美國軍方合同存在大量浪費

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

從阿富汗和伊拉克的戰事一開始， 美國把美軍在戰區的很多職能以合同的方式承包出去就是一個有爭議的問題。

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.

美國國會就此特別成立了“戰時合同委員會”，調查其中存在的問題。“戰時合同委員會”剛剛出臺的報告，詳細闡述了大量浪費和腐化的細節，引起了更多的關注。

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

美國目前的徵兵體制是志願兵。爲了減輕正式軍方人員戰時的壓力，五角大樓僱傭了很多私人企業，爲軍方提供各種服務。

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.

美國在軍事運作中，對於合同工以及合同公司依賴的程度，在伊拉克和阿富汗戰時期間，大大地加大了，以至於目前由納稅人養活的、與戰爭和軍事相關的贏利企業的規模不斷擴大。

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

國會“戰時合同委員會”的負責人之一麥克爾·迪鮑爾特說，這個過程中存在着不少用錢不當的情況。

“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.

迪鮑爾特說：“我們在伊拉克和阿富汗戰事期間，花在合同和項目上的資金，總共有2006億美元。這其中，估計有310億到600億美元，或者被浪費掉了，或者被用到了不當之處。”

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.

迪鮑爾特在星期三舉行的新聞發佈會上強調說，“戰時合同委員會”的目的，不是要攻擊某個合同公司，而是要把美國政府在制訂和管理合同項目過程中存在的問題，搞清楚。迪鮑爾特說，目前已經有很多問題被查出來了。

“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.

迪鮑爾特說：“合同的費用過高。政府沒能有效地管理合同，促進競爭。無論是對政府部門的僱員，還是對合同一方，都沒有明確的獎懲制度。表現好的得不到獎勵，差的沒有追究其責任。”

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.

美國“戰時合同委員會”說，政府合同有時候起到適得其反的作用，這其中的一個例子，就是用於阿富汗重建的部分合同資金，甚至輾轉到了和美國開戰的激進份子手裏。

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

合同公司承包各種任務，其中包括給軍隊提供伙食、建設發電廠和負責外交人員的安全警衛。

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

美國“戰時合同委員會”建議說，政府應當對作戰地區的合同管理進行徹底整頓，甚至可以考慮在一些領域取消使用合同公司。The other commission co-chairman is former Congressman Christopher Shays.

委員會的另外一位負責人、前國會議員克里斯托夫·謝斯說：

“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.

“接下來，非要改革不行。目前已經有數百億美元被浪費掉了，將來還有可能有更多的款項被浪費掉。弄不好的話，下一次我們再遇到這種情況，問題還會再次出現，因此說，不能對這些問題視而不見，或者是拖延，不及時處理。”

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.

在軍隊僱傭私人合同公司這個過程中出現的問題，已經不是什麼新鮮事了。早在2007年，美國國會就召開了聽證會，調查在伊拉克戰事中某些合同人士是否對伊拉克平民過份使用武力的問題。對這一點，著名的軍事合同公司“黑水”的創辦人埃裏克·普林斯予以否認。

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

他說：“我不同意說這些人的表現像是牛仔。”

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.

在國會議員當中，來自維吉尼亞州的民主黨籍參議員吉姆·韋伯認爲，國會應該立即就“戰時合同委員會”報告中提出的建議，採取行動。他說：“國會將聽取委員會提出的各項建議，並適時、適當採取行動。”

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，美國國會信息服務中心的報告說，美國在伊拉克和阿富汗的合同人員總數爲15萬5千人，相比之下，在伊拉克和阿富汗的美軍總人數只有14萬5千人。