US Embassy in Iraq: Opulent Palace or Worthy Presence?

There are a couple of ways you can look at the new $600 million, 21 building U.S. embassy now being built on 104 US-owned acres of land deep in the heart of Baghdad, Iraq.

Like Liberal Politics Guide Deborah White, you can look at the largest embassy ever built by anybody, anywhere in the world, and designed to house 8,000 US staff workers as "an American embassy-palace the likes of which the world has never before seen -- larger and more lavish than Hussein's palaces."

Or, you can look at the campus featuring tennis courts, a movie theater and the largest swimming pool in all of Iraq, like State Department spokesman Justin Higgins, as quoted on FOXNews.com, who finds, "The size of the embassy is in keeping with the goals of we have set for Iraq." Or like Sen. Richard Lugar's (R-Indiana) spokesman Andy Fisher, who told FOXnews.com, "There is a requirement for that kind of presence at this time in Iraq."

Also See:
US Government Offers Jobs Rebuilding Iraq
Iraq War Enters Fourth Year: Achievements and Costs
Iraq War Statistics and Results, as of May 17, 2006