In other Iraq news, the U.S. intelligence community has issued a dire report on the state of Iraq. The National Intelligence Estimate predicts Iraq’s security situation will worsen over the next 18 months unless the slide toward sectarian polarization is halted. The NIE represents the consensus views of the vast U.S. intelligence community.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “The words 'civil war' oversimplify a very complex situation in Iraq. I believe that there are essentially four wars going on in Iraq. One is Shia on Shia principally in the South. The second is sectarian conflict principally in Baghdad, but not solely. Third is the insurgency. And fourth is al-Qaeda. And al-Qaeda is attacking at times all of those targets. So I think — it’s not I think, just a matter of politics or semantics. I think it oversimplifies. It’s a bumper sticker answer to what’s going on in Iraq.”

The National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq also stated that “outside actors” are not a “major driver of violence” inside Iraq. This refutes recent suggestions by senior Bush administration officials that Iran is playing a major role in support of Shiite militias.