Waste In U.S. War Contracts

Report Finds Vast Waste in U.S. War Contracts -- Wall Street Journal

Panel Says $34 Billion Was Misspent In Iraq, Afghanistan in 10-Year Period.

The U.S. has wasted or misspent $34 billion contracting for services in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a draft report by a bipartisan congressional panel, the most comprehensive effort so far to tally the overall cost of a decade of battlefield contracting in America's two big wars.

The three-year investigation comes from the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which was established by Congress in 2008.

Its final report, expected to be sent to Capitol Hill in the next few weeks, lays out in detail the failure of federal agencies to properly manage and oversee grants and contracts set to exceed a total of $206 billion by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

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My Comment: Only $34 billion misspent .... I expected much worse.

Pentagon's Awarding Of A $630 Million Fuel Supply Contract Raises Questions

A U.S. C-5 Galaxy aircraft lands at Manas International Airport near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Photo: Reuters

Pentagon Awards Jet Fuel Contract To Secretive Company -- Washington Post

In a move that could anger a vital ally in the war in Afghanistan, the Pentagon on Wednesday awarded a major jet fuel contract to Mina Corp., a secretive company that has declined to reveal its ownership but has nonetheless become a trusted partner with the U.S. military.

The contract, which may be worth more than $600 million, covers supplies for a U.S. Air Force base in Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished former Soviet republic where public anger over alleged corruption in jet fuel deals has helped topple two presidents in the past five years. All American troops entering and leaving Afghanistan pass through the American base outside the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The base is also home to aero-tankers that refuel U.S. aircraft operating over Afghanistan.

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More News On Mina Corporation

DOD Awards Manas Transit Center Fuel Contract -- U.S. Department of Defense
Kyrgyz contracts fly under the radar -- Washington Post
Pentagon awards $630m Afghanistan contract to controversial supplier -- The Telegraph
Foreign Policy: A Kyrgyz Burger Joint And $3 Billion -- NPR
Pentagon awards new $315 million fuel contract to burger flipper -- Foreign Policy
Mina Corp Responds to Award of New Manas Contract -- PR Newswire
Kyrgyzstan: Manas Fuel Supplier Has Penchant for Secrecy -- Washington Post Report -- Eurasianet.org
Otunbayeva's son, the CIA, and other mysteries of Manas -- Eurasianet.org
A Kyrgyz airfield, a burger joint owner, and a $3 billion deal -- Foreign Policy

My Comment: The sentence that caught my eye in the Washington Post article was the following ....

.... the Pentagon on Wednesday awarded a major jet fuel contract to Mina Corp., a secretive company that has declined to reveal its ownership but has nonetheless become a trusted partner with the U.S. military.

OK ..... hmmmm .... I have a few dozen questions, but I have my doubts that they will be asked or even answered.

Pentagon Looks For Ways To Save Money

Defense Chief Gates Seeks to Tie U.S. Contractors' Profit to Cost Controls -- Bloomberg

Defense contractors can increase profits if they reduce costs on major weapons programs such as the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 fighter under an initiative unveiled today by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The program calls for the Pentagon to potentially raise payments for meeting contractual targets, increase the use of fixed-priced contracts that award more profit if programs come in under budget and reward contractors for reducing supplier costs.

“Higher performance should naturally lead to higher reward,” Gates said at Pentagon news briefing.

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More News On The Pentagon's Attempts To Increase Efficiency In Contract Costs And Delivery

Pentagon Changes Rules To Cut Cost of Weapons -- New York Times
Pentagon looks to save billions with smarter spending -- Christian Science Monitor
Pentagon launches drive to "do more without more" -- Reuters
Pentagon unveils markers for cutting defense costs -- The Hill
Pentagon vows to cut waste in contracts -- AFP
Pentagon starts to bargain hunt -- AP
Gates starts outlining Pentagon cuts -- Washington Post
New rules aim to rein in Defense spending -- Government Executive
Pentagon cuts target F-35 program -- ABC News (Australia)
The Party Is Over - Gates Unveils New Buying Rules -- National Defense
FACTBOX-Pentagon changes aim to boost productivity -- Reuters

Obama Takes Aim At Costly Defense Contracts

President Obama, joined by Senator John McCain and Senator Carl Levin, discussed a review of how contracts are awarded. Doug Mills/The New York Times

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the U.S. government was paying too much for things it did not need and ordered a crackdown on spending "plagued by massive cost overruns and outright fraud."

The Democrat, under fire from Republicans for the $3.5 trillion price tag for his 2010 budget plan, also took aim at predecessor George W. Bush and noted the cost of government contracts had doubled to more than half a trillion dollars over the past eight years.

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More News On President Obama's Aim To Cut Costly Defense Contracts

Obama: Days of 'blank check' for defense contractors over -- Washington Times
Obama Calls for Review of How Government Contracts Are Awarded -- New York Times
Obama to Change Contract Awarding -- New York Times
Obama orders overhaul of `broken' US contracting -- AP
Obama orders major changes in federal contracting -- AP
Obama vows to change government contracting -- CNN
Obama aims to cut $40B a year -- MSNBC
Pinching Contractors -- Forbes
Obama Defends Budget, Announces Procurement Reforms -- Real Clear Politics
Obama urges defense budget reduction, reform in contracting system -- China View
Obama Pledges to Ensure Security While Reforming Defense Contracting -- Dvids
If You’re a Defense Lobbyist, It Might Be Time to Panic -- Washington Independent
Securing America Does Not Require Wasting Billions -- Heritage Foundation