Bush's New Palace

Every time Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld finds a microphone, he berates the press for not reporting on the Good News™ coming out of Iraq. Of course, we all know that the reporters over there are mostly confined to their hotel rooms in the Green Zone because venturing beyond that safety net is just too dangerous. And, I doubt there's much to report on inside the Green Zone itself. But it's odd that Rummy never seems to take his opportunity in front of all of the international reporters at his cushy press briefings to talk about the grandest US project of all in Iraq - that ridiculously massive US embassy. You'd think that would be Good News™ he could report on himself.

Perhaps this explains why he remains silent, however:

THE question puzzles and enrages a city: how is it that the Americans cannot keep the electricity running in Baghdad for more than a couple of hours a day, yet still manage to build the biggest embassy on earth?
Irritation grows as residents deprived of airconditioning and running water three years after the US-led invasion watch the massive US embassy they call "George W's palace" rising from the banks of the Tigris.

In the pavement cafes, people moan that the structure is bigger than anything Saddam Hussein built. They are not impressed by the architects' claims that it will be visible from space and cover an area larger than Vatican City. They are more interested in knowing whether the US State Department paid for the prime real estate or simply took it.

While families suffer electricity cuts, queue all day to fuel their cars and wait for water pipes to be connected, the US mission, due to open in June next year, will have its own power and water plants to cater for a population the size of a small town.

Why would the Bush administration build their largest embassy on earth in Iraq? To serve as a constant reminder to the occupied that the takeover of their country wasn't actually about human rights concerns. It was all about grandstanding the might of the world's so-called "greatest" country for decades to come in the Middle East. The size simply mimics the grandiosity of Bush's ego - a US president who believes his mission from God is to bring peace to the Middle East through military force. As Dr Phil would ask, "how's that working for you?"

The stats on this palace are eye popping:

Cost of the embassy: $US592 million
Land involved: 42 hectares
Security wall: 3 meters thick
Construction workers: Kuwaiti contractor who employs only foreign workers
Facilities: "the biggest swimming pool in Iraq, a gymnasium, a cinema, restaurants offering delicacies from US food chains, tennis courts and a swish American Club for functions."

Yes, freedom really is on the march in Iraq - for Americans who will be working in that walled compound for years on end while Iraqis continue to suffer daily, their children remain malnourished and their family members are rounded up and abused in any of the many detention centers in Iraq.

That's Good News™, isn't it?