Location, Location, Location: US Embassy vs. Iraqi Embassy

February 8, 2012

Posted in: * Most Popular, Embassy/State, Iraq

As the New York Times reported, the US Department of State is considering slashing its staff in Iraq by about half, acknowledging that the war is over and well, America lost and no one likes us anymore. But no matter how many people the US leaves in Iraq, the World’s Largest Embassy will remain in place, perhaps devoid of people someday like an ancient ziggurat, but a massive structure nonetheless.


Not everyone in Iraq however is in such a contemplative mood.

Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric who has steadfastly railed against American influence and whose militia fought the American military to at best a draw, posted a statement on his Web site that read, “I ask the competent authorities in Iraq to open an embassy in Washington, equivalent to the size of the U.S. embassy in Iraq, in order to maintain the prestige of Iraq.”

To get the discussion rolling with al-Sadr, here is the present Iraqi Embassy in Washington DC, located on a quiet side street in the trendy Dupont Circle area.

And by comparison, a partial view of the US Embassy in Baghdad, located on a noisy, rubble-strewn major artery inside the Green Zone.

Unlike the US Embassy in Iraq (you can see some of the first public photos of the interior online now), the Iraqi Embassy in the US currently lacks its own air force, 5,500 person mercenary staff, indoor pool, outdoor water misters, driving range, tennis courts, bar, convenience store, gym, salsa lessons, dry cleaner, cafeteria, dormitories, radar, anti-missile defenses, air raid sirens, machine guns and bomb sniffing dogs.

Of course, the one thing the Iraqis do have over the US as far as embassies are concerned is location: relatively safe Washington DC vice the urban hell of Baghdad. And as the real estate agents always say, what matters most is location, location, location…

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