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Massive US embassy in Iraq.

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AndrewC

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Did you know that we are supposedly building the largest embassy in the world in Iraq? I did not know this. Some information from the two articles.

Roughly the size of the Vatican.
Congress appropriated $592 billion. Some say it may cost over a billion.
104 acres. Six times larger than the UN compound in New York. Most embassies are only 10 acres.


ABC News: U.S. Building Its Largest Embassy in Iraq
In the chaos of Iraq, one project is on target: a giant US embassy-News-World-Iraq-TimesOnline

The second article is cool. It talks about Iraqis watching the construction. Wondering where the US gets the money to build it. Yet they can't keep the lights on in their city. Also, like many things in Iraq. It is being built by a foreign contractor instead of out of work Iraqis. NICE!


NOTE**
I found this on Digg. You might enjoy reading the comments. The one I like is "They are building all that in a warzone and ground zero is still barren...".

Digg - Bush's $592 million palace in Baghdad
 

That suggests to me the current administration does not plan on the contingency that the Iraqi govt might not want the US to have a huge (or any) embassy there.
 
I'm not seeing the issue. So we are building an embassy we just build one in Tajikistan. What is the problem?
 
Just Me 2 said:
I'm not seeing the issue. So we are building an embassy we just build one in Tajikistan. What is the problem?
Click to expand...

Did it cost 592 million to a billion to build?
Is it roughly the size of the Vatican?
Does it take up 104 acres of Tajikistani land?

I have several problems with it. The design is rather lavish. Given the state of things, how the hell can they even begin to build something of this size? I mean, we may be forced to leave. If that happens, we will not get our money back.

Also building this monstrosity isn't going to help convince Iraqis that we aren't controlling their government. The second article, if true, shows you how an average Iraqi might feel about such development.

Lastly we need to be helping Iraqis with security, employment and basic services. I find it shameful that this thing is selfsufficient and nearing completion. They designed it to have power and water even when their Iraqi neighbors do not. That is kinda' cold don't you think?
 


That is EXACTLY what the embassy can do.


TDG - Tajikistan Development Gateway

Stats:



And I have no doubt the one in Iraq will do the same.
 
Just Me 2 said:
That is EXACTLY what the embassy can do.


TDG - Tajikistan Development Gateway

Stats:




And I have no doubt the one in Iraq will do the same.
Click to expand...


Nice find on the stats!

Anyway, both articles I posted say construction is being done by a foreign contractor. The second article says...

"The heavily guarded 42-hectare (104-acre) site — which will have a 15ft thick perimeter wall — has hundreds of workers swarming on scaffolding. Local residents are bitter that the Kuwaiti contractor has employed only foreign staff and is busing them in from a temporary camp nearby."

The first article says this about how we got the land...

"Iraq's interim government transferred the land to U.S. ownership in October 2004, under an agreement whose terms were not disclosed."

And the second...

"In the pavement cafés, people moan that the structure is bigger than anything Saddam Hussein built. They are not impressed by the architects’ claims that the diplomatic outpost will be visible from space and cover an area that is larger than the Vatican city and big enough to accommodate four Millennium Domes. They are more interested in knowing whether the US State Department paid for the prime real estate or simply took it."


They employ many Iraqis to work at the current, temporary US embassy. I'll give them that. However this just doesn't make sense. So big, so much money. Yet the city around it is falling apart. They should provide for the people before the provide for themselves. Like I said. If we have to leave. This will be a complete waste. The soldiers don't get a nice new complex with electricity, water, gym and swimming pool. Why should the civilians get it. At least they don't sleep on cots or the floor. One article mentioned they have trailers they are using now.
 


Thanks I kinda had some help my hubby is an Engineer and worked on the Dushanbe Embassy so I knew just where to go.

I do know that the main contractor is a Kuwaiti company but there are hundreds of sub-contractors that are US.

I agree that they need to get the city together but bringing the new jobs will in turn help the city because people will be able to fix some of their own things.

I'll see if I can get some info from him but I know when he worked on the other he couldn't even talk to me about.
 
205 doors, sounds like someone is in the pocket of door industry.

I don't think this is a big deal from the American perspective. But it hardly diplomatic to construct a monstrosity in another country that they will see as a symbol of Imperial influence.
 

No surprisem, the US is building a quasi government in that country. Invading it, taking it over and pretending that Iraq will govern their own country while the real government is the US "embassy".
 
