A congressionally established commission estimates that between $31 billion and $61 billion have been lost due to contract waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. The panel says reforms are needed to prevent the same problems from cropping up in future contingency operations.
In a final report, released on Aug. 31, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan made 15 recommendations to cut down on future fraud and waste. They include establishing a full-time inspector general for contingency operations and taking action to mitigate the threat of additional waste from projects that are not sustainable. The panel did not specify how much of the dollars lost were from construction projects and how much were from security and other contracts.