Rob
May 6th, 2008, 04:44 PM
Excerpt:
US-backed plan sees shiny future for Green Zone in Iraq
By BRADLEY BROOKS and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press Writers
BAGHDAD May 4, 2008 (AP)
Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad.
That's all part of a five-year development "dream list" — or what some dub an improbable fantasy — to transform the U.S.-protected Green Zone from a walled fortress into a centerpiece for Baghdad's future.
But the $5 billion plan has the backing of the Pentagon and apparently the interest of some deep pockets in the world of international hotels and development, the lead military liaison for the project told The Associated Press.
For Washington, the driving motivation is to create a "zone of influence" around the new $700 million U.S. Embassy to serve as a kind of high-end buffer for the compound, whose total price tag will reach about $1 billion after all the workers and offices are relocated over the next year.
"When you have $1 billion hanging out there and 1,000 employees lying around, you kind of want to know who your neighbors are. You want to influence what happens in your neighborhood over time," said Navy Capt. Thomas Karnowski, who led the team that created the development plan.
Karnowski said a deal already has been completed for Marriott International Inc. to build a hotel in the Green Zone. He also said a possible $1 billion investment could come from MBI International, a conglomerate that focuses on hotels and resorts and is led by Saudi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber.
(Full story (http://abcnews.go.com/International/BusinessTravel/wireStory?id=4783682))
That's kind of interesting. On one hand, it makes me want to :picard: ...isn't a capitalistic, decadent lifestyle exactly why the world's poor loathe the West? Isn't this a completely counterintuitive and counterproductive means to the (presumed) end of putting a stop to violence against Western and Western-affiliated targets?
I can't help but be impressed by the out-of-the-box thinking on it though. For over 5 years now the approach has been more guns! more soldiers! with varying degrees of both stunning success and epic failure that seems to have produced a zero sum. An outline like this though, approaches the problem from a socioeconomic viewpoint--improve the quality of life, decrease the potential for violence.
I thought it was interesting, anyway.
US-backed plan sees shiny future for Green Zone in Iraq
By BRADLEY BROOKS and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press Writers
BAGHDAD May 4, 2008 (AP)
Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad.
That's all part of a five-year development "dream list" — or what some dub an improbable fantasy — to transform the U.S.-protected Green Zone from a walled fortress into a centerpiece for Baghdad's future.
But the $5 billion plan has the backing of the Pentagon and apparently the interest of some deep pockets in the world of international hotels and development, the lead military liaison for the project told The Associated Press.
For Washington, the driving motivation is to create a "zone of influence" around the new $700 million U.S. Embassy to serve as a kind of high-end buffer for the compound, whose total price tag will reach about $1 billion after all the workers and offices are relocated over the next year.
"When you have $1 billion hanging out there and 1,000 employees lying around, you kind of want to know who your neighbors are. You want to influence what happens in your neighborhood over time," said Navy Capt. Thomas Karnowski, who led the team that created the development plan.
Karnowski said a deal already has been completed for Marriott International Inc. to build a hotel in the Green Zone. He also said a possible $1 billion investment could come from MBI International, a conglomerate that focuses on hotels and resorts and is led by Saudi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber.
(Full story (http://abcnews.go.com/International/BusinessTravel/wireStory?id=4783682))
That's kind of interesting. On one hand, it makes me want to :picard: ...isn't a capitalistic, decadent lifestyle exactly why the world's poor loathe the West? Isn't this a completely counterintuitive and counterproductive means to the (presumed) end of putting a stop to violence against Western and Western-affiliated targets?
I can't help but be impressed by the out-of-the-box thinking on it though. For over 5 years now the approach has been more guns! more soldiers! with varying degrees of both stunning success and epic failure that seems to have produced a zero sum. An outline like this though, approaches the problem from a socioeconomic viewpoint--improve the quality of life, decrease the potential for violence.
I thought it was interesting, anyway.