new US embassy in Iraq

[flyingace]

US inaugurates new $700 million embassy in Baghdad - Yahoo! News

It cost $700 million, which could have been used for health care for Americans on American soil. It could have been used to repair bridges and roads. It could have been used any number of ways.

The way things are, it's a juicy target. How long before it gets bombed to smithereens and all that $700 million goes down the toilet?

 

[Hear Again]

How long before it gets bombed to smithereens and all that $700 million goes down the toilet?

i'm wondering the same thing, flyingace.

 

[Jiro]

The way things are, it's a juicy target. How long before it gets bombed to smithereens and all that $700 million goes down the toilet?

I wouldn't worry about that. Most of those money goes into anti-terrorism technology. I remember reading about that in Popular Mechanic a couple years ago. It's quite fascinating what you can do to survive/prevent the terrorism attack.

 

[authentic]

I am not suprised that building is one of major terrorist's target list.

 

[Jiro]

US inaugurates $700 million embassy in Iraq

The new embassy's exact dimensions are classified, but it is said to be six times larger than the U.N. complex in New York and more than 10 times the size of the new U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which at 10 acres is America's second-largest mission.

Reinforced concrete surrounds the new compound, which provides housing for hundreds of staff who had been living in makeshift quarters with aluminum walls that provided little protection from mortar rounds that were fired daily into the Green Zone a year ago. "It is from the embassy that you see before you that we will continue the tradition of friendship, cooperation and support begun by the many dedicated Americans who have worked in Iraq since 2003," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told guests at the ceremony in the complex's courtyard.

 

[Foxrac]

I bet it would be heavily guarded then would almost impossible for terrorist to destroy the building.

 

[authentic]

I bet it would be heavily guarded then would almost impossible for terrorist to destroy the building.

Nothing can stop terrorist's rockets.

 

[Jiro]

I bet it would be heavily guarded then would almost impossible for terrorist to destroy the building.

unless they pull another WTC move on it.

 

[Jiro]

Nothing can stop terrorist's rockets.

that's what it is designed for. The building was structured and designed to minimize its damage caused by missiles/bombs including the truck bomb (remember Yemen? Beirut?). Beside.... that's gonna be tough to accurately aim the rocket at embassy because the property is over 100 acres.

Good luck getting thru many security barriers!

 

[Beowulf]

BOOM!!!

Back to the drawing board.

 

[Jiro]

BOOM!!!

Back to the drawing board.

let's hope they get it right this time.

 

[flyingace]

OK, say it's bomb-proof. I want to know just why it's so important to have such a state-of-the-art embassy in Iraq? Do US companies have investments there (besides oil)? Will US companies put factories in Iraq someday soon? will there be tourists? I can't wait to see how they justify spending so much money on a building in what is likely to be a war zone for years to come. After the troops pull out of Iraq, do they think Iraq is gonna settle down and be peaceful?? I don't think so!

 

[Jiro]

OK, say it's bomb-proof. I want to know just why it's so important to have such a state-of-the-art embassy in Iraq? Do US companies have investments there (besides oil)? Will US companies put factories in Iraq someday soon? will there be tourists? I can't wait to see how they justify spending so much money on a building in what is likely to be a war zone for years to come. After the troops pull out of Iraq, do they think Iraq is gonna settle down and be peaceful?? I don't think so!

"Iraq is in a new era and so is the Iraqi-U.S. relationship," Ambassador Ryan Crocker proclaimed.

"I think we have seen a tremendous amount of progress," Crocker said before the ceremony, "but the development of this new Iraq is going to be a very long time in the making, and we need to be engaged here."

Crocker said Baghdad was looking to the West for the first time since the Army's 1958 revolution that toppled Iraq's monarchy and set the stage for the ascendance of the Baath party, which dominated Iraq until the 2003 invasion.
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"Iraq has defined itself in general hostility to the West and the United States. You now have a fundamentally different state and society taking shape that values those relations, that values those contacts, that wants its children educated in American and other Western universities. And we need to be there as a partner to ensure that those relationships are solidly built and well maintained," he said.

"We will be engaged in different ways as security continues to improve and as Iraqi security forces are more and more in the lead. But that engagement over the long term is key," he added.

"The building of this site would not be possible without the courageous decision by President Bush to liberate Iraq," said Talabani, a Kurd. "This building is not only a compound for the embassy but a symbol of the deep friendship between the two peoples of Iraq and America."

 

[flyingace]

I'm spun so fast my head spins!

 

[Barbaro]

I'm a diplobrat. I held a diplomatic immunity and had a Embassy ID (low security clearance). There are (high to low) levels of security clearance IDs to carry when you enter the Embassy. It has various branches of offices that help and educate native people and work with the foreign government.

I personally know Negroponte, and his wife. Actually, he was born in UK. He is a good BBQ cook. His wife has a very sharp mind. I have to say that his wife does impress me than Negroponte. My father personally worked with him in Mexico while Negroponte was an US Ambassador. They both shared the same top security clearance. However, I rarely discuss it for personal and security reasons. I understand the article doesn't report everything what's going on behind the Embassy doors for security reasons. Need-to-know basis stuff. Anyway, 'nuff said.