The Warlords moved in

Rocketing US war spending under fire
2003 $US48 billion ($65 billion) 2004 $US59 billion 2005 $US81 billion 2006 $US94 billion (estimated) US casualties 2378 dead, 17,549 wounded. +++

The Billion-Dollar Baghdad Embassy
U.S. embassies typically cover ten acres. This one, a 104-acre complex, will be comprised of 21 buildings, its own water wells, an electricity plant and wastewaster-treatment facility that makes the huge compound completely independent of Iraq, whose "interim government" sold the land to the U.S. in October 2004. Terms of the agreement do not appear to be readily accessible. +++

Giant U.S. embassy rising in Baghdad
The 104-acre complex - the size of about 80 football fields - will include two office buildings, one of them designed for future use as a school, six apartment buildings, a gym, a pool, a food court and its own power generation and water-treatment plants. The average Baghdad home has electricity only four hours a day, according to Bowen's office. +++