Boston.com / News / World / Postwar rebuilding falters over contracts: "
BAGHDAD -- Colonel David Teeples, commander of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq, can't figure it out. If he can recruit and train members of Iraq's new security force, why can't the Coalition Provisional Authority -- the US-led administration that is running postwar Iraq -- provide them with the uniforms, radios, weapons, and vehicles they need to do their job?
His frustration is common in postwar Iraq -- among Iraqis as much as US forces. More than a year after the US government secretly divvied up the first contracts for postwar reconstruction, much of the subcontracting process remains confusing, overcentralized, and fertile ground for corruption, say watchdog agencies and Iraqi contractors. The equipment so important to Teeples and his recruits, for example, was supposed to be provided under a $327 million contract that was issued in January but was canceled two weeks ago over what the Army said was errors made by contracting officers.
The list of reconstruction contracts and licenses either delayed or under investigation is growing due to what watchdog agencies say is an ad hoc and underregulated selection process. And analysts say it is likely to become more prone to abuse if the United States transfers control over Iraq to an interim government without a strong oversight agency."
BAGHDAD -- Colonel David Teeples, commander of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq, can't figure it out. If he can recruit and train members of Iraq's new security force, why can't the Coalition Provisional Authority -- the US-led administration that is running postwar Iraq -- provide them with the uniforms, radios, weapons, and vehicles they need to do their job?
His frustration is common in postwar Iraq -- among Iraqis as much as US forces. More than a year after the US government secretly divvied up the first contracts for postwar reconstruction, much of the subcontracting process remains confusing, overcentralized, and fertile ground for corruption, say watchdog agencies and Iraqi contractors. The equipment so important to Teeples and his recruits, for example, was supposed to be provided under a $327 million contract that was issued in January but was canceled two weeks ago over what the Army said was errors made by contracting officers.
The list of reconstruction contracts and licenses either delayed or under investigation is growing due to what watchdog agencies say is an ad hoc and underregulated selection process. And analysts say it is likely to become more prone to abuse if the United States transfers control over Iraq to an interim government without a strong oversight agency."
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