New U.S. embassy inaugurated in Baghdad

[unhappycamper]

New U.S. embassy inaugurated in Baghdad
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 5, 2009 16:24:12 EST

BAGHDAD — The United States opened its new embassy in Iraq under tight security Monday, the most visible sign of what U.S. officials call a new chapter in relations between America and a more sovereign Iraq.

The inauguration of the $700 million fortress-like compound in the heart of the Green Zone came just days after a security agreement between Iraq and the United States took effect, replacing a U.N. mandate that gave legal authority to the U.S. and other foreign troops to operate in Iraq.

“Iraq is in a new era and so is the Iraqi-U.S. relationship,” Ambassador Ryan Crocker said during an inauguration ceremony at the embassy.

But as Crocker lauded progress made in Iraq, Baghdad was rocked by a second day of violence that saw four car bombs explode in various parts of the city, killing four people and wounding 19 others. It came a day after a suicide bomber killed at least 38 people at a Shiite shrine just four miles north of the site of the new embassy.

Before the ceremony, Crocker told The Associated Press that Iraq has made tremendous progress over the past three months but the United States must remain engaged over the long term if it wants those gains to solidify.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_iraq_embassy_010508/%2e