Role of US Civilian Contractors in Iraq Prison Scandal Comes

 

Gary Thomas

The first court-martial in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal is set to open Wednesday. A U.S. Army soldier will be tried by a military court in Baghdad.

According to the U.S. Army's investigation¹ outlining abuse of the detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, some soldiers working at the jail say civilian² contract interrogators and translators encouraged the abuse of prisoners.

John Hutson, a former U.S. Navy lawyer and now dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, says that if contractors⁴ did help encourage prisoner abuse, their legal status for any criminal prosecution⁵ is murky⁶.

"It's something that frankly⁷ we did not anticipate very well, and I think we have left ourselves very vulnerable," he said. "And it comes at a particularly bad time because we are using contractors more and more and more and more to perform what are essential, fundamental military functions, so that this issue is likely to come up frequently, unfortunately."

There are no official figures available, but experts believe there to be at least 20,000 contractors working in security-related jobs in Iraq. Those who are not hired locally, such as facilities guards, are primarily retired⁸ military or intelligence personnel.

Deborah Avant, a political science professor at George Washington University and a specialist on military privatization, says the U.S. military's use of security contractors exploded in the 1990s as the overall U.S. troop strength was reduced. She says it picked up steam since September 11, 2001, particularly with the demands and dangers of the Iraq occupation.

"Partly this is because the U.S. government is doing more and is hiring more contractors to go along with it," said Ms. Avant. "But it's also the fact that many more different kinds of entities⁹, private sector¹⁰, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], national organizations, are hiring their own security. And so these contractors work not only for governments."

But legal authority over civilian defense¹¹ contractors remains¹² unclear. They are exempt¹³ from Iraqi courts. They are not subject to the military justice system except in wartime, and a military appeals court has ruled it has to be a war declared by Congress, something that hasn't happened since 1941. Mr. Hutson says that leaves an awfully¹⁴ big legal loophole."

"The president has said there's a war, Congress has given us money for the war, so that it's arguable," he said. "But it's far, far, far from being perfect. There's a huge hole, a jurisdictional¹⁵ hole, that you could drive a tank through, potentially."

Congress attempted to partially¹⁶ close that loophole with a new law passed in 2000 that allows defense contractors working for U.S. forces to be prosecuted¹⁸ in federal courts. The Bush administration contends the new law is sufficient to prosecute¹⁷ any crimes committed by civilian contractors in Iraq. But, as Mr. Hutson points out, the law is untested, and it may not cover some of the offenses²⁰, such as assault, allegedly perpetrated at Abu Ghraib.

"The problem with that is that it's never been used," he said. "It's never been implemented²¹ by DOD [Department of Defense], there have been no implementing²² directives since Congress passed it. So that is a little less than perfect as a remedy."

In addition, that law applies only to contractors working for the Defense Department, not to those working for other non-Defense agencies such as the CIA.

注释：
court-martial 军事法庭
abuse [E5bju:z] n. 虐待
scandal [5skAndl] n. 丑行，丑闻
Baghdad [`bA^dAd] n. 巴格达（伊拉克首都）
detainee [dI5teInE(r)] n. 被拘留者
Abu Ghraib prison 阿布格莱布监狱
interrogator³ [in5terE^eitE] n. 讯问者，质问者
U.S. Navy 美国海军
Franklin Pierce Law Center弗兰克林·皮尔斯法律中心
contractor [kEn5trAktE] n. 雇员
prosecution [7prCsi5kju:FEn] n. 起诉
murky [5mE:ki] adj. 黑暗的，阴暗的
anticipate [An5tisipeit] v. 预计，预见
vulnerable [5vQlnErEb(E)l] adj. 易受攻击的，易受……的攻击
intelligence [in5telidVEns] n. 情报局
personnel [7pE:sE5nel] n. 人员，职员
George Washington University 乔治华盛顿大学
privatization 私有化
entity²³ [5entiti] n. 实体
NGO 是non-governmental organizations的缩写，非政府组织
loophole [5lu:phEJl] n. 漏洞
jurisdictional adj. 司法的
potentially [pE5tenF(E)l] adv. 潜在地
offense¹⁹ [E5fens] n. 进攻
assault [E5sC:lt] n. 攻击，袭击
allegedly [E5ledVIdlI] adv. 据称
perpetrate [5pE:pitreit] v. （正式）犯罪，做错事
implement [5implimEnt] vt. 贯彻，执行
DOD 是Department of Defense的简称，国防部
CIA abbr. Central Intelligence Agency 中央情报局

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 interrogator   

n.讯问者；审问者；质问者；询问器

参考例句：

• No,I was not mad, but my interrogator was furious. 不，我没疯，只是质问我的人怒不可遏。 来自互联网
• Miss Fan lacked such an interrogator with whom she could whisper intimately. 范小姐就缺少这样一个切切私语的盘问者。 来自互联网

4 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

14 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

15 jurisdictional   

adj. 司法权的，裁决权的，管辖权的

参考例句：

• In practice, however, this jurisdictional limit on administrative investigations is generally easy to satisfy. 然而在实践中，对行政调查的这种司法限制通常很容易符合规定标准。
• The jurisdictional amount is set by statute and is currently $80,000. 案件标的管辖权由法律规定，目前是80，000美元。 来自口语例句

16 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

17 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

18 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

19 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

20 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

21 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

22 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

23 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。