Compare To

     The Republicans Talking Points for the election (below) and the US Ambassador to Iraq's assessment, here courtesy of WaPo, including quotes like

NOTE: 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.  One editor told us that the KDP is now planning to set up tent cities in Irbil, to house the Kurds being evicted from Baghdad

Employees all share a common tale of their lives: of nine employees in March, only four had family members who knoew they worked at the embassy.  [...] We cannot call employees in on weekends or holidays without blowing their "cover."

[A female embassy employee] told us in mid-June that most of her family believes the U.S. -- which is widely perceived as fully controlling the country and tolerating the malaise -- is punishing the populations as Saddam did [...].  Otherwise, she says, the allocation of power and security would not be so arbitrary.

Another employee tells 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."

Temperatures in Baghdad have already reached 115 degrees.  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.

One employee told us May 29 that he had spent 12 hours of his day off (Saturday) waiting to get gas.  Another staff member confirmed that shortages were so dire, prices in much of Baghdad were now above 1,000 Iraqi dinars per liter (the official, subsidized price is 250 ID).

Emphasis and material in [] mine