State Controller proposed anti-torture investment policy; defense contractor goes into att

“As a matter of common sense and common decency, companies looking to profit from the torture of human beings don’t belong in our portfolio,” said Westly, who serves on the CalSTRS board.

According to a news release, Westly proposed amending the CalSTRS statement of investment responsibility to specifically restrict investments in companies that sell “technologies or services designed for use in the torture of human beings or the treatment of people which does not meet the minimum standards of the Geneva Conventions.”

Westly said he would discuss his proposal at Wednesday’s meeting of the board’s subcommittee on corporate governance. The subcommittee was set to discuss a proposal to question executives from CACI International regarding its role in the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal.

His remarks sparked a virulent response from CACI, a defense contractor, who called Westly's press release "baseless, inflammatory and malicious", saying no charges have been filed against any employee of CACI to date.

CACI acknowledged it had provided interrogators to the U.S. Army, "because the Army does not have sufficient interrogation personnel available for assignment to Iraq".

"As we have said repeatedly, CACI does not condone or tolerate illegal acts or behavior by its employees and we will act quickly and forcefully in the unfortunate event the evidence shows that any of our employees acted improperly. But unlike Mr. Westly, we are waiting to see the evidence before rushing to judgment," CACI statement reads.

“This is not about putting one company under a microscope,” Westly said. “This is about setting a clear, responsible standard that applies to everyone – weeding out the bad guys –and demanding that every company respect human rights, whether it’s operating in Iraq or Indiana.”

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