US furious as top-secret embassy plans found on net

Detailed plans for the new US embassy being built in Baghdad have appeared online in a major breach of the tight security surrounding the sensitive project that will be America’s largest diplomatic mission abroad.

Computer-generated projections of the soon-to-be completed heavily-fortified compound were posted to the website of Berger Devine Yaeger, an American architectural firm that was contracted to design the massive building in the Iraqi capital.

The post was removed by the company yesterday, shortly after being contacted by the US State Department.

“We work very hard to ensure the safety and security of our employees overseas,” said Gozalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman. “This kind of information out in the public domain detracts from that effort.”

The 10 images included a scheme of the overall layout of the compound, plus depictions of individual buildings, including the embassy itself, office annexes, the US Marine Corps security post, swimming pool, recreation centre, ambassador’s and deputy ambassador’s residences.

US officials said the posted plans conformed at least roughly to conceptual drawings for the new embassy, which is being built on the banks of the Tigris River behind huge fences due to fears that militants will attack what is already a prime target.

Dan Sreebny, a spokesman for the embassy in Baghdad, refused to discuss the accuracy of the images posted online.

“In terms of commenting whether they’re accurate, obviously we wouldn’t be commenting on that because we don’t want people to know whether they’re accurate or not for security reasons,” he said.

Berger Devine Yaeger’s parent company, the giant contractor Louis Berger Group, said the plans had been very preliminary and would not be of help to potential US enemies.

“The actual information that was up there was purely conjectural and conceptual in nature,” said Louis Berger spokesman Jeffrey Willis.

“Google Earth could give you a better snapshot of what the site looks like on the ground.”

Some US officials acknowledged that damage may have been done by the postings and used expletives to describe their personal reactions, but downplayed the overall risk posed.

“People are eventually going to figure out where all these places are, but you don’t have to draw them a map,” said one senior official.

The embassy site is under heavy guard and treated with extreme secrecy. It is off-limits to all but those with special passes, surrounded by tall, concrete blast walls and impossible to see except from the air.

The images posted on the website show that the €435m embassy, expected to be completed in September on a chunk of prime land two-thirds the size of Washington’s National Mall, will be a spacious and comfortable facility, albeit dangerous.

Identified as the “Baghdad US Embassy Compound Master Plan”, the images show palm-lined paths and green grass gardens, volleyball and basketball courts outside the Marine post, as well as the swimming pool, all with a view of the river.

“In total, the 104-acre compound will include over 20 buildings, including one classified secure structure and housing for over 380 families,” the website boasts.

A US Senate Foreign Relations Committee report last year said embassy security would be extraordinary: setbacks and perimeter no-go areas will be especially deep, structures reinforced to 2.5-times the standard, and five high-security entrances, plus an emergency entrance-exit.