Reuters continues it's in-depth coverage of Iraq as it transitions from dictatorship to democracy:

In the 15 months since the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein, there has been widespread lawlessness in Baghdad and throughout the country.

The former Iraqi president released all common criminals as part of an amnesty in October 2002, a move that many say has contributed to a surge in crime.

Read another way, letting all the criminals go in October 2002 was not an obvious factor in the crime wave, but the appearance of coalition forces 6 months later created lawlessness. Haven't we put countless innocent Iraqis in jail and tortured them? I guess we should have taken harsher measures.

I'm curious, who doesn't say that letting all the criminals go created a sense of lawlessness?

Oh, and I guess the "insurgent" car bombings of Iraqi police stations and recruiting lines had nothing to do with the ability to fight crime. After all, it's not part of Reuters official recent history of Iraq.