U.S. wastes $34 billion in Afghan and Iraq contracting

--Source: More than 200,000 contractors have been on U.S. payroll at times in Iraq and Afghanistan, outstripping number of U.S. troops on ground in those countries 23 Jul 2011 The United States has wasted some $34 billion on service contracts with the private sector in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study being finalized for Congress. The analysis by the Commission on Wartime Contracting, details of which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, offers the most complete look so far at the misuse of U.S. contracting funds in Afghanistan and Iraq, where more than $200 billion has been doled out in the contracts and grants over nearly a decade.READ MORE