Groups representing defense contractors say there is a lack of collaboration between the U.S. government and industry on the military drawdown from Afghanistan, which they say has raised many "as-yet unanswered" questions about the future. The National Defense Industrial Association, the Professional Services Council and the International Stability Operations Association listed their concerns in a recent letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power. The groups say fiscal year 2020 federal contract spending in Afghanistan amounted to $3.6 billion, of which $3.1 billion was for services and $431.7 million was for products. Nearly $3 billion of that total was for DOD contracts, while about $525 million was for State and about $175 million was for USAID. "All of this impact and support is at risk during the drawdown, and that risk is exacerbated by the current lack of [U.S. government]-industry collaboration in both Kabul and Washington," the letter states. "The planned drawdown of DOD forces will significantly affect security, raise as-yet-unanswered questions about the future of USG policy toward Afghanistan, leave undetermined the work that industry partners will be allowed to perform, and create confusion regarding the ways in which contractors can best support the DOD drawdown and remaining U.S. government missions."
展开▼
