Iraq Civil War?

Is Iraq in a civil war?, the former Secretary of State, Colin Powell has call it a Civil War. Powell as mentioned is a former Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan. The present President George W. Bush, has a different view, in his mind the conflict in Iraq is part of the War on Terror.

An interesting story in the Washington Times, it seems that the religious groups in Iraq are getting ready for their own war, the Times states the following, ' Rival Shi'ite and Sunni groups are massing their militias in expectation of major confrontations,..' The weakness of the government and its Prime Minister is shown as the Washington Times notes, ' Iraqis in Baghdad note that Mr. al-Maliki was pelted with rocks on Sunday when he went to visit grieving families in Sadr City -- once the base of his support. ' Has it finally come to a tipping point of all out civil war.

The informed judgment of VIEWS is that Iraq is close but not yet, there is still time, the answer is the problem.

Iraq

A planned meeting between President George W. Bush and the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki has been delayed due to a press leak from a White House Memo. The Washington Post states the following, ' The last-minute change in plans was announced the same day a classified memo from White House adviser Stephen J. Hadley was leaked to the New York Times in which Hadley questions whether Maliki "is both willing and able to rise above the sectarian agendas being promoted by others. " ' The Washington Post must be annoyed that NYT gets all the good leaks. The Article goes to state the following, ' The leaked memo, written earlier this month by national security adviser Hadley, expressed the administration's private frustration with Maliki's performance and outlined a series of proposed steps for the United States and Iraq to take. '

CNN states the following on the meeting, ' The postponement was announced shortly after Bush arrived here for talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II and al-Maliki. Bush's meeting with the king was to proceed on schedule. '

New York Times, Text of Leak Memo, Memo, in the leak memo, an interesting question is aksed of the Prime Minister, ' is he able to curb those who seek Shia hegemony or the reassertion of Sunni power? The answers to these questions are key in determining whether we have the right strategy in Iraq. '