美国军方合同存在大量浪费

The United States' extensive outsourcing of military functions in war zones has been controversial since the beginning of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

从阿富汗和伊拉克的战事一开始， 美国把美军在战区的很多职能以合同的方式承包出去就是一个有争议的问题。

A report by the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting has heightened concerns with details of allegations of billions of dollars lost due to waste and corruption.

美国国会就此特别成立了“战时合同委员会”，调查其中存在的问题。“战时合同委员会”刚刚出台的报告，详细阐述了大量浪费和腐化的细节，引起了更多的关注。

To lessen wartime strains on America’s all-volunteer military force, the Pentagon hires private businesses to provide a vast array of support services.

美国目前的征兵体制是志愿兵。为了减轻正式军方人员战时的压力，五角大楼雇佣了很多私人企业，为军方提供各种服务。

Reliance on contractors expanded drastically during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, feeding what is now a large for-profit military industry funded by U.S. taxpayers.

美国在军事运作中，对于合同工以及合同公司依赖的程度，在伊拉克和阿富汗战时期间，大大地加大了，以至于目前由纳税人养活的、与战争和军事相关的赢利企业的规模不断扩大。

The commission's co-chairman, Michael Thibault says not all of the money has been well-spent.

国会“战时合同委员会”的负责人之一麦克尔·迪鲍尔特说，这个过程中存在着不少用钱不当的情况。

“Total spending on contract and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to $206 billion. We estimate that $31-$60 billion of that total has been or is being lost to waste and fraud,” said Thibault.

迪鲍尔特说：“我们在伊拉克和阿富汗战事期间，花在合同和项目上的资金，总共有2006亿美元。这其中，估计有310亿到600亿美元，或者被浪费掉了，或者被用到了不当之处。”

At a news conference Wednesday, Thibault stressed that the commission's aim is not to attack the reputations of individual contractors, but rather to identify problems in the government’s contracting process. He says many problems have been identified.

迪鲍尔特在星期三举行的新闻发布会上强调说，“战时合同委员会”的目的，不是要攻击某个合同公司，而是要把美国政府在制订和管理合同项目过程中存在的问题，搞清楚。迪鲍尔特说，目前已经有很多问题被查出来了。

“The cost of contract support has been unnecessarily high. [The U.S.] government has not effectively managed contracts to promote competition, reward good performance, and impose accountability for poor performance and misconduct by both government and contractor personnel,” Thibault said.

迪鲍尔特说：“合同的费用过高。政府没能有效地管理合同，促进竞争。无论是对政府部门的雇员，还是对合同一方，都没有明确的奖惩制度。表现好的得不到奖励，差的没有追究其责任。”

As an example of counter-productive efforts, the commission alleges that some U.S. funds for construction projects in Afghanistan wound up in the hands of insurgents battling American troops.

美国“战时合同委员会”说，政府合同有时候起到适得其反的作用，这其中的一个例子，就是用于阿富汗重建的部分合同资金，甚至辗转到了和美国开战的激进份子手里。

Contractors do everything from serving meals to troops to building power plants and guarding diplomats.

合同公司承包各种任务，其中包括给军队提供伙食、建设发电厂和负责外交人员的安全警卫。

The commission urges an overhaul of government contracting procedures in war zones, and even phasing out the use of contractors for certain functions.

美国“战时合同委员会”建议说，政府应当对作战地区的合同管理进行彻底整顿，甚至可以考虑在一些领域取消使用合同公司。The other commission co-chairman is former Congressman Christopher Shays.

委员会的另外一位负责人、前国会议员克里斯托夫·谢斯说：

“The way forward demands reform. With tens of billions of dollars already wasted, with the prospect of more to follow, and with the risk of re-creating these problems the next time America faces a contingency, denial and delay are not good options,” said Shays.

“接下来，非要改革不行。目前已经有数百亿美元被浪费掉了，将来还有可能有更多的款项被浪费掉。弄不好的话，下一次我们再遇到这种情况，问题还会再次出现，因此说，不能对这些问题视而不见，或者是拖延，不及时处理。”

Questions surrounding private military contractors are not new. In 2007, Congress held hearings on allegations that contractors targeted Iraqi civilians with excessive and reckless force. Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater, a well-known military contracting firm, denied any wrongdoing by his employees.

在军队雇佣私人合同公司这个过程中出现的问题，已经不是什么新鲜事了。早在2007年，美国国会就召开了听证会，调查在伊拉克战事中某些合同人士是否对伊拉克平民过份使用武力的问题。对这一点，著名的军事合同公司“黑水”的创办人埃里克·普林斯予以否认。

“I disagree with the assertion that they acted like cowboys,” Prince said.

他说：“我不同意说这些人的表现像是牛仔。”

Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia says the commission’s report is a call to action for Congress. “These recommendations will be listened to and, when appropriate, acted on by the United States Congress,” Webb said.

在国会议员当中，来自维吉尼亚州的民主党籍参议员吉姆·韦伯认为，国会应该立即就“战时合同委员会”报告中提出的建议，采取行动。他说：“国会将听取委员会提出的各项建议，并适时、适当采取行动。”

In May, the Congressional Research Service reported that the United States had 155,000 private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared with 145,000 uniformed personnel.

今年五月，美国国会信息服务中心的报告说，美国在伊拉克和阿富汗的合同人员总数为15万5千人，相比之下，在伊拉克和阿富汗的美军总人数只有14万5千人。