Self-Help Advice from a Defense Contractor

Dr. Phillip Jack London is the author of Character, the Ultimate Success Factor, a new self-help book that offers the guidance you need to become a better human being. In addition to pushing his fellow man to be a better person, Phillip is also the executive chairman of CACI International, a defense and surveillance-contracting firm that was implicated in the 2003 abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, the formerly US-run prison in Iraq.

When the US District Court stated in July that the abuses committed by the contractors at Abu Ghraib were beyond its jurisdiction, CACI counter-sued the torture victims to recoup its court costs, eventually winning $14,000. Talk about character…

Last week, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed six amicus briefings, including one from the UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Méndez, asking the court to reinstate the case. Meanwhile, in September, 56 detainees brought another lawsuit against CACI to the Eastern District Federal Court accusing its employees, among other dastardly things, of forcing one detainee to watch while her mother was tortured and to observe the sexual assault of a male inmate. Another detainee said his tongue was cut with pliers and a string was knotted tightly around his genitals.

Earlier this month, I talked over the phone with the inspirational author about his chipper new book, which he feels will show the world, “how a good character, a good reputation can permit you to achieve your dreams.” Then I grilled him on his role in atrocious war crimes.

VICE: Tell us about your new book?
Dr. Phillip Jack London: It's a philosophical perspective on how to comport yourself, how to get on with life, and how to achieve your ambitions. It's about how to create and live a life that you'll be pleased with and at the end of the day you'll be proud of what you've accomplished. One of the main takeaways of this book is that the individual owns his character and his lifestyle.

In addition to being a self-help author, you’re also the executive chairman of a little, nefarious thing called CACI International. How’d you land that gig? What was the trajectory?
I have a military background. I was a graduate of the Naval Academy. My family has a long history of patriotic service to our country.

How did I come to the position of being the chief executive and the executive chairman and so on of CACI International? I built it. It wasn't something that was hanging around and I came in and became the CEO. I joined the company 43 years ago. I was 35. The company had less than a million dollars in sales. There were only a handfull of people. Then I worked, and was very successful. I have devoted myself to this field, to this industry.

There are a lot of lessons in my book here about what worked and what didn't work and how I've gone about it. For the conscientious person who takes a look at it, you'll find it to be entertaining and informative. I don't think the reader could finish it and not have a good idea of how [having a good character impacts your life].

After 9/11, there was a huge explosion in the security contracting business. Have those horrible events helped the CACI become more successful?
Sure. There's no question about the fact that after 9/11 the United States government became more dependent on the innovation of American industry. The good news for the taxpayer is that competition brings out the best.

What would you say to Americans who are concerned that private companies are performing tasks that our military and domestic law enforcement once performed?
The US government has set the requirements of what industries perform or fulfill or develop for them. CACI does not do anything even approaching mercenary work.

CACI has been accused of directing torture at Abu Ghraib.
The allegations at Abu Ghraib were just that—allegations. I authored a book called Our Good Name. It goes through the particulars of what happened. We had an internal investigation into that as well. If we had anybody in there who had made a transgression, our job would have been to correct all that or at least make amends. There will always be somebody who thinks there is some sinister relationship between CACI and the federal government, which is absolutely preposterous hogwash.

What about Sgt. Antonio Taguba's report? Or your employee Joe Ryan writing in online diary entries that he directed the 4th Infantry to go round up detainees and capture every male in sight? The ruling in June from the US District Court found that US courts do not have jurisdiction, but it didn't deal with the validity of the allegations, correct?
Yes. But I guess it's like, so what? If there had been any validity to those allegations, it is hard to believe it would not have come out during those investigations or during the court marshal trials.

There was testimony at the court marshal hearings that your employee “Big Steve” Stefanowicz was directing torture. Was he a lone wolf?
No, he wasn't a lone wolf. People can say anything and they do so under oath as well.

That whole episode led me to reflect on writing a book having to do with character and integrity. Sometimes you will find yourself in a situation where it is hard to achieve your goals. But standing up and doing the right thing, you always walk away feeling satisfied with yourself.

