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Article: Is Iraq in a civil war?(Focus on Iraq)
- Article from:
- Middle East Quarterly
- Article date:
- June 22, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Middle East Forum. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Many politicians have determined Iraq to be in a civil war. "We're not fighting terrorism in Iraq," Rep. John Murtha (Democrat-Penn.) said on January 27, 2006, We re fighting a civil war in Iraq." (1) He is not alone. On November 27, 2006, NBC sparked media and political debate when it announced it would henceforth label the violence in Iraq a civil war. Such a designation is significant. Major-General William Nash (ret.) explains failure to acknowledge that a civil war exists "means that our counter-measures are inadequate and, therefore, dangerous to our long-term interests." (2) A March 2007 Pentagon report augmented the debate. "Some elements of the situation in Iraq ...