Foreign Affairs. USINT was housed in what had earlier been the Romanian Embassy building, in the Masbah section of the city, on the east bank of the Tigris and opposite the Foreign Ministry Club. The U.S. Interests Section was again upgraded to an embassy in 1984 after the resumption of U.S.–Iraqi diplomatic relations. The building lost its embassy status just before the Gulf War in 1991, which caused a second breach of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The U.S. Interests Section was then re-established with Poland as the protecting power. 2003–2008: Republican Palace In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. The U.S. then established diplomatic relations with the new Iraqi government. Because the old U.S. embassy was located outside of the Green Zone, it was deemed unsafe for American diplomats and remained deserted. A temporary embassy was established in the Republican Palace. The embassy planned to hire 900-1,000 permanent American employees under mission authority, along with 300-400 staff under military command and an additional 600-700 Iraqi staff by the end of 2004. 2008–present: New embassy A new complex for the embassy was constructed along the Tigris River, west of the Arbataash Tamuz Bridge, and facing Al-Kindi street to the north. The embassy is a permanent structure which has provided a new base for the 5,500 Americans currently living and working in Baghdad. During construction, the U.S. government kept many aspects of the project under wraps, with many details released only in a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report. Apart from the 1,000 regular employees, up to 3,000 additional staff members have been hired, including security personnel. With construction beginning in mid-2005, the original target completion date was September 2007. "A week after submitting his FY2006 budget to Congress, the President sent Congress an FY2005 emergency supplemental funding request. Included in the supplemental is more than $1.3 billion for the embassy in Iraq." An emergency supplemental appropriation (H.R. 1268/P.L. 109-13), which included $592 million for embassy construction, was signed into law on May 11, 2005. According to the Department of State, this funding was all that was needed for construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. However, Walter Pincus of The Washington Post found that the new embassy had cost more than $700 million by 2012; Business Insider reported in 2013 that the cost of the embassy had surpassed $750 million. The Obama