the US embassy in iraq

The U.S. embassy in Iraq, built by the Bush administration to the tune of $740 million, is by far the largest in the world. It is now populated by more than 1,000 administrators, technicians, and professionals -- diplomatic, military, intelligence, and otherwise -- though all are regularly, if euphemistically, referred to as "diplomats" in official statements and in the media. This level of staffing -- 1,000 administrators for a country of perhaps 30 million -- is well above the classic norm for imperial control. Back in the early twentieth century, for instance, Great Britain utilized fewer officials to rule a population of 300 million in its Indian Raj.