The NIE is unequivocal on the whole “civil war” debate, a phrase the administration has been desperate to avoid:
The Intelligence Community judges that the term âcivil warâ does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq, which includes extensive Shia-on-Shia violence, al-Qaâida and Sunni insurgent attacks on Coalition forces, and widespread criminally motivated violence. Nonetheless, the term âcivil warâ accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence, ethno-sectarian mobilization, and population displacements.
