Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan: Controlling Costs and Reducing Risks

Contractors represent over half of the U.S. presence in the contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, at times employing more than a quarter-million people. They have performed vital tasks in support of U.S. defence, diplomatic, and development objectives. But the cost has been high. Poor planning, management, and oversight of contracts has led to massive waste and has damaged these objectives. Contracting decisions made during urgent contingencies have often neglected the need to determine whether host-nation governments can or will sustain the many projects and programs that U.S. contracts have established in their countries. This book examines the work of Congresses bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, created to study waste, fraud, abuse, accountability, and other issues in contingency contracting, and to make recommendations for improvement.