How America’s Largest, Most Secure Embassy Works
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- čas přidán 4. 09. 2024
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Video written by Amy Muller
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But how does its smallest, least secure embassy work?
It's probably something like an Echo Dot that sits on a shelf in the Pope's assistant's office closet.
Now that’s a hard hitting question
A fast food head manager office with like 2 marines at the door
@@mmburgess11lmao probably yeah
Ha
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...
Expected to cost us 192* million
These were the initial projections shown on cnn back then
Right, I thought he was gonna say it ended up costing 1.5B or something. I was fully expecting the figure to be in the billion(s) range 😂
Yeah. I was expecting him to say it actually cost a billion or something. For all the logistical complexity (and it being a government project), it remained quite close to its original budget.
That was my thought as well. I was fully expecting 3x or more of the initial cost projections
Sam didn't send his correspondent Amy to test the security of the embassy? What is journalism even coming to these days?!
What is Space Mountain?
No, he sent Ben instead, but he didn't mention it because it would spoil the next season of Jet Lag.
@@vinnysworkshopI don’t know. But Amy certainly wasn’t sent to test it
Sam did send Amy, but she just didn't come back to tell the story
Amy is actually doing some undercover investigative journalism that involves investigating how difficult it would be to steal space mountain piece by piece and reconstruct it in Sam's back yard.
Someone take this guy to Space Mountain
but it sucks. I remember going all the way to Disneyland when I was a kid, flying all the way across the pond to go on Space Mountain, being really excited about it and then being very dissappointed with it. The rides at Bush Gardens were way better.
What is Space Mountain?
Sam from Jet Lag the Game Might
Sam should have outside correspondent Amy go to space mountain
I’ve been to Disney World once. I despised it.
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
Epcot was supposed to be a completely self-sustaining community.
@@bipolarminddroppings yeah, that's what i said
i mean even now it is pretty self sustaining with its own garbage disposal system, security, firefighters and many other facilities. it is literally a town in florida.
What is Space Mountain?
I mean they did. Celebration, Fl, is basically an entire town where everything is owned and run by Disney, including the utilities and city council.
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.
Pretty wild that it costs $700 thousand though
@@дигл_лайв$20 a pop adds up quiick
@@scooterking136 That still only gets to USD 70,000ish, though, no?
What is Space Mountain?
People who work in an all digital environment never have to think about such things. The government isn't there yet, and probably won't be in any of our lifetimes.
So it's basically more like an Military Base like Ramstein, but without the Airstrips?
Yeah they're crazy, both of my uncles directed the construction of the pakistani embassy and are currently working on the lebanese one, they tell us stories about their construction
What is Space Mountain?
Ssshush... its not a military base... um... oh maybe it is.
I'd say it's more like a federal prison.
CIA base for the middle east
Hi Sam!
Big thanks to Amy for ditching work so she could go ride Space Mountain over and over again. She deserves a raise!
What is Space Mountain?
/Ric Flair has entered the chat
@@vinnysworkshopIt is a mountain made of space lol. It’s just a vaccum where air is supposed to be. It’s kinda like a negative mountain.
1:34 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 is Space Mountain?
This deserves to be in the end of year error video
But it has space mountain…
@@vinnysworkshop It's a mountain made out of space. Like a pile of empty holes.
"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.
An acre is the amount of land one man with 8 ox can plow and a day.
4050 square meters and change
@@deathpigeon2 Rainy or sunny day?
@@deathpigeon2 Eight African oxen or European oxen?
"Poems, everyone! The laddie reckons himself a poet!"
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.
If I recall correctly it was named Baghdaddy's
The references to Main Street and Disney made me think of Bagram. I only passed through Bagram, but I could've sworn they called one of the roads Disney Road (Just looked it up,; it was called Disney Drive, & it was named after a fallen soldier).
The mentioning of bad traffic reminded me of Kabul. It once took us an hour to go one mile (we didn't travel in convoys, we were just in armored pick-ups and SUVs).
