The Two Iraqs: Leaked Memo Paints Darker Image Than Bush, Officials Portrayed

June 20, 2006 — -- Iraq's central government does not provide security for many of its citizens, according to an internal memo sent from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to the State Department in Washington.

Instead, unofficial "neighborhood governments" are responsible for ensuring the safety of ordinary Iraqis, according to the cable, which cites staff members as saying so.

The June 6 memo entitled "Snapshots from the Office" was sent by the Public Affairs Office staff at the American Embassy in Baghdad to the State Department in Washington and painted a bleak picture of the security situation in and around Baghdad.

The six-page message, obtained by ABC News and whose authenticity has been confirmed by the State Department, is in stark contrast to the rosy image of Iraq frequently depicted by American and Iraqi government officials.

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

Employees Hide Use of American Cell Phones, English

The memo compiles a string of vignettes from the lives of Iraqis who work in the U.S. Embassy. It describes the extra precautions these workers take to avoid being discovered as employees of the American government -- something that would mean certain persecution at the hands of some groups.

According to the cable, many of the workers do not take their American cell phones home for fear of being detected. Similarly, others avoid speaking in English when called at home so as not to raise suspicion.

One line from the message illustrates this best: "Of nine employees in March only four had family members who knew they worked at the embassy."

In one example outlined in the cable, an embassy worker had to flee the country after her family members were threatened.

Furthermore, the memo warns of increasing sectarian violence in the city, threats against embassy workers, deteriorating womens' rights, and many specific cases of dangers faced by embassy workers and ordinary Iraqis every day.

According to the cable, women have recently come under mounting pressure to wear a headscarf in public, and even to cover their faces -- a practice which smacks of the harsh conservative rule under Afghanistan's Taliban. It even describes how some conservative groups are calling for a dress code for men, under which some men have been attacked for wearing shorts, or even jeans, in public.

Embassy workers have even become suspicious of the guards that protect the entrances to the Green Zone, the fortified area in Baghdad that houses the U.S. Embassy and is considered relatively safer than the surrounding areas of the city.

ABC News has also learned that President Bush read the cable on his way to Baghdad during his surprise visit to the new Iraqi government last week.

The cable's author remains unknown, but State Department officials told reporters that U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad was not the author. Although Khalilzad's name appears at the bottom of the message, it is standard practice for an ambassador's name to appear below all such correspondence leaving the embassy.

When asked to respond to the cable today, a State Department spokesman responded broadly, saying: "Yes, there are problems. Yes, there are challenges. We are working to solve them. The Iraqi government is working to solve them. But broadly speaking, you've got some very positive things going on."