"the term “civil war” does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict"

[Beetwasher]

NIE: Iraq Is in "Civil War"

"The Intelligence Community judges that the term “civil war” does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq, which includes extensive Shia-on-Shia violence, al-Qa’ida and Sunni insurgent attacks on Coalition forces, and widespread criminally motivated violence. Nonetheless, the term “civil war” accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence, ethno-sectarian mobilization, and population displacements."

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002470.php

As a poster at the link above says, I believe the correct terminology is "Cluster Fuck".

[kenny blankenship]

1. We prefer the term "n-way clusterfuck"

to civil war, where n is some real number, but not necessarily an integer.