This editorial from the Los Angeles Times cites that paper's interview with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, in which he asserted the United States had "opened the Pandora's box" when it removed Saddam Hussein from power, creating the potential for widespread sectarian violence to lead to a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites. The editorial notes that this candor is out of the ordinary: "Usually such candor from high-ranking administration officials — about Iraq or anything else — comes only after the word "former" appears before their titles."