stay the course? where the money goes
May 19, 2007 12:13 PM Subscribe
U.S. Embassy in Iraq to Be Biggest Ever "The new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will be the world's largest and most expensive foreign mission, though it may not be large enough or secure enough to cope with the chaos in Iraq...The $592 million embassy occupies a chunk of prime real estate two-thirds the size of Washington's National Mall, with desk space for about 1,000 people behind high, blast-resistant walls. The compound is a symbol both of how much the United States has invested in Iraq and how the circumstances of its involvement are changing.[more]
This post was deleted for the following reason: posted previously -- jessamyn
How big was our embassy in Saigon, er, Ho Chi Minh City?
posted by MarshallPoe at 12:25 PM on May 19, 2007
posted by MarshallPoe at 12:25 PM on May 19, 2007
Something about this just screams, "sunk cost fallacy." It's hard to imagine what this is going to accomplish, other than furnishing bogus retrospective seriousness to our other (doomed) efforts.
On the plus side, it gives our folks a place to hole up when shit turns really sour.
posted by grobstein at 12:30 PM on May 19, 2007
On the plus side, it gives our folks a place to hole up when shit turns really sour.
posted by grobstein at 12:30 PM on May 19, 2007
I can not imagine the USA is ever going to see a return on its investment in the war.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:35 PM on May 19, 2007
posted by five fresh fish at 12:35 PM on May 19, 2007
How big was our embassy in Saigon, er, Ho Chi Minh City?
posted by MarshallPoe
About this big...
posted by taosbat at 12:37 PM on May 19, 2007
posted by MarshallPoe
About this big...
posted by taosbat at 12:37 PM on May 19, 2007
I bet it won't be subject to random blackouts and sometimes running water like the rest of the country.
But from what I've heard about the construction project quality going on over there, I'm beginning to wonder.
Also, how much would a comparable structure complex cost, say... in Colorado? How much are we being raped for security?
Am I allowed to go visit?
posted by Balisong at 12:38 PM on May 19, 2007
But from what I've heard about the construction project quality going on over there, I'm beginning to wonder.
Also, how much would a comparable structure complex cost, say... in Colorado? How much are we being raped for security?
Am I allowed to go visit?
posted by Balisong at 12:38 PM on May 19, 2007
Gee, I wonder who gets the contract to build and maintain this?
posted by hattifattener at 12:38 PM on May 19, 2007
posted by hattifattener at 12:38 PM on May 19, 2007
Let us congratulate ourselves, for we have just constructed the headquarters for the next Iraqi dictator. Or Ayatollah. Or whatever they'll call him.
posted by A dead Quaker at 12:40 PM on May 19, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by A dead Quaker at 12:40 PM on May 19, 2007 [2 favorites]
I don't think it ever will fff. It's lined the pockets of the people who's pockets needed lining, and once they are out of office it will be someone else's mess to clean up.
This was never an 'investment'. This was more like a bank withdrawal. Or more accurately, a forcible withdrawal done at gunpoint.
Yes, the Iraq war was a robbery.
posted by quin at 12:41 PM on May 19, 2007
This was never an 'investment'. This was more like a bank withdrawal. Or more accurately, a forcible withdrawal done at gunpoint.
Yes, the Iraq war was a robbery.
posted by quin at 12:41 PM on May 19, 2007
AP Reports
June 12 2011
Operation Break Wind today evacuated the final American personnel from the huge United States Embassy in Baghdad today in an eerie echo of Vietnam...
You get the point
posted by A189Nut at 12:49 PM on May 19, 2007
June 12 2011
Operation Break Wind today evacuated the final American personnel from the huge United States Embassy in Baghdad today in an eerie echo of Vietnam...
You get the point
posted by A189Nut at 12:49 PM on May 19, 2007
On the plus side, it gives our folks a place to hole up when shit turns really sour.
In other words, the embassy is, inescapably, a Crusader Fort.
posted by jamjam at 1:01 PM on May 19, 2007
In other words, the embassy is, inescapably, a Crusader Fort.
posted by jamjam at 1:01 PM on May 19, 2007
It will be dust within 10 years.
Most likely.
This past week NPR ran segments on the rebuilding efforts in Iraq. Not a pretty picture.
What Went Wrong with the Rebuilding of Iraq?
Most likely.
This past week NPR ran segments on the rebuilding efforts in Iraq. Not a pretty picture.
What Went Wrong with the Rebuilding of Iraq?
"There is little to show for the tens of billions of dollars spent over the last four years to rebuild Iraq. Plans that began with high hopes and were aimed at improving everything from Iraq's dilapidated infrastructure to its health care and education systems have instead become mired in corruption, waste and mismanagement."Rebuilding Iraq: A Contract Goes Awry
"Among the thousands of projects undertaken to reconstruct Iraq, one case offers a good microcosm of the challenges and missteps that have bedeviled the multibillion dollar rebuilding effort."posted by ericb at 1:29 PM on May 19, 2007
How big was our embassy in Saigon, er, Ho Chi Minh City?
About two city blocks. Maybe 10 acres.
For contrast, here's the 100-acre embassy site -- everything between the main roads and the river. (A little to the west is a row of identical luxury condos built for Baath party officials, with the al-Samoud palace, the party headquarters, in the middle. That's staying.)
posted by dhartung at 1:38 PM on May 19, 2007
About two city blocks. Maybe 10 acres.
For contrast, here's the 100-acre embassy site -- everything between the main roads and the river. (A little to the west is a row of identical luxury condos built for Baath party officials, with the al-Samoud palace, the party headquarters, in the middle. That's staying.)
posted by dhartung at 1:38 PM on May 19, 2007
They should 'double guantanamo' while they're at it.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 1:45 PM on May 19, 2007
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 1:45 PM on May 19, 2007
I think they're taking the "you broke it you bought it" a bit too literally.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 1:48 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 1:48 PM on May 19, 2007 [1 favorite]
So, new star, stripe, or perhaps an oil well icon on our flag?
posted by buzzman at 2:03 PM on May 19, 2007
posted by buzzman at 2:03 PM on May 19, 2007
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posted by Iax at 12:23 PM on May 19, 2007