Stop the Blank Checks to Iraq Contractors

Why can't we have greater accountability for money spent in Iraq? A new report -- Windfalls of War II -- released by the Center for Public Integrity shines a bright light on a crucial topic: government spending in Iraq.

The report offers disturbing revelations. We spend billions on contracts that fail to enforce incentives or cost savings. Contracts go to foreign sources whose identities remain unknown, with little or no oversight to monitor the morass. If the Bush administration is serious about financial discipline, then maybe it should start looking at the reckless spending in Iraq.

The report follows up on its investigation into spending from 2001 to 2003 and focuses on 2004 to 2006. It found that American firms received substantial contracts. The leading American contractor will come as no surprise: KBR (KBR Quote). KBR, formerly known as Kellogg Brown and Root, used to be a subsidiary of Halliburton (HAL Quote).

KBR took in more than $16 billion in contracts between 2004 and 2006, which is more than nine times what private security firm DynCorp International pulled in at second place, according to the report. Other notable American firms winning contracts in the top 20 were: L-3 Communications (LLL Quote) at No. 6, Fluor (FLR Quote) at No. 7, Perini(PCR Quote) at No. 8, TetraTech(TTEK Quote) at No. 13 and Lockheed Martin (LMT Quote) at No. 18.