Talabani says U.S. embassy building expresses amity

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani on Monday said that the building of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad is an “expression of amity between the two countries.” “This structure is not only a U.S. government headquarters, but an expression of amity between the governments and people of the two countries…,” Talabani said in his speech during the inauguration ceremony of the new building of the U.S. embassy in downtown Baghdad’s Green Zone 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 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