U.S. Unveils Its Behemoth Baghdad Embassy
Whether you call it a compound, campus or even a fortress, the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq is certainly big — in size, security and symbolism. On Jan. 5, the massive 104-acre, $700 million embassy in Baghdad — by far America’s largest and most expensive diplomatic mission in the world — was unveiled in a simple dedication ceremony attended by Iraqi and U.S. officials amid, not surprisingly, intense security.
 Despite a long period of delays and setbacks, the opening of the sprawling complex — which will house some 1,200 staff from 14 federal agencies — marks an important step in the U.S. transition of power to the Iraqis in 2009 (also see cover profile of the January 2009 issue of The Washington Diplomat).
To that end, on Jan. 1, the United States officially handed over security responsibility for Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone to Iraqi forces, along with the nearby Republican Palace, Saddam Hussein’s former palace and the headquarters of the American presence since shortly after the invasion. And under the new security agreement finalized last month, U.S. forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities to military bases by June 30 of this year, with the goal of removing all troops by Jan. 1, 2012. Iraq will also gain strict oversight over the nearly 150,000 American troops currently on the ground.
It’s all meant to shift the U.S. role from occupier to ally — and integral to that shift is the new embassy, which signals “a new era for Iraq and United States relations,” according to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, who spoke at the embassy opening.
“2009 is going to be a year of many things. Perhaps most importantly it’s going to be a year of elections [in Iraq] — provincial at the end of January and national at the end of the year,” Crocker said in an interview after the ceremony.
Iraq’s previous election was marred by a Sunni boycott that resulted in a Shiite-dominated government. This time, officials hope things will be different. Noting the difficulties of establishing democracy in fledging developing nations, Crocker said that “in many respects a second round of elections is as or more important as the first round. That’s when the architecture of democracy is really cemented. How incumbents deal with loss. How new faces integrate themselves into the political structure. How parties organize, combine and recombine will all be important in 2009.”
Of the 120 years since the United States first established a presence in Baghdad, “no period has been more intense, more challenging or more promising than that since April 2003. And of that period, perhaps no single week has been more important than this past one,” concluded Crocker, who was joined by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at the opening, along with some 1,000 invited guests.
Despite the large guest list, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was not in attendance. And despite the significance of the event touted by officials, the no-frills, hour-long ceremony was fairly muted by most standards.
“Among Iraqis, there is no national consensus over whether the U.S-Iraqi security agreement signed last month that mandated the handover went far enough in asserting Iraqi sovereignty. For the Americans, there is doubt over whether the Iraqis are prepared to take control, as well as anxiety over the U.S. legacy in the country,” Amit R. Paley recently wrote in the Washington Post.
“The handover of the Green Zone from U.S. to Iraqi control Thursday presented such a powerful symbol of the waning American presence in Iraq that it would have been nearly impossible for both sides not to mark it with a formal ceremony. They did, but the ceremony wasn’t much,” according to the Post.
Perhaps the subdued festivities though were appropriate given the still-fragile political and security situation. Just that day, a wave of bombings struck Baghdad, killing at least six — which came a day after a suicide attack left more than 40 dead at a Shiite shrine in the capital city.
So it’s no surprise that a central element of the new U.S. Embassy is security — a lot of it. Surrounded by concrete walls topped with razor wires, the structure incorporates metal nets, screens, bulletproof glass and other measures, many of them underground.
But security isn't the only feature of the complex. There are other diversions — including an Olympic-size indoor pool, tennis courts, hotel-style buildings to house staff, a cinema, shopping and restaurants, as well as more functional elements such as schools, a fire station and wastewater treatment facilities.
In fact, the entire embassy area is larger than the Vatican — roughly the size of 80 football fields. But bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, according to architectural historian Jane Loeffler.
“Traditionally, at least, embassies were designed to further interaction with the community in which they were built,” Loeffler wrote in Foreign Affairs in 2007. “The idea of an embassy this huge, this costly, and this isolated from events taking place outside its walls is not necessarily a cause for celebration.”
Nor were the cost overruns and problems. The project was beset by structural complications, allegations of abusive labor practices and other delays. The State Department estimated the cost at $592 million, but the Congressional Research Service puts the final tab at $736 million.
Still, the progress around the country and around the embassy itself is clearly visible. The levels of violence are at their lowest since the beginning of the war, U.S. troops are conducting fewer patrols and often in conjunction with Iraqi forces, and Ambassador Crocker seems determined to keep the U.S. government engaged in Iraq’s future.
According to the State Department, the mission of the new embassy will include: “supporting local elections, helping to fight corruption, helping develop Iraq’s energy and transportation sectors, strengthening the rule of law, providing security training, and promoting educational and cultural exchange.”
And perhaps this simple statement at the end of that prosaic mission description best sums up the sentiment that both sides hope will ring true in the New Year: “This new U.S. Embassy will serve to broaden and enhance U.S. diplomatic engagement with a sovereign and independent Iraq.”
