US Embassy in Iraq to be biggest in the World

[LSK]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of
Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water, and a precarious perch at the heart of
Iraq's turbulent future.

snip

"Embassy Baghdad" will dwarf new U.S. embassies elsewhere, projects that typically cover 10 acres. The embassy's 104 acres is six times larger than the
United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington's National Mall.

snip

Original cost estimates ranged over $1 billion, but Congress appropriated only $592 million in the emergency Iraq budget adopted last year. Most has gone to a Kuwait builder, First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting, with the rest awarded to six contractors working on the project's "classified" portion — the actual embassy offices.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060414/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_new_embassy

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

[Christa]

1. I wonder why. NT.

[ShortnFiery]

2. "fortress-like compound"

Or what future insurgents will probably term, "One big-assed TARGET of opportunity."

We need to help our poor deluded PNAC Leaders revisit REALITY - that this is one "wet dream" that will never come to fruition, i.e., a thriving American Empire.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Guess we are not leaving anytime soon

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Gee. Will anyone actually be able to go outside if they want to?

[LSK]

5. looks like they wont have to

It will have its own water wells, sewage treatment plant, powerplant. Because it would just take too much work to fix Baghdads infrastructure wouldnt it? :sarcasm:

[spuddonna]

6. "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree..."

Yeah, wonder where all that reconstruction money went?

[LSK]

9. did you hear Cheney made over $8million last year?

[spuddonna]

18. Hey, wasn't that just about what we 'lost' in Iraq?

Wow, I'm sure there's no connection there at all...
:banghead:
If I keep banging my head on the wall, will I wake up from this nightmare?

[silverweb]

7. Seal of ownership.

The Iraquis may be allowed to hold elections, but there will be no question of who is really in charge. And you can bet that all the major oil companies will have executive suites inside the compound.

That's what all this will convey.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Yeah, but size doesn't mean anything. I'll wait until I see what rides

it has.

[Terran1212]

10. The hell?

The size of VATICAN CITY?!

[magellan]

11. Ten+ times larger than other US embassies

...$1 billion plus in cost and contractors already hired. We can afford this extravagance? And for what reason?

[wtmusic]

12. I hope it has a nice big roof to evacuate from nt

[babylonsister]

13. I'd like to know why none of our Dem Congressmembers

are even questioning this, but don't expect an answer.

[LSK]

14. maybe they did

I didnt watch all of the debate over this bill, did you?

[leftstreet]

15. We have to build 'em over there, so we can shut 'em down over here.

snips

Pentagon's footprint impacts the world
Perceptions ride on realignment of U.S. bases
Sunday, August 7, 2005

As the Pentagon prepares to close dozens of military bases in the United States, another less-noticed part of the story is taking place on foreign soil: a shakeup in the operation of some of the hundreds of U.S. bases overseas.

The new plan spreads troops out "like a spider's web around the world," according to Sean Kay, an associate professor of politics and government at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Unlike the domestic closures, Congress will not vote on which bases will remain in Europe and Asia, and which will close. The process takes place entirely within the Pentagon.

As Cold War hubs are dismantled, the Bush administration wants to build an alternative strategic presence: a global missile defense system. Although missile defense and rapidly deployable troops address different threats, both serve this administration's vision of a global, highly technological approach to defense.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/07/ING5VE2IUS1.DTL

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. Biggest Target in the World

More like it.

[PDJane]

17. I have a question.........

Why the hell is the US building a monstrosity like that in an area that is so saturated with DU particles that it is a danger to virtually everything within reach. Servicemen and women who come back from Iraq are in serious danger......as are their spouses, their children, their pets and everything they touch.

It's ridiculous.......and it should be a target.