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Envoy Warns of Pullout Horrors

Posted Jul 10, 07 5:27 AM CDT in World,  US,  Politics 

(Newser) – US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker tells the Times that a post-withdrawal scenario in Iraq "exceeds his imagination" —and then goes on to imagine a nearly unmitigated catastrophe. Crocker predicts sectarian murders “by the thousands," a resurgence of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and the “complete collapse” of the Iraqi state security forces into balkanized militias.

Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari sounded similarly dire warnings of civil war yesterday, potentially one fueled by foreign powers. “In our estimation the danger is huge," he told a press conference in Baghdad, pointing to the buildup of Turkish forces near the Kurdish border. Meanwhile, a growing cadre of Republicans are signaling frustration with the war.

Source New York Times

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Mourners march with the coffin of a civilian killed in an overnight raid by U.S. and Iraqi troops in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City of Baghdad, Iraq Tuesday, July 10, 2007. Police said two were killed...   (Associated Press)
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker speaks during a press conference in Baghdad on Monday, 28 May, 2007. Crocker said on Monday that groundbreaking talks with his Iranian counterpart lasted four hours,...   (Associated Press)
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker speaks during a press conference in Baghdad on Monday, May 28, 2007. Crocker said on Monday that groundbreaking talks with his Iranian counterpart lasted four hours,...   (Associated Press)
Men clean up debris from the site of a car bomb attack in east Baghdad, Iraq that killed 2 and wounded 6 people at midday Monday, July 9, 2007. Police said the blast went off at an area near the electricity...   (Associated Press)
Hoshiyar Zebari, Minister of Iraqi Foreign Affairs speaks about the latest situation in Iraq during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad on Monday, July 9, 2007. (AP Photo...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq  • Iraq pullout  • Ryan Crocker  • civil war  • Hoshyar Zebari


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