White House Unveils New 'Situation Room' aka "your tax $$ at work"

[CatWoman]

(AP) The Situation Room at the White House isn't one room at all — it's a sprawling 5,000-square-foot complex that's nothing like the state-of-the-art Counter-Terrorist Unit on TV's "24."

When a remodeling project is completed — after eight months and a classified number of taxpayer dollars — White House officials expect their "Sit Room" to function at a higher level and look a lot better than the place Henry Kissinger once described as "uncomfortable, unaesthetic and essentially oppressive."

The complex fills much of the lower floor of the West Wing and extends into an area dug out of the berm beneath the White House's outdoor pool. Workers gutted the area in August.

"We literally took it down to the bricks and the bare floor," said White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/20/politics/main2285549.shtml