The U.S. government has been developing a new embassy in the green zone for several months now. At 104 acres, it will be the largest in the world, and
six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York. The facility will be completely independant from city utilities. It will have its own
power palnt, water wells, and wastewater treatment facility.
news.y
ahoo.com
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.
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Iraq's interim government transferred the land to U.S. ownership in October 2004, under an agreement whose terms were not disclosed.
"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.
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.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
A compound of this size is a huge commitment to make. However it appears that the US actually owns this land anyways so there should be no conflict
on its presence. I suppose it will handle all international affairs between any American and Iraqi citizens wishing to travel between the two nations
who wish to conduct business, conduct tourism, visit family, as well as humanitarian efforts.
A compound of that size however may be able to hide many things. Perhaps even a moderate sized prison. After all it will have its own walls and high
security surrounding it inside the greenzone. And that zone is already surrounded by walls and high security.
Anyways I cannot wait until I can travel to Iraq for tourism. It sure will be intersting to see the power of America in the form of this compound. I
hope thay allow access to at least a limited area of the compound for visiting nationals to explore the wonder of our nations determination in driving
globalist expansion. You can not really deny that considering the size of this permanent structure kind of defeats the idea of a full pullout.
Related News Links:
seattlepi.nwsource.com
www.localnewsleader.com
[edit on 14-4-2006 by DontTreadOnMe]
[edit on 21-4-2006 by asala]