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Two newly constructed palaces of liberty. One is the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the other one its counterpart in Berlin. Can you guess which is which? The answer after the jump.


On the left is Baghdad, on the right is Berlin. I know, that was too easy, the palms gave it away. But after all, both are situated in cities plagued by crime and terror. So, naturally, the new Berlin embassy (open for business tomorrow) has to reflex to the changing security situation in a post-9/11 world. Sure, the Tagesspiegel called this exceptional piece of architecture a “triumph of banality” and a “pitiful failure”, but what do these tree-huggers know about today’s dangers?

They just can’t see the ingenuity of the planners. If you make the American embassy on Pariser Platz look nice, you’re just inviting the terrorists to destroy it. Now, bombing a plattenbau in Marzahn has about the same effect as targeting America’s outpost on the island of freedom.

And don’t even worry about the interior design. It’s not like you will ever have to step inside it (or for that matter close to it, for the embassy is 26 m from the street) because the consular section remains in beautiful Dahlem.

If you too want to celebrate the completion of this befitting embassy in the historic center of Berlin, join the tapmag team for the “Deutsch-Amerikanisches Volksfest” at Brandenburger Tor on July 5th. But when George H. W. Bush and Angela Merkel officially open the embassy a day earlier, on July 4th, one thing is already certain: You’re not invited.