From Think Progress
By Payson

Today, MSNBC and NBC News announced their decision to call Iraq a civil war. The Los Angeles Times has consistently used that term to describe the violence, and the Christian Science Monitor started to do the same today.

But most media organizations, caving to White House pressure, continue to avoid the phrase. Some examples:

Fox News:

WARD: In response to today’s attacks and snowballing sectarian violence, a curfew has been imposed in Baghdad and the international airport closed to all commercial flights. [11/23/06]

Washington Post:

But fear ran high that the fighting would not end, as clashes in Ghazaliya and elsewhere illustrated the inability of Iraqi security forces to rein in the violence that has propelled the country closer to full-blown civil war. [11/27/06]

USA Today:

Abizaid didn’t have much to offer besides faith, hope and the familiar but elusive objectives of stabilizing the country, reining in sectarian violence and preparing Iraq to manage on its own. [USA Today, 11/16/06]

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