There was a push to hold Donald Rumsfeld accountable for the actions of his troops at Abu Ghraib. As someone at the top of his field, do you believe people at the top should be held liable for actions at the bottom?
Where does accountability start and where does it end? If it's going to go to the secretary of defense, why would it stop with him? Why wouldn't it go to the president or to Congress? Why does it stop at some general in between? You're talking about an accountability idea here with the notion of trying to pin it at some level. Organizations demonstrate through their policy and their actions and their behaviors what their modus operandi is.

What raises the issue is the systemic nature of the torture. It seems to be part of a pattern. It raises questions about the chain of command.
I guess you're suggesting a conspiracy theory, that there was some tacit approval for these things that are alleged. I don't believe there is a fact pattern that shows there was any authorization to carry out the kinds of things—the physical things—that were conducted at Abu Ghraib.

I find from my life's career, living in this industry and knowing the people in it, that you don't have any conspiracies like that. Do you have people breaking the law? Damn right you do! You have spies, people like [Edward] Snowden. You have the Wikileaks thing happen.

Should there be statutes to hold corporations accountable for actions committed overseas? There was this recent Supreme Court ruling on the Alien Tort Act. And critics say it has been used to grant blanket immunity for corporations committing crimes abroad.
I am sensitive to allegations that get distorted in the media. I now know what it is like for those that have endured the notion of lynch mobs; where they are barricaded in their palace or whatever and outside the mob with its torches is yelling and screaming and swinging the rope around and they're going to lynch somebody.

You have a different view on these things when you're the victim. One report accused me of a relationship with the Israelis on torture methods. I guarantee you on my life that there's not a scrap of truth in that allegation whatsoever. Yet you see it out there. See how this works?

We're a country of law and I agree with that. But I do know what it is like to be the target of untruthful allegations. It's uncomfortable. Your family senses it. You begin to worry because you get all kinds of hate mail. You get protests outside your office, people with placards accusing you of rape and all sorts of things.

Is that why you filed a suit for court costs against the detainees that sued you for torture? A lot of people felt that was a vindictive move.
That's almost routine. It's very routine actually and it was for a minimal amount of money.

The proceeds of your last book, Defending Our Good Name, went to wounded veterans. Would you consider donating the proceeds of your new book to Iraqi detainees who were wrongly imprisoned at Abu Ghraib?
In our case, it is questionable whether they were or not. That is not an issue for CACI. That is a US Government issue. CACI never set any policy on who was detained or not detained.

Just to be clear, you're saying CACI employees were in the prison, working alongside torturers and they just weren't aware of it?
I'm not going to comment on any of that. If there had been transgressions the US Government would have charged us or individuals.

Was your company’s involvement in Iraq worth it for you? I noticed CACI is looking for Somali interpreters, Yemini speakers. It seems wherever the Pentagon is going, you guys are there, too.
That's a deep philosophical question. We're a mission-oriented organization. We support our customers and clients in the goals and objectives they have. There's nothing automatic about freedom. I'm a subscriber to Teddy Roosevelt's view of national security: Walk softly and carry a big stick. Strong countries are able to defend themselves and prevail. I believe in the good intentions of the US government. If the government deems it appropriate to issue a contract, by law that makes it OK for corporations to pursue those business interests. We don't do things that aren't profitable.

There's been a lot of attention on domestic surveillance lately because of Edward Snowden. I saw that you recently purchased the surveillance contractor Six3 Systems. Is that a field you are expanding into at this juncture?
Yes, expanding over a period of time. That's very much a field of interest for us.

People are already concerned that there is not enough oversight of our government conducting surveillance, let alone private contractors. What would you say to the privacy concerns of the American people?
That's a matter for debate around government policy. It's government policy that sets up contracting mechanisms. I don't set up the contract rules about privacy. Some of our projects we're not permitted to disclose to the public, whether they are secret or not. That's not an issue that should be focused on the contractor, for god's sake. The contractor is a responder, you can even say vender.

I don't think individuals that work in the surveillance arena have any right to break the law. They've signed up to Secrecy Act statutes and that sort of thing. You can't just have people choosing which laws they are going to observe and which ones they are not. You can't have a rule of law if citizens have the opportunity to say, “Oh, this is fine. I'll do this. But there's a redline here. I'll go ahead and run through that.”

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