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From U.S. Embassy in Iraq, a Grim Report

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Posted on Jun 19, 2006

A private report made by the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, obtained by the Washington Post, paints a portrait of increasing danger faced by its Iraqi employees who live outside the Green Zone: “harassment, threats and the employees’ constant fears that their neighbors will discover they work for the U.S. government.”


Washington Post:

Hours before President Bush left on a surprise trip last Monday to the Green Zone in Baghdad for an upbeat assessment of the situation there, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq painted a starkly different portrait of increasing danger and hardship faced by its Iraqi employees. This cable, marked “sensitive” and obtained by The Washington Post, outlines in spare prose the daily-worsening conditions for those who live outside the heavily guarded international zone: harassment, threats and the employees’ constant fears that their neighbors will discover they work for the U.S. government.

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By William Day, June 20, 2006 at 10:16 am Link to this comment
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You can bet your bottom that the bushies will again stamp this with a “classification” to avoid widespread access by the public.

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By Ed Graham, June 20, 2006 at 7:43 am Link to this comment
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I guess this will depress tourism.

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By jkoch, June 20, 2006 at 7:40 am Link to this comment
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Is this a hoax?  I can’t imagine Ambassador Khalilzad putting anything but rosy “more progress today” talking points into an official cable.  Bremer knew better: to stay in the fast lane, eschew candor.

In point #23, Khal warns the Iraqi employees to cease complaints about hardships, strife, and danger because they hurt morale in the embassy.  Untidy realities outside the Green Zone should not interfere with perceptions, professional conduct, or policy objectives.  Maybe we could streamline and cut costs by closing the embassy and subcontracting all intelligence and PR work to Talon News or Lincoln Group.  They could devise a digital simulation of Iraq the way it is supposed to be.

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