Study Suggests Pentagon, Reliance on Contractors, Hurt US Post-9/11 Wars.<br />ABC reports that a new study suggests that up to half of the $14 trillion spent by the Pentagon since 9/11 went to for-profit defense contractors.<br />The study by Brown University’s Costs of War project and the Center for International Policy also points to the dependence on contractors as contributing to mission failures in Afghanistan.<br />William Hartung, the author of the study, and others say <br />it’s essential that Americans examine what role the reliance <br />on private contractors played in the post-9/11 wars.<br />According to the study, up to <br />a third of the Pentagon contracts <br />went to just five weapons suppliers.<br />Lockheed Martin alone received one and a half times the entire budgets of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development through Pentagon contracts. .<br />Lockheed Martin alone received one and a half times the entire budgets of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development through Pentagon contracts. .<br />By 2008, Halliburton had received over $30 billion to help set up and run bases, feed troops and carry out other work in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br />By 2008, Halliburton had received over $30 billion to help set up and run bases, feed troops and carry out other work in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br />If it were only the money, that would <br />be outrageous enough. But the fact<br />it undermined the mission and put <br />troops at risk is even more outrageous, William Hartung, study author, via ABC.<br />Another Costs of War study estimates that the U.S. saw about 7,000 military members die in all post-9/11 conflicts, compared to nearly 8,000 contractor deaths.<br />Another Costs of War study estimates that the U.S. saw about 7,000 military members die in all post-9/11 conflicts, compared to nearly 8,000 contractor deaths.<br />According to ABC, following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. embraced private contractors as an essential part of the military response.<br />According to ABC, following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. embraced private contractors as an essential part of the military response
