The Embassy of the United States of America in Baghdad is the diplomatic mission of United States of America in the Republic of Iraq. Ambassador Matthew Tueller is currently the Chief of Mission. At 104 acres (42 ha), it is the largest and most expensive embassy in the world, and is nearly as large as Vatican City. The embassy complex is about five times the size of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, which is the second largest U.S. diplomatic mission abroad, and over ten times the size of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which is the third largest U.S. diplomatic mission abroad. The embassy opened in January 2009 following a series of construction delays. It replaced the previous embassy, which opened July 1, 2004 in Baghdad's Green Zone in a former Palace of Saddam Hussein. The embassy complex cost $750 million to build and reached a peak staffing of 16,000 employees and contractors in 2012.. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. The U.S. then established diplomatic relations with the new Iraqi government. Because the old U.S. embassy was located outside of the Green Zone, it was deemed unsafe for American diplomats and remained deserted. A temporary embassy was established in the Republican Palace. A new embassy was constructed along the Tigris River, west of the Arbataash Tamuz Bridge, and facing Al-Kindi street to the north. The embassy is a permanent structure which has provided a new base for the 5,500 Americans currently living and working in Baghdad. During construction, the US government kept many aspects of the project under wraps, with many details released only in a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report. Apart from the 1,000 regular employees, up to 3,000 additional staff members have been hired, including security personnel. With construction beginning in mid-2005, the original target completion date was September 2007. "A week after submitting his FY2006 budget to Congress, the President sent Congress an FY2005 emergency supplemental funding request. Included in the supplemental is more than $1.3 billion for the embassy in Iraq ..." An emergency supplemental appropriation (H.R. 1268/P.L. 109-13), which included $592 million for embassy construction, was signed into law on May 11, 2005. According to the Department of State, this funding was all that was needed for construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. However, Walter Pincus of the Washington Post found that the new embassy had cost more than $700 million by 2012, and Business Insider reported in 2013 that the cost of the embassy had surpassed $750 million. The Obama administration requested more than $100 million for a "massive" upgrade to the embassy compound in 2012.[ As of 2006, construction was being led by the Kuwaiti firm First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting, The complex is heavily fortified, even by the standards of the Green Zone. The details are largely secret, but it is likely to include a significant US Marine Security Guard detachment. Fortifications include deep security perimeters, buildings reinforced beyond the usual standard, and five highly guarded entrances.[citation needed] On October 5, 2007, the Associated Press reported the initial target completion date of September would not be met, and that it was unlikely any buildings would be occupied until 2008. In May 2008, US diplomats began moving into the embassy. The embassy formally opened over a year behind schedule in January 2009 with a staff of over 16,000 people, mostly contractors, but including 2,000 diplomats. In February 2012, weeks after the final departure of US Military forces from Iraq, the State Department announced that the staff would be greatly reduced because of budget concerns and a re-evaluation of diplomatic strategy in Iraq, in light of the military withdrawal. On May 15, 2019, the United States Department of State ordered all non-emergency, non-essential government employees at the Embassy and Erbil consulate office to leave Iraq amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf between the United States and Iran. (WiKi)

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