Hmmm... can't find the Iraq War thread to bump...

[Jimmy Higgins]

Abu Ghraib is back in the news. For those who don't remember or are new to the Aughts, Abu Ghraib was a prison in Iraq that was infamous for being hard to spell and a detainee abuse scandal where prisoners (not necessarily criminals and/or terrorists) were photographed in demeaning poses. A recent court finding indicates that a military contractor is liable for damages.

The verdict against CACI International marks the first time a civilian contractor has been held legally responsible for the inhumane treatment of detainees at the prison west of Baghdad, where U.S. forces questioned hundreds of Iraqis after toppling Saddam Hussein. Photographs of Army soldiers gleefully abusing detainees drew widespread condemnation upon their release in 2004.

CACI employees worked as interrogators at Abu Ghraib under contract with the U.S. government. Attorneys for the company said none of them laid a hand on detainees or had any role in the abuses. Lawyers for the three Iraqi plaintiffs said CACI interrogators would direct military personnel to “soften up” detainees before they were questioned, leading to abuses across the facility.

Military contractors was the W Admin's solution to a thin military invasion/occupation of Iraq. It was cost prohibitive and led to a number of problems, but you go into war with the Military Contractors you have. 20 years after the abuse... found liable. So maybe three more years to get to SCOTUS, and by then no one will remember Iraq happened.