The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction just put out their semi-annual report on reconstruction. The report is on the web here, and it ain't pretty. The Washington Post has some lurid examples of the fraud and waste that the report exposes. And to think that just a few months ago the special inspector general's office was on the chopping block... One important note: it's tempting to see contracting waste and abuse as an Iraqi reconstruction problem, or a Halliburton problem, or even a defense problem. But really it's a contract administration and oversight problem. Contract mismanagement and fraud is happening government-wide. Spending on contracts has risen dramatically, but spending on overseeing those contracts hasn't. Agencies have found loopholes to administer and hand out contracts in reckless and wasteful ways. The cost to taxpayers has been enormous. (See this congressional report for more). The federal contracting system is broken. Unless it's fixed, and unless Congress fulfills its constitutional duty to conduct oversight, things like this are going to keep happening.