Civil War

It's about damn time.

NBC to use 'civil war' to describe Iraq

NBC News said Monday that its reporters and anchors would begin referring to the ongoing sectarian strife in Iraq as a "civil war," a move that reflects the news media's use of increasingly stark language to characterize the escalating violence gripping the country.

NBC's decision, which came after a particularly deadly series of retaliatory attacks in Baghdad, makes it the first television network to officially adopt the term "civil war," a description the Bush administration has resisted.

I should give NBC some credit for doing this, for growing a pair, but I'm not going to. Iraq has been in a state of civil war since 2004 and the electronic media should have been stating that since then. As the article states, the NY Times has been calling the situation in Iraq a civil war for a month now, but it's print media and, even though it's the NYT, no one pay attention. Using the words "civil war" in electronic media will make people pay attention.

If the media starts stating the obvious, this civil war is our fault, then I'll give them the credit they deserve.

Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, one of those consulted in NBC's discussions, told Lauer on Monday that he had considered the situation in Iraq a "low-grade conflict" civil war for the last 18 months.

"Now it's on the verge of spinning out of control," said McCaffrey, an NBC News analyst.

It's spun out of control General. But at least now Americans can make that determination for themselves.

Iraq violence is al-Qaida plot

President Bush said Tuesday that an al-Qaida plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge in Iraq is to blame for escalating bloodshed, refusing to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war.

I don't doubt for a second that terrorist organizations are exploiting the situation to further their own ends; however, if weren't for the illegal invasion of Iraq, they wouldn't have this opportunity. As usual, Bush doesn't get it.

Jordan's King Abdullah, who is hosting al-Maliki's meeting with Bush, has warned that unless bold steps are taken urgently, the new year could dawn with three civil wars in the Mideast — with one in Iraq added to those in Lebanon and between the Palestinians and Israelis.

I applaud HM King Abdullah for trying to end this nightmare by meeting with both Mr. al-Maliki and Mr. Bush - but it's useless. Normally I think all diplomatic avenues need to be explored but this is just pointless. HM is not dealing with someone who exists in the real world and unless Mr. Bush is forced to deal with reality, or we remove him from office, the devastation will continue to escalate until the entire region from Turkey to Indonesia is at war. Radical Islam and George W. Bush are on a collision course of total annihilation - there is no middle ground to be found. The Israeli's are exploiting the situation in Gaza, the various terrorist organizations are exploiting the situation wherever they are and this is only going to get worse.

Removing the Bush administration is only one small step in ending what will most likely be another decade of war. But it is a step that must be taken. We caused this unholy mess into being; it's up to us to end it.