Remember the "Den of Spies"?
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is planning to double its ranks as it takes over a host of missions for the military there, according to America’s No. 2 diplomat in Iraq.
“If Congress gives us the money we are asking for, this embassy is going to be twice the size it is now. It’s not going down, it’s getting bigger,” said Robert Ford, the deputy chief of mission in Baghdad, in an exclusive interview with The Cable.
As the military continues to drawdown in Iraq, the U.S. Embassy there is taking over many of the “critical missions” that the military has been heavily involved in for years, and fundamental changes in the American role in Iraq are coming. Moreover, the State Department has a very different approach to various issues than many in the military who have served there — leading to some concerns about the handoff among senior military leaders.
One of the chief missions being handed over is the training of the Iraqi police. The Obama administration has prepared a budget request for that program that would vastly increase the number of people working on police training. That request, if granted, could increase the overall U.S. diplomatic presence in Baghdad from around 1,400 to more than 3,000 total personnel, including contractors, said Ford.
We need to think carefully about the message it sends when we have a 3,000 person embassy in a country. Recall that the large U.S. embassy in Iran prior to 1979 became a symbol for opponents of the regime of America’s role and supposed control over developments in that country.
Even sane, sober people are going to look at a 3,000 person embassy and say, “what are the Americans doing there? How much influence do they have over our lives?” And demagogues will use it as a rallying point. We should be thinking about reducing our footprint abroad and minimizing our fingerprints on developments in foreign countries. We can be involved and influential, but it simply is counter-productive to be so visible about it. It provokes more resentment than anything else.
