The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.

Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.

[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[casi] US "fortified"embassy planned Baghdad



http://news.sify.com/cgi-bin/sifynews/news/content/news_fullstory_v2.jsp?art
icle_oid=12963784&category_oid=-20609&page_no=1


US plans $36 mn embassy in Baghdad
Washington, March 26


The United States has earmarked nearly 36 million dollars to construct a
new, well-fortified embassy in Baghdad to represent US interests in a
post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, the State Department said Tuesday.

In addition, the department said it planned to spend 20 million dollars to
lease safe temporary quarters and office space for its diplomats to work in
the Iraqi capital once the ongoing US-led invasion is over.
The money is part of US President George W. Bush's 74.7-billion-dollar
supplemental budget request Congress to fund Iraqi reconstruction and assist
allies in the war on terrorism, it said.
Spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters that the United States had budgeted
35.8 million dollars for a new "US embassy in Baghdad to represent the
people of the United States to the free people of Iraq."

It was not immediately clear if the funds would cover the purchase of new
property in Baghdad on which to build the mission or if it would go to
constructing the compound on the site of the former embassy in the Iraqi
capital.
Boucher could not describe the condition of the former embassy which was
abandoned ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.

A second department official said the high cost was due to security
requirements "commensurate with the threat level" in Baghdad which is
expected to be high for some time after the war is over.
In addition to construction costs, the money will pay for the purchase and
installation of barriers around the perimeter of the embassy, closed circuit
television cameras, video equipment, bomb detection devices and armored
vehicles, the officials said.
The new embassy will also be equipped with state-of-the-art chemical and
bilogical weapons counter-measures and will be patrolled by "US surveillance
detection team" as well as local guards, the official said.


_______________________________________________
Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss
To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk
All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk


[Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]