Independent news site the New Standard has thrown down the gauntlet to a US security firm following a formal complaint over a story about alleged mistreatment of Iraqi detainees.

CACI recruits interrogators and intelligence staff for the US military in Iraq and complained to the New Standard on 5 October.

The company has accused the New Standard of 'falsely conveying the impression that CACI is somehow connected to torture, abuse and rapes that allegedly have taken place at prisons in Iraq'.

In an article published on 23 September, New Standard contributor Lisa Croke described how a team of American legal investigators uncovered evidence of alleged mistreatment – including abuse, torture and rape – at many US-run prisons and detention centres across Iraq.

The article mentions CACI and another security firm, the Titan Corporation, as subjects of a class action legal suit accusing them of engaging in abuse and torture of detainees. Both firms have strenuously denied the allegation that any of their staff have been involved in illegal activity and say that the lawsuit is unfounded.

New Standard editor Brian Dominick told dotJournalism that until now, CACI has only been mentioned in articles because it is being sued.

"But now I have an inexplicable interest to dig deeper into CACI's activities," he said.

"And nothing would help us out more on that front than for them to sue us, which means we would have a right to discovery.

"Unlike in the UK, they would have to prove that we are 100% wrong - and our lawyers could therefore have a complete look at all their files on their activities in Iraq."

The New Standard has not officially responded to CACI, but the publisher's lawyers have advised that CACI is unlikely to pursue a legal case.

"It probably cost them $3-400 to have a lawyer spend an hour on the letter - about what we spent on the story - and I guess to them it was worth it to try to intimidate a tiny media outfit," said Mr Dominick.

More news from dotJournalism:
Another Iraq combat video surfaces
Baghdad training project forced to close
Plea to help solve Iraqi 'torture' riddle

See also:
The New Standard: http://newstandardnews.net
CACI: http://www.caci.com

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