Iraqi Civil War Imminent?

Generals warn fears of civil war

TWO senior US generals fear growing violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims threatens to plunge Iraq into civil war.
"I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war," said General John Abizaid, the top US military officer in the Middle East.

General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff and thus the top general at the Pentagon, agreed with the assessment.

"I believe that we do have the possibility of that devolving to a civil war, but that does not have to be a fact," Pace said. Read more..


IRAQ: Shi'ites march in Baghdad

Thousands of Shi'ite civilians charged with guarding neighbourhoods in Iraq marched through Baghdad yesterday in a show of force likely to stir passions in a country ravaged by sectarian violence.

Young men in civilian uniforms and headbands, all members of what is known as the popular committees, chanted as a speaker called on them to crush 'terrorists' and loyalists of ousted President Saddam Hussein leading a Sunni Arab insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government. Read more...


Ambassador warns of Iraq civil war

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The UK's outgoing ambassador to Baghdad has warned government ministers that a civil war in Iraq is more likely than a successful transition to democracy, according to a news report.

William Patey also predicted the division of Iraq along ethnic lines, in a confidential memo addressed to the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Defense Secretary and senior military leaders.

Patey's warning was contained in his final diplomatic cable, leaked to the BBC, before leaving office last week, the BBC reported.

"The prospect of a low intensity civil war and a de facto division of Iraq is probably more likely at this stage than a successful and substantial transition to a stable democracy," Patey wrote. Read more...