Pentagon Plans Urban Renewal in Baghdad’s Green Zone
by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel 
on 05.10.08
The "Tigris Woods Country Club" as envisioned by the Pentagon's planners.
How do you rehabilitate a city that has suffered from half a decade of bombings, lootings, sectarian violence, terrorism, military occupation, large-scale infrastructure failure, curfews and all the horrors of some post-apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster? According to the Pentagon, pimp it out with the most fantastic amenities that money can buy, and put them all inside one centrally-located, gated waterfront community.
In another strange move by the American authorities in Iraq, plans are underway to transform part of Baghdad’s Green Zone - the sprawling military/civilian compound along the Tigris river, currently home to coalition personnel and foreign companies – into a luxurious “International Village,” complete with malls, amusement parks, luxury hotels and golf courses.
According to the Guardian, the $5 billion plan, dreamt up by the Pentagon and an “international investment consortium,” has already caught the interest of several bigwig investors and companies, including a Saudi sheikh and Marriott International, which has signed up to build a hotel in the complex.
All this begs the question, where will the water come from for the golf course’s sprinkler system, not to mention the electricity to power so much not-very-sustainable development? Especially in a city where, as Navy Captain Thomas Karnowski notes,
There is no sewer system, no working power system. Everything here is done on generators. No road repair work. There are no city services other than the minimal amount we provide to get by.
Meanwhile, the new gated community’s first grand property, the American embassy, is already under construction. The $1 billion embassy compound, occupying a plot the size of the Vatican, will occupy a prime piece of land along the waterfront. How’s that for urban regeneration?
Perhaps one source of inspiration for the new planning scheme came from the spirit and history of the place itself, which in its previous incarnation was also a gated community - containing palaces and villas belonging to Saddam Hussein and his cohorts.
So, how does the Iraqi man in the street feel about all such extravagant plans for the city? Said Baghdad resident Ahmed Hussein to the Guardian with a shrug: “What do I care? I don’t have electricity, I don’t have fresh water and I don’t have a job.”
Via:: The Guardian
For more on environmental issues in Iraq, see:
No Renewable Power for Coalition Forces in Iraq?
Iraq's Marshland Still Not Safe
Iraqi Dam Collapse Could Result in Half a Million Deaths
Iraq Again Focuses Attention on U.S., This Time By Ratifying Kyoto
In Iraq, Scooters Are The Way To Get Around Town
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Now I get it! We were never there for oil. Just to build world class resorts. It all makes sense now.
why am i not surprised? =(
as a tax paying, nameless,voiceless, faceless american , I cannot help but wonder why and when did our tax money become the property of the US Government to do things abroad that benefit few but are paid for by many , when did greed over take principle , and when did "by the people and for the people " Get erased . Is it BUY the people become president so then you and your crones and Billion aire friends can invest tax payer money in foreign ventures when our own infrastructure is crumbling . BALANCE, BALANCE. BALANCE !!! But alas we are taught MORE,MORE,MORE .It would be nice to stay home and take care of our own issues. We are too big it is outta control...........We are doomed. I'm so sad about this . We where a great nation . Too bad a few can spoil it for so many.
What a waste. I'm not TOTALLY against spending SOME money to rebuild there, but how about some schools? Hospitals? Infrastructure? No, let's build a mall and a theme park. At least we have our priorities straight. *rolls eyes.*
It became greed when the Federal Reserve was created!
America at it's best. No wonder poor peeps from these country hate us so much.
Are you sure this wasn't written by The Onion?
I really hope there's a huge uproar. I don't want my tax dollars or anyone else's tax dollars to go towards giving them things that are not absolutely necessary.,
Essentials: hospitals, colleges, schools
Well, now Bush and his rich friends won't be limited by anything, even war. They can enjoy themselves at the expense of others even in the middle of Baghdad.
Whoever came up with this, and their families, should be put up against a wall and shot.
look at Dubai... if it can become, from what it was, what it is, then Baghdad can as well...
look at Dubai... if it can become, from what it was, what it is, then Baghdad can as well...
@Rich McCabe
Dubai? Seriously? I take my hat off to Dubai for trying to create some kind of future for itself. But a future which depends on remittance slaves to build indoor ski-slopes and artificial islands for visitors, so they can forget about the dust and the appalling climate, and where the carbon cost of getting the visitors there, watering them and air-conditioning them - this sentence seems to have spluttered to a halt. Basically, aaghh! God preserve the world from any more Dubai-style vulgarity!
@Rich McCabe
Dubai? Seriously? I take my hat off to Dubai for trying to create some kind of future for itself. But a future which depends on remittance slaves to build indoor ski-slopes and artificial islands for visitors, so they can forget about the dust and the appalling climate, and where the carbon cost of getting the visitors there, watering them and air-conditioning them - this sentence seems to have spluttered to a halt. Basically, aaghh! God preserve the world from any more Dubai-style vulgarity!
just saying anything is possible...
Look I just got back from Baghdad on mothers day of this year. I have seen alot of a waste of our tax dollars over there. Not only are they going to build this wonderful golf course in a place that gets mortared almost every day when I was there but our tax dollars are also buying the iraqi police officers 2007/2008 F-350's to drive. Full with leather seats, CD players, loaded to the hilt. Now I know that when the most powerful country "liberates" another country we promise to rebuild. But is it neccessary to purchase these size trucks when the MOI (minister of interior) will only rovide them 5 gallons of fuel per day and most of the time not provide it. These trucks have a 38 gallon tank, 5 gallons is just enough fuel to get to the fuel pump an dwhen the fuel get to a certin point the fuel pump burns out. Thats causes another problem, then we buy them NEW fuel pumps. Its a never ending cycle over there. I was disgusted after I saw where all of my tax dollars went. YOU SHOULD BE TOO!! We all need to band together and get a hold on OUR country. We can prevent this from happening. We elect them. they work for us, If you not just a little upset now, let me tell you how much gas is over there: .20!!! THATS RIGHT ITS TWENTY CENTS PER GALLON!!!!!!! And most of the country is stuck paying somewhere between 3.79-4.15 per gallon. Surely there is something that could be done about this. Oh wait there is, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA can fight back. Do your part. Contact your local represenitive and voice your opinion. Thats what the are there for. To take the concerns of his/her district to the floor and help them. If enough people call,write,E-mail,FAX, what ever, things can change.And the will change. And if your represenitive doesnt do his/her job then your can fire him/her its your porogitive to do so, you just have to go through the proper channels. If you have any questions about what it was like over there and where your tax money is going contact me clark8102000@yahoo.com ill get back to you.
I am currently deployed in the Green Zone working at the U.S. Embassy. I've seen maps of this "new and exciting plan" hanging around in various offices. At first glance, I thought it was a sick joke. What do I see next? An actual informative book with detailed descriptions of each "attraction". Something tells me that the people who dreamt this idea up must have been on some serious drugs or taken advice from a monkey who enjoys golf.