Military contracts in the Iraq theater have cost US taxpayers at least US$85 billion, and when it comes to providing security, they might not be any cheaper than using military personnel, a review released on Tuesday said.
Release of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report reflects increased scrutiny in the last year of contractors, some of which have been investigated in connection to the shooting deaths of Iraqis and in the accidental deaths of US troops by electrocution.
The US has relied more heavily on contractors in Iraq than in any other war to provide services ranging from food service to guarding diplomats. About 20 percent of money spent for operations in Iraq has gone to contractors, the report said.
There are at least 190,000 contractors in Iraq and neighboring countries, a ratio of about one contractor per US service member, the report said.
The study did not include monetary figures for this year, so the total paid to contractors for work in the Iraq theater since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 probably is much higher. If spending for contractors continues at about the same rate, by the end of the year, an estimated US$100 billion will have been paid to military contractors for operations in Iraq.
Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said the Bush administration’s reliance on military contractors has set a dangerous precedent. Conrad’s committee requested the CBO review.
The use of contractors “restricts accountability and oversight; opens the door to corruption and abuse; and, in some instances, may significantly increase the cost to American taxpayers,” Conrad said in a statement.
The death in January of a Green Beret, Sergeant Ryan Maseth, who was electrocuted while showering in Iraq, prompted a hearing last month by the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform into whether contractor KBR has handled the electrical work properly at bases it maintains. The US military also has said five other deaths were due to improperly installed or maintained electrical devices, a report by the committee said.
In a separate matter, a federal grand jury is investigating whether Blackwater guards acted legally when they opened fire in a busy Baghdad intersection last September. Seventeen Iraqis died and the shooting strained US-Iraqi relations.
The CBO estimated on Tuesday that from US$6 billion to US$10 billion has gone to pay for security work, which was comparable to the costs of having a US military unit doing it. It estimated that about 25,000 to 30,000 employees of security firms were in Iraq as of early this year.
The use of military contractors dates from the American Revolution in the late 1770s. During the Vietnam War, US contractors were targeted by protesters who accused the companies of profiting from the unpopular war.
Since the end of the Cold War, the military has more heavily relied on contractors as it reduced the size of its force. The US government has also sought to outsource more activities that are not inherently governmental.
In the Iraq theater, contractors have performed duties that otherwise would have required more troops to deploy. About 20 percent are US citizens; 40 percent are citizens of the country where they are working; and the rest are from other countries.
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