A US military contractor is in court this week over allegations of prisoner torture during the Iraq War.
Three former inmates at the “infamous” Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad have brought a civil case against CACI, accusing the Virginia-based firm of conspiracy to torture prisoners, said The Independent.
CACI has denied wrongdoing and said the claimants have not been able to “sufficiently prove” that its workers directed abuse at the Iraq prison.
But, according to evidence given by retired US Army general Antonio Taguba, a civilian contractor working for CACI instructed guards to “soften up” inmates for interrogation and attempted to “intimidate the general as he investigated the Abu Ghraib abuses” 20 years ago.
The case could have “ramifications beyond remedies for victims”, given the “US military’s dependence on contractors”, said Time. The private military contractors (PMCs) sector has continued to grow as governments seek cost-effective, expert and discreet resources to supplement their own militaries.
What exactly do military contractors do?
Escalating global conflicts have driven military spending across the world to “levels not seen since the Cold War”, said the Financial Times. And that has been a boon for weapons, ammunition and defence technology manufacturers.
The role of PMCs is “multifaceted”, said Federica Saini Fasanotti at GIS Reports. They might act as “supplements to traditional armies” or be “employed by multinational corporations”.
Most contractors are former members of the armed forces, and they can use that training to “provide external and internal security, engage in warfare, secure local leadership and even become an extension of that leadership’s armed forces”, as well as train local soldiers.
While individual contractors are usually hired for the duration of a specific mission, many PMCs have had long-term engagements with governments.
Who is using them?
The most well-known PMC is the Wagner Group, a long-time contractor for the Russian government that has conducted controversial operations on behalf of Moscow in Ukraine, Syria, and several African countries.
But Russia is far from the only country using privatised armed forces, with the UK, China, South Africa and in particular the US the most prolific employers. That reliance on contractors like CACI has grown hugely since the Iraq War, to the point where the US military “can’t move, communicate, fight, or sustain itself without contractor support”, Steven Schooner, a professor at George Washington University Law School, told Time.
In the UK, PMCs are also being used to alleviate “growing demand on the UK’s official intelligence resource”, said the i news site. This week, it was reported that Prevail Partners, a risk management contractor “commonly used by the UK government”, has now been tasked with tackling the small boats crisis by using open source software and artificial intelligence to vet arrivals and combat people smugglers.
Why are they so controversial?
The biggest issue around PMCs remains accountability. There is little regulation surrounding their actions and while the “international community has sought to set standards”, said The Guardian, legal ramifications for contractors have been “rare”.
Some PMCs are known to have used “illegal warfare activities” to complete missions, acting as a “scapegoat” for governments wishing to bypass domestic and international laws to achieve their aims, said Martha Garcia at Modern Diplomacy.
There is also a blurred line between contractors and mercenaries. The biggest difference “is who they agree to work for” but even that has “no clear line” given a lack of regulation, said Garcia. The “rapid expansion and normalisation” of PMCs has created a “dangerous gap” in the international community’s understanding of the potential dangers posed by this “evolving threat”.