Contractor con men: The Government Accountability Office has issued a report that chastizes the Pentagon for failing to provide adequate oversight of private contractors supporting American military operations in Iraq.

The report cites a shortage of front-line managers overseeing contractor support that has led to a lack of accountability or assurance that the military is getting the services it has paid for. Before he “retired,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had assured the GAO that the military would comply with recommendations made in earlier GAO reports. He must have had his fingers crossed at the time.

It appears the Pentagon has basically outsourced the war in Iraq:

The military’s global war on terror has coincided with a massive outsourcing of jobs traditionally performed by uniformed personnel. In Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds of private companies provide battlefield support to the troops, supplying them with everything from food and housing to Internet service and intelligence analysis.

While 9,200 contractors supported the 1991 Gulf War, the Army alone estimates that at least 60,000 contractors support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the new report (GAO-07-145).

The Pentagon does not know how many contractors currently are working in Iraq and living on the American bases that have sprung up around the country, GAO noted.

Besides getting bad service, the result is millions of dollars lost each year through waste and abuse. For instance, the Army estimates that $43 million is lost annually due to contractors eating free meals while receiving a per diem allowance for food. Hey,that sounds like good work if you can get it.

Field commanders also told GAO about problems getting needed spare parts and maintenance that was supposed to be provided by contractors.

The lack of an accurate head count also means that as the military begins reducing the number of bases in Iraq, it will be unable to adequately plan for how many people will remain. The result, GAO said, is that commanders run the risk of either under building or overbuilding living accommodations on those bases.

GAO recommended that the Defense secretary immediately appoint somebody within his office, with sufficient seniority, to oversee contractor performance on the battlefield. In a response to the report, Pentagon officials agreed with this suggestion.

Yeah, and along with the supervision we need to make the cost of the war in Iraq a budget item, not a special appropriation, which also would provide greater fiscal oversight and maybe, just maybe help stem some of the abuses that have marked this nobel conflict.