Monday, March 20, 2006

Civil War?

David Frum in NRO":

Is Iraq engaged in a civil war? Vice President Cheney has taken some heat for saying "no" on yesterday's "Face on the Nation," but he's right. Not to minimize the problems in Iraq, but we do not face the problem of contending centers warring for power - which is what I think most of us mean when we use the term "civil war." Rather, we are facing an attack on a weak government by an insurgency that can command support from only a very small fraction of the Iraqi population. The insurgency is brutal and effective and difficult to suppress. But it is purely a destructive force, not a contender for power.