A Vatican-sized fortress along the Tigris River, the US Embassy to Iraq is the stuff of legends, a $730 million testament to the runaway overspending of the occupation era.
Ten years after the US invasion and four years after the embassy actually opened, the 16,000 personnel that were supposed to be deployed there more or less forever are shrinking fast, with 10,500 there now.
The number is going to drop a lot more, according to Ambassador Beecroft, who says that the goal is to get down to 5,500 employees by year’s end, and with cost-cutting at a premium the number will drop even more next year.
The ambition for the “post-war” era appears to have dramatically exceeded the reality, with the US State Department envisioning a huge private army still fighting the war for them and huge public works projects in the coming decades. The money just isn’t there, and neither is the appetite to put that sort of effort into Iraq after years of waste. Instead, the enormous embassy will be a mostly empty reminder of the disastrous adventure into Iraq.
That´s amazing! State is going to run the embassy with only 5,500 personnel? Maybe some of the other countries should learn a lesson or two on how to keep the costs of running an Embassy to a minimum.
running an embassy…..trying running an empire
And one day tourists will be able to visit the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar and then visit the Greenzone Gardens of Washington, build by King Georgebushthelesser and gaze in awe at the once great civilizations covered by the desert sand.
What is even more amazing after all these years is how little is shown, either by pictures or video, of this monstrous edifice. It's the unseen elephant that DC wishes to remain invisible, like the money that was stolen to finance it, to the ones who were robbed for it.
You can't have actual pictures running around reminding people of the level of hubris required to build something like that…might influence the history writers when they get around to writing about Dubya's place in history (especially before he's dead – might make him actually take responsibility…nah…).
As this is what happens when you allow the 51% most wealthy to totally destroy our democracy, by their being the voting majority, what say we allow only the 49% least wealthy to vote?
Anyway, lets give it a try for 4 years and see what happens.
What in the hell are those "few" 5500 employees needed for in Iraq? Many major American corporations don't have that many employees! Excesses such as this in ALL government departments and agencies explain why there is a huge deficit every year. Costs mean nothing in government.
5000 people sitting on the duff in a city where they cannot go outside without an armored car. About all they can do is watch CNN. Green zone monument to the Yale political elites.