Former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell told CBS's Charlie Rose the situation in Iraq is the most dangerous since the 1973 war, since "We are at risk of losing Iraq. Iraq is at risk of breaking into three pieces.
"And one of those pieces," Morell said, "if this happens, will be an Al Qaeda safe haven from which they will conduct attacks against the United States of America and against Western Europe."
Morell also said that if Iraq breaks up, "There would be a risk of a spillover to the rest of the region in terms of redrawing the lines as well."
Morell expressed hopes for a diplomatic solution, but believes it could only happen after tremendous U.S. pressure and assistance on the ground: "The best outcome here, as we talked about last night, is a diplomatic solution where you bring all the sides together and you form a new government without Maliki, a new government for all Iraqis. That takes an awful lot of pressure on all the sides, and I think it takes some U.S. military support on the ground, which will give us more credibility in that diplomatic argument. And I think that is U.S. special forces on the ground advising and assisting, I think that it's intelligence support. Those are the two keys, I think."