The latest news from Baghdad concerns the inauguration of the beleaguered $700 million, 104-acre
military base “embassy”
inside the Green Zone.
This is the same
military base “embassy” that was the subject of
an angry letter from Rep. Henry Waxman when the building’s construction went over budget and behind schedule. The thing was built by private contractor First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Co., which of course received a no-bid contract after the U.S. State Dept. waived a law requiring open and competitive bidding.
First Kuwaiti GT&C then found itself
under criminal investigation for gross human rights abuses it perpetrated while building our U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
We should be so proud. It is, to quote Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, “a symbol of the deep friendship between the two peoples of Iraq and America."
Indeed what a perfect symbol it is.
