administration official who had helped negotiate the agreement between the u.s. and iraq for the eventual withdrawal of u.s. troops. i asked him what the surge in violence now means for the long-term stability of iraq. >> we are in, right now, a period of highest risk, the 90 days after the election are always identified as a period of highest risk. there are two timelines the white house is under. one is the security agreement, all u.s. forces out by 2011, that is a binding international agreement negotiated with the iraqis. the second is a unilateral obligation which president obama said a month after coming to office, at the end of august, we'll be down to 50,000 troops. >> is that right? >> you have to be testing assumptions. we have no idea what is happening day to day and the assumptions underlining that withdrawal are called into question. >> would you agree with that, ambassador crocker, given the level of violence now? fot just since the election, it