WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.President George W. Bush denied on Tuesday that Iraq was headed for civil war as the country was rocked by a new surge of sectarian violence.
Bush told ABC News he had spoken to leaders of all Iraqi sects after last week's bombing of a major Shi'ite mosque and "I heard loud and clear that they understand that they're going to choose unification, and we're going to help them do so."
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Asked what Washington would do if civil war broke out, Bush said in the ABC interview: "I don't buy your premise that there's going to be a civil war."
Bush told ABC News he had spoken to leaders of all Iraqi sects after last week's bombing of a major Shi'ite mosque and "I heard loud and clear that they understand that they're going to choose unification, and we're going to help them do so."
...
Asked what Washington would do if civil war broke out, Bush said in the ABC interview: "I don't buy your premise that there's going to be a civil war."
Moreover, even if Bush doesn't buy the premise that there's going to be a civil war -- which seems to ignore the reality of the situation, that Iraq is at a minimum on the brink of civil war and has been for some time -- you would hope that that is something he's planned for.
You know, I hope this is just typical Bush-if-I-say-it-enough-people-will-believe-it-politics, but part of me really wonders if he's really got a plan in place for this. If this last week in Iraq is any indication, things seem to be ramping up there in a serious way.
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