While most aspects of the American reconstruction in Iraq is either behind schedule, over budget, or under investigation for fraud, the United States is building a massive "city within a city", an embassy so large it will be visible from space.
"While families in [Iraq's] capital suffer electricity cuts, queue all day to fuel their cars and wait for water pipes to be connected, the US mission due to open in June next year will have its own power and water plants to cater for a population the size of a small town.
Officially, the design of the compound is supposed to be a secret, but you cannot hide the giant construction cranes and the concrete contours of the 21 buildings that are taking shape. Looming over the skyline, the embassy has the distinction of being the only big US building project in Iraq that is on time and within budget."
Read the full story: In the chaos of Iraq, one project is on target: a giant US embassy
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A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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