One thing for sure: the conflict in Iraq has been a nice little earner for certain parties.
Most recently, we have had the Los Angeles Times revealing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice fessing up that past management of the contractors had been "inadequate" and reports of the arrest of David Brooks, the founder of DHB Industries which makes body armor for solders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brooks has been accused of milking his company of finds to support his lavish lifestyle, complete with money paid to companies owned by him and his wife, fancy cars and a private jet service. Brooks is up on charges that charges that include securities fraud, accounting fraud, tax fraud and insider trading.
Now we have news that investigators will today begin poring over hundreds of iraq war contracts in search for rigged awards. If the investigators find anything, the FBI and Justice Department will be called in. They'll be looking for all the obvious signs like contracts that are awarded without a tender process or jobs that go to the highest bidder.
Still, it's not foolproof. If people are determined to rip off the system, they can also go to a lot of trouble producing files that look squeaky clean. What that means is that the corruption probe is a good start but it won't stop the graft and profiteering.
You might be interested in The Wounded Warriors Project. It’s a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness for U.S. troops severely wounded in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. It really puts a face on the cost of this conflict. Here’s a link:
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/aarwebs
Jeff