The 3 Largest Recipients of State Department Afghan Aid

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) just released a top-level analysis of State Department reconstruction funding in Afghanistan. SIGAR found that State has obligated nearly $4 billion for Afghanistan reconstruction between the beginning of fiscal year 2002 and March 2013, more than two-thirds of which ($2.8 billion, or 69 percent) will go to just one company—DynCorp International. The State Department’s reconstruction effort relies extensively on contractors. Nearly 90 percent of State’s reconstruction funding—$3.5 billion—was obligated in 55 contracts awarded to 19 recipients, the largest of which is DynCorp. Readers of this blog are probably familiar with DynCorp’s colorful history in Afghanistan, which includes instances of labor smuggling, weak…