What's the Motivation?

Quibbling Over Definitions

Here's what Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander of U.S. military operations in the Middle East, told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday: "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."

Not surprisingly, this came up at yesterday's White House gaggle with spokesman Tony Snow. Immediately after quibbling with Abizaid's characterization, Snow came out against quibbling. But in neither case did he actually address the central question.

"Q Does the President agree with General Abizaid's assessment today, that Iraq is in danger of civil war because of the recent sectarian violence?

"MR. SNOW: I think what he said -- I think he specifically avoided 'civil war.' I think he said he was worried about sectarian violence, and also reiterated something we've talked about on a number of occasions, which is the importance of security [in] Baghdad -- which is why, pursuant to General Casey's recommendations, you're going to see a little more of a troop presence in Baghdad, to try to suppress some of those. Obviously, sectarian violence is a concern.

"Q I think he did say that he thought civil war was a possibility.

" MR. SNOW: Okay. Well, I don't think the President is going to quibble with his generals on their characterizations."

Incidentally, there are objective characteristics that all modern civil wars share. Harvard political science professor Monica Toft lists six commonly accepted criteria. And guess what? Iraq meets all of them.

Thomas L. Friedman writes in his New York Times opinion column today (subscription required): "It is now obvious that we are not midwifing democracy in Iraq. We are baby-sitting a civil war. . . .

"[T]he administration now has to admit what anyone -- including myself -- who believed in the importance of getting Iraq right has to admit: Whether for Bush reasons or Arab reasons, it is not happening, and we can't throw more good lives after good lives."

NSA and DOJ

Dan Eggen writes in The Washington Post: "A White House-endorsed plan to formally legalize the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program ran into more political problems yesterday in the Senate, as Democrats successfully maneuvered to block a committee vote on the proposal.

"In addition, three of the committee's leading Democrats announced that they would block the confirmation of a senior Justice Department official in protest of a recent move by President Bush. The president effectively stopped a probe into the NSA program by denying security clearances to Justice Department investigators. . . .

"[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.)] said that he believes much of the Democratic opposition to his proposal stems in part from Bush's faltering popularity. 'There's a real opposition to the president today which you see everywhere, and it manifests itself here. . . . There's an attitude that if the president's in favor of it, there must be something wrong with it.' "