Dr. London's Column in the Eugene, OR Register-Guard Newspaper, 9/27/04

Guest Viewpoint: Prison contractor defends itself

By J.P. (Jack) London

Because interrogators hired by my company, CACI, were on site at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq while abuses took place, many Americans are justifiably asking: "Who are these guys? Why are they interrogating prisoners?" But while most Americans are asking fair and honest questions, others are using CACI as a punching bag to advance political agendas. Today, the punching bag is talking back.

In August 2003 CACI honored the Army's request that we provide a few interrogators to make up for a personnel shortage and to help obtain potentially critical information from detainees in Iraq. CACI also supports the military mission by providing property management, computer network support and intelligence analysis - work we have done successfully for more than 40 years. Though no CACI employees were involved in the abuses pictured, CACI has been vilified.

A lawsuit has accused of us of conspiring with the government and with another contractor to torture prisoners, and an article by Peter Singer (Commentary, Sept. 19) has tagged us for "bad corporate behavior." Because we work for the government, public scrutiny comes with the job. But it is important for me to set the record straight. The tasks CACI and other contractors perform has proven enormously valuable to the military, and our availability has been a core of U.S. military planning since the early 1990s. Private sector resources enable the military to concentrate on its strengths, while obtaining a range of critical skills and expertise from civilian specialists.

The increasing reliance on high tech weaponry to help reduce casualties and give American troops control of the battlefield has created a need for skills that are often in short supply among young soldiers. Contractors also can handle a range of routine logistical and support tasks, including property management, computer networking, engineering, maintenance and even trash removal.

Simply put, using contractors for non-combat assignments allows more troops to focus on purely military tasks. The Army's force reduction from more than 700,000 at the end of the Persian Gulf War to fewer than 500,000 today would simply not have been possible without the shift of many nonmilitary tasks to the private sector. Contracting through competitive sourcing has also saved money. By opening about 72,000 jobs to commercial competition, the Defense Department estimates a savings of $5.5B since 2000.

Many argue that the military has wrongly shifted to the private sector some jobs that should be done only by those in uniform. Others have focused on interrogation services provided by CACI. Some say the military hires too many contractors, period, and want the whole system scaled back. But whatever government policy makers decide about the appropriate scope of services, CACI is determined to work hard to do the right thing and deliver high quality service. We like to think that interrogations by CACI employees have obtained information that gave our soldiers a better chance to win battles and limit casualties.

Doing the right thing also means that disciplinary decisions should be based only non-verifiable facts. We have and will continue to act strongly on demonstrated misconduct. But we will not rush to judgment while facts are still being sorted out.

Whatever the final verdict, we reject and strongly resent suggestions, including those by Singer, that misconduct by a small number of individuals in the chaotic environment of Abu Ghraib shows "bad corporate behavior" or that the use of contractors led to "the non-doctrinal use of torture." Singer also mischaracterized our hiring process, accusing contractors of "corporate practices that would not pass military muster." In fact, CACI screened 1600 applicants for experience, U.S. citizenship and security clearance. We hired just three dozen, and no more than 10 worked at Abu Ghraib at one time. And, from the first word of abuses, CACI has cooperated fully with all inquiries.

Like every human endeavor, the military's use of private contractors is not perfect. Military and contractors alike have a responsibility to learn from experience in Iraq to fix problems as they arise and make the contracting process as effective as possible in meeting national security needs. CACI accepts that responsibility. But we will not stand silent when facts are twisted to debase our good name.

J.P. (Jack) London is chairman, president and CEO of Arlington, VA-based CACI.