Benchmark For Progress? $100 Billion Spent On Iraq War Contracts
Jul 31, 2020607.6K Shares11M Views
So says the New York Times’ James Risen, who got the figures from a Congressional Budget Office study to be released today. The study also finds that about 20 percent of the funding for the Iraq war goes to government contractors, who, at about 180,000, outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq.
The percentage could even be higher, though, as Pentagon money for war contractors has been notoriously difficultto audit.
Congressional scrutiny of Iraq war contracting has so far occurred on a scandal-by-scandal basis. A broader wartime contracting commission, which will oversee all war-related contracts from those that provide support to Iraq security forces to repairing the country’s infrastructure, recently named seven of eight commission members— including nominees by the President and House GOP leadership. The commission, which was proposed last year by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), could shed light on how the reliance on private companies has affected U.S. troops in Iraq and the country’s livelihood.
Hajra Shannon
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