Think
Progress
Monday, November 27, 2006
Today, MSNBC and NBC News announced their decision
to call Iraq a “civil war.” The Los Angeles Times
has consistently
used that term to describe the violence, and the Christian Science
Monitor started
to do the same today.
But most media organizations, caving
to White House pressure, continue to avoid the phrase. Some examples:
Fox News:
WARD: In response to today’s attacks and snowballing
sectarian violence, a curfew has been imposed in Baghdad
and the international airport closed to all commercial flights.
[11/23/06]
Washington Post:
But fear ran high that the fighting would not end, as clashes in
Ghazaliya and elsewhere illustrated the inability of Iraqi security
forces to rein in the violence that has propelled the country closer
to full-blown civil war. [11/27/06]
USA Today:
Abizaid didn’t have much to offer besides faith, hope and
the familiar but elusive objectives of stabilizing the country,
reining in sectarian violence and preparing Iraq
to manage on its own. [USA Today, 11/16/06]
Boston Globe:
It was one of the largest mass abductions since the US-led invasion
in 2003, startling even by the standards of a nation reeling
from sectarian strife, daily bombings, and death squads.
[11/15/06]
San Francisco Chronicle:
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces intense pressure from the
United States to eliminate the militias and their death squads,
which are deeply involved in the country’s sectarian
slaughter and are believed to have thoroughly infiltrated
the police and security forces. [11/15/06]
Chicago Tribune:
As the prospect of civil war in Iraq festers,
the U.S. military has identified three options - add more troops,
start a graduated retreat or embrace a speedy one - according to
a Washington Post account that quoted sources familiar with the
written Pentagon options. [11/26/06]
New York Times:
The two [Bush and Maliki] are expected to talk about the widening
sectarian war in Iraq and to try to reach agreement on
ways to stop it. [11/27/06]
CNN:
FRANKEN: But President Bush is focused on what can be done in Iraq
without leaving behind a country consumed by sectarian war.
[11/27/06]
