How America’s Largest, Most Secure Embassy Works 

But how does its smallest, least secure embassy work?

A government building project expected to cost around 500mil only ended up costing 750mil? Wow, that's actually quite impressive considering where it was being built...

Sam didn't send his correspondent Amy to test the security of the embassy? What is journalism even coming to these days?!

Someone take this guy to Space Mountain

speaking of Disney World, an original idea was that it would have it's own airport and nuclear power plant. Walt wanted it to be as self-sufficient as possible

3568 toner cartridges is 892 per color, if we assume all their printers are color. Let's guessproximate they have double the cartridges for black, meaning 713 full refills. If they have 7 printers, that's 100 refills. If they have 14 printers, that's 50 refills. If they have 28 printers that's 25 refills. So, no. Probably not too much toner.

So it's basically more like an Military Base like Ramstein, but without the Airstrips?

Hi Sam! Big thanks to Amy for ditching work so she could go ride Space Mountain over and over again. She deserves a raise!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="94">1:34</a> This appears to be based on the claim that the Magic Kingdom cost $400 million to build. There are no firm sources for this figure, and none of the sites that use this figure indicate that this figure is inflation-adjusted (the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971). If it isn't adjusted for inflation, then the cost to build the Magic Kingdom in 2009 (when the embassy opened) dollars would be $2 billion, making the embassy about 1/3 the cost of the Magic Kingdom.

"What the hell is an acre?" "An acre is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet)" Wat.

When I was in the military, I was stationed at the Baghdad Embassy for a few months, and I have fond memories of the American Club. It's a pretty normal club, but in the old definition of club, a-la "Golf Club". No crazy raves or anything, it has the vibes of a country club mixed with a golf resort. The reason it's specifically called the "American Club" is because, being on an Embassy, it's considered to be on sovereign American soil, and operates on American law instead of Iraqi law. While this is true of everything in the complex, most places still have a lot of local visitors/staff, so they choose to at at least follow local customs as guidelines. The American Club is staffed and caters to Americans, however, so it serves things like alcohol and pork. It's also the only place in the complex to serve Rip It, which anyone who has served will confirm is what *truly* matters.

Considering how many documents the government prints out on every occasion, I'd imagine the toner cartridge spending is in line with any other agency that's working abroad.

So what I'm getting from this is that the Bagdad embassy needs to install a Space Mountain

I used to live on military bases as a kid, all of them had "American Clubs" and they were really just buffets, some of them had bars. Basically "fancy," slightly more expensive dining you could go to on more special occasions. They would host events for various groups every sunday (?) but you could eat there whenever. One of the bases my dad was stationed at was in England and the Club there was always *empty* like, we were the only ones there. Meant fast service at least.

The shape of the embassy looks like the shape of oklahoma

"I"raq <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="41">0:41</a> . This country has been in America's political consciousness for quite some time and we still can't pronounce it properly

Fun fact, when you are in school to be one of those marine security guards, at any point during your schooling one of your instructors can just say "I don't like you" and that's it. You're done. No more embassy training for you

Plot twist: Sam is just mad because Amy went on Space Mountain to do "research" and he didn't...

Remember US once discovered listening device built into the structure of the building of its embassy at USSR.

All these videos and HAI STILL doesnt have a space mountain!

Why wouldn't they use solar power to supplement the use of their diesel generators? I mean the area is quiet sunny and they use more electricity during the day. Seems like a win win to me

Visited the embassy in July 2011 for a couple of days after having spent a year at a forward operating base. Choppered in. The whole complex seemed like a fantasy land to this American. But I admit the pool was quite refreshing. The State Department had enormous plans for its presence in Iraq at that time as the DoD footprint was rapidly shrinking.

Every other embassy in my city looks like a regular house. The US one looks like a futuristic fortress. I wonder why

Now hope they don't use... CrowdStrike

There's an American Club here in Singapore as well. It's pretty much a mini resort full of food and loud Americans, where all the coasters have the US Seal stamped on it.

The lack of Space Mountain is thoroughly disturbing. How do they manage to live in such uncivilized conditions? ;)

You forgot the part where it's also a giant legal CIA base in the middle of the middle east

Half as interesting … half as right. There is also another compound for support next door that is part of the complex that wasn’t discussed. Plus more… When I was there the food court had an Anthony’s pizza and a Green Bean Coffee and a PX shopette. Maybe a sub shop? I can’t remember if there was a third place there then. All run by DOD vendors. Nothing in the food court was free. The dining hall or DFAC was free but take away was limited per person. There were three ‘office’ buildings. One being the chancery and two others. Why was there so much toner? I know why. It starts with funding. Look up ICASS and Program funding. Also, tenant agency funding.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="300">5:00</a> Thank you for clarifying that this clip isn't at the embassy in Baghdad! I can now proceed with the absolute confidence that all your other stock footage _is_ at the embassy in Baghdad.

