The Virginian-Pilot: Webb Seeks Accountability for 'Abuse' of Funds in Iraq

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The Virginian-Pilot: Webb Seeks Accountability for 'Abuse' of Funds in Iraq

By: Dale Eisman

Americans understand that "there was rampant fraud, waste and abuse" of public funds after the invasion of Iraq and are looking for public officials "to demonstrate that we're willing to do something about it," U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said Monday.

Testifying at the first in a series of hearings convened by a new Commission on Wartime Contracting, Webb urged the eight-member panel to hold people accountable and critically examine the Defense Department's heavy reliance on private contractors in Iraq to handle jobs traditionally done by troops.

"There's clearly a proper role for the important work that contractors provide, but the pendulum, I believe, has swung way too far," Webb said. The military's reliance on contractors for many jobs is "not always the most cost-effective solution," he asserted.

The commission, patterned after the World War II-era Truman Committee that examined profiteering during that conflict, was created largely at the urging of Webb and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. The group conducted Monday's hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building, in the same room where the Truman Committee met, Webb noted.

The group's initial hearing centered on a new report by the congressionally chartered special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Stuart Bowen. The 358-page study, titled "Hard Lessons," concludes that the U.S. government was "unprepared and ill-equipped" for the Iraq relief program begun after the "major combat" phase of the war in 2003.

Several witnesses warned that unless the Defense Department adopts reforms, similar waste is likely to occur in Afghanistan as more American troops enter that country.

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