Envoy Warns of Pullout Horrors

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. (More Iraq stories.)