It took me this long to understand what "Mission accomplished" meant back there at the aircraft carrier where G.W. Bush held a speech. It was breaking ground for this thing.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="184">3:04</a>, I love how they misspelled Auckland in that report.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="164">2:44</a> when documents are redacted it can use up a LOT of ink. And they're probably required to have enough for a year bc it's a conflict zone. Given the apparent scale of operations at this embassy I'm not surprised

When a 107-acre compound offers more amenities than most cities of the country it's located in.

Iraqi child points to embassy: What's that, daddy? Daddy: Our nation's actual capital.

interesting as half

This is called building a fort in a foreign land, this is flexing, this is modern day colonialism, this is literally British East India Company in India in 1850

Embassies and ambassador residences are quite fun to visit, actually. Provided that you've been invited for a party. The US ambassador's residence is literally a few minutes on foot from our old house. At the time, the embassy was smack bang on a busy street near the capital, and that would no longer do. So they built a brand new embassy just outside the village (where the aforementioned ambassador lives), with a big perimeter fence. My wife got invited twice to the residence (which appears to have a much nicer pool than the embassy, judging by satellite imagery) and once to the embassy, which can accommodate many more people. Obviously, I tagged along. The job of embassy personnel is basically being the PR team for a country, so they're all really pleasant. You're made to feel welcome, although the layers of security of the embassy suggest that, if you're not welcome, it would be pretty difficult to get in.

Back to Eye-Rack, are we?

Spent a year living and working there. For all the amenities, lots of stress, danger and hardship, extreme heat, dust storms, rocket attacks. Hats off to all who serve and endure.

I see a Wendover video about the logistics of running this place very soon.

I was there in 2003 serving in the Marines. USMC 1999-2007

I want to know who is the hair stylist at this embassy?! Now that’s an AMA I’d sit down for.

You forgot to mention about the exit/entry secret tunnel under the Tigris river that goes to the opposite river banks and still a few hundred yards ahead. But it isn't a normal exit or entry point, only for emergencies, so you thought it's easier to not to mention it.

This sounds a lot like a medieval castle

The Embassy is also defended against airborne threats by C-RAM.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="209">3:29</a> Why would anyone in bagdad not want the embassy to be self sustaining and fortified?

"Most Secure" means about as much as "FDA Approved" after Saturday.

If the goal is to be as independent from outside supplies as possible they should just install solar panels

But does it run crowdstrike tho

*When someone becomes rich, a lot of things change. Lifestyle upgrades, new social circles, and different financial responsibilities are just the beginning.*

US tax money goes to pay for grass in a soccer field in Iraq. Why am I unsurprised?

Very well written. The little bits of humor are truly appreciated.

Fun fact: the second largest US embassy before the newly constructed embassies in Lebanon and Pakistan was the US embassy in Armenia, which is now the 4th largest at 22 acres.

It's worth mentioning that the internet tells me Iraq's electrical system works off 230v/50hz, rather than the US’ 120v/60hz system, which if the complex were to adopt, would pretty much break any import appliances (probably all of them) that are too dumb to adapt to whatever voltage/frequency they are being given. Best case scenario is they build a HVDC interconnect so they can have their own isolated grid while still getting power externally.

The adjacent map of Disneys magic kingdom in the Baghdad graphics is a true chefs kiss.

There's an error at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="172">2:52</a>. You're showing Disneyland main street, not Magic Kingdom. Very disappointed.

Happy New HAI video for all who celebrate

No worries, I have Crowdstrike to keep me safe!

There was supposed to be a couple of baseball diamonds but the area was turned into residences for Japanese diplomats instead. I was there when it opened…but didn’t have much business there so only visited a few times. Our flight path on a CIA Mi-17 helicopter to Baghdad Airport took us just behind the embassy grounds. Across the street was a couple of FOBs (Forward Operating Base) both called Union. But they were designated FU1 and FU3. I always wondered where FOB Union 2 was as it wasn’t on any maps, but then I realized it couldn’t be called FU2.

Sam, a US Defense Dept. project ONLY using 150% of the budget is a miracle and you know it. And there's no way that $400mil figure for Magic Kingdom is inflation adjusted.

27 seconds, 47 views, bro will not fall off

America: We are not an empire. 834+ International Military Bases, Hundreds of military fortified embassies, 13 supercarriers, and the world's largest military by at least 2x over its nearest "competitor": huh

Spending over $700 million on an embassy without a Space Mountain definitely raises eyebrows. Priorities in security and comfort seem to outweigh budgetary concerns.

