Private contractors behind torture scandal

[Generator]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1206725,00.html

The scandal has also brought to light the growing and largely unregulated role of private contractors in the interrogation of detainees.

According to lawyers for some of the soldiers, they claimed to be acting in part under the instruction of mercenary interrogators hired by the Pentagon.

Lawyers for the soldiers argue they are being made scapegoats for a rogue military prison system in which mercenaries give orders without legal accountability.

A military report into the Abu Ghraib case - parts of which were made available to the Guardian - makes it clear that private contractors were supervising interrogations in the prison, which was notorious for torture and executions under Saddam Hussein.


Snip~ read the whole piece~

Shocking but not surprising.

[truthspeaker]

1. I'm pretty sure these Iraqi prisoners are POWs under the Geneva Convention

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you have to wear a uniform to fight an invader in your own country. If top brass were in on this torture by mercenaries they could be guilty of war crimes - if any other countries are willing to stand up to the US.

[xray s]

4. been reading a number of news items today

One said the US military has been granted a general amnesty by the IGC for any of their actions in Iraq.

The BFEE plays by its own rules. Challenge them, and you will be smirked at.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

13. Actually there's been debate

Human Rights Watch had sent out an alert about the fact that the Americans had not designated them as enemy combatants, POWs, or general lawbreakers. That way, the U.S. isn't necessarily breaking the Geneva Convention on the treatment of POWs, since they technically not POWs. Likewise, they can't be dealt with through the legal system, since they haven't offically been charged.

Another joy of this system is that many of the prisoners' families aren't being told definitely whether their loved ones are being held or not. Matters of security, y'know.

Wonder if they're playing Lee Greenwood through the speakers at the prison? :puke:


http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/04/21/iraq8477.htm

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/02/10/iraq8471.htm

http://hrw.org/campaigns/iraq/ihlfaq042904.htm

[bobbieinok]

15. bushco -"Afghanis in Gitmo NOT POW because not in uniform"

and "therefore Geneva convention for treatment of POWs does not apply"

[xray s]

2. How much money does BFEE have invested in these "contractors"?

I want to know how much Poppy and the rest of the BFEE rats are making off this "venture", from the link;

A military report into the Abu Ghraib case - parts of which were made available to the Guardian - makes it clear that private contractors were supervising interrogations in the prison, which was notorious for torture and executions under Saddam Hussein.

One civilian contractor was accused of raping a young male prisoner but has not been charged because military law has no jurisdiction over him.

Hired guns from a wide array of private security firms are playing a central role in the US-led occupation of Iraq.

The killing of four private contractors in Falluja on March 31 led to the current siege of the city.

But this is the first time the privatisation of interrogation and intelligence-gathering has come to light. The investigation names two US contractors, CACI International Inc and the Titan Corporation, for their involvement in Abu Ghraib.

[tom_paine]

3. Damnit, they ARE not "Private Contractors". They are HESSIANS.

These goddmaned King George's are all alike!

[PurityOfEssence]

6. that's right, bub, and he IS George III

Washington, Bush I, Ding Dong

[bobthedrummer]

5. Like the quote from the former CIA guy on allowing mercenaries to conduct

interrogations says, "It's insanity.".

This is treasonous now because this is helpful to the enemies of US, it is increasing the anti-Americanism called for by both Osama Bin-Laden and PNAC!

I say that's treason.

[seemslikeadream]

7. "CACI International"

News Release
CACI International Inc · 1100 North Glebe Road · Arlington Virginia 22201

CACI Reports Record Third Quarter and Nine Months Results
Net Income up 38% for the quarter to $15.8 million
Revenue up 30% for the quarter to $288.4 million
Trailing twelve month revenue exceeds $1 billion
Company increases guidance for Fiscal Year 2004

<snip>
The increase in earnings and revenue in the quarter and for the first nine months of FY04 resulted from continuing growth in CACI's systems integration, engineering services, and knowledge management offerings of its domestic operations. This growth is a result of the company's strategic focus on national security, the global war on terrorism, and the reshaping of the way government agencies communicate, use and disseminate information, deliver services, and conduct business.

<snip>

Third Quarter Highlights

The following highlights occurred during the third fiscal quarter:



- Contract awards for the quarter totaled approximately $395 million.
- Revenue from DoD customers increased 37 percent, driven primarily by higher demand from customers such as strategic and tactical organizations in the military intelligence community, the U.S. Army's Intelligence and Security Command, the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Aviation, and the Naval Surface Warfare Command.
-Federal civilian agency revenue grew 17 percent primarily from higher volumes of work for customers such as the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal civilian agencies.


http://www.caci.com/about/news/news2004/04_21_04_NR.html

Top Secret Clearance Candidate Opportunity Site ((separate from normal job site))

Puzzled about your future?
If you hold a Top Secret security clearance we invite you to join our Opportunities Database. We provide a unique and completely confidential service for qualified individuals who want to consider new opportunities.

http://www.caci.com/ts-recruiting /

The Titan Corporation : Homeland Security and War on Terrorism ...



http://www.titan.com/products-services/load_image.html ?

Sheesh. These guys offer the ENTIRE SHABANG!

