A grim account relayed by Guardian blogger Brian Whitaker:
Just a few days before the president’s visit, Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born US ambassador in Baghdad, sent a disconcerting cable to the state department in Washington. Headed “sensitive”, it painted a grim picture of life in “free and democratic Iraq” as viewed through the eyes of the nine Iraqi employees in the embassy’s public affairs press office.
[…]
“Some of our staff do not take home their American cell phones, as this makes them a target. Planning for their own possible abduction, they use code names for friends and colleagues and contacts entered into Iraq cell phones. For at least six months, we have not been able to use any local staff members for translation at on-camera press events. 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.“
UPDATE:Full text here.