Judge Allows Abu Ghraib Lawsuit Against Private Iraq Contractor...Debate Over Forced Iraq Service Continues

By Josh WhiteWashington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 7, 2007; Page A13
A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that a civil lawsuit alleging abuse and torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq can go forward against a U.S. military contractor, setting the stage for what could be the first case in a U.S. civilian court to weigh accountability for the notorious abuses in 2003.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson denied CACI International's motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit on behalf of more than 200 Iraqis who at one time were detained at the Abu Ghraib prison. The Iraqis allege that the contracted CACI interrogators took part in abuses and that the company should be held liable for the harm inflicted on the detainees.
Attorneys for the Arlington-based CACI have argued the company should be immune from such a lawsuit because it worked at the behest of the U.S. military, but Robertson said he believes a jury should hear the case, in part because CACI had its own chain of command and might not have answered directly to the military.
Legal experts said the decision could affect other U.S. contractors alleged to have harmed Iraqi civilians, even if the U.S. government is unable or unwilling to prosecute individuals in U.S. criminal courts. The decision could set a precedent for how the courts deal with cases such as the Blackwater shootings of Iraqi civilians in September.
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Lawsuit Against Blackwater May Cripple US Reliance On Security

Contractors

Little-noticed court case in Florida threatens to undermine the arrangement under which some 150,000 private contractors provide security and backup for the U.S. in war zones. Representatives of Blackwater and other U.S. private contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan tell TIME that the Bush Administration has just missed a deadline to put its views on record in the case. As a result, they say nothing is being done to protect their interests in the Florida lawsuit, which could eventually end up in the Supreme Court. This despite President Bush's public encouragement for the what he has described as the indispensable role of U.S. contractors overseas.

The Florida case concerns three American servicemen killed in the crash of an aircraft owned by Blackwater Aviation in Afghanistan. Relatives of the men are suing the company for what could amount to millions of dollars in damages. Many of the issues raised by the case could have important implications for all contractors at work in Iraq. The Blackwater aircraft, designated "flight 61," had been transporting U.S. personnel and munitions when it went down on Nov. 27, 2004, killing the three servicemen as well as the company-provided flight crew. A series of U.S. government reviews has said that errors committed by the staff of Blackwater Aviation were responsible for the deaths, a conclusion that the company disputes.
The Bush administration has taken no position on the Florida case, something that has caused dismay among Blackwater and its defenders. "After the President has said that, as Commander-in-Chief, he is ultimately responsible for contractors on the battlefield it is disappointing that his administration has been unwilling to make that interest clear before the courts," Erik Prince, Blackwater's chairman, told TIME after a Tuesday deadline passed for comments on the case. "And this is happening even as our professionals risk their lives every day in support of vital US priorities, while Congress and several federal agencies publicly discuss the issues at stake in this particular lawsuit."

UN: Security Contractors Are Mercenaries