$1 billion for the new embassy in London.

[TheBigotBasher]

$1 billion. Wow.

For this ugly thing



Go on Boris annoy Hillary and reject planning permission. It is a horrid blot on the landscape.

Shouldn't this ugly hangover from the Bush days of extravagant displays of power and wealth America does not have be dumped?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/24/us-embassy-in-london-to-c_n_474465.html

[skipos]

1. It reminds me of the Borg ship on Star Trek

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Exactly!!!

[BrklynLiberal]

2. hm Makes me wonder about that US Embassy in Baghdad.

Whatever happened wit that billion dollar boondoggle?

Oh..I see that it was "inaugurated" just before President Obama was...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2009-01-05-baghdad-embassy_N.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy_of_the_United_States_in_Baghdad
A new embassy, which has been referred to as Fortress America<8>, opened in January 2009 in the Green Zone in Baghdad.<2> The embassy complex comprises 21 buildings on a 104 acre (42 ha) site, making it the largest and most expensive U.S. embassy in the world.<9>

With construction beginning in mid-2005, the original target completion date was September 2007. "A week after submitting his FY2006 budget to Congress, the President sent Congress an FY2005 emergency supplemental funding request. Included in the supplemental is more than $1.3 billion for the embassy in Iraq..." An emergency supplemental appropriation (H.R. 1268/P.L. 109-13), which included $592 million for embassy construction, was signed into law on May 11, 2005. According to the Department of State, this funding was all that was needed for construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.<10> Construction is being led by the Kuwaiti firm First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting.<[11><12><13> IT WAS NOT EVEN BUILT BY AMERICANS!!!

The embassy has extensive housing and infrastructure facilities in addition to the usual diplomatic buildings. The buildings include:<9>

* Six apartment buildings for employees
* Water and waste treatment facilities
* A power station
* Two "major diplomatic office buildings"
* Recreation, including a gym, cinema, and a swimming pool

[TheBigotBasher]

4. The existing one is fine