Contractors rarely face disciplinary action in Iraq

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http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view&askthisid=269
Nieman Watchdog
Questions The Press Should Ask

Contractors rarely face disciplinary action in Iraq
March 15, 2007

Legal roadblocks and red tape have protected civilian contractors in abuse cases, even in Abu Ghraib. Administration critics say the contractors are sometimes encouraged by the military or the CIA to use harsh interrogation techniques, knowing they won’t be prosecuted.

By Tara McKelvey
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There are 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq – and 100,000 contractors. More than 269 soldiers and officers have faced disciplinary action for detainee-related incidents since October 2001. Only one contractor has.

Why have troops been held accountable for crimes but contractors have not?

It is possible, of course, that civilian contractors have committed virtually no crimes in Iraq. Certainly the vast majority of contractors are hard-working, honest men and women who serve as interpreters, interrogators, security personnel and in other capacities. However, chances are good that some contractors who have operated in Iraq should be investigated for criminal wrongdoing. Major General Antonio Taguba cited several contractors in his March 2004 investigation of Abu Ghraib (“Article 15-6 Investigation of the 800th Military Police Brigade,” or the Taguba Report) in his descriptions of alleged detainee-related misconduct at the prison in the fall of 2003. And at least two contractors have been identified in some of the infamous Abu Ghraib photographs. Human-rights advocates say more contractors should be facing disciplinary action.

Have there been investigations of contractors accused of committing crimes in Iraq?

Yes. More than 15 contractors, including at least two who were working at Abu Ghraib, have been placed under Justice Department investigations.

What has happened to the investigations?

Human Rights Watch researcher John Sifton, who has met with Justice Department officials and spoken with them about the contractors under investigation, tells me he doesn’t think much has been done. “Maybe they’re about to indict everybody tomorrow, but I doubt it,” he says. “My feeling is they’re just running up the clock and nothing will ever happen.” New York Times reporter David Johnston seemed to confirm Sifton’s view in a December 19, 2006, article (“U.S. Inquiry Falters on Civilians Accused of Abuse”). “Lawyers who have been briefed on the work of the Justice Department unit, initially made up of six federal prosecutors, said problems with evidence and the fragmentary nature of some of the accusations had proved so daunting that prosecutors never even reached the point of grappling with difficult legal issues involving permissive interrogation guidelines,” wrote Johnston.

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