Canada's Purchase of the F-35: Lessons in Oversight

There is much to criticize in the process, past and present, that Canada has put itself through in its purchase of the F-35: the selection was devoid of meaningful competition and even now the government there is going to great lengths to avoid an appreciation of the actual likely costs. However, I became very impressed with the willingness and ability of some politicians there to get to the bottom of the matter, and I was stunned by the contrast with our own system, where we do not disown those who have misled us but promote them.

A description of the important lessons on how to perform oversight I observed in Canada appear in a new commentary at Foreign Policy's website.

This is also the first in a series of monthly pieces at Foreign Policy, titled "The Spendagon."