There aren’t just marines actually, there are also Army soliders that do tower defense for the entire complex, the Marines are more specifically for just the embassy building itself.

Half as Interesting but 1000x better than the Infographics Show

This place would make a sick zombie apocalypse base

I'm getting deja vu, was there another (maybe Wenover?) video about this already?

For context on the American Club: im an american in SG and we have an american club which is a socail club for americans in SG, possibly this?

After 6-8 months of being most anywhere in Iraq, Baghdad is like a vacation. At least around the airport. Bigger than most towns/cities, and tons of stuff to do. Also good food and lots of shopping. But that was almost 15 years ago,so idk.

It sure looks like United State Embassy in Baghdad Iraq is highly fortified and defended. This embassy is a fortress. However it is in a country that basically hates the United States and is surrounded by other Islamic countries that hate the United States. This brings up the question of should the United States have embassies in parts of the world where the countries in that area hate the United States and want to harm the United States? It costs a lot of money to build an embassy to be an impregnable fortress.

Guys, i'm starting to think that there is no Space Mountain at the U.S Embassy in Iraq.

I work at a professional B2B printing firm, and I can confirm we do not have anywhere near that amount of toner on hand. They are clearly up to something, possibly some toner based market manipulation.

I could've sworn you've covered this exact topic in a video years back.

A soccer field but no American Football field? Strange!

Amy knocked it out of the park with this one.

Nice little video with a town I live near in it. Sewickley PA.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="199">3:19</a> Is that Chevy Avalanche, Texas Edition, in Iraq?

I can confirm as a person in the military that that much toner wouldn't last long. The amount of paperwork is disheartening

Great script, Amy. And it has a Space Mountain!

I believe Embassy Baghdad also has a 25m lap pool under one of the buildings. Duty there is supposedly rather decent.

Google Maps has a label "Football not Soccer" over that irrigated playing field!! 🤣🤣

This compound is essentially a castle within a walled city, so it's even more Disney-like.

Maybe we could convince the Space Force to relieve the Marines as embassy guards. Then we'll get Space Mountain, Baghdad.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="258">4:18</a> baghdad, and Iraq as a whole, get periodic rolling blackouts, so that electricity is only available to a particular place for about 14 hours a day (liberal estimate). You can't do US Embassy stuff on that.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="489">8:09</a> thanks to Europe btw , America prefers letting GAFAM have "free market"

The American Club is an international member organization for American Ex Pats. It's basically a social club with US amenities. There was one down the road in Singapore when I was growing up.

i have a feeling Sam realllllly likes space mountain. just a feeling.

You've got a fan in me, keep 'em coming!

I can imagine this place time traveling into the past. Like Ring of Fire or a GATE scenario, defending against Ancient Armies.

No space mountain, bummer... but I swear, it has helicopters! Gotta be in there somewhere, even if you don't have the pics. Helicopters. Black Helicopters. Gotta be at least half as interesting as Space Mountain!

In the future, it would be good to try and involve a native expat in the choice of footage (and some words). I say this because i notice that you usually pay attention to sensitivities revolving around the US's abuse of its position of power and american supremacy and dominance over such countries, and i felt that this video was a bit lacking in terms of these sensibilities we've come to expect from this channel. Much love!!

Back in the 80s while in the army I was designated the mail clerk for my battalion and participated in an exercise in Egypt, we were the first there and the last to go. There was two weeks at the beginning and two weeks at the end where the postal unit responsible for mail wasn't there, so I filled the gap. Went to the embassy in Ciaro everyday to get our mail and would drag my feet there. I swam in their pool and ate at their meal facility and enjoyed civilization. I hated going back to the desert at the end of each day but took advantage of everything they offered.😂

Based on current staffing levels at that embassy, that acreage equates to roughly a Space Mountain for every 4.5 employees.

The us embassy in Lebanon looks like a jacked up T-Rex that’s jumping like a kangaroo 😂 Or a pit ball with the head of a hornless rhino 😂

The Oklahoma shape makes it impenetrable.

A monument to the friendship between the people of the USA and Iraq . Iraqis love the Americans who lovingly put them on the path to peace and prosperity. Their idols are GHW Bush and Georgia junior .

THE SOCCER FIELD ISNT REAL GRASS. WE ALSO HAVE A SEPERATE HELO AND PLANE AIRPORT, SHOOTING RANGE AND A REALLY COOL SANTA SLED AT CHRISTMAS

PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ON NORTH KOREAN OUTLETS! Thanks.

I bet the soccer field is there in case they need to land multiple helicopters, so they were like hey how about making it a soccor field

I am convinced the embassy house some Avengers at any given time. And Nick Fury’s helo carriers that are “a little bigger than a .22”.