Useful Confusion With Hired Interrogators

There is a very convenient confusion available to military forces since the military uses contractors for "intelligence" and "interrogation".

As mentioned in my post yesterday, the use of contractors throughout military operations has been a central part of the Bush administration's policy and strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. A report in today's Washington Post cites an FBI investigation into events at Guantanamo Bay prisons, again noting the activities of these contractors. Allegations of abuse however, are difficult to confirm in the murky rules of chain of command:

"The disclosures, which are based on a 2004 survey of FBI personnel, do not mention which company employed the contractors at Guantanamo. Many of the incidents dated to 2002, but it could not be learned yesterday what company held the contract for some of that time. In November 2002, Affiliated Computer Systems was awarded a contract to supply 30 intelligence analysts and 15 to 20 interrogators and strategic debriefers to Guantanamo. ACS was acquired by Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's largest contractor, in 2003."

"The allegations are reminiscent in certain respects to charges of mistreatment at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. There, too, contractors who supplied interrogation services were allegedly involved, and some U.S. military personnel said they had mistreated detainees under orders from contractors.

The U.S. attorney's office was assigned to investigate contractor behavior at Abu Ghraib, but no charges have been filed."

Confusion creates opportunities - and cover - for abuse.