The times of London reports today that amidst the chaos that is Iraq, one "reconstruction" project is on track - the construction of a new US Embassy $600 million on 104 acres in the heart of Baghdad on the banks of the Euphrates..
When done, it will be the largest embassy in the world, a 21 building complex surrounded by 15 ft. thick walls and will include the largest swimming pool in Iraq. The architect brags it will be visible from space.
All construction is being done by a Kuwaiti contractor using foreign labor. No one knows how the land was acquired, but the locals are muttering.
What a way to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis, a massive fortress in their midst. The arrogance astounds. Watch what they do, not what they say.
Irritation grows as residents deprived of air-conditioning and running water three years after the US-led invasion watch the massive US Embassy they call "George W's palace" rising from the banks of the Tigris
Officially, the design of the compound is supposed to be a secret, but you cannot hide the giant construction cranes and the concrete contours of the 21 buildings that are taking shape. Looming over the skyline, the embassy has the distinction of being the only big US building project in Iraq that is on time and within budget.
.......
While families in the capital suffer electricity cuts, queue all day to fuel their cars and wait for water pipes to be connected, the US mission due to open in June next year will have its own power and water plants to cater for a population the size of a small town.
....
Iraqi politicians opposed to the US presence protest that the scale of the project suggests that America retains long-term ambitions here. The International Crisis Group, a think-tank, said the embassy's size "is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country".
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/...
(Courtesy of Raw Story)