To the editor:

Where is the outrage? News from the war in Iraq is bad enough but now we have to endure the $592 million, 21-building American Embassy (Journal-World, May 20) being built in Baghdad, the largest foreign embassy in the world.

I do try to keep informed on the situation in Iraq. I read two newspapers, several news magazines, items found on the Internet and columns sent by friends. This is the first news story in detail that I have encountered, yet my cousin in Munich learned of this boondoggle last fall in a German newspaper and he reacted with complete dismay.

This monster, as the article explains, was to be Command Central for the spread of democracy in the Middle East (except for Saudi Arabia) and is a glaring example of the dream-world thinking of the Bush administration which expected our troops to enter Baghdad in flower-strewn streets. The building of this embassy was begun long before there was any indication that our mission would achieve the success that was foreseen in a fog of incompetence and misunderstanding of Middle Eastern culture. We cannot hand out democracy like candy and expect instant comprehension and application by people who have not studied or debated the concept in any depth.

I repeat. Where is the outrage?

Jack Ozegovic,

Lawrence