For information on the embassy, visit http://iraq.usembassy.gov.
From left, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi President JalalTalabani, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte attend the dedication ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Photos: Courtesy of Eric Brooks/U.S. Embassy Baghdad
Germany’s Transatlantic Climate Bridge
Germany is hoping to bridge the U.S.-EU divide on climate change and fast-track energy cooperation at this critical juncture — as a new U.S. president takes office at the beginning of the year, and the world tries to come up with a post-Kyoto international climate agreement at the end of the year.
Hence the Transatlantic Climate Bridge, an initiative launched by the German government in September that had its American kick-off at the German Residence in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16.
 It’s an ambitious proposal that seeks nothing less than an “energy revolution” to confront what it calls the simultaneous challenges of climate change, energy security and economic stability. This campaign to end “our addiction to fossil fuels” through cleaner power would involve both public and private sector support at all levels — from national, state and city governments to businesses, think tanks and NGOs.
“During these difficult times, it is critical that we take the long view on energy and climate change,” said German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, who participated in a panel discussion at the Transatlantic Climate Bridge kick-off along with a number of energy executives and experts, as well as local representatives from Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Although the climate bridge is long on ideas and still somewhat in its infancy, the discussion showed that the initiative is clearly ready to go past broad climate rhetoric and tackle the thorny details. Amid the euphemisms and warnings, the panel addressed a wide range of intricate, highly technical issues from carbon capture and storage to advances in solar, wind, thermal and other alternative energy sources.
It’s one way the climate bridge is trying to go beyond talk and take concrete action. To that end, after the discussion, Ambassador Scharioth, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant, Jr. and Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick O. Gottschalk signed a joint statement identifying promising areas of cooperation, including emissions trading, community energy planning, green jobs and clean products.
Although it’s just one state, Bryant pointed out that Virginia produces more greenhouse gas emissions than Pakistan or Greece. “If this Transatlantic Climate Bridge can do one thing, it’s to help educate us to structure and implement an emissions trading program on a national level,” he said.
Germany has also partnered with other U.S. states, as well as various EU countries, Australia, New Zealand and Norway under the International Carbon Action Partnership, an initiative started in 2007 to exchange “lessons learned” in implementing carbon markets through mandatory cap-and-trade systems.
Of course, cap and trade and other climate measures also come down to economics, so the climate bridge discussion highlighted a transatlantic business success story. First Solar, a U.S. company in Germany, is the largest manufacturer of thin-film solar cells in the world. (U.S. firms employ about 510,000 people in Germany, while German businesses employ some 740,000 in the U.S.)
Mike Ahearn, chief executive officer of First Solar, called his company’s experience a case study for what is possible within a favorable framework for renewable energies, and said that after seeing a whopping 2,500 percent growth since 2005, First Solar was expecting to double that again in 2009.
That type of growth is key to the so-called green economy movement gaining traction on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s a “buzzword” that is producing real benefits, Scharioth said, pointing out that in Germany, “around a quarter of a million people are now employed in the renewable energy sector, which is attracting millions of dollars of investment, also from overseas.”
Germany’s impressive push into renewables such as wind energy and biomass has also reduced the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 22.4 percent below 1990 levels (critics though contend those cuts were largely achieved by shutting down old coal-fired plants in East Germany).
That means Germany, the world’s sixth-biggest producer of greenhouse emissions, has already met its Kyoto Protocol target — a sign that deep cuts are possible, the ambassador said.
Under the “20-20-20” plan, the European Union is aiming to slash carbon emissions 20 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels — jumping to 30 percent if other international players join in — along with 20 percent increases in energy efficiency and renewable sources.
“And my country has set itself a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020,” Scharioth added. “We know this will be very difficult, but we believe it is achievable.”
Although critics caution against exaggerating the potential of green jobs — and that all the excitement can overshadow the harder sacrifices needed to combat global warming — Scharioth said Germany proves there can be a balance. “Of course, it does not come free. Of course, it requires a change in habits,” he told the national public radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. “But it is possible to do it in such a way that it creates, rather than maybe reduces employment.”
That fits in nicely with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge to boost the economy with a massive green jobs program — a political shift the Transatlantic Climate Bridge hopes to tap into.
Indeed, Scharioth stressed that the United States is integral to the global fight against climate change. When asked by the Diplomatic Pouch if a post-Kyoto agreement could be reached at the international gathering in Copenhagen later this year without the United States on board, the ambassador was clear: “No it can not,” he said, noting that he is optimistic the Obama administration recognizes the overlapping economic and environmental opportunities in the year ahead.
Moreover, he said that if the United States and European Union don’t present a united front and agree on a common climate platform, there will be no way of convincing countries such as China and India to join the effort.
Above all, Scharioth urged action — now — because time is running out.
