(State Department officials would not disclose a more precise number of employees at the embassy in Kabul.) But staffing cuts are coming: A recent State Department review recommended reducing the number of contractors at the embassy. It was not clear how many positions were being cut, although the senior State Department official said a vast majority were security and other support contractors. Ten years ago, the American Embassy in Baghdad was responsible for leading the American effort in Iraq as the war began to wind down. “There was quite a tradition of the military running this,” said Mr. Hill, the United States ambassador in Baghdad at the time.

Source: New York Times March 22, 2020 15:11 UTC