Sunni-Shi’ite Jihad Update from AFP:
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The conflict in Iraq has all the makings of a civil war, which can nonetheless be avoided, according to a new US Defense Department report to Congress.
“Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq. Nevertheless, the current violence is not a civil war, and movement toward civil war can be prevented,” said the quarterly Pentagon report.
“Concern about civil war within the Iraqi civilian population and among some defense analysts has increased in recent months.
Euphemism alert:
“The security situation is currently at its most complex state since the initiation of Operation Iraq Freedom,” the report said.
In the past three months, “the average number of weekly attacks increased 15 percent over the previous reporting-period average, and Iraqi casualties increased by 51 percent compared to the previous quarter,” it said, noting most of the violence occurred in Baghdad.
[…]
Since its last report, the Pentagon report said, “the core conflict in Iraq changed into a struggle between Sunni and Shia extremists seeking to control key areas in Baghdad, create or protect sectarian enclaves, divert economic resources and impose their own respective political and religious agendas.