Pentagon: conditions for civil war exist in Iraq (but it's not civil war)

[Barrett808]

Pentagon: conditions for civil war exist in Iraq
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conditions that could lead to a civil war exist in Iraq, the Pentagon said in a new report on Friday, as the "core conflict" has changed into one pitting Sunni Muslims against Shi'ites, with the Sunni Arab insurgency overshadowed.

The Pentagon's congressionally mandated report provided a sober assessment of the situation in Iraq over the past three months, saying attacks increased by 15 percent over the prior three months and casualties among Iraqis surged 51 percent.

"Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq," the report stated, adding that concern about civil war has increased within the Iraqi civilian population.

"Nevertheless, the current violence is not a civil war, and movement toward a civil war can be prevented," added the report, which said the security environment was at its most complex state since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 that toppled President Saddam Hussein.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060901/pl_nm/iraq_usa_pentagon_dc

[kurth]

1. Conditions exist, but nobody has started shooting anybody yet.

What bullshit.

[Dhalgren]

2. I think that the "Nazi Germany" analogy is going to backfire on

the Repubs big time. It is too...I am not sure what the phrase should be..."unreal", maybe? No one with any semblance of logic can contort the degenerating civil war in Iraq with any form of the conflicts during or preceding WWII. It is a huge losing PR front...

[rodeodance]

4. they want to counter the Vietnam analogy is my guess.

[colonel odis]

3. in bushland, black is white, up is down, and a civil war is not one. n/t

[moondust]

5. It won't be a civil war until

the Pentagon sees artillery battalions, POW camps, and formations of soldiers marching off to battle in well-tailored uniforms. And there must be body counts and medics!

[damntexdem]

6. Yes, as U.S. Grant said just after Shiloh:

"Conditions that could lead to a civil war exist in the United States."

;-)

[nealmhughes]

7. After Shiloh as the wounded Confederates were slinking back down the

highway towards Florence, AL where the locals wondered why it had been thundering to the NW for 2 days with not a cloud in sight...

[pinniped]

8. I'm sure the Iraqis are all waiting for these assclowns to say it is....

before they officially begin.

[Roon]

9. Pentagon: Conditions exist for civil war in Iraq

WASHINGTON - Conditions that could lead to a civil war exist in Iraq, reflecting the “most complex” security challenges since the U.S. invasion in 2003, the Pentagon said Friday.

The “core conflict” has changed into one pitting Sunni Muslims against Shiites, with the Sunni Arab insurgency overshadowed, it said in a quarterly report to Congress on U.S. efforts to stabilize the country.

In the notably gloomy report, The Pentagon said illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of security as well as basic social services.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14622992/

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. This whole dance reminds me of the kind of denials that precede

the collapse and bankruptcy of a big badly run corporation.

[dipsydoodle]

11. Well that's a novel thought.

Took 'em long enough to figure that out. Guess they've been reading the newpapers.

[acmavm]

12. Saying shit like thismakes them sound like the biggest dumb asses

ever to use up oxygen. They will not admit the truth regardless of the obvious logical conclusions that the rest of the planet has already come to. So they just play their game and hope that they can hold on long enough for it to stop.

And in the meantime human beings are dying. Human lives are being wasted because what the saner heads in this country predicted would happen has come to pass.

[wellst0nev0ter]

15. Remember How Long It Took Them

Before they admit they were fighting an insurgency? I think it took about one Friedman since Boosh declared victory in May 2003.

Clueless fucks.

[arewenotdemo]

17. Six-month man

What an incredibly clueless fuck. My "favorite":

"We've teed up this situation for Iraqis..."

These motherfuckers are all the same. Chickenhawk scum that refer to the war and slaughter that they cheered on as if it were a sporting event.

They should all hang for it. Literally.

[bowens43]

13. gee.... ya think?

What fricken morans . They were told that this would happen BEFORE they attacked the people of Iraq and invaded their country.

[daleo]

14. Conditions exist in the sun for nuclear fusion too. n/t

[FVZA_Colonel]

16. Not to mention that conditions exist for the possibility

of getting wet when you jump into water.

[truthisfreedom]

18. surrr-prize, surrr-prize!

fucking gomer pyle in charge of the war.