What to Expect in Embassy Baghdad: Duck and cover!

[bushmeister0]

The NYT reports:

"The shelling started just before 6 a.m., mortar fire shaking buildings and sending early risers in the Green Zone here running for shelter. Sirens went off, and loudspeakers blared, 'Duck and cover! Duck and cover!' A thick column of gray smoke rose above the embassies and government buildings in the area. The early morning onslaught on Sunday was one of the fiercest and most sustained attacks on the Green Zone in the past year, and it ushered in a day of violence that claimed the lives of at least 51 Iraqi civilians and soldiers, including two children."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/world/middleeast/24iraq.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The US State Department's career opportunities page lists helpful hints on what their embassy staff can expect while stationed at "Embassy Baghdad"

http://careers.state.gov/iraq-jobs/baghdad.html

CLOTHING:

"It is important for employees to be aware of local customs when planning wardrobe choices. Modest dress is critical for employees working with the Iraqi public. During the winter months, local government officials and other contacts generally wear business attire. Inside the Embassy, especially for administrative jobs, business casual clothing is acceptable. It is recommended that some professional clothing for meetings and receptions be packed. There are exercise and swimming facilities available. Bring towels, but bed linen is issued. Jackets and sweaters are a must for the cooler months. Sunglasses are strongly recommended. Clothing and shoes become dirty and worn very quickly from the fine dust, gravel, dirty air, and, sometimes, mud."

Presumably, all that dust and gravel, and sometimes mud, is what is thrown up from all that "indirect fire" raining down on the Green Zone every day.

Of course, one little thing got left out of the "wardrobe choices" the average embassy employee might want to bring along.

McClatchy papers reported last summer:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/17960.html

"The dress code at the Blue Star restaurant inside Baghdad's Green Zone now calls for vest and hat. Flak vest and Kevlar helmet, to be precise. . . A State Department official, after initially denying that State had ordered its 1,000 Baghdad personnel to wear protective gear, said that a copy of the order obtained by McClatchy Newspapers was an undiscussable security breach.

'As a result of the recent increase of indirect fire attacks on the International Zone, outdoor movement is restricted to a minimum,' it states. 'Remain within a hardened structure to the maximum extent possible and strictly avoid congregating outdoors. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is mandatory until further notice. 'Public places that are not in a hardened structure - such as the Blue Star Restaurant - should be frequented only in conjunction with the use of your PPE.'

An embassy spokesman on Saturday initially denied that State now requires workers to wear body armor in the Green Zone.

He got upset when shown the memo. 'You're asking me to comment on an internal document?' he said, refusing to give his name. 'How did you get it? We don't talk to what our security posture is.'"

HOUSING:

Nearly all 3161 employees are housed in modular units on the heavily guarded and fortified Embassy Annex compound. . .Each modular unit consists of two separate rooms with a shared bathroom/shower. Rooms typically contain at least one single bed, a small closet, an air conditioning/heating unit, a small refrigerator, and a television."

Yes, how about those "modular unit?" They're trailers aren't they?

McClatchy reports:

"While some 100 British embassy workers and about 55 United Nations personnel living in the Green Zone sleep in hardened housing, State Department personnel sleep unprotected. Asked how State could require workers to walk around outdoors in body armor while making them sleep in unprotected quarters, the embassy official said: 'I wouldn't characterize it as being a mixed message.'

U.S. embassy workers, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told McClatchy that they're angry and scared."

Hmm ... Or they're just finding it hard to breath.

They're not only trailers, they're FEMA trailers!

The WaPo reported on a leaked State Department cable complaining about the faulty construction of the Embassy.

The cable states:

"'The 252 prefabricated residential trailers, with either two or three rooms each, filled with formaldehyde fumes. The trailer manufacturer, a Saudi company called Red Sea Housing Services Co., confirmed to the embassy it had used the toxic chemical in preparing the housing. Red Sea told the embassy to keep the windows open and use charcoal in the rooms to absorb the odor, but 'the fumes are still prevalent,' the cable said."

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/196

So run down to the Foggy Bottom and sign up right now for your exciting stay in Embassy Baghdad.

[jimshoes]

1. That trip of dead eye and mcSame and Lieberman

must have really made an impression on the freedom loving people of Iraq.