'US embassy a city within the city of Baghdad'

As the deadline for the American troop withdrawal from Iraq approaches, an analyst raises question about the function of the colossal U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

"Having an embassy staff officially of 17,000, having a city within the city of Baghdad... and having tens of thousands of contractors and nearly 50 airplanes with many helicopters among them, that does not indicate an embassy," Adil E. Shamoo, editor-in-chief of the Baltimore-based Accountability in Research, told Press TV's U.S. Desk on Saturday.

Shamoo says the presence of such a large military force, contractors and embassy staff "indicates the intention and the function of the US presence in Iraq is really not cooperation but occupation."

According to AP, the White House wants to keep at least 10,000 troops in Iraq beyond the withdrawal deadline of December 31, despite growing opposition from Iraq and within the U.S.

Keeping American soldiers after the departure deadline would require agreement of the Iraqi government which is far from certain.

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