Newt Gingrich: U.S. 'Losing Ground' in Iraq, Calls for Closing Embassy

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, continuing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, took aim at President Barack Obamas Middle East policy on Wednesday.

While Americans have been focused on the economy and domestic politics, the Middle East has been deteriorating in very threatening ways, noted Gingrich in an e-mail sent out to supporters. In the last few months, events have begun to turn against the United States, Israel, and freedom in the Middle East."

Gingrich insisted the United States is losing ground in Iraq due to aggression in Iran. The former congressional leader railed against Obamas plans to reduce the number of American military personnel in Iraq, arguing that it would be safer to pull out all troops from that nation.

The Obama administration's decision to reduce the American military presence in Iraq to 3,000 creates the potential for a catastrophic disaster, Gingrich wrote. Since the Army deploys in brigades of 5,000, splitting up a brigade can only signify a political calculation. Yet, a small American military force will not be able to defend itself. The Obama administration is creating a tempting target for the Iranian radicals to see if they can humiliate us. It would be much safer to pull all the troops out than to leave so few that they are in peril.

Gingrich also called for shutting down the current embassy in Baghdad which received some attention during the Republican presidential debate on Monday night

The American embassy in Baghdad is an absurdity, continued Gingrich. It was designed when we were on the way to being the dominant power in Iraq. It covers too much space, has too much staff, and requires 3,650 people to defend it on a billion-dollar contract, while thousands more work inside. Sustaining something on this scale is going to be very expensive and yield no results of comparable value. This embassy should be closed and a very modest and defensible building should replace it.