New U.S. embassy in Green Zone opened

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A ceremony was held on Monday to mark the inauguration of the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone with the participation of Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani. During the ceremony, which was attended by IraqiNews.com news agency, the U.S. flag was raised in front of the internal gate of the embassy. On Thursday (1/1), U.S. forces handed over the fortified Green Zone to Iraqi authorities, five years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country. The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Spokesperson for Baghdad’s Operation Command Qassem Ata; the minister of science and technology, Raed Fahmi; the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission; the deputy secretary of state of the United States, John Negroponte; the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker; in addition to several of U.S. military officials. The Green Zone (the common name for the International Zone of Iraq) is a 10 km² (4 mile²) area in central Baghdad that was the center of the Coalition Provisional Authority in the city. Its official name beginning under the Iraqi Interim Government is the International Zone, though Green Zone remains the most commonly used term. It is a base for western private military contractors, and home to the Iraqi Parliament and government, as well as U.S., British and Australian embassies. SS (S) 1