As a ceremonial and social event, the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was an unqualified success. The sun shone on a cool winter day. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani expressed his gratitude for America's sacrifices to drive a despot from his homeland and Ambassador Ryan Crocker pledged his country's continuing support. But the facility itself seemed to dwarf even these grand festivities.

This was my first good inside look at America's largest-ever embassy complex. I'm a mere layman when it comes to architecture, but the place struck me as dismal and defeatist. Maybe I'm missing something, like a new trend in rectangles, sharp corners and cheap metal sheeting. There are plenty other fortress-like embassies, some of which have caused debate in the past. But they at least tried to add an architectural flourish or two. This embassy, visible from large swaths of the capital, evokes rigidity and fear. Many compare it to a prison.

Though badly battered and dilapidated, Baghdad is something of an architectural showcase. Local designers are known for putting modern twists on traditional Arab imagery--pointy arches, trellised balconies and colonnades. Famous European and U.S. designers, drawn by the regime's oil money in the 1950s-70s, built graceful, avant-garde stadiums, universities and government ministries.