Fortified ’embassy’ to university: Yes!

Here’s a great suggestion from Iraqi-American prof Adil Shamoo:

    convert the controversial US Embassy in Baghdad into a university for the Iraqi people. This powerful message from our new leader would convey to the Iraqi people in particular a new direction for US policy.
    … Currently, the sprawling embassy reminds Iraqis of their occupation by an alien nation. It reminds them of the power and wealth of the United States while they live in squalid conditions, in part, as a result of this occupation.
    …Transforming it into a university, however, would be a striking symbol of American good will toward Iraq.
    Why would the embassy make a fine university? It’s outsized dimensions make it ideal for a university campus in a downtown urban area.
    It’s located in the heart of Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris River among Saddam Hussein’s former palaces. The embassy complex sits on 104 acres with 27 buildings and facilities, costing more than $700 million. It can house about 5,000 staff… [I]t is actually more like a small town than a diplomatic outpost. It’s self-contained with water, electricity, power, a food court, a swimming pool, a gym, and other forms of recreation – amenities well suited to school the next generation of Iraqis…

Shamoo suggests that it should be run as a locally-rooted “American” university– like the long-established centers of academic excellence, the American Universities in Beirut and Cairo. These institutions have also attracted numerous much less excellent imitators in various Gulf States, as well as– as noted here— one already-existing “American University in Iraq”, a venture that has considerably sullied the “brand” throughout Iraq through its heavily politicized nature and the embarrassing lack of basic due diligence in its high-level hiring.
So my suggestion would be to make it into a non-US “International University in Iraq.” Indeed, I’m working with a group that’s trying to promote just such a project…
But transforming this terrible symbol of the fortified “embassy” into a university? What a great idea!

5 thoughts on “Fortified ’embassy’ to university: Yes!”

  1. and if the idea of converting that hulking monstrosity into a center of higher learning does not fly, then tear the damn thing right down. the usa should have never built the thing in the first place and it is just an evil symbol of an evil occupier and war criminal. and the usa taxpayers should demand that richard bruce “dick” cheney pay every penny spent building the damn thing back into the usa treasury out of his and halliburton’s now deep pockets.

  2. Great catch Helena. I see it originated as an oped in the once great CSMonitor. Curiously, the daily e-mail feed from the monitor does not include any reference to this fascinating idea piece. (telling of all the ongoing problems there)

  3. I LOVE the idea of converting Qal’at Bush (Bush’s Citadel) into a university. It’s the best idea I have heard so far – as long as it does not in any way bear the name of the United States or anyone connected with the United States. Some nice neutral name would be fine, or better yet something that will denote it as a symbol of freedom from foreign domination.
    And if turning it into a university doesn’t fly, let’s go with my original idea of converting it into a housing and services facility for people widowed and orphaned as a result of Bush’s aggression against Iraq, or perhaps for families whose homes have been destroyed by American bombs.

  4. “Shamoo suggests that it should be run as a locally-rooted “American” university…”
    No way! No way on earth should the United States be given any credit whatsoever for anything. I absolutely object in the strongest terms possible.

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