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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Largest U.S. Embassy Slated for Baghdad |
| 2004-06-10 |
| via Yahoo By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON - The State Department is planning to have more than 900 Americans staff the U.S. Embassy in central Baghdad, assisted by 600 to 700 Iraqis in the biggest American embassy in the world, department planners said Wednesday. A former palace of deposed President Saddam Hussein will serve as the new embassy until a site is chosen in the capital as a replacement for the embassy seized by Iraq in 1970, said Francis J. Ricciardone, the department’s coordinator for Iraqi transition. The embassy will be supplemented by U.S. diplomatic offices in four regions of Iraq, he said. Building the embassy will take at least two years and the State Department intends to pay close attention to what Iraqi officials have to say about a site, Ricciardone said. "We are going to be listening to them. We are not going to be building things there are not their priority," he said. Ricciardone said the value of the seized embassy will be included in the negotiations, but he did not say whether the United States would seek compensation. About half of the 900 U.S. officials assigned to Baghdad will be at their desks as Iraqi sovereignty is officially restored by June 30. Some of them will be drawn from the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which goes out of business during the transition from U.S. occupation. Ricciardone said a number of U.S. ambassadors now serving in other countries would be assigned to work under John Negroponte, who will become the U.S. ambassador to Iraq after diplomatic relations are formally restored, probably in July. Ricciardone, U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, said there is great eagerness within the foreign service to be assigned to Baghdad. Without saying how many officers are fluent in Arabic, Ricciardone said, "We wish we had more." He made no mention of the risks, but Iraq continues to be a dangerous place. Assailants ambushed a convoy of security contractors traveling to Baghdad’s airport, killing two Americans and two Poles working for a U.S. security company, their employer said Sunday. Hmmm. This is interesting. Line forms to the left, single file, please. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #18 I expect it might be possible to to outsource a lot of translation. The Zionist Entity has many fine arabic speakers. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-10 7:44:44 PM |
| #17 I expect it might be possible to to outsource a lot of translation. The Zionist Entity has many fine arabic speakers. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-10 7:44:27 PM |
| #16 The listening posts will be in Baghdad, doesnt mean the translation has to be done in Baghdad. Bingo, LH. There will also be a wealth of photo reconnaisance gathered that requires no linguistic expertise. Even without any grammatical interpretation, ELINT mapping of telecom traffic patterns and signal origins will provide a valuable schematic of terrorist activity in the region. Hmmm...anybody wonder how long that building will stand? I would wager that their final location will be second only to Fort Knox or Cheyenne Mountain for perimeter security. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-10 5:06:27 PM |
| #15 Explain to me why you believe that the slam dunk CIA are any more effectual than the Visa Express State Dept. Righttt... I'd put my bets on the 600-700 new Iraqi hires running circles around the spooks, unless there are a good number of Kurds and Mossad hired as part of the 600-700 Iraqi help, to keep everyone "honest." And puhlease, no jail and Geneva Convention for the traitors...just disappear them. Let's keep it simple. |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-10 1:15:26 PM |
| #14 no doubt in 3234 the United States of Earth will be renovating the place ( now a museum) and tour guides will be telling folks "This building represents the turning point for pre-civilization Arabic lands, where despots were disposed and democracy institutions installed; which, of course, still continue to this day. Here the democratic forces of the central North Americans, then known as Americans.. etc" |
| Posted by: dcreeper 2004-06-10 1:10:40 PM |
| #13 Hmmm...anybody wonder how long that building will stand? |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-06-10 10:57:08 AM |
| #12 I'm sure they're all good Company men. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-06-10 10:23:01 AM |
| #11 Lots of dishes for listening to a language that State Dept cannot understand, #4. Of course, State Dept. will trust that a proper translation is done, courtesy of the 600-700 new Iraqi hires. he, he The listening posts will be in Baghdad, doesnt mean the translation has to be done in Baghdad. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-10 10:12:43 AM |
| #10 IIUC, the people Azcat is thinking of would nominally be on State's on payroll. They would actually get a check cut by State, get State benefits, etc. I presume there are arrangements to deal with the interagency financial issues. Of course Azcat may be thinking of people from Treasury, Commerce, etc, rather than what I was thinking of. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-10 10:06:24 AM |
| #9 The question is whether or not a majority of the embassy staff will even be on State's payroll. I think not. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2004-06-10 9:57:51 AM |
| #8 #3 And what exactly are 900 State Dept. flunkies, assisted by no less than 600-700 Iraqis, going to be doing in Baghdad pray tell, when we still haven't figured out who are the good guys and the bad guys? They will be figuring out who are the good guys and the bad guys. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-06-10 7:11:00 AM |
| #7 Skillsets desired: Speak Arabic, look Arabic, the ability to blend in, and, ah, er, and must type 60 words a minute, ... |
| Posted by: Dragon Fly 2004-06-10 6:50:12 AM |
| #6 And the skillsets desired will be, shall we say, a tad more diverse than provided by mere graduates of the |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-10 3:39:51 AM |
| #5 Without saying how many officers are fluent in Arabic, Ricciardone said, "We wish we had more." Lots of dishes for listening to a language that State Dept cannot understand, #4. Of course, State Dept. will trust that a proper translation is done, courtesy of the 600-700 new Iraqi hires. he, he This has the makings of a good Keystone Cops plot. |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-10 3:39:08 AM |
| #4 It sounds like we are setting up a massive "listening post" for the entire Mid-East region. It'll probably have more satellite dishes than parking places. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-10 3:31:29 AM |
| #3 And what exactly are 900 State Dept. flunkies, assisted by no less than 600-700 Iraqis, going to be doing in Baghdad pray tell, when we still haven't figured out who are the good guys and the bad guys? And please don't tell me that State Dept needs all these warm bodies so they can better implement the infamous Visa Express program in Iraq that was such a big hit in Saudi Arabia... |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-10 3:31:09 AM |
| #2 A former palace of Saddam will be the State Department's temporary quarters??? Fire the guy who came up with that "insensitive" suggestion. In fact, why not fire the whole darn State Dept. for all the good it does us. |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-10 3:15:10 AM |
| #1 I'm sure all the grads are just lined up to go to Iraq |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2004-06-10 2:30:17 AM |