DynCorp has won State Dept. contracts since 2004 to train Iraq police forces. And while the end might be in sight for military combat in Iraq (2011), there is no withdrawal deadline for State Dept. contractors. In fact, the IG report says security costs could quadruple in 2011.

With all the talk about Afghanistan and Pakistan, it’s easy to forget about the Middle East’s other U.S.-induced quagmire.-MB

The many failures of the Iraq reconstruction effort are no secret. What’s different in the general narrative Murphy provides is that the Justice Department is duly responding to criminal wrongdoing. A department under fire from many directions, Justice has been reluctant to investigate private contractors in Iraq. But Murphy reports they’re confronting the internal Army corruption that fueled the rogue contractors.-MB

But as the Washington Post’s Dana Hedgepath and Amit R. Paley tell us, the prison was abandoned, sort of taken up by a new contractor and is now called "the whale" among Iraqi citizens. Parsons has up to $900 million worth of work in Iraq. An audit released today promises to show how much of that is actually getting done.-MB

That Bowen’s personal conduct has come under scrutiny is a shame, because as an inspector general he’s issued memorably scathing reports on Iraqi reconstruction efforts. Hopefully the events this week signal that Bowen can once again pinpoint Iraq’s multiple reconstruction problems — for the brief time he’s expected to stay in office.-MB

The Bush administration is currently looking for another $1 billion for these police and military forces. It’s part of the $108 billion requested for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read Kelley here. MB

Robin Wright of the Washington Post reports that the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) is under investigation for cost overruns, an unfair hiring of a whistleblower inside the organization, and possible "inappropriate behavior."

This is what happens when you make lots of omelettes.  Stuart Bowen and his staff have uncovered massive waste, corruption, and incompetence in the government’s handling of Iraq reconstruction — from the huge problems facing Iraq’s oil industry, to a disastrous construction project for the Iraqi national police force, to a dam on the Tigris River that might collapse, causing massive loss of life and property damage. 

On the other hand, it looks like success — in this most vital of missions — may have gone to their heads.  Wright reports that SIGIR has overstated the financial savings spurred by its investigations by a multiple of twenty and overpaid certain employees by as much as one hundred thousand dollars over the annual pay limit for federal employees.  One SIGIR official said that the overtime hours attributed to some employees were "physically and mentally impossible to work." 

That was a "senior SIGIR official" Wright interviewed.  Congress is also looking into SIGIR’s abuses.  And because of employee complaints, the FBI is investigating charges of abuse, unfair treatment, and possible harrassment or inappropriate behavior by SIGIR supervisors towards their staff.  The allegations of abuse reached the Office of the President and a special presidential council launched its own investigation.

If these allegations about SIGIR turn out to be true, there’s nothing to cheer about.  Those responsible for conducting inspections should be unforgiving towards any abuses within their own organization.  But this kind of transparency and professional investigation — watching the watchers and stopping abuse — is part of what makes America great, and, one can imagine, causes jaws to drop in countries where government leaders know about (or take part in) corruption…and the public knows…but nobody says a word.

Ned Hodgman