Why Are We Building An Embassy The Size Of The Vatican In Baghdad?

[Me.]

“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.

The new U.S. Embassy also seems as cloaked in secrecy as the ministate in Rome.

"We can’t talk about it. Security reasons," Roberta Rossi, a spokeswoman at the current embassy, said when asked for information about the project.

A British tabloid even told readers the location was being kept secret — news that would surprise Baghdadis who for months have watched the forest of construction cranes at work across the winding Tigris, at the very center of their city and within easy mortar range of anti-U.S. forces in the capital, though fewer explode there these days.” Cont…

http://www.firedoglake.com/

[Akoto]

1. Gee ...

Building a gigantic, self-contained fortress with the population of a small town right in the capital. That won't make us seem more like occupiers at all. :eyes:

[saltpoint]

2. Why, so we can bring democracy to the Middle East!

Why else?

[ugarte]

3. Because we're leaving...?

:rofl:

[onehandle]

4. I'm going to say for oil. nt

[austengirl]

5. Because it's the next best thing to permanent bases

JMHO :)

[Dudley_DUright]

7. I think we are building plenty of those too

Welcome to DU austengirl. :hi:

[alarimer]

6. It isn't an embassy; it's a fortress

I think we have no intention of EVER leaving Iraq.

[malaise]

12. It will soon be a white elephant n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. I hope the roof is re-inforced so the big copters

can land there when the time comes.

[adarling]

9. so we can have one huge target for the "terrarists" to attack

seriously, its like one huge red target for them to hit. Why are we doing this again?

[KC21304]

10. Because when we criticized Saddam for building

all those palaces while the poor people had nothing we didn't really give a shit about that. It was another excuse to get their oil.

[leftchick]

11. because the US plans to stay there forever?

Don't forget the massive bases being built. The US is digging in for the long haul.

[Minnesota Libra]

13. Idiot boy/Rumsfeld/Cheney all plan on the US being in..........

...Iraq and the Middle East a long time. They can't have their living conditions anything but the best.

[Marie26]

14. The size of Vatican City?

That's not an embassy. It's a castle for the American overlords to live in as they rule over the commoners. Wonder who has the contract?

ETA: "First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting" - awarded the $592 million dollar contract in spite of the fact that other bids were $70 million lower. Accused of using slave labor. Went from $35 million in assets in 2001 to over $1 billion today, thanks to $1.3 billion in US gov. contracts in Iraq. It's owned by one of Kuwait's richest families & it's believed that these contracts are a "thank you" for Kuwait's support for the invasion. This company only works on the "unclassified" portion - 5 American companies are working in "classified areas." I bet Halliburton is one of them.

http://colorado.indymedia.org/newswire/display/12505/index.php - "Beaucoup Baghdad Embassy"

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13258 - "Baghdad Embassy Bonanza"

[Me.]

17. We Can Guess

though they are reluctant to say. Our tax dollars at work.

[Marie26]

21. More craziness

The article does give us one piece of information - One US bidder complained after "MilVets" received the contract for the Baghdad embassy.

Bill Waldron is one contractor who will talk about the embassy project. He claims his Rocky Mountain Group lost more than $250,000 while preparing a bid to perform engineering oversight for First Kuwaiti and project inspection. Waldron said that his 25-year-old, veteran-owned Colorado company had already been given the word that his company would be the leading contender for the deal, which is why the firm spent so much effort on the proposal, including compiling a 2 inch thick file on the company's personnel experience in Iraq - experience that State Department contract officers said they were looking for.

Then the State Department put the job up for open bid three different times, each time with a new revision. The last solicitation was cancelled after the contracting officer went of vacation, according to Waldron. Waldron's patience finally burst. Only after doggedly hounding the State Department for reasons why the competition had been cancelled did he find out what happened.

The contract was awarded without competition on an emergency basis to a Maryland company, Mil Vets, Waldron said. "We contacted Mil Vets and asked if they had any experience working in Iraq prior to being awarded the embassy project," Waldron said. "The answer was no."

And here's the funny part. Mil Vets is not an engineering company at all. "MilVets System Technologies, Inc." is an information technology company. http://www.milvets.com/about_companyprofile.htm. They supposedly are a little veteran's-owned business that develops databases & software. But when you look at their contracts, they're playing with the big boys. Mil Vets seems to deal exclusively w/huge gov. contracts for the Defense, Army, & State Dept. Their list of subcontractors include - SAIC, CSC/Dyncorp, Booz Allen, Halliburton, Baker & Assoc. http://www.milvets.com/projects_other.htm It reads like a who's who list of Bush crony corp. And these huge corp. are all the subcontractors for this little IT company. There is no mention of the Baghdad embassy contract on the website. However, MilVets is currently hiring "security officials" to "re-establish police, justice and prison functions in various foreign countries." (Meaning - mercenaries).

http://www.civpol.org/portal/html/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=355

[leftofthedial]

15. Halliburton's Middle East headquarters

they expect LOTS of no bid contracts to fail to deliver on

[napi21]

16. Making it big enough for the whole Shrub Admin. to move to

in 2008! There'll me no extridition from there, so they'll be SAFE!!!!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

18. I wonder if there's a moat, drawbridge, and boiling oil.

[Me.]

20. Maybe He's Going To Declare Himself King/Emperor From There

and begin the kindom of the *ites

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. How big is the rooftop helipad? They'll be needing it.