Wash Post' Obtains Shocking Memo from U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

Wash Post' Obtains Shocking Memo from U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

By Greg Mitchell

Published: June 18, 2006 6:20 PM ET

NEW YORK The Washington Post has obtained a cable,
marked "sensitive," that it says shows that just 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 outlines, the Post reported Sunday, "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."

It's actually far worse than that, as the details published below
indicate, which include references to abductions, threats to women's
rights, and "ethnic cleansing."

A PDF copy of the cable shows that it was sent to the SecState in
Washington, D.C. from "AMEmbassy Baghdad" on June 6. The typed name
at the very bottom is Khalilzad -- the name of the U.S. Ambassador,
though it is not known if this means he wrote the memo or merely
approved it.

The subject of the memo is: "Snapshots from the Office -- Public
Affairs Staff Show Strains of Social Discord."

As a footnote in one of the 23 sections, the embassy relates, "An
Arab newspaper editor told us he is preparing an extensive survey of
ethnic cleansing, which he said is taking place in almost every Iraqi
province, as political parties and their militias are seemingly
engaged in tit-for-tat reprisals all over Iraq."

Among the other troubling reports:

-- "Personal safety depends on good relations with
the 'neighborhood' governments, who barricade streets and ward off
outsiders. The central government, our staff says, is not relevant;
even local mukhtars have been displaced or coopted by militias.
People no longer trust most neighbors."

-- One embassy employee had a brother-in-law kidnapped. Another
received a death threat, and then fled the country with her family.

-- Iraqi staff at the embassy, beginning in March and picking up in
May, report "pervasive" harassment from Islamist and/or militia
groups. Cuts in power and rising fuel prices "have diminished the
quality of life." Conditions vary but even upscale
neighborhoods "have visibly deteriorated" and one of them is now
described as a "ghost town."

-- Two of the three female Iraqis in the public affairs office
reported stepped-up harassment since mid-May...."some groups are
pushing women to cover even their face, a step not taken in Iran even
at its most conservative." One of the women is now wearing a full
abaya after receiving direct threats.

-- It has also become "dangerous" for men to wear shorts in public
and "they no longer allow their children to play outside in shorts."
People who wear jeans in public have also come under attack.

-- Embassy employees are held in such low esteem their work must
remain a secret and they live with constant fear that their cover
will be blown. Of nine staffers, only four have told their families
where they work. They all plan for their possible abductions. No one
takes home their cell phones as this gives them away. One employee
said criticism of the U.S. had grown so severe that most of her
family believes the U.S. "is punishing populations as Saddam did."

-- Since April, the "demeanor" of guards in the Green Zone has
changed, becoming more "militia-like," and some are now "taunting"
embassy personnel or holding up their credentials and saying loudly
that they work in the embassy: "Such information is a death sentence
if overheard by the wrong people." For this reason, some have asked
for press instead of embassy credentials.

-- "For at least six months, we have not been able to use any local
staff members for translation at on-camera press events....We cannot
call employees in on weekends or holidays without blowing
their 'cover.'"

-- "More recently, we have begun shredding documents printed out
that show local staff surnames. In March, a few staff members
approached us to ask what provisions would we make for them if we
evacuate."

-- The overall environment is one of "frayed social networks," with
frequent actual or perceived insults. None of this is helped by lack
of electricity. "One colleague told us he feels 'defeated' by
circumstances, citing his example of being unable to help his two-
year-old son who has asthma and cannot sleep in stifling heat," which
is now reaching 115 degrees.

-- "Another employee tell us that life outside the Green Zone has
become 'emotionally draining.' He lives in a mostly Shiite area and
claims to attend a funeral 'every evening.'"

-- Fuel lines have grown so long that one staffer spent 12 hours in
line on his day off. "Employees all confirm that by the last week of
May, they were getting one hour of power for every six hours
without. ... One staff member reported that a friend lives in a
building that houses a new minister; within 24 hours of his
appointment, her building had city power 24 hours a day."

-- The cable concludes that employees' "personal fears are
reinforcing divisive sectarian or ethnic channels, despite talk of
reconciliation by officials."

The final line of the Cable is: KHALILZAD