The government failed to devise and implement accountability laws. So who's to blame?

When President Clinton and a Republican Congress decided to slash the size of the US military in the 1990s and rely on private contractors to take up the slack, they neglected to update the laws to make all contractors accountable.

President Bush and a Republican Congress failed to fix the problem. Now that the Democrats are in control of both houses on Capitol Hill, whom do they blame?

They don't blame those who make and enforce the nation's laws. Instead, they blame the contractors. The New York Times highlights the legal uncertainties in a "news analysis."