Petraeus was Right -- 2007 report by Gen. David Patraeus former Ambassador Ryan Crocker predicted the Iraq collapse -- By Chris Bing, The Daily Caller

Four-star Gen. David Patraeus and former Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker effectively predicted much of the conflict that is sweeping post-war Iraq in a 2007 report.

The report named troop withdrawal, an issue that has divided U.S. voters and politicians since 2004, as a major turning point in deciding state stability.

In the joint Petraeus and Crocker report, released Sept. 10, 2007, the pair questioned whether the divided country could withstand the inevitable sectarian violence that a majority-Shia led government was expected to take on, without the backing of substantial U.S. forces.

June 2014 marks the five-year anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq, and in the last two months, the nation of Iraq has suffered appalling civilian losses due to continuing sectarian violence.
The country has been devastated by sporadic car bombings and suicide bombings, the latest of which has killed at least 26 people across the capital of Baghdad, according to the news agency AFP.

The perpetrators of these attacks reportedly came from the city of Fallujah, which is on the proverbial door-step of Baghdad and currently controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants. The attacks follow days after Shia-dominant government forces pressed a massive assault on anti-government fighters in Ramadi, another predominantly Sunni Arab city.

In December, AFP reported that 759 citizens had been killed by escalating violence and more than 650 citizens have died so far in January.

Similar losses of Iraqi life have not occurred since 2007, during one of the bloodiest months of the U.S. war effort in the country.

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