As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

$1.2B spent for private security firms; critics say Iraqis should be picking up slack instead

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Aug 28, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

(Newser) – American troops are trickling home, but at a hefty cost: The US has spent more than $1.2 billion this year on private security contractors—mostly to protect diplomats, but also to secure infrastructure and supplies, USA Today reports. The State Department says now that focus has shifted to rebuilding, officials are venturing out of secure areas to do field work and require more protection.

Lawmakers voiced concern over the large bill—$85 billion for all contractors during the operation—and suggested Iraqis use oil revenues to fund security and reconstruction work. Democratic Rep. John Murtha proposes axing $4.5 billion from contractors in next year’s defense budget, and compensating by adding money to other Pentagon accounts so agency employees can do more of the work.

Private security contractors, in black, inspect a bridge destroyed by an apparent suicide vehicle bomber last year. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Plainclothes contractors take part in a firefight in the Iraqi city of Najaf in this April file photo. (AP Photo/Gervasio Sanchez, FILE)

A private security contractor helps a soldier pull out a wounded Iraqi from the rubble of a bridge last year. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

US Will Halve Vast Iraq Embassy

Officials cite Iraqi obstructionism, mutual suspicion for thwarting mission

(NEWSER) - The United States' hulking $750 million Baghdad embassy is home to 16,000 staff and carries a $6 billion price tag annually—and it's about to get slashed in half in the wake of US troops' departure, reports the New York Times . It's quite the about-face for the State Department, which recently spent a year planning a buildup that has given it a diplomatic presence larger than any in the world. But it apparently neglected to clear its plan with Iraq: Embassy officials now blame Iraqi obstructionism for everything from delayed food supplies to hefty waits for American visas, and say that security concerns have left them largely cloistered within their four walls. More»

Super Committee Wants to Count $700B War Savings

'Gimmick' would pay for things like payroll tax cut

(NEWSER) - The congressional super committee isn’t any closer to a deal, but consensus is growing around one thing: Counting the roughly $700 billion the country intends to stop spending in Iraq and Afghanistan toward its total. The idea has budget experts enraged—one member of a bipartisan group called it “the mother of all budget gimmicks”—so the committee has at least decided not to count the $700 billion toward its $1.2 trillion goal, the Washington Post reports. More»

Report: We've Wasted $30B in Iraq, Afghanistan

Commission offers proposals to improve management of contracts

(NEWSER) - The US has basically flushed $30 billion down the toilet, according to a bipartisan commission looking into the money spent on contracts and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan. It found that at least one out of every six dollars spent in the last 10 years has been money wasted. In a report to be submitted to Congress Wednesday, the commission finds that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were begun “without adequate planning or contract-management personnel to handle the enormous scale and numbers of contracts,” write the group’s heads. And just as much money could go to waste all over again if the countries’ governments can't or won't maintain US-funded programs after we leave: The report cites $300 million we spent on a power plant that the Afghan government lacks the funds and expertise to run as an example. More»

US Wars Price Tag Nears $4T

Action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan approaching cost of WWII: study

(NEWSER) - The real cost of American military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan dwarfs the $1.3 trillion appropriated on Capitol Hill, according to a study by Brown University's nonpartisan Eisenhower Research Project. The study estimates that the war bills already paid or obligated to be paid are at least $3.2 trillion and probably closer to $4 trillion, with the bulk of the spending buried in a variety of budgets and invisible to taxpayers, reports Reuters . More»

Blame Elite, Not Voters, for Deficit Mess

Those 'lecturing' on deficit helped get us here in the first place: Paul Krugman

(NEWSER) - More and more people have been telling Paul Krugman that the budget deficit is the people’s fault: “Weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.” But that viewpoint is not only “self-serving, it’s dead wrong,” writes Krugman in the New York Times . Instead, we can thank “policies championed by small groups of influential people—in many cases, the same people now lecturing the rest of us on the need to get serious.” They’re behind the deficit’s key factors: the Bush tax cuts, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the Great Recession. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

$1.2B spent for private security firms; critics say Iraqis should be picking up slack instead

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

contractors • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Iraq war • Iraq war spending

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

US Will Halve Vast Iraq Embassy

Officials cite Iraqi obstructionism, mutual suspicion for thwarting mission

Super Committee Wants to Count $700B War Savings

'Gimmick' would pay for things like payroll tax cut

Report: We've Wasted $30B in Iraq, Afghanistan

Commission offers proposals to improve management of contracts

US Wars Price Tag Nears $4T

Action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan approaching cost of WWII: study

Blame Elite, Not Voters, for Deficit Mess

Those 'lecturing' on deficit helped get us here in the first place: Paul Krugman

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

$1.2B spent for private security firms; critics say Iraqis should be picking up slack instead

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

contractors • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Iraq war • Iraq war spending

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

US Will Halve Vast Iraq Embassy

Officials cite Iraqi obstructionism, mutual suspicion for thwarting mission

Super Committee Wants to Count $700B War Savings

'Gimmick' would pay for things like payroll tax cut

Report: We've Wasted $30B in Iraq, Afghanistan

Commission offers proposals to improve management of contracts

US Wars Price Tag Nears $4T

Action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan approaching cost of WWII: study

Blame Elite, Not Voters, for Deficit Mess

Those 'lecturing' on deficit helped get us here in the first place: Paul Krugman

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?