US 'wasted $30bn on Afghanistan and Iraq' over decade

The commission on wartime contracting blamed an over-reliance on contractors, poor planning and fraud for the waste, and uncovered evidence of lax accountability and inadequate competition, it said.

Writing in the Washington Post, the report's authors warned that investments in the two countries could be wasted even after US involvement there ends.

Among the examples cited was a $40 million prison for Iraq – a prison that the country did not want and was never even completed.

The commission also underlined how several US-funded projects in those two countries also risk going to waste because host governments are unable or unwilling to sustain them.

In another instance, $300 million was invested into a sophisticated power plant in Kabul which the Afghan government will not be able to run.

Additionally, a programme worth $11.4 billion in facilities for the Afghan National security forces is also likely to be unsustainable.

The commission's report is due to be published on Wednesday but its authors, who include former government officials and lawmakers, have already published an opinion piece in the Washington Post, blaming both the government and contractors for the waste.

The opinion pieces makes the obvious recommendation to be more rigorous when deciding whether a project should be contracted out but it also recommends cancelling or modifying projects that are not sustainable.

Beyond just a disservice to taxpayers, the report says that the waste fosters corruption in host countries and diminishes the standing and influence of the US.