Fox's Wilson falsely suggested NBC alone in characterizing Iraq situation as "civil war"

During a report on the November 29 edition of Fox News' Special Report, Fox News host Brian Wilson falsely suggested that there is little or no basis for describing the current conflict in Iraq as a "civil war," as NBC News announced on November 27 that it would now do. In his report on whether it is "accurate to call what is happening [in Iraq] a civil war," Wilson featured several people who opposed using that description but noted only NBC News' announcement in support, without noting the numerous scholars, journalists, and retired military officers who have described Iraq as being in the midst of a civil war.

For example, while Wilson noted that CNN has not officially "followed NBC's lead," he did not mention that CNN international correspondent Michael Ware has stated unequivocally that Iraq is embroiled in a civil war. As Media Matters for America noted, on November 21, Ware stated that "anyone who still remains in doubt about whether this is civil war or not is suffering from the luxury of distance." Also, as Media Matters has documented, a number of retired generals have declared Iraq to be in the midst of a civil war, including Gen. Barry McCaffrey (also an NBC News military analyst), Maj. Gen. William L. Nash, Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard Jr., and Brig. Gen. John H. Johns, as well as Col. Jack Jacobs, an NBC military analyst and and former faculty member of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Wilson reported that "[m]ilitary historians insist civil wars are generally fought over differences in political ideology and point out that much of the fighting in Iraq is fueled by sectarian or ethnic hatred," airing a clip of retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales backing up this statement. But a November 26 New York Times article reported that "American commanders [now] acknowledge that political dominance is at the heart of this conflict [in Iraq]." The article also suggested that, contrary to Wilson's suggestion, the Iraq conflict's sectarian nature does not disqualify it from being a "civil war," reporting that, according to "scholars ... the Iraq civil war has elements of both an insurgency ... and a sectarian war -- the besieged government is ruled by Shiites and opposed by Sunni Arabs." Moreover, the Times article reported that "a growing number of American and Iraqi scholars, leaders and policy analysts say the fighting in Iraq meets the standard definition of civil war." It also noted that "American professors who specialize in the study of civil wars say that most of their number are in agreement that Iraq's conflict is a civil war."

Indeed, Wilson's articulation is similar to the White House's reported justification for refusing to label the Iraq conflict a "civil war." The Times reported in the same article that "[s]ome Bush administration officials have argued that there is no obvious political vision on the part of the Sunni-led insurgent groups, so 'civil war' does not apply."

From the November 29 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, guest-hosted by Chris Wallace, host of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

WALLACE: Mike, thanks for that. There's now quite a debate about whether the American news media should call the conflict in Iraq a "civil war." But it's more than just an argument over language. As correspondent Brian Wilson reports, the choice of words has political implications.

[begin video clip]

WILSON: There is little doubt the violence inside Iraq is real, it is brutal, and it's tragic. But is it accurate to call what is happening there a "civil war"? The chairman of the Joint Chiefs said the conflict in Iraq doesn't meet the accepted definition of a civil war, although he believes that is what Al Qaeda is seeking.

GEN. PETER PACE (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs): It's much more important that we focus on how to defeat the enemy that is trying to create this civil war than it is we spend a lot of time dancing on the head of a pin, as far as what particular words we should use to describe the environment, which is currently unacceptable.

WILSON: Earlier this week the president offered a similar assessment.

BUSH: There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented, in my opinion, because of these attacks by Al Qaeda, causing people to seek reprisal.

WILSON: The debate over terminology has become a media issue following NBC's formal decision to use the term "civil war," a decision first announced on Monday's Today show.

MATT LAUER (NBC's Today co-host): NBC News has decided a change in terminology is warranted, that the situation in Iraq, with armed militarized factions fighting for their own political agendas, can now be characterized as civil war.

WILSON: And NBC correspondents have used the term several times since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iraq's worsening civil war will dominate the presidency --

WILSON: Other news organizations have not followed NBC's lead. For example, the executive producer of the CBS Evening News said, "To be honest with you, I think it's a political statement, not a news judgment." At CNN, an official statement: "CNN will continue to report on what is happening in Iraq on a day-to-day basis. And we will also report on the ongoing debate in academic and political circles about what constitutes a civil war."

The senior VP for editorial here at Fox said today: "Some are using the term [civil war] to indicate failure, not inside Iraq, but of US policy in Iraq. We're unwilling to fall into that tender trap. We're not using the term because there are non-Iraqis in the fray and that makes it something different."

Military historians insist civil wars are generally fought over differences in political ideology and point out that much of the fighting in Iraq is fueled by sectarian or ethnic hatred.

SCALES: These communal wars, these ethnic wars, are so brutal and so deadly that generally it takes a catalyst, it takes a spark, if you will, that ignites these types of conflicts. And even though Al Qaeda is small, even though their numbers are few, they are the spark, they are the catalyst.

[end video clip]

WILSON: And, says Scales, no matter what you call it, the difficult goal for the Bush administration is to figure out a way to keep different sects apart, while trying to neutralize what is left of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

In Washington, Brian Wilson, Fox News.