The US shows pictures of the construction of the new embassy in Lebanon. What does the country intend to do with a building of this size?
Lebanon is currently experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history. Almost 80 percent of the people in the small Mediterranean country live below the poverty line. Currently, Lebanon is the hardest hit by food inflation in the world. During this time, the US is building an oversized embassy complex in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
The US Embassy has now published pictures of it on its official social media presence. They show the huge building complex around 16 kilometers outside the historic center of Beirut, in the suburb of Aoukar. According to the news channel CNN, the property is two and a half times the size of that of the White House in Washington DC The building looks like a fortress even before completion and will one day be the second largest US embassy ever, after the one in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Lebanese criticize the construction on Twitter. One user writes: “You don’t need any of this, Lebanon will not be an American colony that you control to bring peace to the enemy. We are a free people who have dignity and honor, even if some of us are your slaves .” Someone remarks, “This is bigger than the Pentagon.” Others ask, “Is the White House moving to Beirut?” or “What else is planned for this building apart from issuing visas?”.
Cost point: one billion US dollars
The huge multi-storey complex has recreation areas, pools, green areas. It includes apartments and restaurants for embassy staff, as well as “shady gardens and an art project featuring site-specific works by international and Lebanese artists,” according to the embassy’s website. In addition, one adorns oneself with an energy saving and sustainability strategy. The cost of construction is expected to amount to one billion dollars.
But what is all this for? Why does a country that is only four times the size of Saarland need such a large diplomatic mission? Only a few tourists from the USA travel to Lebanon. The U.S. Department of State has issued the country a third-level travel advisory.
The Iran-backed militant Islamist terrorist organization Hezbollah, founded in 1982, is based in Lebanon. In 1983 they carried out a bomb attack on the American embassy in Beirut. The attack killed 52 people. Later there were other attacks, for example on US marines, in which people were killed.
“Close collaboration has only deepened”
On the 40th anniversary of the attack in April 2023, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Despite Hezbollah’s efforts to use terror to drive a wedge between the United States and the Lebanese people, our close cooperation in the 40 years since this reprehensible… stop only deepened.” The United States is considered Lebanon’s largest supporter in terms of humanitarian and military aid.
As the “Jerusalem Post” reports, the new oversized building could indicate that the US wants to shift its focus to the region – or wanted to do so when the plans for the building were made public in 2015. During this time, the USA was still fighting the Islamic State in Iraq. Lebanon was the starting point for numerous covert military actions for the USA.