“Numerous studies have shown that if we let climate change continue unabated, the economic costs will become insurmountable,” he said. “Two years ago, the Stern Review concluded that effective climate protection would cost only 1 percent of global GDP annually if we act now, whereas the cost could reach as much as 20 percent of global GDP by 2050, if we fail to act.
“Today, 6.5 billion people live on this planet. By 2050, there will be around 9 billion, with correspondingly higher demand for energy and resources. The energy choices that we make today will define the world that we leave to our children and grandchildren tomorrow,” he added, warning that “if we don’t succeed in getting a follow-up agreement, our children and grandchildren will all hate us.”
From left, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick O. Gottschalk, Ambassador of Germany Klaus Scharioth, and and Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant Jr. sign a joint statement identifying promising areas of cooperation between their state and Germany, including emissions trading, community energy planning, green jobs and clean products.
Photos: Anna Gawel
Dennis Ross: Ceasefire Can’t Let Hamas Rebuild
Special to the Diplomatic Pouch contributed by Larry Luxner
As fighting rages in the densely populated Gaza Strip, world leaders are clamoring for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But the United States should only support such a cessation of hostilities if it prevents Hamas from rearming itself.
 That’s the word from Dennis Ross, top Middle East envoy and peace negotiator for two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He’ll also likely be advising a third — Barack Obama — as soon as the president-elect takes office Jan. 20.
“The key for us is trying to make sure it’s not just a ceasefire, but to ensure some stability,” said Ross, speaking Sunday night before 150 people at Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, Md. “If Hamas is able to rebuild themselves with longer-range rockets, it’ll just be a prelude to the next round, which will be worse.”
But Israel has come under intense international condemnation for its massive air and ground campaign that, as of press time, has killed nearly 700 Palestinians and injured more than 2,500, with nearly a quarter of them civilians. Yesterday, the United Nations indefinitely suspended all humanitarian aid deliveries in response to a series of Israeli attacks on U.N. facilities and personnel, including the killing of two U.N. drivers trying to fetch the body of a third U.N. worker during the three-hour humanitarian lull in fighting, as well as the shelling of a U.N. school that left more than 40 dead. Seven Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the two-week conflict, with four of those soldiers killed by errant shells fired by Israeli forces.
Ross counters that Israel had little choice but to defend itself against a constant barrage of Hamas rockets that have been raining down on Israeli towns. A distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Ross said the Middle East is a vastly more dangerous place than it was in 2000, when Israel pulled its troops out of Lebanon. Israel’s ensuing war with Hezbollah in 2006 — and the current fighting in Gaza — does not bode well at all for an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
“The one thing guiding the Israeli public is this: If we were to withdraw from the West Bank and it became like Gaza, then every Israeli community would be threatened,” he argued. “I just wonder how many countries around the world would tolerate a situation where their next-door neighbor fires rockets into their territory. I suspect very few countries would.”
However, Ross noted that Hamas is a political movement as well as a terrorist group, so the idea of finishing it off could be well beyond the reach of the Israel Defense Forces.
“If Israel wants the end of [this campaign] to be different than the war on Hezbollah, it’s going to be critical for them to marry their objectives with their means. If their objective is to destroy Hamas, they’ll probably have to reoccupy Gaza,” he said.
“But the language Israel is using now is quite general. They’re trying not to box themselves in by raising the standards so high they can’t meet them. Israel says it wants to stop the rocket fire. That’s a whole lot different than saying they want to destroy Hamas.”
Ross, who was raised by his Jewish mother and Catholic stepfather, lives in Bethesda with his wife and three children. His speech — part of a series of programs on Israel at the reform synagogue — was scheduled long before the latest outbreak of fighting in Gaza. As such, he attempted to put the current crisis into a wider regional context. That meant focusing not only on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also the U.S.-led war in Iraq as well as Iran’s growing nuclear capability.
“Where we are today isn’t where we were in 2000,” he said. “Number one, we have a Palestinian Authority that is divided and dramatically weaker than it was. Number two, Israel withdrew from Lebanon and Hezbollah got a whole lot stronger. Israel got out of Gaza, Hamas took over and you see where we are now. Also, Iran has leverage it didn’t have in 2000. So any approach to peace has to take into account these contextual changes.”
He added: “Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority have condemned Israel but also Hamas. That reveals that many in the Arab leadership don’t want Hamas to succeed. Israel’s challenge is to take advantage of that.”
As Ross spoke, copies of his recent book, “Statecraft and How to Restore America’s Standing in the World,” were displayed on a nearby table. Jonathan Freedland, writing in the New York Review of Books, says that “Ross urges a return to statecraft, to the painstaking work of diplomacy and alliance-building. His is the book that would be of most direct use to the next administration taking office in 2009.”
Ross declined to speculate on how the current Gaza ground offensive would affect Israel’s upcoming elections. He also claimed it would be wrong for the United States to push the Israeli government to negotiate directly to Hamas.
“In the end,” said Ross, “Israel decides who they talk to. It’s not up to anyone else.”
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