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Since the Iraq invasion of 2003, at least $85 billion has been spent on contractors in Iraq and surrounding countries. The Congressional Budget Office, which conducted the report, estimates that by the end of 2008, spending is likely to reach over $100 billion. It also noted that one out of every $5 spent on the Iraq war went to contractors - 20% of all funding for operations in Iraq. However, there were no reliable audits of or controls on spending during the first years of the war, so it is difficult to determine the exact amount of money the war has cost the United States.
Employees of private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in the war zone. Contractors are used for security and logistics and are used as bodyguards, translators, interrogators, drivers, construction workers, and cooks. Contractors also guard envoys and protect embassies, aid workers, and foreign businesses. The U.S. currently employs 190,000 contractors in and around Iraq. Only 20% of contractors are American; 40% are citizens from the country of which they are employed; the rest are foreign workers. Contractors currently work in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. They are usually former soldiers and hail from the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Nepal, Fiji, Russia, Australia, Chile, and Peru.
Proponents of these private armed forces claim that contractors helps avoid the necessity of a draft and keeps troop levels low. The work of contractors is often dangerous because they are "the first line of defense on roads and checkpoints to government compounds," and are constantly the target of suicide bombers and insurgents. They are better armed and armored than the U.S. military, and also better paid - contractors make $12,000 to $30,000 a month.
Critics claim that this privatization of war led to overbilling, fraud, contractor waste and abuse, and shoddy work that place U.S. troops in danger. Senator Kent Conrad, D-ND, and chairman of the Budget Committee, stated that "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."
The legal status of contractor personnel is ambiguous. Private security contractors seem to operate with impunity. Contracts are managed by a government contracting officer, not a military commander, thus don't follow military rules and protocol.
* Risen, James. "US Spending on Contractors in Iraq Reported to Reach $85 Billion" International Herald Tribune 12 Aug 2008.
* "Iraq Contractors Cost US $85bn" BBC. 13 Aug 2008.
* Hefling, Kimberly (AP). "Report: Iraq Contract Pricetag $85 B" TIME 13 Aug 2008.
* "America's Other Army" TIME 18 Oct 2007.
Employees of private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in the war zone. Contractors are used for security and logistics and are used as bodyguards, translators, interrogators, drivers, construction workers, and cooks. Contractors also guard envoys and protect embassies, aid workers, and foreign businesses. The U.S. currently employs 190,000 contractors in and around Iraq. Only 20% of contractors are American; 40% are citizens from the country of which they are employed; the rest are foreign workers. Contractors currently work in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. They are usually former soldiers and hail from the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Nepal, Fiji, Russia, Australia, Chile, and Peru.
Proponents of these private armed forces claim that contractors helps avoid the necessity of a draft and keeps troop levels low. The work of contractors is often dangerous because they are "the first line of defense on roads and checkpoints to government compounds," and are constantly the target of suicide bombers and insurgents. They are better armed and armored than the U.S. military, and also better paid - contractors make $12,000 to $30,000 a month.
Critics claim that this privatization of war led to overbilling, fraud, contractor waste and abuse, and shoddy work that place U.S. troops in danger. Senator Kent Conrad, D-ND, and chairman of the Budget Committee, stated that "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."
The legal status of contractor personnel is ambiguous. Private security contractors seem to operate with impunity. Contracts are managed by a government contracting officer, not a military commander, thus don't follow military rules and protocol.
* Risen, James. "US Spending on Contractors in Iraq Reported to Reach $85 Billion" International Herald Tribune 12 Aug 2008.
* "Iraq Contractors Cost US $85bn" BBC. 13 Aug 2008.
* Hefling, Kimberly (AP). "Report: Iraq Contract Pricetag $85 B" TIME 13 Aug 2008.
* "America's Other Army" TIME 18 Oct 2007.