Posted on 09/15/2008 4:28:31 PM PDT by SandRat
FOB LOYALTY — Justice and the institution of law in Iraq took a large step forward recently when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki officially opened a new courthouse in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad.
Iraqi Chief Justice Medhat al-Mahmoud, along with Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David Petraeus, the outgoing commanding general of Multi-National Force – Iraq, joined al-Maliki and other distinguished visitors for the courthouse grand opening.
After al-Maliki and al-Mahmoud cut a ribbon at the courthouse entrance, they entered the building to address those in attendance.
Al-Maliki spoke about the importance of re-establishing the rule of law in Iraq, and Crocker commented about the significance of the business officials will conduct in the new courthouse building.
“This is rightly called the Palace of Justice. It was built by Iraqis for Iraqis,” expressed Crocker. “But as great as this building is, what this building will be used for is even greater. It is in this place that the common man will receive justice.”
The justice laid out in the courthouse will help write the future of Iraq, he added.
The courthouse is a new, two-story facility, explained Navy Lt. Benjamin Dunford, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers deputy officer in charge of the courthouse project. The facility features courtrooms, a witness-protection facility and numerous security improvements, to include closed-circuit security cameras, an ion detector, an X-ray machine and walk-thru metal detectors.
“This is a state of the art courthouse that is the prototype for all courthouses in Iraq,” exclaimed Dunford.
Construction of the courthouse took approximately 22 months to complete. The Iraqi department of justice funded the project in combination with money from the Iraqi Reconstruction fund, and there was great synergy among the state department, the Iraqi department of justice and USACE, said Dunford.
“It’s a brand new courthouse, and as many know, justice is the cornerstone to any strong government,” expressed Dunford. “The courthouse will benefit the community of over a million people in Baghdad and a hundred judges.”
Dunford spoke with some of the judges about the project and relayed that they were ecstatic about the project and could hardly wait to get into the courtroom.
Well, this is encouraging news.
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