Iraq Is in a Civil War

Nov. 29, 2006 — -- I love how the mainstream media are having a debate over whether to call the situation in Iraq a "civil war."

NBC, after considerable deliberation, has decided to call the war what it actually is. Bold -- very, very bold.

As The New York Times reported on Nov. 25, nearly every single scholar in the field says that the situation in Iraq meets all of the criteria of a civil war.

The only historian that The New York Times could find to disagree with the overwhelming consensus was a British professor who believes there have only been five civil wars in all of history.

Everyone else agrees: It is a civil war by any definition.

Yet, most of the other mainstream media are still grappling and struggling with themselves to try to figure out what they should call it. Why? Because as Dana Priest from The Washington Post explained, they don't want to offend the sensibilities of the Iraqi and U.S. governments that still want to call it something else.

You can call it crumpets and tea if you like, but it doesn't make it so.

Why does the press give a damn what the government wants to call it? You're not supposed to be the official news agency of the government. There are stenographers who will work for less. You are supposed to be journalists.

I guess it took NBC a year to figure it out, and others still haven't caught on.

Journalism doesn't mean you write down what the government tells you. You are supposed to report the facts, even if it disturbs the government or questions its actions.

I know that must come as a big shock to people who have been cowed by the right wing into accepting their subservient role in the process. But believe it or not, the press is supposed to be free in this country.

I am being harsh on the media here, and to be fair, they have broken many important stories over the last couple of years.

But it is frustrating to see how much deference the mainstream press gives to the government when reporters are supposed to be the ones keeping them in check.

This administration, in particular, has done nothing to earn their trust, but the media still submit to their rhetorical tricks, their intimidation and their spin.

Cenk Uygur is host of "The Young Turks" on Air America Radio.