SkinsHokieFan Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 After all the nonsense talked about the cost of the embassy in Baghdad, now this? :doh: For the record, the US embassy in ISB is less then 30 years old, and is heavily guarded, and a mile back from the fences. In order for a non American to get to the embassy, you have to check in at a station, and then take a 5 minute bus ride to the embassy. I see no reason to build another on there http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0528/p90s01-wosc.html SLAMABAD - The US 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, US officials said Wednesday.The White House has asked Congress for – and seems likely to receive – $736 million to build a new US embassy in Islamabad, along with permanent housing for US government civilians and new office space in the Pakistani capital. The scale of the projects rivals the giant US Embassy in Baghdad, which was completed last year after construction delays at a cost of $740 million. Senior State Department officials said the expanded diplomatic presence is needed to replace overcrowded, dilapidated and unsafe facilities and to support a "surge" of civilian officials into Afghanistan and Pakistan ordered by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Other major projects are planned for Kabul, Afghanistan; and for the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Peshawar. In Peshawar, the US government is negotiating the purchase of a five-star hotel that would house a new US consulate. (why we want a consulate in Peshawar :doh:) Funds for the projects are included in a 2009 supplemental spending bill that the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed in slightly different forms. Obama has repeatedly stated that stabilizing Pakistan and Afghanistan, the countries from which Al Qaeda and the Taliban operate, is vital to US national security. He's ordered thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan and is proposing substantially increased aid to both countries. MACRO BUILDINGS TO MICRO MANAGE? In Pakistan, however, large parts of the population are hostile to the US presence in the region – despite receiving billions of dollars in aid from Washington since 2001 – and anti-American groups and politicians are likely to seize on the expanded diplomatic presence in Islamabad as evidence of American "imperial designs." "This is a replay of Baghdad," said Khurshid Ahmad, a member of Pakistan's upper house of parliament for Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the country's two main religious political parties. "This [islamabad embassy] is more [space] than they should need. It's for the micro and macro management of Pakistan, and using Pakistan for pushing the American agenda in Central Asia." In Baghdad and other dangerous locales, US diplomats have sometimes found themselves cut off from the population in heavily fortified compounds surrounded by blast walls, concertina wire, and armed guards. "If you're going to have people live in a car bomb-prone place, you are driven to not have a light footprint," said Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador to Afghanistan and the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy. Mr. Neumann called the planned expansions "generally pretty justified." In Islamabad, according to State Department budget documents, the plan calls for the rapid construction of a $111 million new office annex to accommodate 330 workers; $197 million to build 156 permanent and 80 temporary housing units; and a $405 million replacement of the main embassy building. The existing embassy, in the capital's leafy diplomatic enclave, was badly damaged in a 1979 assault by Pakistani students. The US government also plans to revamp its consular buildings in the eastern city of Lahore and in Peshawar, the regional capital of the militancy plagued North West Frontier Province. The consulate in the southern megacity of Karachi has just been relocated into a new purpose-built accommodation. [/u] BUYING THE PEARL IN PESHAWAR A senior State Department official confirmed that the US plan for the consulate in Peshawar involves the purchase of the luxury Pearl Continental hotel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly. The Pearl Contintental is the city's only five-star hotel, set in its own expansive grounds, with a swimming pool. It's owned by Pakistani tycoon Sadruddin Hashwani. Peshawar is an important station for gathering intelligence on the tribal area that surrounds the city on three sides and is a base for Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The area also will be a focus for expanded US aid programs, and the American mission in Peshawar has already expanded from three US diplomats to several dozen. In all, the administration requested $806 million for diplomatic construction and security in Pakistan. "For the strong commitment the US is making in the country of Pakistan, we need the necessary platform to fulfill our diplomatic mission," said Jonathan Blyth of the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations bureau. "The embassy is in need of upgrading and expansion to meet our future mission requirements." A senior Pakistani official said the expansion has been under discussion for three years. "Pakistanis understand the need for having diplomatic missions expanding and the Americans always have had an enclave in Islamabad," said the official, who requested anonymity, because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly. "Will some people exploit it? They will." In Kabul, the US government is negotiating an $87 million purchase of a 30- to 40-acre parcel of land to expand the embassy. The Senate version of the appropriations bill omits all but $10 million of those funds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Sounds like a bad idea to me. We want friendly engagement with Pakistan, not a massive presence that will forster resentment. Kabul may be different. Someone once told me that our facilities there were pretty lame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HailGreen28 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Seems to me that money could be better spent on our military or I don't know, direct aid to refugees there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 Morning crowd bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Cover for equipment/space for increased intelligence gathering operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I'd like to see the cost breakdown before getting myself upset. Seems like an awful lot, but those are two particularly hot spots. I wonder what the security costs are? ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 Cover for equipment/space for increased intelligence gathering operations. I don't think we need close to 1 billion more for that in that region. We have flooded Pakistan with intel dollars for a generation now I'd like to see the cost breakdown before getting myself upset. Seems like an awful lot, but those are two particularly hot spots. I wonder what the security costs are?~Bang The ISB embassy might be the most secure in the world. It is heavily guarded by Pakistani troops at each entrance and you have a mile to go to get to the actual embassy compound once you pass security. And as we know with all things government, this figure is a floor, not a ceiling to the price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Pakistan: 20+ Bedroom Investment Property. Price: 160,000 GBP A billion should buy 3/4'rs of the capital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 Pakistan:20+ Bedroom Investment Property. Price: 160,000 GBP A billion should buy 3/4'rs of the capital. Easily. And there is a TON of space in the capital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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