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.
What is Space Mountain?
So what I'm getting from this is that the Bagdad embassy needs to install a Space Mountain
What is Space Mountain?
@@vinnysworkshop All this time it's taking you to type out, "What is Space Mountain?" is time that could be spent typing into the Google search bar, "What is Space Mountain?"
@@vinnysworkshopride at Disney World
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
What is Space Mountain?
Baghlahoma
@@cxzact9204 Bagahomo
@@toolbaggers lmfao considering it's the Middle East, that seems fitting 😂
"I"raq 0:41 . 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
Can't you just have your mom talk to his mom and figure it out?
Plot twist: Sam is just mad because Amy went on Space Mountain to do "research" and he didn't...
What is Space Mountain?
@@vinnysworkshopshut up!!!!
@@vinnysworkshop It is a roller coaster at Disney World.
/Ric Flair has entered the chat
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!
...that you know...
What is 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
They would still need their generators to be able to handle 100% of their power demand, in case something happens to make the solar panels useless, but yeah that would still be smart. And it could provide shade, or just be put on top of buildings where you didn't need the space anyway
@@archerelms Yes, they'd probably still need their generators but they would last WAY longer and need less frequent services.
Also running costs from fuel would be down.
Even on a really cloudy day, which I would doubt is often in Iraq, you get 10% of the power out of your solar panels.
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
its because they want to flaunt their power.
What city?
In my city the US embassy is a large-ish complex that looks suspiciously clean but it's nothing too extra, the Russian embassy has a damn school, and then most other embassies are just a random house in a nice part of town or apartment building, except relevant to this video the Iraqi embassy which looks like a small palace with grand white pillars and arches surrounding a beautiful glass structure. But, well, it was designed for Saddam.
It’s not for flaunting. The three embassies are like that because in both Lebanon, Pakistan and Iraq there are a lot of groups who would like to mess up embassies and kidnap staff. Hell the one in Iraq was damaged by a proxy mob and because of that Soleimani got turned into salami. I don’t know which US embassy you are talking about specifically but for the more fortified ones that’s my answer
In my country, there's a fence around the US embassy. Apart from that, it looks like any other office building in Wellington. The Chinese one looks a bit extra, but I suspect that's because of the earthquake strengthening.
Now hope they don't use... CrowdStrike
What is Space Mountain?
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? ;)
What is Space Mountain?
The CIA building is known a "Space Mountain."
You forgot the part where it's also a giant legal CIA base in the middle of the middle east
What is Space Mountain?
"Legal" like how Russia legally annexed Eastern Ukraine.
All embassies are spy bases for their respective countries' spy agencies, because trying to enter the embassy without permission is basically a declaration of war.
Uh yeah. Intelligence agencies operate from basically every embassy on earth regardless of which country operates them. There’s nothing unique about CIA agents being stationed there, and there’s no reason it would be “illegal” unless you want to consider every embassy to be illegal
@@Patrick_120 the CIA has undocumented bases
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.
There was the PX and the Diplomart. There's also the real helipad to the west that wasn't mentioned. Are you talking about Union III?
@@hankhohn5017 no. Union III had a Burger King and Popeyes maybe when i was there. Meadowlands had…nothing except that big tower to climb. The diplomart was after my time. My tour had the PX/shoppette there. My band used to play at Baghdaddies on Thursday nights some…or the ‘corniche’.
@@DarrellChapman My comment was a smidge confusing, I meant was the compound next door you referred to Union III? Also, the diplomart is right next to the PX, maybe just the name was different
@@hankhohn5017 no next door had another name I can’t remember? Camp sully? There was the guard man camp and then at the end was a helipad and a checkpoint outside. Once had to sit inside a bunker because of a double dog sit down on a vehicle outside the compound.
5:00 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.
What is Space Mountain?
3:04, I love how they misspelled Auckland in that report.
2:44 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.
What is Space Mountain?
