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This story is from March 10, 2006
Civil war is Iraq's business: Rummy
Dealing with a civil war in Iraq would be the responsibility of Iraq's own security forces, at least initially, defence secy Rumsfeld told Cong on Thursday.
Testifying alongside senior military leaders and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Rumsfeld said he did not believe Iraq would descend into all-out civil war, though he acknowledged that sectarian strife had worsened.
Gen John Abizaid, the top US commander in the Middle East, said the situation in Iraq had evolved to the point where Sunni-Shia violence was more of a threat to US success there than the insurgency, which continues taking a deadly toll on Iraqi and American troops, and to impede efforts to stabilise the country.
Rumsfeld previously had been reluctant to say what the US military would do in the event of civil war, but in an appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee he was pressed on the matter by Senator Robert Byrd.
"The plan is to prevent a civil war, and to the extent one were to occur, to have the - from a security standpoint - have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, to the extent they are able to," Rumsfeld told the committee.
He did not elaborate on the implication of his remark: That at some point the Iraqi security forces might be overwhelmed by a civil conflict and ask the Americans to get involved militarily.
One of Rumsfeld's chief critics in Congress, Senator Edward Kennedy, issued a statement after the hearing urging the administration to explain more what it would do in case of a civil war.
"Obviously, it's not realistic to depend on the Iraqi security forces, which are not yet able to fight on their own," Kennedy said. "So, secretary Rumsfeld is basically saying that if the prevention strategy fails and Iraq plunges into civil war, US troops will inevitably be deeply involved."
Rumsfeld said the key to avoiding civil war is for Iraq's political leaders to form a government of national unity. In an interview on Time.com, US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said that once the Iraqi parliament selects a PM, he will invite leaders of the parties to discuss the issues facing their government.
NYT News Service
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