Contract Flaws in Iraq Cited
Rebuilding tasks suffer from poor oversight and questionable spending, agencies find. A delay in equipping the security forces draws criticism.
By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's effort to rebuild Iraq came under the sharpest fire yet Wednesday from critics who described a process rife with poor oversight, questionable spending and long delays that endanger the country's security.
A government audit memo and a briefing given to congressional Democrats indicated systematic problems in the contracts awarded to Halliburton Inc., the largest contractor in Iraq. And a senior U.S. military officer criticized delays resulting from the recent collapse of a crucial contract to equip Iraqi security forces.
The revelations cast new doubts on the rebuilding effort on the eve of what could be a combative congressional review of one of the largest such U.S. initiatives undertaken in any country.
Pentagon officials fought back by insisting that their effort was on track. They pointed to the award late Wednesday of the first of an expected wave of new reconstruction contracts totaling $5 billion....
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