by David Phinney

June 1, 2005 — No one is talking, except several wives of the 16 U.S. contractors who say that U.S. Marines beat up their husbands after detaining them for 72 hours without food.

The wives liken the incident to the torture and abuse of Abu Ghraib and say it reflects the growing tensions between contractors and military in Iraq.

The contractors were working security for Zapata Engineering in Fallujah. The unconfirmed word is that 16 American security contractors and three Iraqis were jailed in cells adjacent to suspected insurgents and that they were individually beaten in front of dozens of laughing Marines standing by who were snapping photos. A snarling dog was used to intimidate the security contractors, I am told, as they were taunted about their large salaries — said to be over $100,000 a year. All the American contractors, except two, are said to be returning to the United States as early as Thursday.
I am still awaiting response from Marine press people, but there may be some accusations that the contractors were holding unauthorized weapons and shooting indiscriminately.

Zapata, of Charlotte, North Carolina, refers all inquiries to the Army Corps of Engineers, which awarded the company a multi-million-dollar contract to supervise a munitions depot and dispose of confiscated weapons and ammo.
The wives want to know why the Marines refused to let their husbands phone home while being detained. “Murderers have more rights,” says one.

The contractors were detained on Saturday and released on Tuesday without charges.

A spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers says the Marines had security concerns, but offers no further details.