AN INSIGHTFUL LOOK AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A JOURNALIST and his Iraqi "minder" before and after the war.

Eventually there were so many reporters and crews in town that government officials were seconded from different ministries. Sadoun was one of them. Soon he became our dedicated minder.

Of course it was an odd relationship. It seemed he liked working with us - but this was a man whose job it was to prevent me doing mine the way I wanted.

Conversely, I was always pushing him not to do his job to the best of his ability...

... Considering we worked so closely, I got to know remarkably little about the man. He told me he was married with children. I never asked him too much about his personal life, neither did he about mine - and thank goodness.

I always had to pretend I lived in Amman, Jordan. In fact, I live in Jerusalem, in the hated "Zionist entity".

Now Saddam has gone, and the Sadoun in front of me is a changed man. For a start, he looks five years younger.

Its a real good read. See it here.