Colum Lynch reports in today's Post about the architectural... standoffishness...of the U.S. mission to the UN being built across from UN headquarters. The tenor of the piece has it mostly right -- constructing a hulking, windowless concrete tower does not seem the best way to signal a new openness with the rest of the world. And while protecting staff from the threat of a terrorist attack is certaintly necessary, I'm a little confused about what's going on inside the building:

The windowless floors at the base of the building will be filled with computers and other high-tech equipment that cannot be described to the public.

Equipment so high-tech that it cannot even be described? Imposing concrete walls or not, if this is the kind of stuff we're using in our mission to the UN, I can't help but be impressed.