Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty has just announced that the Justice Department is going to begin cracking down on contract fraud. Now there's swift justice. The get-tough declaration comes right before the November elections, but far too late to expose any embarrassing examples of war profiteering or Katrina wrongdoing.

For the first time in three and a half years, with more than $30 billion already spent, the chief watchdog body of the Republican-controlled House held a hearing yesterday on the reconstruction of Iraq. Now that's oversight!

What the Committee on Government Reform found wasn't pretty. In fact,...

Who was in charge of the reconstruction of Iraq? Why weren't there more civil servants watching the till in Baghdad? Who allowed the contractors to run wild? All these were great questions raised by a commentator reading a previous post.

It was an issue that I wrestled with constantly...

In a little-noticed report Monday, the Government Accountability Office released the latest on the wise and judicious use of taxpayer money in Iraq contracting. Guess what? It's the biggest number yet in the accounting mess that is the rebuilding of Iraq.

The tally shows that Defense Department auditors...

Senate Democrats are holding a hearing today on Halliburton and contracting abuses in Iraq. The theme isn't new but some of the details are. Truck drivers who worked in Iraq for Halliburton subsidiary KBR will tell the story of a horrifically violent convoy run on April 9, 2004....

Now we find out that Paul Wolfowitz cares about corruption. It seems that in his new incarnation as head of the World Bank, Wolfowitz has been busy suspending loans from countries and companies suspected of misusing the bank's money.

That's rich. Because when it comes to the Bush...

So today we read that the top commander in western Iraq, Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, says that "We are not in our end state yet,'' a phrase which uncomfortably echoes a certain Monty Python skit. It seems that while the military can hold out against the insurgents,...

If there is going to be a bill of indictment against Donald Rumsfeld, one of the charges will likely be his neglect of the reconstruction of Iraq. The buck quite literally stops with Rumsfeld when it comes to nation building. The reconstruction had hard and fast goals. And few of...

Gen George Casey's recent prediction that Iraqi troops will be ready to take over security duties in 18 months or so would be more reassuring if there was a track record of success. But there isn't.

As I was writing Blood Money, it became apparent that the...

With all the talk about the reconstruction of New Orleans surrounding the Katrina anniversary, the rebuilding of Iraq has gotten lost in the background. That would be a shame, because it remains one of the most important tasks for America--both morally and politically.

To recap: After a morning spent...