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Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

Scandal throws spotlight on mercenaries
(Joshua Chaffin, Financial Times, May 3, 2004)
[NOTE: In my blog of this article I have substituted the word "mercenaries" in all places where the original article uses the term "private contractors". To see the full article without these changes, click the link above. Just keep in mind the fact that there actually is no distinction between private contractors and mercenaries.]

The mounting scandal over the torture of Iraqi prisoners at a US military prison in Baghdad has again focused attention on the Pentagon's extensive - and sometimes controversial - use of mercenaries in the Iraq war. . . . Employees from two companies, CACI International and Titan, participated in interrogation sessions at the Abu Ghraib prison as both interrogation specialists and linguists, according to an internal army report completed in late February. . . . Procurement experts took issue with the military's decision to use mercenaries for a task as sensitive as interrogating prisoners. . . . "This is just one more example that we've delegated an awful lot to our mercenaries," said Steven Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University. "It's fair to ask whether [interrogating prisoners] is an appropriate function for them." . . . The Pentagon has increasingly relied on mercenaries in recent years to maintain weapons, serve meals and deliver mail as it strives to save money, and free up more troops for combat. . . . The practice has reached unprecedented levels in the Iraq war, where dozens of mercenaries have been killed - often serving alongside soldiers on the battlefield. . . . Until now, the controversy had largely focused on issues of cost, and whether the government retained proper oversight of such arrangements. . . . But the prison scandal is sure to inflame debate over the legal aspects of outsourcing. Critics have long noted that mercenaries working on foreign soil are not subject to the same military laws that govern uniformed troops. Also, international treaties can make it difficult to prosecute them under US or local law. . . . In a recent case, several employees from DynCorp, a Pentagon mercenary provider, were sent home from Bosnia after the army investigated their participation in a prostitution ring, although none were prosecuted. . . . In theory, the same could occur in Iraq where the Coalition Provisional Authority has passed regulations that exempt foreign mercenaries from local Iraqi laws.
[COMMENT: There are some interesting connections coming to the surface about the two mercenary companies that are involved in this prison torture scandal. California-based Titan Corporation says it is “a leading provider of solutions and services for national security”. Between 2003-04, it gave nearly $40,000 to George W Bush’s Republican Party. Titan supplied translators to the military.
CACI International Inc. describes its aim as helping “America’s intelligence community in the war on terrorism”. Richard Armitage, the current deputy US secretary of state, sat on CACI’s board. ]

posted by Lorenzo 2:11 PM