Laura Peterson, ICIJ

Stories by Laura Peterson

U.S. contractors reap the windfalls of post-war reconstruction

More than 70 American companies and individuals - donors to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush - have won up to $8 billion in contracts for work in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years.

May 07, 2012

Former Vice President Dick Cheney stepped down from Halliburton to become Bush's running mate in Aug

Some players in Iraq got their business from Baghdad and Kabul

While the Defense and State Departments have granted the lion's share of contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan directly from Washington, a few U.S. companies have made their deals directly with local governing authorities that have emerged with U.S. support or direction.

Mar 12, 2012

Service contracting has risen dramatically in the last decade

Government contracting has always been a complex matter, thick with legal wrangling and bureaucracy, but the last decade has seen a radical change in how the U.S. government purchases goods and services.