Emerald City

Perhaps not the most important thing, but there will never be any real acknowledgment of just how much money was spent for Dick Cheney's Potemkin Empire.

ERBIL, Iraq — The American Embassy in Baghdad plans to evacuate a substantial number of its personnel this week in the face of a militant advance that rapidly swept from the north toward the capital, the State Department announced on Sunday.

The embassy, a beige fortress on the banks of the Tigris River within the heavily-secured Green Zone, where Iraqi government buildings are also located, has the largest staff of any United States Embassy.

"the largest staff of any United States Embassy."

"the largest staff of any United States Embassy."