Some U.S. troops tempted by reconstruction cash

Regulations adopted this year say that emergency response program managers in the war theater must approve projects larger than $500,000, and efforts costing more than $2 million must be approved by the U.S. Central Command chief (in Afghanistan) or the secretary of Defense (in Iraq). Pay agents are also now required to submit quarterly reports, with specific rules for delivery, transporting and safeguarding cash.

Internal controls have "significantly increased," Lt. Col. Ryan Saw, emergency response program manager in Iraq, said in a telephone interview. "We're focusing more on staff assistance visits, and making sure at the company, battalion and brigade level, the program is being managed efficiently."

There also is less money floating around the battlefield. With the war winding down and more projects being run by Iraqi provincial governments, U.S. authorities have spent $157 million on emergency response program projects in the 2009 fiscal year (which began in October), compared with $1.08 billion in 2008.

Known cases of military theft have been relatively few and have been prosecuted aggressively. And although the opportunity to steal reconstruction funds may have lessened, staying on top of the situation will be important for building public confidence as the war in Afghanistan heats up, said Frank Vogl, co-founder of Transparency International, a watchdog group that tracks corruption around the globe.

"They are planning to deploy a huge amount of civilian people to do development and reconstruction, get the economy going and hopefully win support away from the Taliban -- a laudable goal," Vogl said.

"But if it is not undertaken in a way that truly ensures meaningful oversight of contracting," he said, "then all it will do is exacerbate a massively corrupt situation that already exists."

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kim.murphy@latimes.com