Increasing Reliance On Contractors As US Leaves Afghanistan

07:59

October 29, 2013

Afghan construction workers install steel reinforcement bars on a building to be used by the Afghan National Army in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. (Rahmat Gul/AP)

Lawmakers and government inspectors are worried because the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will mean that billions of dollars in reconstruction work will be out of reach for American military officials in the future.

But the U.S. government is not pulling back on the projects. It will instead rely on private contractors to monitor them.

That lack of government oversight could mean that millions of dollars will be squandered in the costliest reconstruction of another country in U.S. history.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks to Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

Washington Post / Rajiv Chandrasekaran: After troops leave, U.S. to lose access to Afghan reconstruction projects worth billions
Related: Huge New Military Base Goes Unused In Afghanistan

Guest

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, senior correspondent and associate editor at The Washington Post. He's also author of "Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan." He tweets @rajivwashpost.

This segment aired on October 29, 2013.