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Seven years after the release of shocking images of tortured prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the Supreme Court has turned back the appeal of 26 inmates from that infamous facility who wanted to sue two military contractors for damages. The military's official investigation revealed "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses" committed by military personnel and civilian contractors who provided support services at the prison. More than two dozen soldiers were reprimanded or court-martialed for their conduct. But those who were tortured want to sue two firms that hired the civilians who helped the military with...

Air America Radio has been sued by defense contractor and alleged Abu Ghraib torture-accomplice CACI International, Inc. CACI has alleged defamation per se, according to documents filed last week in federal court. CACI claims material used by Randi Rhodes on her show in late August harmed the company and they are asking for 1 million dollars in damages and 10 million dollars in punitive damages. While Air America Radio has not elaborated in detail on their litigation strategy, Rhodes made a statement on her show that Air America will fight the suit visorously --a partial transcript of her statement is...

With Lynndie England's conviction earlier this week, nine US soldiers have now been sentenced for their role in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. But is it enough? DER SPIEGEL looks at two lives destroyed by Abu Ghraib. One, an Iraqi community leader -- the other, his American guard. On the day he lost his innocence before the eyes of the world, Sergeant Javal Davis was sitting in the mess hall at Victory Base in Abu Ghraib prison, eating a plate of rice and tuna fish. Davis ate mechanically, ignoring what the other soldiers were saying, occasionally glancing up at a...

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- A group of trial lawyers Tuesday filed a lawsuit against two U.S. defense contractors on behalf of five Iraqis who were detained at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. The suit alleges that four of the Iraqis were "unlawfully tortured by agents or employees" of the two companies working at the jail. The fifth plaintiff is the widow of an Iraqi who is said to have died after maltreatment at their hands. The two companies -- Arlington, Va.-based CACI Inc. and San Diego-based Titan Inc. -- vigorously deny the charges. A statement from CACI...

British Muslims are calling for a boycott of chocolate giant Cadbury because of alleged links with the American firm accused of torturing prisoners in Iraq. The UK Islamic Mission made the shock plea as the Bournville-based company has previously employed business advisers CACI Ltd. The firm, which has offices in Coventry, is a subsidiary of US firm CACI International, which was hired by the CIA and coordinated interrogations at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Iraqi inmates at the prison were stripped, chained, sexually humiliated and threat-enedwithelectrocution byUSguards.There have also been allegations of rape and murder. Last night, Haq...

I have been hearing rumbles at work about contract work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wild tales of buku dollars for truck drivers and others. I decided to look into what if any private contracts had been handed out for actual security and the companies who won the bids. Any help?

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, 21 May 2004 — Nicholas Berg died horribly in Iraq. Why? His killers don’t say. They complain, but not about Berg. Of all Iraq’s hostages, only Berg was decapitated. And very inexpertly. Suspects have already been rounded up. One wonders how, since all five were masked and unidentifiable. Why would the infamous, already-photographed Zarqawi hide? Although CIA voice analysts claim Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi decapitated Berg, European intelligence sources doubt it. Zarqawi, a skilled poisoner, “is more sophisticated than that,” said one expert. And would the one-legged Zarqawi be less nimble than Berg’s executioner on tape? All Berg’s...

May 19, 2004 9/11 Set Army Contractor on Path to Abu GhraibBy JOEL BRINKLEY ASHINGTON, May 18 — Thirty-three-year-old Steven Stefanowicz, fresh out of the Navy, arrived at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as a contract interrogator last October, just as the prisoner abuses were getting under way.He had no military experience in interrogation. As a junior Navy intelligence specialist, a petty officer third class, he did all of his work in an office, reading and analyzing intelligence reports, the Navy said. But just three months later, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba began his investigation of prisoner abuses and...

American soldiers today are quite familiar with the military industrial complex and outsourcing. They see inedible food, an extra burden of providing security, and shocking pay inequities. They see inscrutable accountability mysteries. Some Iraqis held at Abu Ghraib Prison have met the modern American military industrial complex up close and personal. Contractors from CACI International and Titan Corporation, as well as members of our own military, are under investigation for "mistreating" prisoners. CACI International and Titan Corporation represent numbers 63 and 35, respectively, of the Pentagon's top 100 contractors for 2002. These companies are small fry, as out-sourcing goes. Rational...

Contractors caught up in Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal By Roseanne Gerin Staff Writer Two defense IT companies implicated in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal said today that they have not been contacted by government officials about their contractors being involved in the alleged abuse of Iraqi detainees. Recent reports by The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times have mentioned CACI International Inc. of Arlington, Va., and Titan Corp. of San Diego as two companies that provided interrogators and interpreters at Abu Ghraib prison, approximately 20 miles west of Baghdad, where U.S. soldiers have allegedly mistreated Iraqi prisoners. A Washington...

Grim images of American and British soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners have not only caused disgust and revulsion in the West, but could have forever lost Bush and Blair the moral high ground that they claimed to justify the invasion of Iraq By Investigations Editor Neil Mackay IT’S an image that would do Saddam proud. A terrified prisoner, hooded and dressed in rags, his hands out-stretched on either side of him, electrodes attached to his fingers and genitals. He’s been forced to stand on a box about one-foot square. His captors have told him that, if he falls off the box,...