美国军方合同存在大量浪费

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。