A COMMISSION ON WARTIME CONTRACTING has found that “at least one in every six dollars of U.S. spending for contracts and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade, or more than $30 billion, has been wasted. And at least that much could again turn into waste if the host governments are unable or unwilling to sustain U.S.-funded projects after our involvement ends. … Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted through poor planning, vague and shifting requirements, inadequate competition, substandard contract management and oversight, lax accountability, weak interagency coordination, and subpar performance or outright misconduct by some contractors and federal employees. Both government and contractors need to do better.”

THE PREVIEW OF THE COMMISSION’S REPORT CAME in an op-ed in Sunday’s Washington Post by co-chairmen Christopher Shays and Michael Thibault. The commission is expected to present its final report to Congress on Wednesday. Read the op-ed here: http://wapo.st/opapXc