Maximus Zeebra said:
No surprisem, the US is building a quasi government in that country. Invading it, taking it over and pretending that Iraq will govern their own country while the real government is the US "embassy".
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Yeah that's it. :roll:
 


I agree by US standards it is "no big deal" but I can certainly see how it could look to outside nations.
 
Just Me 2 said:
Yeah that's it. :roll:
Click to expand...

Why else would they build such a large embassy if not for governing Iraq? And why a big embasy in Iraq and not another country? Iraq means nothing, its a tiny country with a tiny economy and is now full of tiny white pe***es with weapons.
 
Maximus Zeebra said:
Why else would they build such a large embassy if not for governing Iraq? And why a big embasy in Iraq and not another country? Iraq means nothing, its a tiny country with a tiny economy and is now full of tiny white pe***es with weapons.
Click to expand...

Well because we are going to be helping keep Iraq stable for a long time to come. I am not positive about this embassy but I know many embassy compounds house the military that are stationed there. Most of the time this is done in hostel countries which I would say Iraq falls under. Your last statement is beyond obnoxious and uncalled for.
 

I think next time a European country goes to Africa we should establish a huge base and government there and call it an embassy.
 
Maximus Zeebra said:
I think next time a European country goes to Africa we should establish a huge base and government there and call it an embassy.
Click to expand...


Now see your second post was thoughtful and had some good question but you are right back to non-sense.
 
That's pretty much normal for embassies today.
This embassy will have to house, feed and entertain a large staff and security units as well. And since Embassies are supposed to represent the best of their countries of course it's going to be nice.
I grew up in embassies all over the world, this is a completely normal, I don't know why anyone is upset about this at all. The US embassy in Malta cost over 80 million dollars and it's fairly small and in a friendly country.
 

Well, why in Iraq this huge embassy? Why don't they build it in Brussels or Beijing?

China and the European Union are certainly more important allies than Iraq, Iraq don't mean anything on a global scale.
I don't believe the US have a large embassy in neither of those places, let alone a little embassy town.

They are in Iraq to govern that country, it was an imperial invasion, we should all realize that and hope the US goes to Iran so that they **** it all up and loose all the influence they haven't lose by going to Iraq.
 
Actually we have four embassies in China and one in Brussels, which is a very very nice one. The one in Belgium doesn't need to be a mini town as the workers secretaries, clerks, janitors etc etc, can safely live in Belgium without having to live in the Embassy itself. Mind you every Embassy, has enough room that if for some reason there is a war they can the staff tucked away safely. The same goes for China, the staff doesn't have to live in the embassy there, they have some very nice diplomatic "towns" outside the embassy walls where the staff of all the consulates live.
The one in Iraq has to house, feed and entertain the regular staff, and the security staff, it will most likely takes years before the green zone is safe enough for the embassy workers to live outside the walls of the embassies there (not just for our staff but for all the embassies' staff). What will probably happen with the American Embassy is that it will be a starting point for other Embassies to be built or redone depending on the country, and their diplomats will most likely stay in ours until theirs is built.
The Iraq embassy will most likely have to deal with huge crowds of people requesting visas to the US as well. That always happens in a country like that. They need to have the room to do their job and to be secure.
this is actually a very positive sign, in any country that has been through a war, it's always a good sign when the embassies begin to reopen. And once one opens, others will too and that can only be good for the Iraqi people. The British and the Australians are getting their embassies up and running too. That is a very very good sign.
 


The point is that we may not always need that many people in Iraq. If Hillary is elected she may not want 8,000 people in the Iraq embassy. If Obama is elected, he may not want anyone at that embassy. The Iraqi government may turn on Bush and force (try to) us to leave. It is too uncertain to be building this now. There are much more important things than swimming pools and apartments for US civilian personnel. Is it worth it to build a $592 million dollar complex only to vacate it or only need a third of it in two years?
 
over 200 local employees.
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200 people??? Wow. That's alot of people. I think this might be a major step in the direction of peace, prosperity, democracy, freedom, and democracy in Iraq.
 
LeftyHenry said:
200 people??? Wow. That's alot of people. I think this might be a major step in the direction of peace, prosperity, democracy, freedom, and democracy in Iraq.
Click to expand...

and freedom, and end of terrorism and tyrranie, the army of evil is coming, beware. the forces of evil are evil-doers, we must all beware.
 
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