Not at all lol these poor people are living in a glorified jail cell not being able to even see the country they're in. We aren't in 2003 are we now?
@@vinnysworkshoprollar coaster
@@GeN56YoS Not entirely true. Americans are allowed to go outside the embassy compound but the threat level is high - so it's not recommended. Unfortunately that's true in many countries - especially Muslim controlled countries. Although, I wouldn't go out in Chicago after dark either. And I never go to New York City anymore. Maybe compounds like this should be built in major US cities too?
Iraqi child points to embassy: What's that, daddy?
Daddy: Our nation's actual capital.
interesting as half
What is Space Mountain?
@@vinnysworkshop space mountain is a space mountain
@@pompomaddons don't, he's spamming everyone's it's dumb.
@@hunterchichester5720 Why not? I'm not but why shouldn't pompomaddons? It's not hurting anyone!
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
Exactly I was thinking
Back in 1600-1800, UK needs more embassies, it will improve our relations & lead to more trade🎉
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.
3:29 Why would anyone in bagdad not want the embassy to be self sustaining and fortified?
Because they don't want americans to heavily influence their country from it.
And (on the self sustaining side) because they want the same quality of services that the Americans have. I think most people would get sick of seeing their neighbors flaunt their wealth and power while they live in a place that was only barely ranked better to live in than a warzone.
Honestly I think you'd get tired of that even if you didn't live in such poor conditions.
Because it conjures up an image of a foreign occupation, where the occupier lived in luxury
"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.*
You mean like getting a private jet instead of flying commercial?
more opportunities for investment and philanthropy increase as well
Managing wealth becomes crucial. Professional advice from expert financial analyst and advisors are important.
Brian Humphery Services was my hope during the 'bear summer' last year. I made so many mistakes but also learned so much from it, and of course from Brian.
I'm surprised that you just mentioned and recommend Brian Humphery Services. I met him at a conference in 2018 and we have been working together ever since.
US tax money goes to pay for grass in a soccer field in Iraq. Why am I unsurprised?
It’s not grass, it is Astro turf. There are many people there working and can’t go anywhere to really exercise or workout. It is a sports field and not just for soccer. Marines and other military assigned to the Embassy compound would do drills there later in the evenings or early mornings depending on weather. People and workers are entitled to Health and morale options. I worked 10 to 14 hours a day six days a week there. A place to relieve a little stress was nice.
@@DarrellChapman The invading americans get those amenities, but screw the population that's been living there for centuries
@@DarrellChapman can i ask what is the point of a embassy in iraq. No trade, sanctions, they would maim us
@@Djuntas The President and each administration set the foreign policy priorities. The Embassy is there to support that and to relay information to and from the current government of each country. There are other jobs there too. Go to Google and search integrated country strategy Iraq and it is the first result- for me. that tells you what this admin is working on. priorities can shift under different presidents and secstates. hope this helps.
@@Djuntaswhat? Iraq is occuipes by America
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 2:52. You're showing Disneyland main street, not Magic Kingdom. Very disappointed.
What is Space Mountain?
@@vinnysworkshop Disney ride
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.
All those FOBs were Union 3 as of 2018 around the Ba'ath Party building.
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
What is Space Mountain?
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?
But this is within the embassy so... just a social club really in this case?
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.
No, he didn’t. Wendover, a completely different channel, did, but that’s irrelevant.
@@emilioalban1234 I see
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.
3:19 Is that Chevy Avalanche, Texas Edition, in Iraq?
We love American cars here haha. As well as Texans
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.
4:18 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.
8:09 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.
It's a bar/restaurant for Americans assigned to the embassy.
i have a feeling Sam realllllly likes space mountain. just a feeling.
You've got a fan in me, keep 'em coming!
What is Space Mountain?
bot
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.😂
Sinai peacekeepers?
@@TXnine7nine Bright Star 87.
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.
What is Space Mountain?
You do know that Google exists, right? It's a ride at Disneyland.
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”.