McClatchy: Criminal probe into U.S. Embassy in Iraq construction

[babylonsister]

Criminal probe into U.S. Embassy in Iraq construction
By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Thursday, October 18, 2007



WASHINGTON — A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. Embassy that's under construction in Baghdad last May, damaging a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building. It also exposed enormous problems in the management of what's become a $592 million government construction project.

The State Department contractor in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident. The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents.

A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as they should have during the mortar attack.

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker banished Golden from Iraq, but he continues to oversee the construction of the embassy in Baghdad; to be the liaison with the contractor, Kuwait-based First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co.; and to supervise other projects for the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) bureau.

The embassy — actually a 104-acre, Vatican-size compound of 21 buildings meant to house and sleep about 1,000 U.S. officials was originally meant to open in June, then in September. Now, due to problems with the sprinkler system, the latest in a series of deficiencies blamed on First Kuwaiti, it remains unclear whether it will be ready for occupancy this year. Golden didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/20676.html

[AndyA]

1. I'm shocked! Shoddy construction from a Bushco crony at double what it should cost to build!

Who could have ever predicted such a thing could happen?

9/11 changed everything...:shrug:

:eyes:

[Botany]

6. 9/11 changed everything

Why do you hate America?

I suppose you would spend the money on SCHIP, schools, roads,
and Katrina victims .... damn liberals.

So the pipes leak and the walls are not blast proof .... must be al Qaeda's
fault.

[BrklynLib at work]

2. More of our tax money spent making Bush cronies into millionaires...

:mad:

[WinkyDink]

3. "Vatican-sized" ?! Holy-moly! And that "Kuwait-based" company sounds like a front for HB.

[Botany]

4. What a ....

....

So the pipes leak, the walls are not blast proof, the electrical system has
"bugs," and it is not done .... better than wasting the money on sick kids
w/ that SCHIP scam.

[mmonk]

5. I may add this to my discussions with a congressional aide.

Thanks.