The military contractor CACI is again in federal court after a mistrial in April for a case brought by three Iraqi men seeking damages for the torture they endured while detained at the Abu Ghraib prison. In an opinion for Just Security, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Stephen N. Xenakis, M.D., reflects on the danger posed by unclear lines of accountability, in this instance, between the U.S. Army and the interrogators contracted to support military efforts in Iraq.

Brig. Gen. Xenakis is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist with many years of clinical, academic, and management experience. He is the Executive Director of APPA, an advisor for Physicians for Human Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture, and an Adjust Professor at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He is also a member of the CERL Executive Board. Read his bio here.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.