Excerpt of letter dated October 20, 2006: “Iraq continues a rapid descent into full-scale civil war, with our troops increasingly caught in the middle. Over 200 U.S. troops were killed in the last 90 days, including 70 in the first two and one-half weeks of October, and on average 100 Iraqis are killed each day. The growing militia groups are beyond the government’s control and have reportedly infiltrated the ranks of government security forces. Despite your recent decision to increase the U.S. military presence in Baghdad, the capital remains, more than three and a half years after the invasion, a city beset by violence and chaos – a conclusion echoed yesterday by Major General Caldwell. Unfortunately, recent violence in Balad, Basra, and Kirkuk demonstrates that Iraq’s problems are not limited to the capital. Meanwhile, the insurgency is growing stronger in al Anbar province. The increased violence and a larger U.S. military deployment come even as your Administration reports that about 450,000 Iraqi security forces have been fielded (army, police, and facilities protection service) and are increasingly operating on their own, casting doubt on the central pillar of your strategy that “as Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.”