Inquiry targets Va. contractor at Iraq jail
CACI hired interrogators to question prisoners; Probe by Interior Department
Because the law governing crimes by contractors overseas, the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, covers Department of Defense contractors, it is unclear whether it can be applied to contractors, such as CACI, that are technically working for the Department of the Interior.
Interior spokesman Frank Quimby said his department considers the Army to be a party to the contract but will let the Department of Justice determine whether the law applies. The Justice Department said last week that a contract worker in Iraq is under criminal investigation but did not name the person or his employer.
Quimby said no new work will be permitted under the blanket purchase agreement with CACI International until the inquiry is completed. People hired under the contract - including CACI's 27 interrogators in Iraq - will be allowed to complete their scheduled work, he said.
In a telephone briefing for reporters, Quimby acknowledged that an Interior contracting officer had only "infrequent and sporadic" communication with Army representatives overseeing the CACI work in Iraq. "But the Department of the Interior received no signs that anything was amiss with contract performance," he said.
Quimby said the Army is required to report to Interior "incidents of faulty or nonconforming work, delays or problems," but didn't in the case of CACI.After the prison abuse scandal arose, Interior's contracting officer contacted the Army to ask if it was satisfied with CACI's services. The Army said yes, Quimby said.
Quimby said about $3.3 million has been paid to CACI for interrogation and related services under two of 81 "delivery orders" since 2001 that are part of the blanket purchase agreement. Though the sum is tiny by comparison with the billions being spent on contractors in Iraq, the case shows how government contractors are given new work under long-term contracts without new competitive bidding.
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.contractor26may26,0,6735670.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlinesNow Hiring: Park rangers, interrogators
Commentary: The wacky world of government contracts
ARLINGTON, VA (CBS.MW) -- We learned this week that civilian interrogators used by the Army at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad were hired under a Department of the Interior contract for information technology.
The Interior Department says one Army order to CACI for a year of interrogation support was worth $19.9 million. The "blanket-purchase agreement" it came under was the kind of contract more and more federal agencies favor these days -- although it had a limit of $500 million, it was worded so the government could buy goods and services quickly, without requiring separate bids or evaluation.
As Peter Singer of the Brookings Institution told the Baltimore Sun, that led to "placing a military interrogation task under Smokey the Bear." Not only does it sound silly, but it may end up costing more than doing the job directly. And it certainly creates an oversight problem -- the park rangers have enough to worry about this summer without having to investigate a prison scandal.
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http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BF8607265-F5F6-4E14-BFBB-4C9039DE6CE1%7D&siteid=google&dist=googleInterior Department suspends contracts for Iraq interrogators amid probe
By Associated Press
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Now Interior's internal watchdog is investigating the arrangement. The department, which normally oversees national parks and American Indian matters, has blocked the Army from ordering new services under the contract.
The confusing arrangement adds another layer to the uncertainty over who was in control of Iraqi prisoners and what rules governed treatment of the detainees. Army contract officials are supposed to keep contract workers in line and recommend punishment, Interior spokesman Frank Quimby said Tuesday.
The Army told Interior last week, however, that it had had no problem with the way CACI International Inc. was handling the work, even though an internal Army report has accused at least one CACI interrogator of participating in abuses.
http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=29466