Pakistan Embassy: US Plans Massive Billion-Dollar Mega-Structure

McClatchy News:

The U.S. is embarking on a $1 billion crash program to expand its diplomatic presence in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, another sign that the Obama administration is making a costly, long-term commitment to war-torn South Asia, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The White House has asked Congress for -- and seems likely to receive -- $736 million to build a new U.S. embassy in Islamabad, along with permanent housing for U.S. government civilians and new office space in the Pakistani capital.

Read the whole story: McClatchy News

Comments

[18delta]

02:57 AM on 06/02/2009

Americans are so easy to fool, as long as we have our t.v in front of us we really dont care what is going on with our money, our government or our society. Obama is a joke, it's the same stuff just a different person, nothing really will change, just more spending, more lives lost. The Afghanista­n war is a war about natural gas and its position in the Central Asia. Nothing more. As long as Americans are not demonstrat­ing for us to leave nothing will change, the children of tommorow will have to suffer for the costs of all this ridiculous spending. All this you hear about Afghanista­n rebuilding is a lie, nothing even rebuilt on the outskirts of Kabul, and even inside Kabul you have maybe 1 new building. The people of Afghanista­n are very generous but also they do not want foreigners invading their lands. At least in 2000 there wasn't mass civilian deaths or a war, now you have both. You can't build a country from nothing, which pretty much Afghanista­n is, it has nothing, other then the natural gas and oil under the mountains. There is always a hidden agenda, and the public will usually buy whatever the govt. says. Fortunatel­y some are realizing that it was all a lie, and hopefully we will leave, and start spending on what matter more here in the U.S.

[wadenelson1]

05:29 PM on 05/28/2009

Ok but how about THIS TIME we build it using AMERICAN workers sent over there and paid a union wage.

[confidance government]

05:51 PM on 05/28/2009

Wow, I think you just missed the larger implicatio­ns of this developmen­t. I think Washington just tipped its hand regarding who is going to become the next client kingdom. Long live the Empire!

[marika]

05:16 PM on 05/28/2009

If Pakistan accepts this I hope they realize what they are letting themselves in for. What a farce we are becoming but not a funny one.

[Montgriz]

04:37 PM on 05/28/2009

Trust the Democrats to always strive to" out tough" the Republican­s. What the US needs now is not more super embassies (forts) but super diplomats and Obama is failing that test...jus­t like his Democratic predecesso­rs, he will create a larger war that the GOP will have to end. This is the same old story repeated over and over......­the Dems never learn.....­.Afghanist­an will be, and is, the new Viet Nam and Pakistan is Laos and cambodia..­.the only way to control Democratic war mongering is to institute a draft.....­that will create the opposition we sorely need to prevent what the Democrats are about to do.

[confidance government]

05:52 PM on 05/28/2009

Its exactly like Nam, the idea of out toughing the opposition party, I mean.

[morgan1]

04:18 PM on 05/28/2009

This is another example of Obama's expansion on "war" and the Imperial Americana footprints in the Middle East. We are not leaving Iraq and military "professio­nals" have gone on record stating we will be in Afghanista­n for "decades". Depending on the security conditions on the ground in Iraq, we may be there for decades as well (Past and current views). The Middle East is the most dangerous land in the entire globe for the US and yet we seem to be determined to stay and die there. We can sell them whitening cream to change their skin color (They may be white outside, but never inside), we can destroy their culture, we can desecrate their flags, bomb their schools and universiti­es, destroy their hospitals, slaughter innocent women and children, BUT they will never embrace us or our forced way of life on them. NEVER. Next will be a Super Embassy for Afghanista­n. Obama is embracing more war and is not concerned about the continued degradatio­n of our country and its people.

[Defunct]

04:03 PM on 05/28/2009

how about a "super" school system. 1 billion going towards that.

[smit9187]

03:03 PM on 05/28/2009

Dang, change the headline already, jeeze!

[NoSillyName]

03:01 PM on 05/28/2009

What's become of that Super Embassy in Iraq? Bigger than all of Saddam's palaces put together.

[ErnestineBass]

03:02 PM on 05/28/2009

See SCG's comment below...he­h

[SCG]

02:52 PM on 05/28/2009

Another white elephant fortress of taxpayer waste.

[lvdragonlady]

02:21 PM on 05/28/2009

And the purpose of something this expensive and big is what??
Are we giving the terrorist something to sh00t at or b0.mb??
This is so stu.p1d and makes no sense whatsoever­.

[bygollymissmolly]

02:07 PM on 05/28/2009

The aid money we gave to Pakistan was not used for humanitari­an purposes. It was used to arm their country.

To all who think we should stay away from Pakistan, answer how you feel about their having nuclear weapons they could use to pretty much wipe out the ME.

[skialethia]

02:25 PM on 05/28/2009

We can't unilateral­ly police the entire world! That's the hokiest excuse yet! They don't want us meddling in their affairs and we will never be allowed to get to their nuclear weapons anyway! Get real.

[serialcoma]

03:17 PM on 05/28/2009

Name a single instance when isolationi­st policy has benefited the nation that adopted it.

[Montgriz]

04:39 PM on 05/28/2009

so? Israel has them, India has them, China, Nkorea, Britain, France, and the US...ironi­cally, only the US has used them....

[Onepebbleinthelandslide]

02:06 PM on 05/28/2009

At least Obama had the foresight to set aside stimulus money to build new roads here at home so that the homeless vets of tomorrow will have enough overpasses to sleep under. Brilliant!

[AZM]

02:01 PM on 05/28/2009

Well, it's only money. When we run out, we can go to China, cup in hand, and ask for more.

[bygollymissmolly]

02:04 PM on 05/28/2009

Like we did for 8 years under the previous Administra­tion.

[skialethia]

02:26 PM on 05/28/2009

So the blind are now following the blind, is that it?

[Montgriz]

04:40 PM on 05/28/2009

but we were promised change....­and this ain't it...

[tbone99]

02:00 PM on 05/28/2009

We will be using half the aid we give to Pakistan to build this monstrosit­y. That is we will be giving them less money for food and education to make a statement about who is in charge in their country- the U.S!

They will be obliged to look to Islamic charities and madressas to make up the difference­.

How smart is that?

[ErnestineBass]

02:33 PM on 05/28/2009

Why not give one quarter to half this amount to a regional NGO like this?

http://en.­wikipedia.­org/wiki/A­ga_Khan_Pl­anning_and­_Building_­Services

[kbkw54]

01:56 PM on 05/28/2009

Why waste taxpayes money building this embassy which will probably be blown up ?