U.S. Evacuates Embassy In Iraq As Bombs Hit Baghdad
The US will evacuate staff from its embassy in Iraq as violence rocked the capital, Baghdad, and the threat of an imminent insurgent attack loomed.
“As a result of ongoing instability and violence in certain areas of Iraq, Embassy Baghdad is reviewing its staffing requirements in consultation with the State Department,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
She said that “additional US government security personnel will be added to the staff in Baghdad; other staff will be temporarily relocated — both to our Consulate Generals in Basra and Erbil and to the Iraq Support Unit in Amman.”
While Psaki did not give specific numbers, she stressed that the embassy’s work would not be hindered as the US evacuates some staff.
“Overall, a substantial majority of the US Embassy presence in Iraq will remain in place and the Embassy will be fully equipped to carry out its national security mission,” she said.
According to the New York Times, the total staff between the embassy in Baghdad and two consulates in Iraq numbers around 5,500. The paper also reported that, per an unnamed official, “fewer than 100 Marines and other military personnel had arrived in Baghdad to reinforce the embassy’s security.”
In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby confirmed the military support and possible role in a future evacuation.
“At the request of the State Department, the US military is providing security assistance for our diplomatic facilities in Baghdad,” Kirby said. “A small number of DOD personnel are augmenting State Department security assets in Baghdad to help ensure the safety of our facilities.”
Earlier this weekend, Iraqi officials claimed that hundreds of insurgents had been killed, leading to hopes that the tide may have turned in the suddenly expanding conflict. But the USA Today reported that bombs rocked Baghdad Sunday, killing 15 and wounding dozens more.
On Saturday, the US moved the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush into the Persian Gulf as part of its preparations for possible airstrikes or other action, depending on how the situation develops. President Barack Obama made a point Friday to stress that there would be no troops on the ground.
According to Kirby, the present evacuation “is being facilitated aboard commercial, charter and State Department aircraft as appropriate.” But the situation, fluid as it is, is clearly being monitored and contingencies readied.
“The US military has airlift assets at the ready should State Department request them,” Kirby said, raising the possibility of a more substantial evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel should the crisis in Iraq engulf Baghdad.
[photo: U.S. Department of State]
