The new US embassy complex in Lebanon has stirred controversy due to its sheer size and opulence in a country where almost 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. The massive complex, located about 8 miles from the center of Beirut in the suburb of Awkar, covers a 43-acre site, which is almost two-and-a-half times the size of the land occupied by the White House and more than 21 soccer fields.
The sprawling complex has drawn criticism from many Lebanese citizens, who questioned why the US needs such a large embassy in their capital. Lebanon is a small country, smaller than Connecticut, with a population of just six million. Although the State Department has placed Lebanon on the third highest travel advisory level, it has a sizable population of Lebanese American residents.
The embassy's grandiosity was not lost on Twitter users, with many mocking the excessive size of the complex. Abed A. Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, tweeted, “Maybe you’ll have enough room to work on all those pending visa applications." Computer-generated images published by the embassy show an ultra-modern compound, hosting multi-story buildings with high glass windows, recreational areas, and a swimming pool surrounded by greenery and views of the Lebanese capital. The compound includes a chancery, representational and staff housing, facilities for the community and associated support facilities.
Lebanon has been hit by a series of crises, from the pandemic to the 2020 Beirut blast, which have left its economy in ruins. Many Lebanese are unable to afford basic commodities, including food, medicine, and electricity. The embassy's extravagant construction, costing an estimated $1 billion, seems out of place in a country where so many are struggling to make ends meet.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), which supervised the construction of a number of other US embassies around the world, oversees the embassy's construction. The US embassy in Lebanon declined to comment on the controversy.
Although the US has a turbulent history with Lebanon, it has enjoyed friendly relations with the country. Lebanon is the home of Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful group in the country, but despite this, the US has maintained diplomatic ties with Lebanon. However, the 1983 bombing of the American embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people, including 52 Lebanese and embassy employees, and the bombing of barracks in Beirut housing American and French peacekeepers later that year resulted in a decline in relations between the two countries.