eventually, i can't see myself living in a city where Shuun might be somebody's actual name, and the word gabhad refers to married women, not single honeys. As for Badio, it is simply too ethnic. I love my May May bros, but i can't get word of the May MaY tongue. They could be cursing me n i wouldn't know. So therefore Xamar is the right choice. N all three branches of the goverment should be in Xamar.