Let's just head straight to Investor Relations

===

Titan Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2003 Results Quarterly Revenues $488 million, up 29%; 2003 Revenues $1.78 billion, up 28% over 2002


San Diego, CA - February 23, 2004 - The Titan Corporation (NYSE: TTN), a leading provider of comprehensive information and communications systems solutions and services to the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and other federal government customers, today reported record quarterly revenues of $488 million for the fourth quarter of 2003, an increase of 29% over $379 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. The organic growth for the quarter was 28% over the fourth quarter a year ago.
For full year 2003, Titan reported revenues of $1,775 million, an increase of 28% over $1,392 million for the full year 2002. The organic growth rate for 2003 was 26%. Results reflect record revenue growth for Titan driven by the Company’s ability to bid, win, and execute on large procurements from the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies in areas such as defense secure communications and intelligence systems, government enterprise IT systems, transformational programs, and homeland security applications. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 was $4.1 million, or $0.05 per share, compared with a net loss of $0.8 million or $0.01 per share for the fourth quarter of 2002. Included in net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 are the following items:


<snip>


About Titan
Headquartered in San Diego, The Titan Corporation is a leading provider of comprehensive information and communications systems solutions and services to the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and other federal government customers. As a provider of national security solutions, the company has approximately 12,000 employees and annualized sales of approximately $2.0 billion.

http://www.titan.com/investor/press-releases/press_releases_display_20...

from Tinoire
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=520049&mesg_id=520074&page=

[xray s]

8. wonder how many Bush Pioneers and Rangers are on the board

we really need to find this stuff out.

[seemslikeadream]

9. Well they're connected to BBV

CACI, Titan, and BBV

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0308/S00283.htm

This is a page with various links on the ITAA and its links to The Election Center and R. Doug Lewis -- all names that will be familiar to people who have been following Bev's investigations. As I recall, the ITAA Enterprise Solutions Division has acted as a sort of lobbying agency for electronic voting.

The ITAA Enterprise Solutions Division Board of Directors -- which is top-heavy with government contractors -- includes both "Mr. L. Kenneth Johnson President CACI International Inc." and "Mr. Kenneth Touloumes VP, Business Development Titan Corporation."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&...

38. from starroute in LBN


And a couple of items on Titan"
Posted by starroute
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15985
Iraq: A Corporate Gold Mine

"Back in California, two San Diego companies were hired for more secretive operations before the war: Titan corporation was recruiting Kurdish spies and translators while its neighbor, Science Applications International Corporation, was hired to run a government of Iraqis in exile.

"The wholesale privatization of the U.S. military is not surprising given that the three bureaucrats Bush hired to run the Army, Navy and Air Force when he became president in 2000 were all plucked from corporate America: Gordon England of General Dynamics was appointed secretary of the Navy, James Roche of Northrop Grumman was appointed Air Force secretary, and Thomas White of Enron was appointed secretary of the Army.

"Although all three men have resigned in the last 12 months, the two former military men recruited to run Iraq, Jay Garner and Paul Bremer, were chief executives of consulting companies to the multinationals – SY Technologies and Marsh McLellan. SY helps design missiles while Marsh advises companies in crisis."


http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3117.htm
Carving Up The New Iraq

"James Woolsey: A long-time supporter of war on Iraq and PNAC and Jinsa member, the former director of the CIA has been named as the likely minister of information in the new Iraq. His business interests have included: the arms company British Aerospace; the Titan Corporation, which provides military interpreters and DynCorp, which provides bodyguards for Hamid Karzai, the Afghani president and has installed a police force monitoring service in Bosnia."


I'm starting to think that the fact that the same corporations show up in BBV as in these Iraq stories is no coincidence. (Note the mention of SAIC in the Alternet story.) This whole business of privitization of military functions potentially dwarfs all the other misdeeds of the Bush administration and will threaten the very heart of our democracy long after Bush is gone.

[Generator]

11. So not only do we have a secret government running us here in the US

It's a secret army acting in our name. What, with no legal recourse?

And who doesn't appreiate the irony that this big Fallujah mess is in revenge for the "contractors" killed?

And this:

http://www.dailykos.com/

Locals often mistake the guards for special forces or CIA personnel, which makes active-duty military troops a bit edgy. "Those Blackwater guys," says an intelligence officer in Iraq, "they drive around wearing Oakley sunglasses and pointing their guns out of car windows. They have pointed their guns at me, and it pissed me off. Imagine what a guy in Fallujah thinks." Adds an Army officer who just returned from Baghdad, "They are a subculture."

[crissy71]

10. NYC BENEFIT FOR PEACE ACTIVISTS FACING JAIL - pls pass on

NYC BENEFIT FOR PEACE ACTIVISTS FACING JAIL

WHAT: BENEFIT CONCERT

WHO: Queer feminist activist band from NYC "The Syndicate", Bands Against Bush power pop band "Gladshot", popular rockers "Marwood", Brooklyn’s own “Motico”, all-girl punk outfit "Pie", comedienne and activist Drae Campbell as MC and Special Guests TBA.

WHERE: Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, NYC Directions at www.knittingfactory.com

WHEN: Sunday, May 2nd, 2pm

HOW MUCH: $15

WHY? This is a benefit show for the 16 non-violent activists who were arrested during a protest on March 26, 2003. They were protesting Rachel Corrie’s death, violations of Palestinian human rights, and the war on Iraq. They were recently convicted, and in what is seen as an effort to punish activists in the lead up to the GOP convention in August, now face jail time at their May 12th sentencing. This is an important case for the activist community, and the defendants need our support.

You can also help by donating funds at: www.m26.org

[central scrutinizer]

12. those rogue motherfuckers!

Does anybody doubt that these assholes are cruising around Iraq in their heavily armored Humvees terrorizing (yes - terrorizing) the populace? Then when the Iraqis get pissed, the "contractors" run and hide behind our brave, underpaid, underequipped troops. Forgive the Iraqis if they can't tell the difference and take out their anger on the first occupier they find. Not only does Bushco send our troops out with inadequate equipment, they allow these private shitheads to poke their sticks into a hornet's nest with no oversight or accountability. The troops should confiscate all of their equipment, then drive them into the heart of Fallujah and drop them off - kind of like a real-life Survivor.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. This is what happens when you have a rogue government

running the country.

Now tell me again, Bu$h isn't worse than Hitler?