posted on October 6, 2007 09:28:32 PM new
Since this has cost about $600 million to build and with this many construction problems already I wonder what it will cost to maintain it in future years?
Even sprinkler systems fail at U.S. embassy in Baghdad
By Warren P. Strobel, McClatchy Newspapers Sat Oct 6, 2:56 PM ET
WASHINGTON — The latest problem with the trouble-plagued new U.S. embassy complex in Iraq is that the sprinkler systems meant to contain a fire do not work, according to officials in Congress and the State Department.
The previously undisclosed problem in the $592 million project was discovered several weeks ago when the fire-safety systems were tested and pipe joints burst, State Department representatives recently informed Congress .
The embassy complex, being built by First Kuwaiti General Trade and Contracting Co. , has been marred by repeated problems. In May, when kitchen facilities at a guard camp that is part of the embassy complex were tested, the electrical system malfunctioned and wires melted. A subsequent inquiry showed that First Kuwaiti had used counterfeit electrical wiring that did not meet specifications, according to testimony at a congressional hearing in July.
Former top investigators for State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard have charged that Krongard refused to aggressively investigate allegations of misconduct by First Kuwaiti and deficiencies in the Baghdad Embassy.
Krongard has disputed his former aides' version of events, and is expected to testify before Congress later this month.
The one-time aides to Krongard, including former Assistant Inspector General for Investigations John DeDona, have told Congress that the inspector general did not pursue allegations that First Kuwaiti failed to construct blast-resistant walls to protect the embassy, as required by its contract.
Krongard also took the unusual step of personally investigating allegations that First Kuwaiti abused foreign workers and illegally brought some workers to Iraq against their will, the aides have told Congress .
The embassy is eventually supposed to hold almost 1,000 U.S. diplomats and embassy staff, who are now crowded into a former palace in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.
It remains unclear when the embassy, intended to be the largest U.S. diplomatic post in the world, will open for business. An embassy spokesman in Baghdad had no comment Saturday on the latest problems with the new complex.
In a letter Thursday to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte , Rep. Tom Lantos , D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, complained that he had been assured repeatedly that the building would meet its scheduled opening date last month.
"Our new embassy compound in Iraq is apparently facing significant contractor deficiencies that will delay its opening for weeks or even months past its promised delivery date," Lantos wrote.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday that it is unclear whether the embassy's problems are more than normal contracting delays, but he hinted that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's patience is wearing thin.
"Obviously, with any large complex construction project, especially one that is happening in a difficult security environment, there is the possibility that the schedule will slide to the right," McCormack said.
"Now, if you do end up well into 2008, certainly that is something that would raise questions in the secretary's mind, and I'm sure that she would want some answers. But at this point, I'm not aware we are at that point," he said.
( Jay Price in Baghdad contributed to this report.)
"Since this has cost about $600 million to build and with this many construction problems already I wonder what it will cost to maintain it in future years?"
Senate staffers report operating costs will total 1.2 billion a year. But cost and building deficiencies are the least of their worries. People throughout Iraq and the Middle East see this monstosity as the Ugly American Embassy and an ominous signal that U.S. occupation will never end.
Just recently it was reported in the Washington Post that embassy staffers were ordered to wear helmets and flak jackets while outdoors or in unprotected buildings due to IDF (Indirect Fire). The magnificent swimming pool and tennis courts probably won't get much use.
So, with a 600 billion dollar embassy already deficient and under fire costing 1.2 billion a year to operate, Bush vetos the bill to insure children because "it costs too much"
WASHINGTON, Jun 15 (IPS) - Trained as an air conditioning repairman and technician, Ramil Autencio says his recruiter in the Philippines agreed to place him in a two-year job at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Kuwait for 450 dollars a month -- maybe more with overtime.
But when he arrived at the Kuwait airport in December 2003, Autencio says he was quickly shuttled to a rundown three-story building managed by First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting, a Kuwaiti firm doing a booming multi-million-dollar business with the U.S. military and the Pentagon's primary support contractor Kellogg Brown and Root.
To date, the company has billed the U.S. government perhaps 2 billion dollars for work in Iraq, including the 592-million-dollar U.S. embassy in Baghdad now nearing completion.
There were no more jobs at the hotel, Autencio was told, and because the recruiter only processed him for a one-month travel visa, he was told he could not stay in Kuwait. Autencio said First Kuwaiti offered him one of three options: pay a 1,000-dollar penalty and work in Kuwait for free for six months; be arrested and jailed; or work for the company in Iraq.
posted on October 7, 2007 08:26:32 AM newSince this has cost about $600 million to build and with this many construction problems already I wonder what it will cost to maintain it in future years?
Don't worry about the costs Kiara, all the oil profits will pay to fix this and help pay for the war. That is what Bush keeps telling us. We have no reason to doubt what he says
"In my experience, those who do not like you fall into two categories: the stupid, and the envious. - John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester
posted on October 7, 2007 08:49:36 AM new
Good point Helen....tons of free money to the bushit's pals in Iraq but tighten the purse strings on AMERICAN kids' health.
""Kellogg Brown and Root. "
Halliburton/Cheney by any other name still smells the same.
posted on October 7, 2007 10:24:10 AM new
Thanks, Mingo!
Also thanks to Profe for posting that story from IPS
What an interesting news source! I like their policy of covering a topic, such as the death penalty with news about that topic from various parts of the world.
